The Marketing Concept

Marketing is a management tool designed to facilitate sales. As a management tool, marketing is part of the overall business process operation involving effective planning, project organizing, staffing concerns, direction, and control systems. Selling cannot be productive without good marketing. Both marketing and sales are dependent upon each other even though they are different disciplines.

Think of marketing as a way of managing business processes so decisions are made with the awareness of what the impact will be on the customer. For example, in sales, a product is created with the intent of offering it to potential buyers resulting in revenue. The sales staff is told to find prospects and turn them into buying customers. Sales practices are influenced by the marketing plan. Under the sales approach, a customer exists for the business. Under the marketing concept, the business exists to serve the customer.