Marketing- meaning, define, nature, importance, function

Marketing

Meaning and definition

The sales and purchase of goods and services but it is too narrow view to understand it is so. The term marketing is much wider in nature and scope. It is not permitted only this needs, sale and purchase of goods and services. It means entire process of  satisfying the needs of consumers. It starts with discovery of needs and wants of consumers and its continuous till the wants are satisfied.

According to William J. Station, “ Marketing is a total system of interacting business activities designed to plan , price, promote and distribute wants satisfying products and services to the present and potential customers”.

According to American Marketing Association, “Marketing is an organisation function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value of customers and for managing customers relationship in ways that benefit the organisation and its stakeholders”.

Marketing is not only about providing products or services but also about providing changing benefit to the changing needs and demands of the customer.

Marketing is thus the sum total of all the activities and processes including creating ,commun , delivering , and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners , and society at large.

Nature of marketing

1. Specialised business function : in the early days, the selling function did not call far any specialised skill as the  sales could have been affected on production basis . But now the business environment has  undergone tremendous changes in social, economic ,political and cultural aspects . Management of a firm, therefore, has to develop a specialised department with a view to absorbing new ideas, new approaches and new market demand with  the occuring and expected changes.
2. Socially desirable function: it requires constant interaction with the various strata of society. It  is instrumentals and manipulating the factors of production, distribution,promotion and price, and also in influencing the pattern of consumption and consumer attitude.
3. Integrative function : it integrates and combine the other business is functions like production, finance, personnel , R&D ,ect. with a view to accomplishing the organisational objectives.
4. Universal function : It is a universality in the sense that it can be applied to both profit-motive and non-profit motive organisation. A profit seeking business unit is essentially dependent on marketing. The institution like hospital , university , school , or political association also practice marketing in popularising the services offered by them.
5. Management function : Marketing is a function like a part of other functions such as production, finance , personnel, etc.the  business policies , strategies, and programmes related to marketing are mostly of managerial function.these are needed to be planned, organised , directed,coordinated , and controlled so as to achieve the marketing objectives of the firm.

IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING

1.Importance of marketing to the society : Marketing can play a vital role for well-being to society . The importance of marketing to society may be summarized under following head:

• Delivery of Standard of Living to Society: CHief obligation of marketing is to produce goods and services for the society according their needs and tastes at reasonable price. marketing discovers needs and wants of the society with rising aspiration and advancement in life produce the goods and services according to these needs, create demand for these goods and services , encourages customers to use them and thus improves the standard of living of the society .
• Decrease in Distribution Cost : Marketing aims at reducing the cost of distribution as far as possible so that the commodities might be within the reach of maximum number of consumers. It increases the level of consumption in the society .Reduction in the cost of distribution directly reduces the prices of the commodity with economies of scale . At a result customers who were unable to purchase it due to high prices can now purchase the product .
• Increase in Employment Opportunities: Employment opportunity are directly affected by the development of marketing . According to an estimate , about 40% of the labour force in developed countries like USA , japan, canada, germany, france, etc. is engaged in different activity of marketing such as marketing research , transport, communication , storage, warehousing, publicity , wholesale and retails trade. It is expected that in the underdeveloped countries, like india, there is great scope of increasing employment opportunities by developing marketing activities.
• Increase in National Income : Successful operation of marketing activities creates, maintains the level of sales volume. All this protest the business and industrial enterprises against the problem of business slow down.

2.importance of marketing to the firm:

marketing plays an important role for the well being of a firm.

• helpful in business planning and decision making: marketing is helpful in the overall business planning and tasking taking various decisions regarding production and other activities in the business. In today’s economy, production is planned according to the sales forecast and not according to the production capacity of the firm. A firm will produce what it can sale or as much quantity as it can sale and not what and how much it can produce.
• Helpful in increasing profits: Every business is carried on with the profit motive. Marketing helps in increasing business profit by reducing the selling cost on the one hand and by increasing the demand of the product through advertising and sales promotion activities on the other hand.
• Helpful in communication between firm and society: Business collects information regarding consumers behaviour and changes their in from the time to time through marketing . Marketing also provides information to the firms of the competitors, price policies , production policies, advertising and sales policies and distribution policies. It helps the firm in framing its own policy and make it necessary adjustment there in accordingly.

Marketing Functions

1)Functions of exchange : The process of the passing of good in to the customer s hands is called the function of exchange.this process can be divided in to buying , assembling and selling.

