"Marketing is a social and managerial process through which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through the creation and exchange of products and value with others." (Kotler et al, 2003:13). Marketing is a key aspect within a company and has several functions. Some of these functions include research, analytics, promotion, pricing, and distribution. These functions lead to the evolution of the five alternative concepts under which organizations conduct marketing activities. The concepts include production concept, product concept, sales concept, marketing concept and social marketing concept. The manufacturing concept focuses on improving the efficiency of production and distribution, for example, speed of delivery and quality control of products. Commercial activity. This concept is primarily internally focused and not on the customer and their needs. The sales concept is also focused on the internal business. The main characteristics of this concept are large-scale selling and promotional effort with heavy selling techniques and the goal of selling what is produced, rather than producing what the consumer wants or requires. It has a very short-term focus; it does not consider the longer-term needs of the customer, if at all it focuses on the customer. It is used when supply exceeds demand; one example is when airlines sell their seats at a lower price because they were not sold at full price. The product concept focuses on the product and the capabilities of the. Again this concept is not focused on customer requests but on the product and internal business. The concept of social marketing holds that the organization should establish the needs, wants and interests of the target… at the heart of the charter… the purpose of satisfying human needs and desires”. (Kotler et al, 1999:15) Reference list and bibliography1. Kotler, P, Armstrong, G. Saunders J and Wong V (2005) Marketing Principles 4th European Edition: Harlow; financial period apprentice2. Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S (2003) Principles of Marketing 3rd Edition; Harlow; Financial Times Prentice.3. Armstrong, G. and Kotler, P. (2005) Marketing and Introduction 7th edition; New Jersey; Prentice Hall4. Brassington, F. and Pettitt, S. (2005) Marketing Essentials; Harlow; Financial Times; Prentice Hall.5. www.tutor2u.net (access date 20/11/06)6. Jobber, D. and Fahy, J. (2003) Marketing Fundamentals, McGraw-Hill.7. Sargeant, A. Marketing Management for Nonprofit Organizations, Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.8. www.onpoint-marketing.com (access date 20/11/06)