What is a market in marketing definition. Basic principles of segmentation of consumer markets

The market is economic system, within which there is an agreement and implementation of economic interests between the subjects economic activity in the process of exchange through the mechanism of market prices.

The market is the result of the natural development of the exchange process.

Conditions for the effective functioning of the market:

• 1. The mechanism of competition, which ensures the freedom to choose a partner in economic relations. It is supported in two ways:
  • o introduction of antimonopoly (antitrust) legislation;
  • o currency convertibility as an instrument of involvement in international system specialization within the global economic system.

Convertibility is a monetary and financial regime in which National economy removes all external economic restrictions on the import/export of goods and money. Convertibility is openness.

• 2. Balance of commodity-money supply. If it is not, then there is inflation or deflation.
• 3. Creation of a developed market infrastructure. Effective work industrial enterprise impossible without a developed market infrastructure. Elements of such an infrastructure are shown in Fig. 1.5.

Rice. 1.5.

Classification of market types

I. By objects of sale and purchase:

• o the market for products and services;
• o labor market;
• o financial market;
• o land market;
• o knowledge and technology market.

II. By location and affiliation:

• o local (local);
• o national (domestic or foreign);
• o regional (market of a group of countries);
• o international;
• o world (global).

III. By client type:

• o end-user market;
• o market of industrial producers;
• o market of resellers (resellers);
• o the state market.

IV. By the ratio of supply and demand:

• o seller's market (demand exceeds supply);
• o buyer's market (supply exceeds demand);

V. By type of regulation:

• o free;
• o adjustable:
  • 1) vertical regulation (legislative framework);
  • 2) horizontal regulation (at the level of subjects of market relations).

VI. By the nature of the further use of the goods:

• o consumer market (goods and services are purchased for personal or family use);
• o industrial market (goods are purchased for subsequent participation in the production process, resale or rental).

VII. By type of competition:

• o pure competition (many producers and consumers who lead competition among themselves, selling standardized goods);
• o monopolistic competition (prices of enterprises are in a certain range depending on the quality of goods, sellers have different market power, price competition);
• o oligopolistic competition (a small number of enterprises sensitive to each other's pricing and marketing strategies, non-price competition, prices depend on the quantity and quality of services provided);
• o pure monopoly (there is one firm on the market that dictates its terms to consumers; the monopoly of an innovator or natural monopolies, such as JSC Gazprom, RAO Unified Energy Systems, etc.).

From a marketing point of view, the market is the totality of all potential consumers. To become an object of marketing management, the consumer must have:

• - need;
• - income;
• - access to the market.

The underlying market is the market formulated in terms of the dominant need that the enterprise intends to satisfy.

A probable market is a set of consumers who have all three of the above elements.

Potential market - a set of consumers with similar interests in relation to the product, with access to the market and certain resources for its consumption.

Prepared market - in addition to the indicated elements, consumers have and sufficient information about the product.

A growing market is a market that a company wants to capture.

Penetration market - a part of the market (consumers) that the company already has or which (in the case of planning to enter the market) considers it as a springboard for further expansion.

Penetration rate - the percentage of consumers who have already bought the company's product, from the market that the company wants to capture.

In a generalized form, these types of markets are presented in fig. 1.6.

There are three approaches to defining a market: product, industry, and customer, which, according to Aibel, can be formulated as questions (Figure 1.7):

• 1. What are the needs that need to be met (what?).
• 2. What are the consumer groups that need to be satisfied (who?).
• 3. What technologies exist for this (how?).

AT modern world one of the important objects of analysis has become the market, as in economics, economic sociology, and marketing. The market is considered to be the most ingenious system created by society ever.

Its study began from the moment of its appearance, but despite such a long period of existence, thanks to its dynamics and liveliness of this phenomenon, the study continues now in the 21st century.

The concept of market has evolved over time, but there are still questions about how to adequately define a market. Researchers distinguish the following conceptual ideas about the market: the market as a place, as an exchange mechanism, a process, a segment.

