Misconceptions of Marketing

1. Is marketing all about communication?

Answer is No.

Though communication is the most visible, it is the smallest part of marketing.

The marketing process involves the following stages:

1. Understanding the customer

2. Setting up the segment, target and positioning process

3. Execution of strategy i.e., offering, communicating with the customers, formulating the routes for marketing and finally pricing.

Focusing on communication channels and message alone would not yield the desired results.

2. Is marketing is all about creating needs?

Answer is No.

Customer seeks satisfaction of need through goods or services provided by the provider. Various reasons can contribute to cultivation of such need, like problems with existing channel, frustration due to process of procurement or aspirations and desires.

Types of needs

Expressed needs are the one which a customer values while selecting a product or service. After sale service, installation procedure, guarantee, appealing design, desired price range etc. are some of these expressed needs.

For a provider, improving on expressed needs beyond a point does not yield relative higher returns as customers are already satisfied and their perception would not change much.

Implicit needs are those who customers take for granted and that need not to be mentioned. A customer while ordering a sandwich expects tomato sauce to be served too.  

Another implicit need is a choice which has been tested among different varieties of a product. Customer’s perception is impacted negatively if there is a denial of implicit needs. An ice-cream parlour would risk loss of business if it suddenly starts offering only vanilla.

Latent needs unlike expressed and implicit are those which a customer has not experienced yet and when such innovative ideas or products are offered, customers are captivated.

Focusing on expressed and implicit needs enables a business to continue at the same level while addressing latent needs innovators can draw benefit from creating new level of customer satisfaction.

Hence, marketing enables to understand need but not creating them.

3. Marketing is about exaggerating reality?

Answer is No.

Marketing is often seen as presenting the best of products, services and even self, highlighting the highest achievements while down-playing failures and facts of lesser importance.

Since most of the marketers adopt this method, it hardly provides any marketing competitiveness. You may have often seen advertisement of weight loss products or beauty products showing off ‘before’ and ‘after’ scenarios. No matter how sharp the ‘after‘ is, buyers in general are aware that such advertisement are result of trick photography and digital enhancement.

Hence, exaggerating reality is only a standard execution process and does not provide substantial advantage.

So, why should a customer chose your product and service? He does so because he identifies a certain value of the choice.

Above all, the marketer needs to understand the value of their proposal and employ clear and creative communication to reach up to the desired customers to deliver such values.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Vinay Pandey, 03/02/2018

PS : If you have a suggestion or have noticed a mistake, please leave a comment.