1. Buying : It is the first step of the process of marketing.a manufacturers buy raw material for the production ; a wholesaler has to buy goods to sell them to the retailer;a  retailer has to be good to be sold to the consumer . Buying involves transfer of ownership of good from seller to buyer.
2. Assembling: Assembling means creating of maintenance of the Stock of goods , purchase from different sources. Generally , the dealer or middleman purchased the goods from more than one seller. In such a case , the goods have to be collected and assemble at one place.
3. Selling : Selling and buying are complementary to each other . Marketing efforts revolve around the buying and selling functions. In business the selling function is very important. The primary objective of the marketing is to sell the products at a profit. By selling the Ownership is transferred to the buyer. Sales are concerned with the activities , which converts the desire im to  demand. Creation of demand, its maintenance, expansion, etc., Are the sole of sales efforts.

2) function of physical supply:The second group of marketing process is the physical supply . These are the functions that are related with creation of place and time utilise is utilise.  Physical transfer of goods from the manufacturer to consumers takes place by means of the following functions;

1. Transportation: Marketing system requires an economical and effective transportation system. A good system of transportation increase the value of goods by the creation of place utility. The opening of new markets has been by the quick development of transportation and communication . It has resulted in the expansion of markets, regular supply at lower price and improved services to the consumer.
2. Storage and warehousing: When production is seasonal but consumption is permanent or when production is continuous but consumption is seasonal, storage becomes necessary. Storage involves holding and preserving of goods between the time of their production and the time of their consumption. It facilitates a steady flow of  commodities in the market. Warehouse can be maintained at central place from where the distribution can be made according to the needs of the consumers . Storage tends to adjust the supply to demand of the product and also holds the price line . Thus storage can be regarded as a function of equalisation . It creates  time and place utilities.
3. Choosing and Marketing the Channel of Distribution: A channel of distribution is a group of individuals and organisation that direct the flow of products from producers  to customers. Channel of distribution should products available at the right time, in the right place, and in the right quantity. Channel decision are critical because they determine a product presence and buyers accessibility  to the product.

3) Facilitating Functions: These function make marketing process easy.

1. Financing : It i very difficult to carry on marketing activities smoothly without the availability  of adequate and cheap financing. Commercial banks, cooperatives credit societies , and govt agencies arranges for short term , medium term, and long term financing to facilitate marketing . Trade credit is also one of the important sources of financing.
2. Pricing: Pricing is also an important function which is closely related to selling . Price policy of the concern directly affects the profits element and therefore , its successful functioning. In determine the price policy , several factor are to be borne in mind such as cost of the product, competitors prices , marketing policies , govt policy or customary or convenient prices , etc.
3. Risk - Bearing: In marketing there arises numerous risks- damages to goods, physical loss , changes in economic value of goods, mismanagement, credit losses , etc. There are more or less inherent in the marketing process . There are losses - on accounts of fire, floods, deterioration, bad debts, etc. On all these occasion, an intelligent businessman minimises risks. thus, the risks are to be shouldered , shifted or reduced. Some of the risks are insurable , while offers are not.
4. Standardisation: Standardisation  is related with the division of commodities into distinct groups. Standard is used in providing certain basic quantity to the goods  for their use. Standard is a specification. It is a ‘norm’, ‘grade’ or ‘category’. Standards are fixed on physical characteristics of products. The  standardised products process uniform characteristics.
5. Market Information : The desired success of marketing depends on corrects and timely decision. These are decisions are based on the market information or market intelligence. Modern marketing is must have information of sizes , location , characteristics of markets, etc. The  customers wants , habits , purchasing powers, etc., are to be considered; the strength or weakness or competitors, trend in market , supply and demand ,etc. are also to be taken into consideration .Marketing conditions are dynamics and affect the industry to any extent . Market info includes all facts , estimates , opinions and other information making decision, which affects the marketing of products or services.
6. Managing Products: The marketing function is  responsible for forecasting  and managing the rate of supply and distribution of firms existing products. Of equal  importance will be its ability to determine what new products should be developed by the firms

4)Other Function:

1. Identifying Marketing Opportunities : This includes identifying the needs and wants of the different type if customers and convertible them to marketable opportunities. At the same time it necessary to be aware of technological developments taking places outside the firm and  of new product development activities taking place within the organisation.
2. Promoting Products and Services : The marketing function will be responsible for communicating target market customers the existence of its products and  the benefits to be obtained from purchasing them . The advertising and promotional process is aimed at the target customer group so that it:   

a)communicate with customers

b)persuade/informs the customers.

c)encourages the customer to make further purchase of the firm products or services .

3. Planning the Marketing Activity : Marketing planning involves deciding marketing strategy that will help the company attain its overall objectives. The primary objectives for most companies is to make profit, so the marketing plan outlines how company resources can be maximised in meeting customer need so that this can happen.