The Bbc Goes Digital

THE BBC GOES DIGITAL

"Innovative, progressive and pioneering - the British Broadcasting Corporation has proved a powerful force in the 20th century - providing entertainment, education and information, and captivating millions of viewers and listeners at home and abroad". (The History of BBC)

The BBC is the only broadcasting corporation that is financed by a TV licence paid by the households, and therefore does not serve the interest of advertisers, or produce a return for shareholders. This means that it can focus on providing high quality programmes and services for everyone.

In January 2001, the BBC applied to the UK Government to replace its existing digital TV channels with four new digital TV services - BBC Three, BBC Four, Cbeebies and CBBC, services that are aimed for launching over the next two years. The launch of these new four digital services can be assessed by looking at how the marketing process and target marketing have contributed to the great success of the new BBC Digital.

I. THE MARKETING PROCESS

1. Marketing is the management process which identifies, anticipates and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitability. (Chartered Institute of Marketing)

This definition looks at identifying and satisfying customer needs, in short-term and also anticipating them in the future in long-term and requires co-ordination, planning, implementation of campaigns and manager(s) with appropriate skills to ensure success.

2. Marketing is the process whereby society, to supply its consumption needs, evolves distributive systems composed of participants, who interacting under constraints - technical (economic) and ethical (social) - create the transactions or flows which resolve market separations and result in exchange and consumption. (Bartels, 1968, pg. 29-33)

This definition considers the economic and social aspects of marketing, where in organisations there are set up specialised departments in finding what consumers want and fulfil their needs by providing the right products and services to meet customers' demands.

3. Marketing is the process of determining consumer demand for a product or service, motivating its sale and distributing it into ultimate consumption at a profit.

This definition on the other hand is orientated towards marketing a product or service which sale and distribution would bring to a company some profit.

4. Marketing is the business function that identifies current unfilled needs and wants, defines and measures their magnitude, determines which target markets the organisation can best serve and decides on appropriate products, services and programmes to serve these markets. Thus marketing serves as the link between a society's needs and its pattern of industrial response. (Kotler)

Like definition 2, this definition emphasises on the social and economical aspects of marketing, clearly focusing on matching the resources of the company to the needs of the market.

5. Marketing is concerned with meeting business objectives by providing customer satisfaction.

This definition also focuses, on understanding consumers and to find what satisfies them. This is one of the important definitions of marketing focusing mainly on understanding customers' needs and wants.

6. Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individuals and companies' goals. (The American Marketing Association)

This definition emphasises on the marketing mix concept, known also as the "Four Ps" which involves the developing (creation) the right product (one that meets customers needs); setting the right price (one that realises a profit and keeps the customers happy); getting the product to the right place (where customers can buy it); and promoting it (to encourage customers to buy it) so that the company's own interests reach its aimed targets.

All the above definitions demonstrate that marketing is social as well as managerial and that there is a "difference between marketing as a thing that is done and marketing as an approach to how something is achieved". (Text book)

Preferred definitions are 2, 4 & 5 which all demonstrate that the goal of marketing is to know and to understand the customers very well so that the products or services created are suitable for them that they sell by themselves. From these definitions the conclusion is that marketing matches the capabilities of the company to the wants of its customers.

"The marketing management is seen as the art and science of applying marketing concepts to choose target markets and get, keep and grow customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value". (Kotler, 1999)

A. THE MARKETING CONCEPT

The marketing concept is a fundamental idea of marketing that organisations survive and prosper through meeting the wants and needs of customers, in other words, by matching a company's capabilities with customer wants.

Businesses do not undertake marketing activities alone. They face threats from competitors, and changes in the political, economic, social and technological environment. All these factors have to be taken into account as a business tries to match its capabilities with the needs and wants of its target customers. The success of an organisation is that that it is dependent on satisfying customer needs.

The key elements of Marketing Concept:

1. TARGET MARKET

For an organisation to do well it needs to choose its target market(s) carefully and prepare specific marketing plans particular for these markets. Then the organisation will be in a position to forecast the market opportunities for new products. Once the organisation has evaluated the market segments, it can penetrate one or as many segments as it chooses of a given market. The majority of businesses initially enter a new market through a single segment and if it proves successful, then they have the choice whether to add new segments.

2. CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Marketing is a way of understanding and satisfying the customers.