-.!.- The Scope of Marketing -.!.-
Marketing people are involved in marketing 10 types of entities:
goods, services, experiences, events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas.
Goods. Physical goods constitute the bulk of most countries’ production and
marketing effort. The United States produces and markets billions of physical
goods, from eggs to steel to hair dryers. In developing nations, goods—
particularly food, commodities, clothing, and housing—are the mainstay of the
economy.
Services. As economies advance, a growing proportion of their activities are
focused on the production of services. The U.S. economy today consists of a
70–30 services-to-goods mix. Services include airlines, hotels, and maintenance
and repair people, as well as professionals such as accountants, lawyers,
engineers, and doctors. Many market offerings consist of a variable mix of
goods and services.
Experiences. By orchestrating several services and goods, one can create, stage,
and market experiences. Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is an experience;
so is the Hard Rock Cafe.
Events. Marketers promote time-based events, such as the Olympics, trade
shows, sports events, and artistic performances.
Places. Cities, states, regions, and nations compete to attract tourists, factories,
company headquarters, and new residents.5 Place marketers include economic
development specialists, real estate agents, commercial banks, local business
associations, and advertising and public relations agencies.
Properties. Properties are intangible rights of ownership of either real property
(real estate) or financial property (stocks and bonds). Properties are bought
and sold, and this occasions a marketing effort by real estate agents (for real
estate) and investment companies and banks (for securities).
Organizations. Organizations actively work to build a strong, favorable image in
the mind of their publics. Philips, the Dutch electronics company, advertises
with the tag line, “Let’s Make Things Better.” The Body Shop and Ben & Jerry’s
also gain attention by promoting social causes. Universities, museums, and
performing arts organizations boost their public images to compete more
successfully for audiences and funds.
Information. The production, packaging, and distribution of information is one
of society’s major industries.6 Among the marketers of information are schools
and universities; publishers of encyclopedias, nonfiction books, and specialized
magazines; makers of CDs; and Internet Web sites.
Ideas. Every market offering has a basic idea at its core. In essence, products and
services are platforms for delivering some idea or benefit to satisfy a core need
CEOs, physicians, high-profile lawyers and financiers, and other professionals
draw help from celebrity marketers.4