According to F.E. Clark, “Marketing consists of those efforts which effect transfers in ownership of goods and care for its physical distribution.” Traditionally, marketing was restricted to the physical transfer of goods from its producers to the consumers. In this way marketing includes all those activities which facilitate the transfer of goods from producers or manufacturers to the users of goods. According to traditional approach goods should be supplied at the time when it is needed, at a place where they required and delivered to those who need it.
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According to Hary Hansen, “Marketing involves the design of the products acceptable to the customers and the transfers of ownership between seller and buyer”.
Marketing is this way, is wants satisfying activity from society’s point of view, transfer of goods from operative thinking and transfer of ownership from legal point of view.
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Modern Marketing Concept
Modern marketing concept explains that the objectives of the business can be achieved by identifying needs and wants of customers. It stresses consumers satisfaction. According to Peter Drucker, the purpose of business is to create customers. Creation of customers means the identification of consumers’ needs and then organizing the business activities to meet these needs. According to modern thinkers, marketing includes the following:
- Identification of consumers’ needs and their satisfaction.
- Sales forecasting / Target customers.
- Formulation of marketing policy for the specific market.
- Planning and organizing of marketing activities and coordinating marketing activities.
- Salesmanship and sales promotion.
- Advertising
- Costing and budgeting efforts.
- Measurement and review of the marketing result.
Definition
According to modern concept, marketing is not a separate function but covers the entire business process, because every business activity is consumer oriented. Marketing, in this way, covers all the business activities which revolve round the consumers. Now, marketing management can be defined as identification of consumers’ needs, planning, organizing, producing and marketing efforts to satisfy these needs.
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Marketing as defined by management authorities
According to William Stantons, “Marketing is a total system of interacting business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want satisfying products and services to the present and potential customers.”
In the words of Phillip Kotler, “Marketing is specifically concerned with low transactions are created, simulated, facilitated and valued.”
E.F.L. Breach views, “Marketing is the process of determining consumer demand for a product or service, motivating its sales and distributing it into ultimate consumption at a profit.”
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Importance of Marketing Management
The importance of marketing management as follows:
Supplying required commodity
Marketing identifies the needs of the existing and potential consumers and maintains the flow of commodities. In this way, the consumer oriented activities of the marketing management satisfy the needs of the people and thus provide the sense of relief and pleasure.
Creation of the employment opportunities
The growth of population and civilization goes on multiplying the needs of the people. In order to meet these needs very large number of ventures are promoted. These enterprise require very large number of skilled and unskilled workers. Marketing in this way generates employment opportunities and thus helps us in the eradication of unemployment. In India, about 40 million people are engaged in wholesale and retail business, excluding those engaged in transportation and communication, warehousing, insurance and finance. In USA nearly one-third of its population is engaged in marketing.
Improving standard of living
Standard of living s measured by quality and quantity of commodities we use. Marketing in addition to supplying the required goods invents and discovers its own novel goods and creates demand for it. We, in this way, are supplied with various and varied useful commodities, the use of which improves our standard of living.
Increase in national income
Marketing accelerates the pace of economic activities. More and more business enterprises are promoted. The profit and profitability of ventures increase. Consequently income of individuals increase. As such national income being the sum total of individual’s income also increases, all these bring prosperity to the nation.
Educational value
Marketing is concerned with selling, advertising and sales promotion. Advertising and sales promotion measures educate the general consumers about the uses of the different commodities. The customers are acquainted with the advantages and disadvantages of the various commodities. Even the illiterate people identify the commodities without reading the name of goods on the containers and packages. Marketing educates people and creates demand for it.
Objectives of Marketing Management
The main objectives of marketing may be mentioned below:
Creation of demand and securing consumers’ satisfaction
Marketing is consumer oriented activity. Marketing tries to create demand of its product through advertising and sales promotion measures. Consumers’ satisfaction is the ultimate end of all business activities. The business cannot last long without consumers’ satisfaction. The potential growth of the company is possible, if consumers are satisfied. Business has its own profit motive. Earnings are directly related to sales, which is affected by consumers’ satisfaction.
Retaining reasonable market share
Survival of the enterprise depends upon capturing reasonable share of the market. Marketing helps the enterprise in positioning itself firm in the market. The success of marketing depends upon capturing more share of the market.
Building goodwill
The competent and capable marketing management sells quality product at reasonable price and thus goodwill of the enterprise is built. Marketing adopts various image building activities by popularizing products at convenient outlets.
