Marketing Fundamentals

20Jan 2022 by

Come up with a discussion question and answer about what you have learned in module 1. 

In Module 1, we focused on the external environmental factors that impact the organization, especially the marketing function. We broke down four activities centered on customer value: creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging value.
To maximize a firms value offerings, marketers must understand consumers value systems and why consumers behave the way they do. Understanding the drivers behind consumers behaviors can place marketers in a stronger position to meet consumer demand effectively.
According to Perner (2020), the study of consumers helps firms and organizations to improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as:

the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products, and retailers);
the psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media);
the behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions;
limitations in consumer knowledge or how information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome; 
how consumer motivation and decision strategies vary between products that differ in their level of importance or the interest that they entail for the consumer; and
how marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.

Perner (2020) stated that consumer behavior involves the study of how peopleeither individually or in groupsacquire, use, experience, discard, and make decisions about goods, services, or even lifestyle practices such as social responsibility and healthy eating (Perner, 2020).
Along with the power and influential nature of marketing comes great corporate responsibility. Marketers are charged with engaging with consumers and meeting consumers demands in a safe and ethical manner. According to the American Marketing Association (n.d.), marketers must do no harm, foster trust in the marketing system, and embrace ethical values.
Marketing is part art and part science. Understanding consumer behavior is mostly a scientific component of marketing. It is essential because it enables marketers to develop more compelling marketing mixes and helps consumers make more effective purchase decisions. The effectiveness of consumers purchase decisions heavily relies on the ethical standards of marketers, and high ethical standards add value to a firms brand.
References
American Marketing Association. (n.d.). Codes of Conduct |