In this regard, several definitions of the market can be given. Firstly, "the market is an exchange organized according to the laws of commodity production and circulation, a set of relations of commodity exchange." The market is a mechanism for the interaction of buyers and sellers, in other words, the relationship of supply and demand. The market is a sphere of exchange within the country and between countries, connecting producers and consumers of products.

For an in-depth understanding of the market phenomenon, it is necessary to consider its place in the entire system of social production, which includes four areas economic activity: production, distribution, exchange, consumption. Although the ultimate, natural goal of economic life is consumption, the most important sphere of the economy is production, and without its development there can be no market, because production gives rise to a mass of commodities.

The basis of all changes in the spheres of the economy lies in production; this is especially important for the formation of market relations where they do not yet exist. If we start with the reformation of circulation and do not first achieve large production results, then no market will arise.

There are also other areas between production and consumption. Production is followed by distribution - a system that determines who will get the results of production, who will become the owner of the products produced. Distribution plays a huge role in folding social relations and definition financial situation strata of society. It should be noted that the efficiency depends on the distribution of labor results. production process. And despite the fact that the exchange occupies the third place in the hierarchy of economic spheres, it has a strong reverse effect on production.

The sphere of exchange plays a huge role in the entire system of the social economy, and therefore the market, as a set of relations of commodity exchange, has become extremely important in the process of historical development. On one side we may find a single manufacturer dominating the market, on the other we find thousands of firms, each supplying a small part of the market output. Between these sides lies an almost limitless variety of market structures.

In the marketing literature, the explanation of the market as a mechanism of exchange or as a group of consumers has received the most attention. In the 1960s certain attempts were made to conduct an in-depth analysis of the concept of "market", however, by the end of the twentieth century. discussions on this topic have become less intense. The activity of developing and defining the term "market" in modern marketing literature is gradually fading away, conceptual ideas about the market have become stronger and provide loci for considering this phenomenon.

One of the old concepts represents the market as a place, in this case the market is a physical place, a geographical point where supply and demand meet, an exchange takes place, or, in a similar sense, a market is a place where people / goods come together to make exchange. This definition market is the oldest and most often not used in scientific papers in marketing, but in practice and marketing research occurs frequently.

Understanding the market as an exchange mechanism viewed through the prism of exchange mechanisms is especially relevant for modern B2B marketing literature. Following this logic, the company has several ways to organize its economic exchanges with various parties of interaction. “In other words, it is suggested that there are multiple exchange mechanisms that are at the same time different types of markets.”

In this approach, the term market is used to describe a situation where competitive market forces determine the terms of trade between sellers and buyers. Within the framework of this understanding, the market can be considered as a situation close to the theory of ideal markets, where exchanges between buyers and sellers take place as discrete acts.

Other types of economic exchange situations are more relational exchanges with established long-term relationships between sellers and buyers. This approach describes the market as business relationships and the networks built on those relationships.

Thus, the combination of various exchange mechanisms shows that the term market is described by exchange processes. On the other hand, more relational exchanges are described as occurring within business networks and viewed in this connection as exchange relationships between sets of firms.

"A third way to define the term 'market' is to understand it as a process." This approach to definition has been widely used for many decades in economics. The main attention was paid to such issues as the analysis of entrepreneurs as market participants, consumer behavior, price equilibrium, etc. With regard to marketing literature, the understanding of the market as a process in which exchanges between market participants are included was reflected in it. Since the 1960s, this approach has been found in the writings of marketing researchers. Within the marketing locus, the market is described as the process of equating supply and demand as a result of systematic and decentralized exchanges.

This approach to the definition of the market is broader than the two described above, considering the market as a process involves taking it as an incentive, as information system or even a coordinating mechanism.

In modern marketing literature, the understanding of the market as a segment determines the current situation. “In this understanding, markets appear as people who are subsequently grouped to obtain market segments, while various authors offer all sorts of reasons and algorithms for such a partition.”

Using differentiating variables, researchers get various classifications market segments.

One of the most famous classical works is the work of J. Sissors, devoted to the analysis of the essence of markets from the standpoint of the idea of ​​markets as a group of people.

