Does an idea in my textbook match reality?

Question

I am studying an introductory business course and in one of the textbooks it states that marketing should not be viewed as the company-consumer relationship, it should be viewed more as a whole policy for the company to be geared towards. In other words, marketing is not one department, it is a whole philosophy to be followed by everyone.

I have never worked in an office or company before and I was wondering if this ever manifested or is there usually a seperate division? Do companies actually go to the extent of implementing marketing in every brach instead of having a seperate branch?

Answer 1

I think the statement means something more like your company-consumer relationship should not only be based on the marketing materials you create and distibute.

Marketing is really one-way communication. To have a proper relationship with the consumers of your product you need a good customer support team (who can be well versed in the marketing material of your company) and professional staff.

Marketing obviously increases business (or is designed to anyway), but you need to back your marketing up with good service/product etc.

There could be a separate marketing department who are responsible for the design and implementation of marketing startegies, but everyone in the company should be aware of the strategies in place within the organisation.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Marketing is different from selling. Selling starts from the product, its quality and features and finding suitable buyer. Marketing on the other hand places the customer at the centre. Know his needs and expectations (unserved demand). So, even the production department should be aware what the customer needs, the quality he expects and the price which he is willing to pay. For example suppose a company makes fire extinguishers. The customer needs red colour extinguishers only - legal requirements. The production department does not get red colour but has lot of green colour. In order not to stop production, if they paint the extinguishers green, the customer will not accept it.