SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT ON CUSTOMER DELIGHT IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, GHANA-WEST AFRICA

The business world today is influenced by customer demand. Satisfying and delighting the customer with respect to desired needs and wants is absolutely crucial not only to gain competitive advantage but also for the business' survival. As the marketing concept emphasizes a coordinated effort to satisfy customers' needs and achieve the organization's goals, it is prudent that businesses strive to apply this marketing philosophy in order to make customer experience better. The marketing concept demands that, the strategic decisions made by the company are taken keeping the needs and wants of customer in mind. This helps to ensure customer happiness and a continual improvement in business performance. This study attempts to investigate the relationship between the application of the marketing concept and customers' utmost happiness, to identify the material factors influencing customer satisfaction in today's changing marketing environment, and to reveal the importance of marketing research to businesses within the hospitality industry in Ghana. Survey was carried out on 60 institutional customers in Ghana. The result of the study shows a strong support for the hypothesis that the application of the marketing concept has a positive correlation with the indicators of customer delight as it results in satisfaction, high market shares, increased sales and profits. The study recommends that businesses continuously nurture the relationships that it has with its customers and even go above their expectations in order to sustain customer's interest in its operations. Moreover, in order to apply the marketing concept effectively and improve business performance, managers are required to know what the market needs and expects from the business through market research.