According to the author, traditionally the market is identified with some common class goods. Here it means food markets relating to those individuals who bought this species goods in the past. For convenience, all buyers are divided into segments according to similar characteristics.

The use of the product definition of the market comes from one very important hypothesis, which is not always confirmed. So, people who buy a certain product in the future will be similar to people who buy this product in the present.

It is worth noting that buyers tend to repeat the purchase of the same product in the event that their needs were appropriately satisfied. So, this assumption is usually true, but it also happens that new consumers are different from existing ones.

Provided that the manufacturer will attract new consumers to his products, in this case these people may have some new features. In this case, instead of the term market, Sissource proposes to use the term potential buyers in relation to such buyers. By definition, potential buyers are

Once the manufacturer has defined the class of products, it is necessary to start classifying consumers according to some set of parameters, such as market size, geographical location consumers, demographic characteristics of consumers, socio-psychological characteristics of consumers, reasons for making purchases, etc.

Consideration of the market as segments is often used today, F. Kotler can be considered the main adherent of this approach, in whose understanding the market is a combination of existing and potential buyers goods.

There are situations when the market needs to be defined differently than on the basis of the characteristics of a class of goods. A more modern concept is to define the market through consumer needs. In the famous article “Marketing Myopia”, author T. Levitt says that the market consists of people who have some needs. At ideal conditions The manufacturer introduces a new product to the market if he can recognize these needs.

The choice of the market is based on various aspects of its structuring. In marketing, the classification of product markets is carried out using a wide range of features. Let us note only the most important of them, which are of paramount importance for the purposes of practical use.

1. Depending on the ratio of supply and demand, they distinguish;

seller's market

buyer's market.

seller's market occurs when demand greatly outstrips supply. At the same time, sales do not present any particular difficulties for the seller. In conditions of excess demand (deficit), goods will still be sold. It is inappropriate for him to engage in any marketing activities, as this will only mean additional costs.

R buyer's market. It is possible if supply exceeds demand. In this case, it is no longer the seller, but the buyer who dictates his terms.

The buyer's market is competitive. This forces the seller to make significant efforts to sell their goods. In the buyer's market, the need to study demand and consumer behavior is of paramount importance.

2. From the point of view of spatial characteristics (territorial coverage), markets are distinguished:

local (local)

regional (within the country)

National

regional by group of countries (for example, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, CIS countries, Baltics, etc.)

The problem of the territorial coverage of the market is solved by the enterprise, depending on its financial condition and the characteristics of the product offered. The availability of appropriate infrastructure is also of great importance. Moving from one level of the market to another is a form of diversification and is usually carried out in a highly competitive environment.

3. By the nature of the end use of the goods:

consumer goods market

industrial goods market

K 1)

The consumer goods market is differentiated by:

- types(for example, food and non-food),

- product groups(e.g. shoes, clothing, household appliances, etc.),

- commodity subgroups(for example, the market for leather, rubber, felted shoes), etc.

The specificity of the consumer goods market is due to the fact that they are focused on many individual consumers. Therefore, marketing research is aimed at studying their behavior, tastes, requests and preferences.

K 2)

A characteristic feature of industrial goods(raw materials, semi-finished products, equipment, etc.) is their close connection with the production process. Demand for them is targeted (or secondary), which arises as a result of demand for consumer goods and is subject to the factor of economic feasibility.

The number of consumers of industrial goods is limited. As a rule, they make large purchases, often influencing the production of products (adapting them to their needs), the delivery procedure, and a range of additional services. Therefore, special importance in marketing research of such markets is given to the study of the relationship between potential buyers and manufacturers of goods.

Even a parrot can be made into an educated political economist, all he needs to know is two words: "supply and demand." A. Marshall, English economist. Interest in marketing in our country increased with the formation of a market economy, key element which is the concept of "market". The market is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon characterized by different levels its development, the features of the historical, social, cultural nature inherent in various countries.

For example, the American market gravitates towards an initiative model of entrepreneurship, the French market bears the features state regulation, the German market is more socially oriented, and the Japanese market is characterized by corporate paternalism (paternalism is the doctrine of social partnership within enterprises and corporations between entrepreneurs and staff).

