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'Marketing merely reflects the needs and wants of customers.' We all need to eat,
drink and sleep and reproduce, this is all part of who we are as human beings.
Therefore at the basic level companies will strive to satisfy these functions and keep
doing so by once in a while showing advertisements that tells the public that they
are around and can provide the products they need.

The other aspect is that needs vary depending on what country you live in. "For
example a consumer in the United States may need food but may want a
hamburger, french fries and a soft drink and a person that lives in Mauritius that
needs food may want a mango, rice, lentils and beans. Wants are shaped by our
society." The other part is wants, everybody can want something but only a few has
the means to acquire it. A good example would be that everyone wants to eat out
at expensive restaurants everyday but in reality only very few people can actually
afford that lifestyle. This is why various segments have been created to target
different groups and classes of people.

Marketers must therefore continually be creating and developing attractive products

and then in turn devising a brilliant marketing strategy to win the consumer over to
buy their product over other competing products. Companies strive to retain their
customer base by delivering value and satisfaction from their products and this is
formulated in consumers' minds as a combination of service, quality and price.
Some consumers would not mind paying a higher price for an item or service if they
received very good service.

This is all part of what a consumer's expectations on a product are, if these

perceived expectations are met time after time then they become a loyal customer
to that particular company. We as people like consistency and if a marketer
provides consistent service in addition to great products and price then we will keep
on going back for years. A good example would be Ben's Chili Bowl located in
Washington DC. It is an eatery that has been in business for decades and the fact
that it had kept so many loyal customers is because they have offered consistent
service and great food over the years and people who used to go there to eat as
kids still go there as adults. They even have patrons fly into Washington DC just to
experience their food and service. Companies also create brands and these brands
have an effect on people's purchasing habits.

These brands can mean several aspects of the company combined to form a
perception in the consumer's mind such as products, services, information and
experiences. The more unique and interesting a brand the better it will perform.
One brand that comes to mind is the Coach Company that manufactures
accessories in the retail sector. They produce items such as handbags, purses, belts
and other items. Coach has built a strong brand name for themselves by being
unique in their style and service and this is primarily the reason that customers
create a high demand for their products. This has also allowed the company to
maintain an above average price for their products compared with their competitors
with the knowledge that consumers would pay that higher price. Segmentation is
another way that companies target the consumer to satisfy their needs and
companies use this technique to target where they should market their products.
There are various criteria that companies use to segment their products and some
of them are geographic, demographic, psycho graphic and behavioral.

They would use factors such as how populated and area is or how wealthy the
population of a specific area is and target products that fit that mold. This has
proved to be a very successful tactic for companies in marketing. Marketing
channels are also used by companies to reach their consumers. They use three
types of marketing channels which are communications, distribution and service
channels. Communications is important to get the company's message out to the
public and this could be in many forms such as the radio, television, the internet,
posters and the like. They also need to distribute their products to the consumer
and this means they will need a physical location like a store, or be a wholesaler
and have others retail your products for you and also sell your products on the
internet. Service channels are needed to effect transactions with the consumers and
these could be banks for credit card purchases and transportation companies such
as UPS to deliver the products to homes and businesses.

Marketing has relied on four marketing skills and tools and they are the sales force,
advertising, sales promotion and marketing research, they must also use brand
building, customer relations, telemarketing and others to make their product selling
become reality. Companies must also function ethically and honestly to serve the
consumer in the best possible manner. Marketing in the United States is unique in
the world because it has evolved and changed over the years to blend in with the
capitalistic society we live in in the US. This also means that some of the marketing
we use in this country can only work with the credit system we currently have. This
is not so in other parts of the world even in industrialized countries. So I would
view marketing in the United States as one of the spokes in the wheel that makes
our economy such a giant as it is today.




Regarding the second argument 'Marketing shapes consumer needs and wants.' I
have to also agree with this statement. My reasons are many and varied. After
seeing so many television commercials and advertisements both on the Internet
and on newspapers I have concluded that some companies construct their ads to
create a need in the consumer's mind even if originally they were not interested in
the product. I took some time to research some of the words that advertisements
commonly use and I found an interesting mix of words and phrases. The word 'free'
is the most common denominator I found in the ads, free is used in combinations
such as free home trial, free inspection, buy one get one free, free installation, free
estimates, free parking, free demonstration and free consultation. The word free is
usually a powerful catalyst that springs the consumer into buying that particular
product or idea even though he or she might not need it. I think other terms also
kind of bait people into buying things they don't need.

Terms such as 'no payments till 2010' or 'money back guarantee' 'no down
payment' 'offer good while supplies last' help dissipate any doubts that the
consumer may have and spur them on to make the purchase. "Because the goal is
to get customers' attention, persuade and create demand, market segmentation
has historically been based on variables that correlate to creating demand:
geography, age, gender, income, education, occupation and other traditional
demographics, as well as psychographics around personality, lifestyle, values and
attitudes. It works because these attributes are helpful for defining how to
effectively speak to different groups of people."

Some companies do act unethical in their advertising, for example I have seen
some ads on the internet especially where companies would advertise a product
and make it very appealing to the consumer then at the very bottom is tiny fonts
the word 'restrictions apply' they would hide the link that takes you to where the
restrictions are listed. So if you happen to buy that product without reading the fine
print and something happens that you are not satisfied or want to return the item
the company would refuse and make reference to their restriction policy. Other
tactics that companies use to shape consumers needs and wants is to use
celebrities or other famous people to sell their products. A good example of a
company would be Nike. Nike teamed up with Michael Jordan to create marketing
giant. One of the themes behind their partnership was to create the desire within
consumers that if they wore Michael Jordan's sneakers they could play basketball or
jump as high as him.

