The concept of marketing is a wide term. The early stages of the growth of this discipline marketing were considered as selling and no distinction was made between the two terms ‘Marketing’ and ‘Selling’. Some business managers would say that marketing was advertising. It is true that selling and advertising are parts of marketing. Marketing is much more than selling and advertising. Many organizations are involved in developing marketing activities to satisfy the needs of various groups of customers. Very many new concepts like Network marketing, Relationship marketing, Direct marketing are developed and are implemented to reach as many consumers as possible, through them. Satisfying the consumer is the main mantra in today’s marketing activity. With the development of new markets and new avenues of selling, a wide variety of consumer and producer goods have been designed and developed and for many marketing has become a good profession.
Marketing
activities started from the days of ‘Barter Economy’ or even earlier. But it
still looks new and attracts many people to involve themselves in this activity
in one form or the other. But the marketing activity was recognized properly
after the Industrial Revolution. Only in twentieth century, marketing activities
had a new look and started developing as a separate discipline. In the last
hundred years, it went through many phases and today it has emerged as a key
discipline in the business world, assuming newer heights. The goods and
services which were once considered luxury have become essential commodities
today because of the development of marketing. Thousands of innovative consumer
products have entered the offices and households all over the world due to the
marketing effort.
MARKETING ORGANIZATION:
The role of organizations in developing the marketing activity cannot be ignored. Several institutions are involved in discharging marketing functions. All the different forms of organizations, at national and international levels are engaged in selling their products through a network of branches. Thus, the organizations are formed to satisfy the wants of consumers. The organizer is the key person in the organization process. He collects capital and invests it in the area of his choice, to produce a product. The organizer not only invests, but also co-ordinates the other factors of production. He produces the required goods or services and sells it. Many organizations fail to co-ordinate the factors and may have to disappear from the marketing scene. A successful organizer knows the techniques of co-ordination and also the art of selling his product in the target product. If he cannot assess the potency of his rivals in the market, he fails to catch up with the market.
The consumer is the king in the market. Consumer tries to satisfy his wants from different market sources. His taste, fashion preferences also change from time to time. Hence, the marketer should learn the art of reading the mind of the consumer and act accordingly.
The marketing organizations may develop fast in the initial stages and have a gradual decline after some time or they may have steady growth or develop slowly in the initial stages and grow fast, in later stages. There are reasons for this. The two major reasons that can be attributed are:
(i) The fast-changing mind of the consumer,
(ii) The keen competition from rivals.
The well-established producers and marketers have a sudden death in the market as they forget these two factors. As the rivals work hard, the established ones will have to gradually fade out, if they are not alert in the market.
MARKET:
The first concept to be understood in marketing management is MARKET. The term ‘Market’ is derived from the Latin word ‘maratus’. This means merchandise, wares, traffic, trade or place of business. It is an activity which centers round two important operations viz. BUYING and SELLING. Simply, it means an ‘Exchange Activity’.
Definitions:
“A market is an area for potential exchanges”. – Philip Kotler
“Market is a group of sellers and buyers who are willing to exchange goods and/or services for something of value. Of course, some negotiation may be needed. This can be made face-to-face at some physical location. Or it can be done indirectly – through a complex network of middlemen who link buyers and sellers who are far apart”. – E.J. McCarthy/W.D.Perreult
With these definitions we understand that market is not just a place where buyers and sellers meet. It is something more. It is a group of buyers and sellers interested in negotiating the terms of purchase and sale of goods and services. The negotiation may take place in person or through any other type of communication, like telephone, correspondence, or teleshopping or electronic mail. Two vital forces of market viz. demand, and supply facilitate the exchange process of consumers and sellers. ‘Exchange’ is the main activity in a market. Exchange is possible when something (goods) is there to offer, and somebody is there to accept. Purchase consideration (price of the product or service) also plays an important role in matching the buyer and seller. Therefore, price is the meeting point of buyers and sellers in the market. Thus, ‘market’ is an exchange activity which takes place between buyers and sellers directly or through middlemen, in a place or otherwise, for a price, resulting in physical/legal delivery of ownership of goods.
MARKETING:
“Marketing includes all activities involved in the creation of place, time and possession utilities. Place utility is created when goods and services are available at the places they are needed; time utility when they are needed; and possession utility, when they are transferred to those who need them”. – Converse, Hugey and Mitchell.
“Marketing is concerned with the people and activities involved in the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer”. – American Marketing Association. “Marketing is the set of human activities directed at facilitating and consummating exchanges”. – Philip Kotler.
To sum up with different definitions, marketing is a creative management function involving production of goods and services, pricing them, promoting them and distributing them to the consumers to satisfy their wants.
Marketing comprises all activities involved in the determination and satisfaction of customer needs at a profit. By means of marketing function, marketer can direct the firm’s response to an ever-changing market environment and orient all parts of the business towards the creation of a satisfied customer.
MARKETING MANAGEMENT:
The American Management Association defines marketing management as follows:
“Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of goods, services and ideas to create exchanges with target groups that satisfy customer and organizational objectives”.
According to Philip Kotler, “marketing management is the analysis, planning, implementation and control of program designed to create, build and maintain beneficial exchanges and relationships with target market for the purpose of achieving organizational objectives.”
From the above definitions, marketing management may be defined as the process of management of marketing program for accomplishing organizational goals and objectives. The process of management is the set of managerial functions known as planning, implementation and control of program to achieve predetermined objectives. Marketing management involves planning, implementation and control of marketing program or campaigns. Marketing management is directly in charge of:
(1) the setting of marketing goals and objectives,
(2) developing the marketing plan,
(3) organizing the marketing function,
(4) putting the marketing plan into action, and
(5) controlling the marketing program.
Topics covered in this Module:
- DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING AND SELLING
- CONCEPTS OF MARKETING
- APPROACHES OF MARKETING
- FUNCTIONS OF MARKETING
- RECENT TRENDS IN MARKETING
- COMPONENTS OF MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
