The concept of marketing has evolved over a period of time. In olden days,
sellers adopted the exchange concept and nowadays larger professional firms
practice the holistic concept of marketing.


1.  the exchange concept


It is the oldest concept of marketing. According to this concept, marketing involves the exchange of a product between the seller and the buyer.


The exchange concept assumes:-
  •        Customer will accept products of any quality available in the market.
  •        Lack of marketing research to find out customer preference.
  •        No emphasis on research to find out customer preferences.
  •        Emphasis only on profits.
  •        Lack pf concern for customer satisfaction.
  •        No important given to after-sale-service. 

It is to be noted that this concept is still practiced by sellers in third world countries and by small traders (both in developed and developing countries), who are merely involved in trading rather than in real marketing.



2.  The production concept


This concept came into existence after the industrial revolution in England (as a result of large scale production).


this concept assumes
  •        Customer will prefer those products that are widely available and are     of lower price.
  •        Lack of marketing research
  •        Hardly any emphasis on research and development.
  •        The firm places greater emphasis on profit.
  •        Firms may undertake large scale production to reduce cost.


Under this concept, marketers concentrate on achieving production efficiency and wide distribution coverage.



3.  The product concept


This concept came into existence in the early 20th century. There is a shift from marketing of low cost of production to marketing of high quality products.


This concept assume
  
  •        Consumer will prefer those products that offer high quality and            performance.
  •        Emphasis on research and development to improve quality which would              increase sales.
  •        Focus on profit motive.
  •        Lack of emphasis on marketing research.
  •        Lack of emphasis on customer relations.



Product oriented company suffer from  ‘marketing myopia’ – the term coined by prof. according to prof. Levitt, marketing myopia refer to narrow perception of marketing, where excessive attention is given to the product and ignoring the customer in the process.



4.  The selling concept


This concept gained attention after the great depression of 1930s. it places emphasis on aggressive promotion to increase the sales. It is a seller oriented concept. The seller aim to sell what they make rather than what the buyer needs.
  
  •    Consumer will prefer those products which are aggressively promoted with           the help of publicity, advertising, salesmanship and sale promotion.
  •   Greater focus on promotion-mix. Example- advertising and sales- promotion           to increase sales.
  •   Greater emphasis on profit and market share
  •   Lack of emphasis on marketing research.
  •   Lack of emphasis on customer relation. 


5.  The marketing concept


This concept came into existence in the 1960s due to larger scale competition, especially in developed country. This concept is also known as customer- oriented concept. The target customer become the focus of all marketing decision.


This concept hold the view that.


  •    The success of the organization largely depends on customer satisfaction.

The marketing concept rests on four pillars.
  •       Integrated marketing
  •       Target market
  •       Customer need
  •       Profitability 

The main feature of marketing concept are-
  •        Emphasis on marketing research
  •        Focus on research and development
  •        Balancing profits with customer satisfaction.
  •        Integration of all functional areas
  •        Emphasis on customer relationship.


6.  the societal concept


The 1980s and 1990s saw the emergence of societal concept of marketing. This concept that a company can prosper, if it strikes a balance of three element.

  •     Society welfare + customer satisfaction + company profit. 
Some of the feature of societal concept are.
  •        Emphasis on conservation of environment
  •        Focus on research and development to produce green goods
  •        Emphasis on profit as well as customer satisfaction
  •        Focus on marketing research
The societal marketing concept calls upon markets to build social ad ethical value into their marketing practices. It stresses the need for a firm to balance three factors while taking marketing decisions.



7.  the relationship marketing concept


In the 1990s, a new concept of marketing has emerged called the ‘relationship’ marketing concept. In narrow sense of the term, relationship marketing refers to building long term customer relationship.


In a broader sense, relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining and enhancing profitable and long term relationship with all stakeholder as customer, distributors, dealers, employees, financiers, shareholders, suppliers and society.

This concept holds the view that
  •       Company will prosper and progress, if it maintain excellent relationship with various stakeholder.


8.  the holistic concept of marketing


Philip Kotler introduced the holistic concept of marketing, which gives competitive advantage to business firm. Professional marketers adopt the holistic approach. The holistic marketing concept consists of four element.


  •        Integrated marketing – all element of marketing-mix (product, price, promotion and place) are integrated to deliver superior customer value.
  •        Relationship marketing – effort are made to build, maintain and enhance long-term relationship with customer, dealers suppliers and other stakeholders.
  •        Internal marketing – the employee of the organization are to be treated as internal customer, so that they serve the external to select, train and motivate the employees to provide effective customer service.
  •        Performance marketing – emphasis is placed on profits as well as other concern or issues as customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, market share, product quality and other related issues.