Critical Evaluation of a Marketing Concept (WCM) versus Marketing Practice (MLC)

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Definition of Marketing practice (WLC) and Marketing concept (WCM)
The marketing concept used by the Pizza Hut Company
Marketing Practice
Conclusion and Recommendation
List of References

Introduction

Marketing has become an important factor in the current business world because it gives the organisation a competitive edge over its rivals. The essence of marketing is to inform consumers about the existence and value of products or services. Potential customers are also persuaded and convinced to purchase the products. Marketing is considered to be a critical function in business.

The marketing manager needs to understand the buying behaviour of customers to be able to choose the best strategies of marketing. The manager is able to properly analyse the market, as well as the market segmentation and choose the best market targets for the products or services (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Organisational behaviour has shaped the views of researchers, academics, practitioners, and journalists.

Marketing practice and marketing concept are two terms that are used to explain this. These are two terms that are considered to be very important in organisations because they help in efficient marketing of products or services. This article is going to critically evaluate marketing concept and marketing practice.

The paper will apply the two terms in a real world organisation, the Pizza Hut Company. The Pizza Hut Company is based in the United States, although it has branches internationally.

Definition of Marketing practice (WLC) and Marketing concept (WCM)

Marketing concept

The aim of any organisation is to achieve its set goals and objectives. One of the ways the organisation can achieve its goals is through marketing. The term marketing concept can be defined as a philosophy of the organisation through which it can best achieve its goals and objectives by identifying customer needs and wants and satisfying them (Jobber, 2012).

The term concept refers to a general structure of something, while the term marketing refers to the ways a product is moved through the distribution channel to reach the final consumer, or the target market.

Therefore, it has to be considered that the marketing strategy should incorporate the needs of the target market when devising a marketing concept. The marketing concept includes approaches on how to deliver the required products to the market (Keegan & Hollensen, 2012).

Marketing practice

These include the activities that are carried out in order to make a product or a service easier to market. These are activities like branding, blending, and product development. The activities give the company a competitive edge over its rivals.

The marketing concept used by the Pizza Hut Company

It is important to first understand the market before coming up with a strategy on how to market the products. This includes understanding customers’ behaviours, as well as their needs and wants (Nakata, 2002). Pizza Hut has a clear understanding of the market, thus it has been able to establish its operations in many locations in the US and around the globe.

The company understands the nature of the market and the competition it is bound to face from other companies, such as McDonald’s. It, therefore, positions itself strategically to get a competitive advantage over its rivals.

The next factors in marketing concept are segmentation and market selection. It is important to note that the marketing role of Pizza Hut is to make sure that it meets all the consumer needs and make money in return. Market segmentation involves dividing the market depending on the needs of consumers. People who have similar needs and wants are put into one segment.

The company is able to allocate its resources efficiently through market segmentation. Pizza Hut has been successful in addressing the needs of consumers and segmenting the market.

Other marketing concepts that are of significance are differentiation and positioning. A company should produce goods or services that are unique in their own way. The products or services should be a notch higher than those of competitors (Blythe, 2005).

The company produces goods that address the specific customer needs through differentiation. The goods are also unique compared to those of competitors. Pizza Hut offers different styles of pizza, thereby addressing specific consumer needs. The pizza then comes with side dishes. The accompaniments enhance the Pizza Hut products and position the company strategically in the market.

The marketing manager needs to come up with a marketing plan that is effective in order to develop a successful marketing concept. The manager should plan how the products are developed and how they reach the customers (Silber & Kearny, 2011). This involves the services offered by the company that help in attracting the customers.

For instance, Pizza Hut restaurants are divided into 3 categories depending on the services offered. There is the full service restaurant where customers sit in the restaurant for service. There is also the home service restaurant where pizzas are delivered to customers in their homes.

Finally, there is the restaurant based delivery that includes a full service restaurant together with deliveries, as well as take away services. The third category is a plan that is meant to reach a wide range of customers since it reaches those who are not willing to travel to the restaurants, as well as those who are willing to have their pizzas at the restaurants.

