Business Essentials, 12/e

Summary of Learning Objectives

Objective 11-1

1. Explain the concept of marketing and identify the five forces that constitute the external marketing environment.

Marketing is responsible for creating, communicating, and delivering value and satisfaction to customers. With limited financial resources, customers buy products that offer the best value, measured by the relationship between benefits and costs. Marketers must understand customers’ wants and needs because they determine product features and the timing, place, and terms of sale that provide utility and add value for customers. A product may be a tangible good, a service, or even an idea. Products may be classified as either consumer products or industrial products when they are marketed ...