solved assignments Q.what do you mean by marketing functions? Briefly explain the important marketing functions.

Answer: Functions Of Marketing

The delivery of goods and services from producers to their ultimate consumers or users includes many different activities. These different activities are known as marketing functions. Different thinkers have described these functions in different ways. Some of the most important functions of marketing are discussed below:

1. Marketing Research and Information Management

Marketers need to take decisions scientifically. Marketing research function is concerned with
gathering, analyzing and interpreting data in a systematic and scientific manner. The types of market information could be analysis of market size and characteristics, consumer tastes and preferences and changes in them from time to time, channels of distribution and communication and their effectiveness, economic, social, political and technological environment and changes therein. A company can procure such information from specialized market research agencies, government or can decide to collect themselves.

2. Advertising and Sales Promotion – Advertising is a mass media tool used to inform, persuade or remind customers about products or services. It is an impersonal message targeted at a chosen group through paid space or time.

3. Sales Promotion is a short term incentive given to customers or intermediaries to promote sales.

It supplements advertising and personal selling and can be used at the time of launching a new product or even during its maturity period.

4. Product Planning and Management – A Marketer should identify the needs and wants of consumers, develop suitable products / services and make them available. Marketer is also required to maintain the product and its variations in size, weight, package and price range according to the changing needs and requirements of his customers. Information available through Market Research helps product management in taking appropriate decisions while planning the marketing efforts.

5. Selling – This function of marketing is concerned with transferring of products to the customer.

An important part of this function is organizing sales force and managing their activities. Sales force management includes recruitment, training, supervision, compensation and evaluation of salesmen. They need to be assigned targets and territories where they can operate. The salesmen interact with prospective purchasers facetoface in order to sell the goods. The purchaser may be end customer or an intermediary, such as a retailer or a dealer.

6. Physical Distribution – Moving and handling of products from factory to consumers come under this function. Order processing, inventory, management, warehousing and transportation are the key activities in the physical distribution system.

7. Pricing – This is perhaps the most important decision taken by marketer, as it is the only revenue fetching function and success and failure of the product may depend upon this decision.

Therefore, the decision regarding how much to charge should be taken such that the price is acceptable to the prospective buyers and at the same time fetches profits for the company.

While deciding on the price, the factors to be considered are competition, competitive prices, company’s marketing policy, government policy, and the buying capacity of target market etc.

Importance Of Marketing.

Peter Drucker, the famous management thinker in one of his classic articles has said “Marketing is everything”. All other activities in the organization are support services to the marketing strategy that the company pursues. Marketing is important not only to the company but to the consumers and society and to the economy.

Consumer stands to benefit from marketing activities. He has more alternatives to choose from, improved and better quality products are available and he is able to buy goods at convenient locations. Thanks to much improved customer service, a consumer is able to complain and expects his complaint to be attended in reasonable time. He can now buy with credit or debit card or cash or on installments.

For the society as a whole, marketing is important because it acts as a change agent making people use latest products and improves the standard of living of the people. As we know, the main objective of marketing is to produce products and services for the society as per their needs and tastes, and while doing so it creates demand for these goods and services, encourages them to use them, thus leading to higher demand and sales. This higher demand allows the company to achieve economies of scale in both production and distribution resulting in decrease in production and distribution costs which can be used to reduce prices to consumers.

For a company in any business, marketing is considered to be the most important activity. It helps an organization to keep abreast of changes taking place in the market and consumer tastes and preferences through market research. Based on this reliable data, it responds to these changes by rectifying any drawbacks in its products or changing its competitive strategy. Thus the company’s decisionmaking and planning are not based on just hunches but on sound market information. The firm that follows such practices is sure to prosper under all conditions. Marketing provides an effective channel of communication to the company with its consumers by way of advertising and sales promotion. Marketing thus brings revenue and earns goodwill for the company.

Successful operation of marketing activities creates, maintains and increases the demand for goods and services in the economy. It results in the increased level of production. This, in turn, increases the national income, which is beneficial to the economy. Marketing operations require the services of intermediaries such as wholesalers, retailers, transporters, and service provides for storage, finance, insurance and advertising. These services provide employment in large numbers.