Creativity and innovation are also present in the Pizza Hut Company. Creativity and innovation have made the company produce pizzas of different styles to suit the needs of a wide range of customers. Creativity and innovation have been the driving forces behind Pizza Hut Company’s success.

The two factors have helped Pizza Hut become competitive and survive in the market that has competitive players such as McDonald’s. Creativity has played a part in the success of the company’s supply chain management. The company has restaurants all over the US and across the world (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). Its products are made in each restaurant to make its supply chain more effective.

It also improves supply efficiency. Pizza Hut operates in a market structure that could be considered as monopolistic in nature since there are large players that tend to dominate a big share of the market. These are players like McDonald’s. Pizza Hut is also among the dominant restaurants considering that it has over 6,000 outlets in the US.

Competitive organisations need to hire the best talents. This has to be done via careful recruitment, training, as well as career management (Chaffey, 2009). Top talents help the company in innovation and creativeness, thereby creating a competitive advantage for the firm.

Pizza Hut has an HR department that ensures the best talent is recruited into the organisation. The management of Pizza Hut is comprised of skilled and knowledgeable people. The employees are also effective in decision making and implementation.

Marketing Practice

These are practices that give the business a competitive edge. A number of the practices are similar to those of marketing concepts. Some of the concepts include market assessment, competitive positioning, planning, product development, branding, segmentation, customer understanding, management, selection, supply chain management, market role definition, and talent management.

All these practices are the similarities that are common with the idea of market concept and that of market practice (Palmer & Hartley, 2011). However, there are other functions that are present in market practice, but they are not available in the market concept. They include portfolio management, market communications, promotions, pricing, sales support, and measuring performance.

Portfolio management involves diversification that entails the company investing in products that have high potential of growth (Holbrook & Hulbert, 2002). Pizza Hut has managed its portfolio effectively by offering different types of pizzas and side dishes in various locations.

The company needs to have an effective marketing communication strategy to enhance its promotional activities and sales support. This will help it edge out the competition it faces from its closest rivals. Pricing will also be a viable practice, especially in the current competitive market.

The Pizza Hut Company should offer products at relatively low prices, but it should also ensure profitability and quality of its products are maintained. The company needs to measure its performance to determine whether it is making profits or losses after all its marketing concepts and marketing practices have been applied.

The company should consider reviewing its practices if it does not set objectives. On the other hand, Pizza Hut should find ways of maintaining the good performance and possibly improving if it meets its performance objectives.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Marketing is a source of competitive advantage to any organisation. The Pizza Hut Company has been able to adopt successful marketing concepts and practices. The concepts and practices enable the company to open operations in various locations in the US, as well as across nations.

However, the company needs to improve on its pricing strategies in order to gain a competitive advantage over McDonald’s. McDonald’s is known for its cheap and quality products, which have been its major competitive tools. Pizza Hut can overtake McDonald’s if it reviews its pricing strategies. Marketing communication and promotion should also be stepped up to popularize Pizza Hut’s products.

List of References

Blythe, J 2005, Principles and practice of marketing, Thomson Learning, London

Chaffey, D 2009, Internet marketing: Strategy, implementation and practice, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow

Chaffey, D, & Ellis-Chadwick, F 2012, Digital marketing: Strategy, implementation and practice, Pearson, Harlow

Holbrook, MB, & Hulbert, JM 2002, ‘Elegy on the death of marketing: Never send to know why we have come to bury marketing but ask what you can do for your country churchyard’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 36, no. 5/6, pp. 706 – 732

Jobber, D 2012 Principles and practice of marketing, McGraw-Hill, London

Keegan, WJ, & Hollensen, S 2012, Global marketing management, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ

Kotler, P, & Keller, KL 2012, Marketing management, Pearson Education, Harlow

Nakata, C 2002, ‘Activating the marketing concept in a global context: An MNC country managers’ perspective’, International Marketing Review, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 39 – 64

Palmer, A, & Hartley, B 2011, The business environment, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York, NY

Silber, KH & Kearny, L 2011, Organizational intelligence: A guide to understanding the business of your organization for HR, training, and performance consulting, Pfeiffer, San Francisco, CA

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