What is Marketing?

What is Marketing?

In our daily lives, we use many different goods and services. These items include toothpaste, shampoo, soap, oil, and clothes.

How do all these goods and services get to our homes?

The business houses that produce these goods and services must ensure they are sold.

They must make consumers/users aware of their products and put them at convenient locations.

This includes various activities, such as:

• Product planning and pricing,
• Promotion,
• Use of middlemen (wholesalers or retailers),
• Sale,
• Warehousing, and
• Transportation.

These activities are collectively called Marketing.

This article will talk about marketing and its importance, Objectives, and Functions.

Meaning of Marketing

We all know that business people produce goods and services for us.

These products are not always produced in the same place they are used or consumed.

Today, you can find products made in India and consumed in other countries and villages.

This means that manufacturers need to make every effort to ensure,

• Their products are being sold, and
• Their products are in high demand,

and can be found by the ultimate consumer worldwide.

When you go to the market for readymade goods, you will find many options in terms of price, quality, and design.

You can choose which is most comfortable for you.

Manufacturers also assess this and Plan the products according to the preferences and needs of the customers.

They ensure that the product is well-known and people are all aware of it and these activities are all part of a company’s marketing function.

Marketing is the act of determining the needs of consumers and then supplying the appropriate goods or services to them to meet those needs.

Marketing is the management of the flow of goods and services between producers and consumers.

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as an organizational function.

It involves a set of processes that create, communicate and deliver value to consumers and manage customer relations for the organization and its stakeholder benefit.

Traditional Concept of Marketing

Marketing is the act of selling products and services.

According to the old concept, Marketing is the term for all activities related to persuasion or selling of goods or services.

Marketing focuses on promotion and sale, with little consideration paid to customer comfort.

These are the implications of this concept:

1. This concept focuses on the product and must convince the customers to purchase our product.
2. The marketing team focuses all their efforts on selling the product. To increase sales, they use all possible means of marketing, such as promotion and personal selling.
3. All marketing activities aim to maximize profit through sales.

Modern Concept of Marketing

Marketing today considers consumers’ needs and wants as the driving force and focuses on delivering the best products and services to satisfy them.

Marketing begins with identifying consumers’ needs.

To ensure maximum customer satisfaction, they will plan to produce goods or services according to their needs.

This means that products and services are designed according to customers’ needs and not according to the availability of machinery and materials.

All activities such as:

• Manufacturing,
• Research,
• Development,
• Quality control,
• Distribution and
• Selling

are directed to satisfy the customers.

The main objective of the principle of marketing modern concepts have the following implications:

• This concept focuses on customer orientation. This marketing activity begins with a customer assessment and plans the production of products that meet these needs. This applies to all marketing activities, like: sales promotion, distribution, packaging, and pricing.
• All marketing activities, including product planning, pricing, distribution, Sales promotion, and marketing coordination, are combined in one effort. It is also known as integrating marketing:
• Creating a product that meets the needs of consumers.
• Taking promotional measures to let consumers know about the Products, their features, quality, and availability. These are the most important things to know about.
• Pricing the product considering the target consumers’ buying power and the willingness to pay.
• Packaging and grading the product to make it more appealing and undertake Sales promotion measures to encourage consumers to purchase it.
• Taking other measures (e.g. after-sales services) to meet the requirements of Consumer needs.
• Customer satisfaction is the main goal of all efforts. Satisfied customers will purchase more and bring more customers to the products. This will result in increased sales and also profits.

Importance of Marketing

Marketing is vital for consumers, businesses, and society.

This is the evidence you can find in the following information:

• Marketing allows businesses to keep up with changing fashions, tastes, and customer preferences.

Because it is easy to determine the needs and wants of customers, improvements in existing products, new products, and continuing to this process.

Marketing is a way to improve the quality of life and offer better products and services.

• Marketing is a way of making products accessible from anywhere and at any time.

Because of proper warehousing and packaging, we can get Kashmir shawls and Assam Tea across India.

We also have access to seasonal fruits such as oranges and apples throughout the year.

Marketing creates utility in time and place.

• Marketing is an integral part of economic development such as:

Various Marketing functions and sub-functions, such as advertising, packaging, personal selling, transportation, and etc.

A large number of people can find employment through marketing and accelerate the growth of businesses.

• Marketing assists the business in increasing its sales volume and generating revenue, and its long-term success will be guaranteed.
• Marketing helps businesses meet the most effective competition.

Objectives of Marketing

Let’s now discuss the main objectives of marketing after we have discussed the importance of Marketing.

Provide Satisfaction to Customers

Customer satisfaction should be the focus of all marketing activities.

Understanding the demands of consumers is key to marketing and products should be able to satisfy these customers most effectively.

It’s not just about the price, but the marketing functions and distribution have to be also planned accordingly.

Increase in Demand

Advertising and other sales promotion efforts make Marketing aim at increasing demand for products.

Satisfied consumers are an excellent way to create new customers.

If you are satisfied with a gel pen, you will purchase it again.

And, of course, when you make other people aware of the product, they will want to give it a try.

