Business Idea
Jaya, Pooja and Manvi are school friends running their own successful businesses separately. They regularly meet and discuss their business ideas and exchange notes on production, customer satisfaction, product designing, product pricing, marketing efforts, selling techniques and social concerns etc. In one of such meetings, Jaya drew the attention of Pooja and Manvi towards exploitation of consumers. She said that most of the sellers were exploiting the consumers in various ways and were not paying attention to the social, ethical and ecological aspects of marketing, whereas she understood the importance of these factors and was trying to implement so. Pooja said that they were under pressure to satisfy the customer but stated that the customers would not buy, or not buy enough unless they are adequately convinced and motivated to do so. Manvi emphasized on the importance of keeping consumer's needs in mind and said that it was their duty to keep the customer satisfied and to take decisions from the point of view of consumers. She believes that someone who fails to identify customer preferences fails to satisfy the customer, cannot run their business with success in the long run.
Identify which of the following thoughts were advocated by Pooja for her business?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Selling concept
Option (1) Product concept — Incorrect. The product concept relies on better quality and features to win customers. Pooja does not speak of improving the product.
Option (2) Production concept — Incorrect. The production concept relies on making goods cheaply and in large quantity. Pooja’s concern is persuading buyers, not producing more.
Option (3) Selling concept — Correct. Pooja says customers would not buy, or not buy enough, unless they are adequately convinced and motivated. This is the selling concept. The firm must use aggressive selling and promotion to make customers buy, and its profit comes through a large volume of sales.
Option (4) Marketing concept — Incorrect. The marketing concept starts from customer needs and earns profit through customer satisfaction. That is Manvi’s view.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “The Selling Concept … The business philosophy changed. It was assumed that the customers would not buy, or not buy enough, unless they are adequately convinced and motivated to do so. Therefore, firms must undertake aggressive selling and promotional efforts to make customers buy their products. The use of promotional techniques such as advertising, personal selling and sales promotion were considered essential for selling of products. …” |