A. Marketing simply reflects the needs and wants of customers. B. Marketing shapes the needs and wants of consumers.

a fee  

‘Marketing simply reflects the needs and wants of customers.’ We all need to eat, drink, sleep and reproduce, all of this is part of who we are as human beings. So, at the basic level, companies will strive to fulfill these functions and will continue to do so from time to time by showing ads that tell the public that they are nearby and can provide the products they need.

The other aspect is that the needs vary according to the country in which you live. “For example, a consumer in the United States may need food but may want a hamburger, fries and a soft drink and a person living in Mauritius who needs food may want a mango, rice, lentils and beans. Desires are determined by our society.” The other part is the desires, everyone can want something but only a few have the means to acquire it. A good example would be that everyone wants to eat in expensive restaurants every day, but in reality only very few people can afford such a lifestyle. That is why various segments have been created to target different groups and classes of people.

Therefore, marketers must continually create and develop attractive products and then in turn devise a brilliant marketing strategy to convince the consumer to buy their product over other competing products. Companies strive to retain their customer base by delivering value and satisfaction from their products, and this materializes in the minds of consumers as a combination of service, quality and price. Some consumers would not mind paying a higher price for an item or service if they received very good service.

This is all part of what a consumer’s expectations of a product are, if these perceived expectations are met over and over again, then they become a loyal customer to that particular company. We as people like consistency and if a marketer provides consistent service as well as great products and prices we will keep coming back for years to come. A good example would be Ben’s Chili Bowl located in Washington DC. It is a restaurant that has been in business for decades and the fact that it has kept so many loyal customers is because they have provided consistent service and great food over the years and the people who used to go there to eat when they were kids they still go there as adults They even make customers fly to Washington DC just to experience their food and service. Companies also create brands and these brands have an effect on people’s buying habits.

These marks can signify various aspects of the company combined to form a perception in the mind of the consumer, such as products, services, information and experiences. The more unique and interesting a brand is, the better it will perform. A brand that comes to mind is Coach Company that manufactures accessories in the retail sector. They produce items like wallets, purses, belts, and other items. Coach have built a strong brand for themselves by being unique in their style and service, and this is primarily the reason why customers create such a high demand for their products. This has also allowed the company to maintain an above-average price for its products compared to its competitors knowing that consumers would pay that higher price. Segmentation is another way that companies target the consumer to meet their needs, and companies use this technique to target where they should market their products. There are several criteria that companies use to segment their products and some of them are geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral.

They would use factors like population and area or the wealth of the population of a specific area and target products that fit that mold. This has proven to be a very successful tactic for marketing companies. Companies also use marketing channels to reach their consumers. They use three types of marketing channels which are communication, distribution and service channels. Communications are important in getting the company’s message across to the public and this could take many forms such as radio, television, the internet, billboards and the like. They also need to distribute their products to the consumer and this means that they will need a physical location like a store, or be a wholesaler and have others sell their products for you and also sell their products on the internet. Service channels are needed to transact with consumers and these could be banks for credit card purchases and shipping companies like UPS to deliver products to homes and businesses.

Marketing is related to four marketing skills and tools and they are sales force, advertising, sales promotion and market research, they must also use brand building, customer relations, telemarketing and others to make the sale of your products a reality. Businesses must also operate ethically and honestly to serve the consumer in the best possible way. Marketing in the United States is unique in the world because it has evolved and changed over the years to blend in with the capitalist society we live in in the United States. This also means that some of the marketing that we use in this country can only work with the credit system that we currently have. This is not the case in other parts of the world, even in industrialized countries. Therefore, I would see marketing in the United States as one of the hubs of the wheel that makes our economy as giant as it is today.

installment B 

Regarding the second argument ‘Marketing shapes the needs and wants of consumers.’ I also have to agree with this statement. My reasons are many and varied. After seeing so many TV commercials and advertisements both on the Internet and in newspapers, I have come to the conclusion that some companies construct their ads to create a need in the mind of the consumer, even if they were not originally interested in the product. . I took some time to research some of the words commonly used in ads and found an interesting combination of words and phrases. The word ‘free’ is the most common denominator I found in the ads, free is used in combinations like free trial at home, free inspection, buy one get one free, free installation, free estimate, free parking, free demo and consultation free . The word free is often a powerful catalyst that drives the consumer to buy that particular product or idea, even if they don’t need it. I think other terms also lure people into buying things they don’t need.

Terms such as ‘no payments until 2010’ or ‘money back guarantee’ ‘no down payment’ ‘offer valid while supplies last’ help to dispel any doubts the consumer may have and encourage them to make the purchase. “Because the goal is to attract customers’ attention, persuade, and create demand, market segmentation has historically been based on variables that correlate with demand creation: geography, age, gender, income, education, occupation, and other traditional demographics as well as psychographics around personality, lifestyle, values, and attitudes. It works because these attributes are helpful in defining how to speak effectively to different groups of people.”

Some companies act unethically in their advertising, for example, I have seen some advertisements on the Internet, especially where companies advertise a product and make it very attractive to the consumer, then at the bottom there are small letters with the word “restrictions apply”. hide the link that takes you to where the restrictions are listed. So if you buy that product without reading the fine print and something happens that you are not satisfied with or want to return the item, the company will reject it and reference their restriction policy. Other tactics that companies use to shape the needs and wants of consumers is to use celebrities or other famous people to sell their products. A good example of a company would be Nike. Nike teamed up with Michael Jordan to create a marketing giant. One of the themes behind their association was to create a desire within consumers that if they wore Michael Jordan’s sneakers, they would be able to play basketball or jump as high as him.

This was primarily aimed at younger consumers and proved to be a huge marketing success. Companies also take advantage of world events or changes in the economy to bring out new products. A good example is the growing popularity of hybrid cars. This has been caused by rising gas prices and a slowdown in the economy. However, the rise of hybrid cars has led to a marked decline in large off-road vehicles. In the past we used to associate hybrid cars with car companies like Toyota and Honda, but today companies like Lincoln, Ford and others are launching hybrid vehicles. This has been a necessity for them to compete in today’s modified car market.

However, advertising is not the only force that moves the consumer. Most companies do a lot of research before launching an ad to get an idea of ​​what consumers really want. There is a constant interaction with the public by studying what is hot at the moment and also what brands people want to be associated with. I have always wondered why companies release new models or new releases at such a fast pace. This tactic is basically an adjustment or improvement of the previous model or version to create the perception of a totally new product which, in turn, creates a higher demand for the product.

Good examples of these products would be software, Microsoft is especially good at releasing new versions of their products. For example, the release of the Microsoft Vista operating system meant that people also had to upgrade their computers because their existing hardware couldn’t support the requirements of Microsoft Vista. In conclusion, newer companies tend to lean more towards need creation because the public is not yet aware of their products. Established companies are more interested in meeting existing consumer needs. These companies are already well known and their products have already been deemed essential to their lives, so they would continue to buy their products even with little or no advertising.