Provide Better Quality Product to the Customers

This is the primary goal in Marketing.

Business houses strive to upgrade and update their knowledge for better products.

Otherwise, they will not be able to phase out the competition.

Create Goodwill for the Organisation

Another goal of marketing is to build a positive image in the public sights and build goodwill for the organization.

This helps in the loyalty of the product’s importance and acceptance of the Company’s new products.

Generate Profitable Sales Volume

Marketing’s ultimate goal and all efforts are made to achieve profitable sales volumes.

Caretaking Customer’s needs and wants by providing the goods and services that they require at reasonable prices, where and when it is the most convenient times for them.

All these objectives in marketing will lead to increased profits and sales.

Functions Performed in Marketing

Marketing is the execution of business activities that are directed at customers.

The flow of goods or services from producers to consumers and users.

Let us now find out what these activities are?

These will be briefly described below:

Marketing Research

Marketing research includes the collection and analysis of Marketing facts.

It’s a process of gathering and Analysing customer buying habits and needs to determine the nature of competition in the market, prevailing price, distribution network, and effective advertising media.

Marketing research collects, records, and analyses facts to help you make rational decisions and develop marketing strategies that work.

Product Planning and Development

Marketing is a process that begins before production.

Marketers collect information about the consumer’s needs and decide what product to make.

Marketing begins with the design and planning of a product that the consumer will use.

You can also modify and improve an existing product.

Today, we can find better detergent powders and soaps than ever before and we also have many new products introduced almost every day.

Buying and Assembling

Marketing activities include buying and collecting the required goods for resale.

This is a function of marketing that is only applicable to trading business activities.

In manufacturing organizations, buying or assembling involves purchasing raw materials and other components necessary for producing processed Goods.

Packaging

Packaging refers to packaging the goods according to their convenience.

You should pay attention to the packaging material and the packaging size.

For example, you can package goods in:

• Plastic Bottles,
• Glass Bottles,
• Boxes (tin or glass, paper or plastic),
• Bags, or
• Cans.

The package size can vary from a few grams up to a few KGs.

It may contain one or more pieces of a product or any other appropriate quantity in weight, count, or length.

Because packaging is attractive and convenient, it can also be used to promote products.

Packaging is not the same as packing.

This refers to placing goods in suitable containers for transport purposes.

Standardization and Grading

Standardization refers to the creation of standards for manufacturing goods regarding shape, design, and other characteristics.

Customers can quickly identify products and their attributes if they are standardized.

This allows goods to be sold as samples or descriptions.

Standardization helps to promote the sale of the product and increases consumers’ confidence in its quality.

The grading process divides products into specific classes according to predetermined standards regarding size and quality.

In agricultural, forest, and mineral products like cotton, sugarcane, iron ore coal, or timber, grading is necessary.

Branding

A brand is a name, symbol, or identity mark given to a product to distinguish it from other products.

Surf, for example, is the brand name for a detergent powder made by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).

You should be familiar with brands such as Lux soap and Colgate toothpaste.

Pricing the Product

Pricing is a decision about fixing product prices.

This takes into account the product costs, customer pay capacity, and expenses of comparable products.

This is a crucial decision that will impact sales and profits that is why Pricing must be chosen carefully.

Promotion of the Product

Advertising, promotion, and personal selling are all examples of promotional activities.

Promotional activities include communication with customers, both current and potential, to inform them about the product’s unique features, pricing, and availability.

Promotional activities are designed to encourage customers to purchase the product.

Distribution

Distribution is the act of selling products to customers or physically transferring them.

The first key aspect is that the product’s sale requires middlemen, such as:

• Wholesalers, and
• Retailers

Whose services are needed to make the products available at convenience points and assist in their sale to the final consumers.

The second key aspect is physical transfer, storage, and transportation from production to sale or consumption.

Distribution activities aim to ensure that customers receive the products they desire.

Deliveries of goods and services take place at the most convenient time for the customer and in quantity they require.

Selling

Marketing is a key function that includes selling.

The seller transfers goods and services to the buyer in exchange for a fee.

The seller must inform potential buyers about the availability and price of the goods and services and the nature and uses of those products.

He must also persuade customers to purchase the product by generating their interest.

Storage and Warehousing

The act of holding or preserving goods until their sale is called storage.

Storage is the act of making arrangements to preserve the goods until they are purchased by consumers and delivered.

Although storage is often referred to as warehousing, it is used more commonly for large-scale storage of commodities and goods.

You have probably seen cold stores where you can store vegetables such as:

• Tomato,
• Cabbage, and
• Potato.

You can store them to be used throughout the year.

It is important to store finished goods and raw materials for later use in marketing.

Transportation

Transport is the movement of goods from one site to another.

Transport is a marketing activity that refers to the movement of goods, raw materials, and finished goods from one place to another.

Transporting goods can be done by various means including:

• Railways,
• Airways,
• Waterways, and
• Roads.

The railways and waterways work best for heavy or bulky goods.

They all depend on the type of goods and the urgency and you will be required to choose the best means of transport.