Marketing...........!

 Marketing...........!

 Marketing...........!

Marketing

Importance of Marketing

Today, marketing is seen as an important subject, so everyone should be aware of it. Marketing is a subject in many courses offered by universities, technical colleges, open universities, etc. Apart from that, the importance of marketing is also emphasized in many vocational courses.

In recent times, it can be observed that the number of students studying marketing-related courses is increasing very rapidly. Why should one be aware of marketing? The following reasons can be justified.

(a) By knowing about marketing, one can easily get job opportunities. Also, marketing knowledge helps in starting a business on one's own.

(b) We are all consumers. Marketing is related to consumers. Therefore, it is necessary for us, the consumers, to be aware of marketing.

(c) Marketing is related to the daily life of each of us. And marketing activities have an impact on every aspect of daily life.

(d) Marketing is related to the economic growth and development of the country.

(e) No matter what kind of job you do, i.e., a non-marketing job, you will need to interact with people involved in the marketing profession. Therefore, knowledge of marketing is essential.

(f) As a consumer, 50 percent of every rupee you pay for the goods and services you receive is spent on marketing. That is, marketing costs are directly related to your cost of living.

For the six main reasons mentioned above, it is desirable and necessary for everyone to know about marketing.

Introduction

What is marketing? Marketing is all the activities that are carried out to make a product available to the consumer at a convenient place, from how to produce a product in a way that satisfies the needs and wants of the consumer. When observing this simple definition, three aspects are revealed regarding marketing.

(a) Marketing is related to the consumer.

(b) Marketing is a process that includes many components.

(c) Marketing begins before production and continues after production.

When someone has a need, a specific good or service is demanded based on that need with the desire to fulfill that need. Based on this, there is a demand for those goods and services and they are produced. Following this, people acquire it in order to fulfill their need, and a market for that good arises. The diagram below will explain this.

A business organization has two main functions. First, it produces goods and services. Then it markets them. It is necessary to pay as much attention to marketing as it does to production. If an organization is to survive in society, it must meet the needs of consumers. For this, production and marketing activities must be carried out in a way that anticipates the needs of consumers and stimulates demand.

At least four factors are necessary for the marketing function to take place. They are:

a) It is necessary that two or more parties are present and they have unmet needs. These parties may be individuals or organizations.

(b) It is necessary that each party has the ability to meet the needs of the other parties.

(c) It is essential that each of these groups has the ability to communicate with the other groups.

(d) Both groups must make transactions based on value.

Marketing is carried out when all four of the above factors are present.

An organization plans marketing activities in an effective manner to achieve its objectives. Marketing Management (67687) is a management function that involves organizing, controlling, and directing. The manager responsible for marketing management is called a marketing manager.

Marketing and Sales

Marketing and sales are often considered to be the same process. However, marketing and sales are not the same. Marketing is a broad process that encompasses many things. However, sales is not. Sales is a process that is included in marketing. When selling, it only refers to the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person to another. On the other hand, marketing includes the main activities of planning, selling, market research, distribution, pricing, promotion, classification, and packaging.

Micro Marketing and Macro Marketing

A company uses its products and services to meet its objectives

and to satisfy the needs of customers. The activities of producing goods and services in a way that can meet those needs and then delivering them to customers are called micro-marketing. Customers can be individual consumers or companies. Micro-marketing focuses on how an individual company allocates resources for the benefit of its customers and conducts marketing activities.

Mass marketing is the social process of moving goods and services from producers to consumers in order to meet the demand and supply and thereby meet the needs of society. Mass marketing focuses on the economic and social welfare of the entire society. For example, it focuses on the scarcity of resources due to the marketing system. It focuses on the side effects caused by pollution, the adverse effects caused by advertising, and the increase in marketing costs. That is, mass marketing is directly related to the marketing concept of social welfare. Micro-marketing focuses on the activities of individual sales companies.

Historical Development of Marketing Concepts

Marketing is a complex process. In order to answer the question of how marketing should be structured, different ideas and opinions have been expressed over time regarding marketing. These are generally called marketing concepts. They are:

(i) Production Concept

(ii) Selling Concept

(iii) Marketing Concept

(iv) Societal Marketing Concept

The production concept is a very old concept. According to this concept, it is said that if products are produced at a very low cost and distributed freely, consumers will buy them. From the Industrial Revolution to the 1920s, many companies developed this concept. Buyers were willing to accept whatever was produced because the products looked good. Companies didn't need to focus on marketing because they thought that if we could produce, they would sell.

