Importance of Marketing

7. Importance of Marketing

Marketing matters not only to the business that practises it, but also to the customer and to

the wider economy.

Importance to the business:

• Generates the revenue the entire business depends on — no other function can succeed if marketing fails to sell what the firm produces.
• Guides what to produce, by feeding back genuine customer needs discovered through market information/research into product-development decisions.
• Builds brand loyalty and repeat business through consistent customer satisfaction, reducing the firm's dependence on constantly chasing new, one-time customers.
• Helps the firm respond to competition by continuously monitoring the market and adjusting the marketing mix.

Importance to the customer:

• Improves standard of living by making a wide variety of goods and services conveniently available.
• Provides information (through advertising, labelling, and salespeople) that helps customers make informed choices.
• Encourages competition among sellers, which tends to keep quality up and prices reasonable.
• Creates different forms of utility for the customer — place utility (goods available where needed), time utility (goods available when needed), and possession utility (ownership transferred to whoever needs the goods).

Importance to the economy/society:

• Encourages large-scale production and employment, since marketing creates the demand that justifies producing more.
• Supports many allied trades and occupations — transport, warehousing, banking, insurance, advertising, and packaging all grow alongside marketing activity. …