At the same time, the markets of these countries, which have a long tradition of developing a market economy, have a number of common features that can be formulated by referring to the definition of the very concept of "market".

The simplest definition can be expressed as follows: the market is a combination of supply and demand. The market is, on the one hand, the sphere of relations between the subjects of the economy, and on the other hand, an element of the market economy, which includes the spheres of production of goods, their distribution and consumption, as well as elements of planning and regulation of the economy.

To further understand the essence of the market, it is necessary to identify the most common signs market and their main characteristics. The first hallmark market - the interaction of sellers and buyers. One of the important tasks of marketing for firms operating in the market is the desire to achieve an equilibrium state between the supply and demand of goods and services.

In practice, such an equilibrium over a relatively long period of time is quite difficult to achieve. Most often, a market situation occurs when either the demand for goods and services exceeds their supply, or the supply exceeds the demand.

In the first case, there is a market that is characterized by the presence of a relatively small number of sellers (or even one monopolist) pursuing a consistent policy, and a relatively large number of buyers who are in dire need of the product. If this situation persists for a long time, for example, due to legislative or other restrictions that prevent new entrepreneurs from entering this market, then we are talking about the so-called seller's market, which actually imposes its goods on buyers at high prices.

In the second case, there is a buyer's market, which is characterized by a large number variety of goods and great bargaining power of the buyer. In such a market, each entrepreneur (or seller) can increase his income only by creating and selling products that can satisfy the needs of buyers who vote with their money for the goods of certain manufacturers.

The seller's market is dominated by sales organizations, while the buyer's market is dominated by marketing-oriented firms. In table. 3.1 shows the main, most characteristic, differences between these two approaches.

The second distinguishing feature of the market is its competitive nature. Competitors in the market can be such market entities as entrepreneurs (individual or various associations and associations), individual and collective consumers of products, state and public organizations. In the buyer's market, competition is inevitable between entrepreneurs who enter into mutual rivalry for the attention of buyers. Conversely, in a seller's market, there is competition between buyers for the seller's attention.

The third sign of the modern market is the stabilization of relations between market entities on the basis of integration, when they, while maintaining the desire for mutual rivalry, at the same time turn out to be interested in counteracting the monopolization of the economy. Moreover, such integration is not imposed from above, but is determined by the nature of development business relations and ensures the consensus of various economic entities.

Examples of such integration can be social partnership in the sphere of regulation of employment of the population, creation of systems for the retraining of labor resources, etc.

Studying the modern market, it is impossible not to consider the issue of classification various types markets that form a market economy. They can be represented as three main markets: the market for goods and services, the market for factors of production and the financial market.

The market for goods and services requires commodity exchanges, wholesale and retail, marketing organizations. This market, in turn, can be divided into the market for consumer goods and services and the market for industrial goods.

The market for factors of production involves the purchase and sale of such factors of production as land, labor, capital. The financial (or money) market reflects supply and demand financial resources, loans, bonds, stocks and involves the presence of stock and currency exchanges.

All these three markets are interconnected and mutually influence each other. At the same time, they can be divided into various sub-markets or sectors (sectors are parts of the market that differ from each other in accordance with the characteristics of the subject of market relations) and market segments.

And in this case, the market is a fairly branched structure, which can be classified according to various criteria, for example:

according to the economic purpose of objects of market relations (the market for consumer goods and services, the market for industrial goods, the market for raw materials, the labor market, the securities market, the know-how market, etc.);

on geographic location(local, national, world markets);

by the level of competition (monopolistic, oligopolistic, pure competition, monopolistic competition);

by sectoral principle (automotive, computer, household appliances, agricultural machinery, etc.);

by the nature of sales (wholesale, retail markets).

Along with market sectors, its segments should be distinguished, representing a set of consumers who have the same requirements for consumer properties and the price of goods. Various groups consumers can simultaneously enter into different market segments and operate within different sectors.

And, finally, it is necessary to bring one more concept related to the market. It's about about a market niche, which is a market segment that is not mastered by entrepreneurs. Therefore, when forming marketing strategies firms, one of the main goals may be the need to develop free market niches.