Blackwell Reference Online

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The marketing concept has been seen variously as a statement of the philosophy of marketing, an approach to doing business, or a broad umbrella governing business activity. It is viewed by many as synonymous with “marketing” itself, definitions of which as a concept or philosophy of business comprise one of the three types of definitions of marketing identified by Crosier (1988) ( see marketing ). The marketing concept is generally held to have three major components (see McGee and Spiro, 1990 ). The first of these is a so‐called “customer orientation,” whereby an understanding of customer “needs,” wants, and behavior is the focal point of all marketing action. The second is a focus on what is usually termed either coordinated activities or integrated effort, with the entire organization sharing the customer orientation by emphasizing the integration of the marketing function with areas such as research, product management, sales, and advertising . The third is a profit orientation, with attention directed primarily toward profit, as opposed to sales volumes, although clearly a profit focus is not appropriate for all organizations (e.g., not‐for‐profit marketing ). Reflecting these three areas, the marketing concept can be viewed as a customer orientation, supported by an integrated marketing approach, aimed at generating profits (see, e.g., Kotler, 2003 ). Some have noted ... log in or subscribe to read full text