Over time, companies began to produce as many products as possible for consumers to buy. Therefore, competition between companies was seen as a major issue. Therefore, there was a need to face the competition and increase sales.

The concept of selling was proposed in the early 1920s. According to the selling concept, consumers will not buy them in full by simply producing and offering individual products. Large-scale sales promotion activities should be carried out for the products produced. It is said that through this, consumers can be made to buy those products in full. That is, according to the selling concept, it is argued that unless large-scale sales promotion activities are carried out for the products produced, consumers will not buy those products in large quantities.

This concept was followed by many companies until 1950. Following that, a new concept emerged in the 1950s. The idea is that a company can achieve its goals by knowing the wants and needs of its customers and producing and providing products and services that can meet them more effectively than its competitors. That is, the marketing concept articulates the idea that the marketing activities of the company should be seen as consumer-centered.

Companies are a part of society. Therefore, companies have a responsibility to answer for the consequences of the activities of companies on society. Based on this, the concept of social welfare marketing emerged in the 1970s. When a company carries out marketing activities in a way that can meet the wants and needs of consumers, sometimes it can cause harm to society.

Example

Consumers like delicious food products. Food chain operators add some chemical additives to food to meet the needs of consumers, which are taste and smell. By doing so, it can be harmful to physical health and have a negative impact on society.

Therefore, the idea that a company's marketing activities should be designed to meet the needs and wants of consumers while not harming the interests of society is expressed through the concept of social marketing.

1.4 Marketing and Environment

There is a close relationship between a company's marketing activities and the environment. Environmental factors can have an impact on a company's marketing activities. That is, environmental factors can be seen as opportunities or threats to the company's marketing activities.

Therefore, it is necessary for a company to conduct a study of the environment in order to plan its marketing activities and develop appropriate marketing strategies.

The study of environmental factors can be carried out under five headings.

(1) Society

(ii) Economy

(iii) Technology

(v) Competitor

(vi) Government

Social factors include population, people’s habits, values, and beliefs.

These factors and the changes that occur due to them can be seen as either favorable or threatening to marketing. For example, an increased birth rate is seen as favorable to a company that produces infant formula. On the other hand, changes in people’s values ​​and beliefs can sometimes cause a change in consumer behavior and can also be a threat to the company’s marketing activities.

Economic factors include the country’s economic situation, consumer income, unemployment, and inflation. When the country’s economic situation is in a recession, it becomes difficult for companies to carry out marketing activities. There is a close relationship between the purchasing power of consumers and their income. A decline in income will affect purchasing power and ultimately pose a threat to the marketing activities of companies. On the other hand, a country's economic prosperity and an increase in income and employment will be beneficial for the marketing activities of companies.

Technological developments can be seen as either a threat or an advantage to marketing. Technological developments can sometimes be seen as a threat to the marketing activities of companies. On the other hand, technological developments can also be seen as a benefit to marketing. For example, the development of computers has made marketing easier. It is used to sell products in specialized markets. Technology also helps in developing many new products. In many developed countries, marketing is used to understand consumers.

Competitors can also be seen as either a threat or an advantage to marketing. The absence of competitors or the presence of weak competitors makes marketing easier. On the other hand, the presence of strong competitors can be a barrier to entry for new companies. Due to liberal import policies, foreign competitors also have to be faced.

The laws and regulations of the country's government can also be a threat or an advantage to marketing. The price control law enacted by the government. The law related to advertising, the quality control law, etc. can restrict the marketing activities of the company. On the other hand, when the government relaxes the laws, marketing becomes easier. When the government takes various measures to protect the interests of consumers, they can pose a threat to marketing activities.

By conducting a study of the environment, a company can foresee the threats and opportunities faced by the company due to environmental factors and the company can follow appropriate marketing strategies based on the results obtained through the environmental study.

A company should develop strategies in a way that can use the opportunities arising from environmental factors and overcome the threats. Thus, the company should have sufficient strengths to follow appropriate strategies. The study carried out to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a company is called internal analysis. The internal analysis of the company reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the company. For example, a company has trained salespeople. (Strength) But the turnover rate of employees is high. (Weakness)

By identifying its strengths, the company can use them, and by identifying weaknesses, it can eliminate them and develop strategies to improve. Similarly, by conducting an environmental analysis, the threats and opportunities faced by environmental factors are identified. Together, these two studies are called “SWOT” analysis.

A company must have sufficient strengths to overcome the threats and use the opportunities faced by the environment.

Internal analysis and environmental analysis are very essential for any company to follow appropriate marketing strategies to achieve its goals and remain sustainable.

 Marketing...........!