Six Distinct Concepts of Marketing

Concepts of Marketing

The six concepts of marketing are depicted and listed below.

Image credits © Prof. Mudit Katyani.

These include:

1. The concept of Exchange,
2. The concept of Production,
3. The concept of Product,
4. The concept of Sales,
5. The concept of Marketing, and
6. The concept of Societal.

Now let's discuss the six distinct concepts of marketing.

1. Exchange Concept gives importance to the exchange of goods and services. Here, consumers have to accept those goods that are available in the market. This idea does not give importance to quality, consumers satisfaction, etc. It is a traditional concept of marketing. This concept was in use before the industrial revolution. It is an old, outdated and narrow concept of marketing.
2. Production Concept gives importance to the production of goods. This concept is production-oriented. Here, goods are produced and distributed on a large scale. According to this concept, the consumers will purchase those products that are readily available and are low in cost. During the industrial revolution, this concept was widely used. Today, this concept is only used in the third world countries. In these countries, the demand is more than supply. So the consumers are more interested in purchasing the product. They don't pay much attention to the quality of the product. Developed countries don't follow this concept. In these countries, the consumers are more interested in the product quality.
3. Product Concept gives importance to the quality of the product. This concept is product-oriented. Here, good quality products are produced and distributed on a large-scale. The company goes for product excellence. That is, they work on improving the quality of the product. According to this concept, the consumers will only purchase good quality products. This idea does not give any importance to the needs, wants and problems of the users. Here, products are not made according to the needs and desire of the consumers. So this concept does not concentrate on the consumer. It only focuses on the product. Therefore, this idea is not accepted.
4. Sales Concept gives importance to sales promotion techniques. Here, the product is pushed into the market by aggressive advertising and publicity, personal selling, discount offers, gifts, attractive packages, etc. According to this concept, the sales will increase only by using sales promotion techniques. That is, the consumer must be induced (attracted) to purchase the product. This concept is sales-oriented. It does not give any significance to the needs and wants of the consumers. Companies who have excess production capacity and who face a lot of competition use this concept. However, this is not useful for all marketing situations.
5. Marketing Concept gives importance to consumers and service. This concept is consumer-oriented. In fact, this concept is also called Consumer-Orientation Concept. According to this concept, the company must first find out the needs and wants of the consumers. Then they must satisfy these needs and wants.Here, the consumers are the primary focus of a business. They are the centre of all marketing activities. They are given a lot of importance. This concept started in 1950.
6. Societal Concept gives importance to consumer satisfaction, social welfare and company's profit. This concept is social-oriented. According to this concept, the company must satisfy society. The company must produce products that are healthy for the consumers and friendly to the environment. The company must perform all its social obligations like pollution control, environment protection, not harming the ecology balance, doing social welfare activities, etc. This concept started in 1980. This concept is broad, dynamic and socially significant. Today this concept is universally accepted.

We can conclude that marketing goes on evolving (changing). Now, Exchange Concept, Production Concept, Product Concept and Sales Concept are outdated. Today, marketing has become more consumer and social oriented.