Profitable sales volume
Marketing management refers to all business activities, which are consumer oriented. It is the sincere effort of marketing management to maximize the profit of the company. As profit is directly related to sales, so the marketing management tries to increase its sales by market development, product development, market penetration and diversification. The management looks for the opportunities and tries its best to avail of the opportunities. It is the duty of the market management to undertake profitable operations and maximize the profit of the business.
Service to the social organs
Social responsibility must be assumed by the business. These days business is assumed to be social organ, so it must earn its profit by rendering services to the following sections:
- Employees
- Payment of fair wages
- Providing job security
- Scientific selection and training
- Human treatment
- Promotional avenues.
- Consumers
- Need based production
- Producing sufficient quantity of goods and supplying at reasonable price and appropriate place.
- Supplying pure, useful and unadulterated goods
Functions of Marketing
This function involves the transfer of ownership of goods from producers to the users of goods. It involves:
Buying and assembling
Buying is the first step of marketing. In case of manufacturing concerns, raw material is purchased and trading concerns purchase finished goods, buying is marketing function, because it refers to decision-making by marketing management as to the time, quantity, quality, price and sellers goods to be bought. Goods may also be assembled or collected from different sources and made available to the users.
Selling
It is a process, whereby goods and services flow finally to the consumers. Selling function involves:
- Planning production of need based goods.
- Discovery of the market for goods and buyers for goods.
- Salesmanship, advertising and sales promotion for creating demand.
- Determining terms of sales and price, quantity, quality, nature of packing and delivery etc.
- Transfer of title and possession of goods. Selling creates demand for products.
Functions of Physical supply of goods
Marketing management has to decide about the physical distribution of goods. This function involves:
Transportation: Transportation facilitates the transfer of products from one place to other place. It reduces the distance between the producers and consumers. These days the business uses road, rail, water and air transport for acquiring goods and also for distribution of goods. Marketing management will have to take into consideration the means of transport available for distribution of goods. Transport plays an important role in localizing the industry and the nature and type of goods to he produced.
Warehousing: There is wide gap between the production and actual sale of goods. This is why, the marketing management is required to make necessary arrangement of storing the raw material and finished goods.
Facilitating Transfer of Ownership and Products
It involves the following functions which facilitate the transfer of goods and their ownership:
Product planning and development: Effective product planning anticipates the wants and expectations of the consumers and develops the product accordingly. It requires improvement in the existing product and development of the new product. Decisions regarding size, design, color, packaging, quality etc. have to be reviewed from time to time. The policy of product differentiation and highlighting the unique and novel features of the product should be adopted. The enterprise should always he prepared to produce goods to suit the ever changing needs to the customers.
Standardizing, grading branding and labeling: Standardizing is the process of making goods perfectly identical to the model product. Standardizing and grading make goods easily marketable. In caste of standardization, the product contains certain desirable qualities like durability, safety, utility and special features such as design, weight, color and size. Standardization facilitates the purchasing and selling of the product. Goods are sold by description. In India ISI mark issued by the Bureau of Indian Standard guarantees the quality of the product. In case of grading, product is classified into identical lots and groups on the basis of predetermined standards. Grading divides products into different classes of uniform characteristics. Grading is adopted generally in food rains, cotton, tobacco, fruits, apples, mangoes, minerals etc. Fixing and securing remunerative prices from the product is the objective of grading.
Advertising and sales promotion: It creates demand for goods among new customers an also sustains the demand for goods among existing consumers. Promotion includes all the activities of the manufacturers to influence the behaviors of buyer through communicating. It is the process of communicating, persuading and motivating consumers. Sales promotion refers to those activities which supplement both selling and advertising, displays, demonstration and exposition. It is a form of mass communication.
Marketing Research
It is the systematic process which ascertains the factual worth of the product in the market. It furnishes information about the product. The information may be regarding consumers’ views about the products, positive and negative aspects of the product with reference to competing and substituting product. It helps the management in adopting effective line of action.
Market research may also be conducted on any problem of the product, such as consumers’ preference, pricing, sales promotion, techniques and acceptability of the product. Primary data is compiled from consumers, dealers and salesmen, secondary data is collected from published sources.
Marketing research is an effort to ascertain the standing of the enterprise in the industry. It also helps in planning the introduction of new product and development in existing product. The marketing management determines the demand of the product, its price and time when it is needed. It also conveys consumers’ preferences.
As such marketing research is the systematic investigation of the facts relevant to various aspects in marketing like profitable and unprofitable sales territories, channels of distribution, potential competitors competitive prices, advertisement and sales promotions and consumers’ preferences etc.