Before you read the text discuss the definition of marketing with your partner.
“There will always, one can assure, be a need for some selling. But the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy”.
1. What do you think of this definition? Can selling really become superfluous?
2. Can you think of any examples of products for which marketers anticipated a consumer need (i. e. products you had never imagined needing before they were developed)?
What is marketing? Marketing is the creative process of satisfying customer needs first. The information you are interested in is if there is any demand for your goods, what the market potential is, what sort of competition you will meet, i.e. how the price of your goods compares with other competitive products including those produced locally, local conditions and preferences, local trading customs and habits, what seasonal factors should be taken into account and the like.
But in general marketing covers not only market research, but also planning, the selection (assortment) of goods, and consequently the production itself, price policy, advertising and promotion of sales, controlling the sales and post-sales servicing.
So marketing is a system of running all the business activities of a company (organization) with respect to coordinating supply and demand for the goods produced. Originally marketing was meant to help avoid over-production in advanced countries.
Marketing within the framework of our economy may also be the coordination of the production and circulation of goods for the purpose of using all the resources for the benefit of people and for covering in the best possible way all their needs (requirements).
Advertising is an important means of promoting the goods that are already being produced as well as new lines of business. There are specialized firms dealing with advertising.
Different kinds of mass media – TV, radio, newspapers, cinema, journals, magazines, posters, - are used for advertising goods. Special leaflets, booklets and other printed matter about goods may be published for the same purpose. Participation in fairs and exhibitions helps promote our goods as well. Also, special advertising conferences may be held. The choice of media for advertising depends on the kind of goods and on the local conditions and people’s habits: sometimes TV and radio are the best, in other cases it may be trade journals or leaflets distributed among potential buyers.
Task 1. Answer the questions:
1. What information about marketing are you interested in?
2. What was the original purpose of marketing?
3. What does marketing cover?
4. Is advertising important in marketing? Why?
5. What means of advertising are used in marketing?
Task 2. Find the following phrases in the text and translate them in the Russian:
Other competitive products; to deal with; advertising and promotion of sales; to take into account; advertising goods; printed matter; to satisfy customer needs; the market potential; to meet demand; market research; mass media; supply and demand for goods.
Task 3. Continue the phrases:
- Marketing is a creative process… .
- Marketing is a system of … .
- Marketing is the coordination … .
Task 4. Find in the text the following English word combinations:
Исследование рынка; пользоваться большим спросом; развитые страны; средства массовой информации; информация, в которой вы заинтересованы; избегать перепроизводства товаров; местные обычаи и привычки; товары, конкурирующие с вашими; ценовая политика; на благо людей; реклама – важное средство продвижения товаров; рекламные агентства; специальные буклеты, брошюры и другие печатные материалы; участие в ярмарках и выставках: выбор зависит от.