B. Read and translate the text

The term marketing concept is often said to be a philosophy. It makes the customer and the satisfaction of his or her needs, the primary point of all business activities. Marketing is not about selling what you make but making what you can sell. The marketing concept is based on the belief that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively than competitors.

Many companies today in the market economy have a customer focus (or market orientation). This implies that the company focuses its activities and products on consumer demands.

A formal approach to customer-focused marketing is known as the 4 P’s or marketing mix - a system built to provide a customer focus (Product → Solution, Price → Value, Place → Access, Promotion → Information).

The most controllable of these factors — product (service) must always perform the function for which it is intended and meet quality standards. All products and services have what is traditionally called «product life cycles». The stages of the product life cycle are: introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The length of product life cycle depends upon the intensity of competition and the extent to which* the new product is an innovation or modification.

Price. All products and all services have prices. The price depends on different things such as credit terms, delivery, quality and others. The price may be too high or too low to cover costs. Prices can be determined in different ways: the prices for agricultural products can be decided in large central markets, the prices for industrial goods are usually decided by large companies. Price can also be set by the government. If demand increases, prices rise, profits expand and new investments are attracted.

Place includes location of production and distribution. Catalogs, direct-mail coupons, telemarketing with telephone sales can be of great help to show your goods to the customer. The display during the exhibitions includes a wide range of industrial and consumer goods which show the latest production achievements.

Promotion includes all forms of marketing communication: advertising, direct mai1, customer service, image, special events*, sales, etc. Promotion is the most complex thing — how to select and divide your market according to the type of product, its price and where it will be available.

In recent years service marketing has widened the domains to be considered, contributing to the 7 P's of marketing in total. The other 3P's of marketing are: process, physical environment and people.

To undertake marketing effectively, businesses need information i.e. Information about customer wants, market demand, competition, distribution channels etc. This information is to be found through market research.

At this point a distinction should be made between marketing research and market research. 'Market' research is simply research into a specific market. 'Marketing' research is much broader since it relates to all research conducted within marketing. It also includes areas such as research into new products, or modes of distribution such as via the Internet. The most important branch of marketing research is demand analysis. Marketing experts have developed techniques for determining the needs of prospective customers.