This was directed primarily towards the younger consumers and turned out to be a
huge marketing success. Companies also take advantage of world events or
changes in the economy to come out with new products. A good example is the
ever increasing popularity of hybrid cars. This has been brought about by gas prices
going up and the economy slowing down. However the increase in hybrid cars has
led to a marked decrease of large SUV vehicles. In the past we used to associate
hybrid cars with car companies such as Toyota and Honda, but nowadays
companies such as Lincoln, Ford and others are coming out with hybrid vehicles.
This has been a necessity of them to compete in today's changed car market.

However advertising is not the only force that drives the consumer. Most companies
do a lot of research before releasing an advertisement in getting a feel of what the
consumers really desire. There is a constant interaction with the public in studying
what is in vogue at the time and also what brands people want to be associated
with. I have always wondered at why companies come out with new models or new
releases at such a quick pace. This tactic is basically mainly a tweak or an
enhancement of the previous model or version in order to create the perception of a
totally new product which in turn creates more demand for the product.

Good examples of these products would be software, Microsoft is especially good at

coming out with new versions of their products. For example with the release of
Microsoft Vista operating system it meant that people had to upgrade their
computers also because their existing hardware could not support Microsoft Vista's
requirements. In conclusion, newer firms tend to lean more towards creating needs
because the public does not yet know about their products. Established companies
are more interested in fulfilling the existing needs of consumers. These companies
are already known and their products have already being deemed essential to their
lives so they would continue buying their products even with little or no
advertisement.

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There can be various answers to this question, and it can be varied in depth and
example. I shall try to provide some guidance. From my understanding, I feel that
marketing does both. It creates and also satisfies needs of customers. For
establised firms, it's essential to be able to satisfy the needs of customers. As they
say, a satisfied customer is a profitable one. To be able to satisfy the customer's
needs, the firm thus tries to understand it's customer's needs and then attempt try
to deliver it. On the other hand, new firms or marketing these days also attempt to
'create' needs. By doing so, the customer have a reason to buy the product. The
basic reason customers purchase anything is they need it. However if customers
have a perception that they do not need it, they may not purchase the product.
Hence marketing these days have evolved to create needs for customers. Marketing
these days does not only mean existing customers, which have needs but also non
existing customers, which have no needs. Creating needs by marketing can mean
the excellent usage of promotion activities, from words on a poster to colours on it.
It can also mean effective sales techniques by the door to door salesman which can
talk their way to sell you anything.


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A 

  firm (also called the 

 ,
or  
) is one that allows the wants and needs of customers and
potential customers to drive all the firm's strategic decisions. The firm's
corporate culture is systematically committed to creating customer value. In
order to determine customer wants, the company usually needs to
conductmarketing research. The marketer expects that this process, if done
correctly, will provide the company with a sustainable competitive advantage.

This consumer focus can been seen as a process that involves three steps. First
customer want are researched, then the information is dissiminated thoughout
the firm and products are developed, then finally customer satisfaction is
monitored and adjustments made if necessary.

A marketing oriented firm will typically show the following characteristics:

÷ Extensive use of marketing research

÷ Broad product lines
÷ Emphasis on a product's benefits to customers rather than on product attributes
÷ Use of product innovation techniques
÷ The offering of ancillary services like credit availability, delivery, installation,
and warranty


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Person's age matters a lot than the generation. I don't think there is a much
difference in the buying behavior of people in the olden days and now. Since their
buying power has increased they purchase more but not completely a different
product. For example a guy between 18-25 prefers buying a sports this was the case
in 80's and even now.

So marketing should be done mostly based on the age groups......

You can say it only in the case of basic needs or compulsory items used for family. They will
never change, only amendments can be seen in all.

Overall consumer buying behavior is a function of generation advancement. Let take your
example:- a guy between the age of 18-25 years preferred sports in 1985. Whereas now
the sports equipment are selling in the age group of 5-16 years.

And ,  are more preferable things for the age group between 18-25 yrs. And
maybe it will change within next few years. Maybe computers, Cars, smoking will be more
preferable than Mobile, Bikes for the age group 18-25 yr within next 5-10 years.

Technology keeps changing everyday and so do the choices

Each generation is much more advance then their predecessors and it ofcourse a function of
G.A........

The needs change as per the generation advancement e.g.cellular phone may be the need
for a person above 60 as a part of necessity but young turks can't live without. Buying
behaviour largely depends on how much psychological needs one possesses and such needs
are only evident in generation who are exposed to western culture...

Age tends to be a demographic factor which every body of us who at least are concerned
with marketing field knows.Age is one of the most important demographic factor which
constitutes in the buying and consumption pattern.Generation advancement are a result of
age differences so obviously the age factor indirectly comes into consideration.

E.G Levis jeans marketing strategy is mainly for the youth and trendy class for the young
generation but it is not focused to the old aged group.The product is marketted keeping in
focus of the age group of the young generation.

Similarly many food products which are targeted for the youth age group cant be targeted
for the old age group.
Generation advancement has played a vital role in consumers buying behavior. Now need a
nd want of individual has changed as to what was there 25years back. Each year we see ne
w things coming in the market and even the older generation are willing to try the product.
Persons age does not matter when he wants to try a new product.