The terms Market and Marketing may bring into mind different
concept views or ideas on how it relates to people. Let us look at these two
terms in the eyes of ordinary Papua New Guineans. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a
country located just north of Australia. PNG as a country comprises 20
provinces with the large island divided into New Guinea to the north and Papua
to the south. There are several main islands of New Britain, Bougainville, New
Ireland and Manus. The capital city is Port Moresby and the country has a
population of approximately 8.5 million and share land border with Indonesia
and sea border with Australia. The
majority or eighty percent of the population lives in the rural areas. Papua
New Guinean living in the 21st Century has ventured into business
operations such small trade stores or convenience stores in urban centers and
small rural towns, Public Motor Vehicle (PNV) operations, taxi services, as well
as many other business activities. There are success stories in PNG on how
Papua New Guinean has become successful businessmen and business women. PNG
also has a vibrant informal sector.
Market to an ordinary villager or subsistent farmer may be
seen as a location where people come together to trade and exchange their wares
and produce for cash. To a local villager, the market is a place where he or
she may be able to earn cash from their ware and produces which in turn enable
them to buy other products either at the same place or to use the cash earned
at the local market to buy products from shops and from other business houses.
Money earned from the sales of market produces also help families to be able to
pay for other goods and services from larger shops, super markets and
department shops that sells other non-durable and durable products. Kotler,
Adam et.al (2007) Marketing 7th Edition, explained Markets as a
concept of exchange. It is a set of all actual and potential buyers of a product.”
If an exchange is taking place then there are two or more people involved in
the market activities. There is a potential buyer and there is a seller. The
seller is selling something that the buyer may want or need and does the
exchange to get it. In most cases the medium of exchange is cash. In most PNG
communities, cash is not only the form of exchange that may be found in a
market place. Exchange can be made with other things, such as the traditional
form of payment in term of shells, or exchange with other goods.
Marketing according to Kotler, Adam et.al (2007) Marketing 7th
Edition is defined as; “an organizational function and a set of processes for
creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing
customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its
stakeholders.” The marketing definition has a few words that require further
explanation to help students understand the role marketing plays in the success
and failures of business activities. The term organizational function refers to
core activities that business have within its operational activities. For
example the Marketing department within an organization would have core
activities that are carried out in order to achieve organizational goals and
objectives. Marketing activities involves the maximum use of the 4Ps or the
marketing mix. Activities such as communication, promotion, distribution and
pricing mechanism are activities that the marketing department deals with in
its daily operational activities.
Reference
Kotler, Adam et.al (2007) Marketing 7th Edition, PEARSON
