Marketing is a Management Responsibility - Term Paper Example

MARKETING PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts Monday, November 8th, INTRODUCTION: Marketing refers to the process of researching, distributing, selling and promoting ones product or services. Thus the keyword here is the "process". It is basically the process which engages potential customers and clients in one’s products and/or services. There are various definitions of marketing. DEFINITION The Chartered Institute of Marketing defined marketing as The management process responsible for identifying , anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably Philip Kotler defined marketing as satisfying needs and wants through an exchange process PERSONAL VIEW: Actually marketing is a management responsibility. Thus its implementation should not be left to junior staff members only. It takes a lot of effort to co-ordinate, plan and implement campaigns. Marketing campaigns primarily aim at creating customer’s value satisfaction. (Anthony R. Bennett. (1997).20 ) (G.E. Kiser, S.R.G. Rao, C.P. RAO. (1974) 18-22.) The objectives, goals and targets of marketing have to be monitored and met. The competitor strategies must be evaluated, estimated and exceeded. It is only through the effective use of market and its research that an organization can identify its customer’s needs and wants and try to deliver the value its customer wants .It is very important for the organization to ensure that its customers are satisfied. Marketing uses the process of exchange to give the customers the value they desire on their products and services. Exchange transaction requires the customer to exchange value (money) for the product or services that completely satisfy their needs. Clearly, the greater the benefit provided the higher transactional value an organization can charge. It is thus the process by which companies create customer interest in their goods or services. (A. R. Thorne. (1971). 1-7) Marketing can be perceived in three ways. It can be perceived as an: As an activity. As a function As a philosophy. As an activity marketing can only take place where there is a market. It refers to the activity through which exchanges are undertaken. Marketing can be perceived as a social and managerial process through which the customers get what they want. They do it through the process of creating, offering and exchanging products of value for money. Marketing can be considered as a function; It is a philosophy that has an impact on the over-all dealings of an organization with the marketplace. (David M. Reid. (1980). 19-23.) (Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005).8-13.) MARKETING CONCEPTS AND its DEVELOPMENT The need for marketing rose as a result of the increasing needs, wants and demands of the customers. Needs are a basic requirement for human survival, while wants are the specific means by which individuals’ satisfy their needs. The term, value is one of the most important notions in marketing. It is the difference between the total costs of making a purchase and the total benefits received. In short, it accounts for both, the benefits that a customer gets by making a purchase and also the costs it incurs in the process ( both the money cost and the non money costs. i.e. time, effort etc) (Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005).8-13.) (David M. Reid. (1980). 19-23.) Marketing concepts have evolved and changed overtime. Presently, customer is considered as the forefront. This practice was not followed in the past. Businesses in the past considered other concepts more important. The thinking, orientation or ideology of the past businesses ‘put other factors in the forefront. (Mohammed Rafiq, Pervaiz K. Ahmed. (1995). 29-31) These concepts are: MARKETING IN PAST: Production oriented: In the past, the focus of the businesses would not be the needs of the customer, but would be cost reduction via economies of scale and having mass production. The businesses would thus maximize profits by reducing costs. Product Orientation: Production oriented approach is when the companies believe that their products are superior, are high on quality and have good features. Thus they believe that their customers will also like the products. Sales Orientation: Only focuses on making and selling the product, even if they are not be according to the customers’ needs and demand. However, the problem then could be that consumers do not like what is being sold to them. (David M. Reid. (1980). 19-23.) (Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005).8-13.) MARKETING IN PPRESENT: - THE DEVELOPED MARKETING CONCEPT: Market Orientation: is the modern and developed marketing concept that puts the customer at the heart of the business. The business then tries to understand the needs and desires of their potential customers by using suitable research methods. Then Appropriate processes are developed to make sure that the customer information is fed back into the heart of the organization. In short, all the activities, are centered on the customers and they are treated as masters of all. (David M. Reid. (1980). 19-23.) (Chris Lane. (1988).20.) In today’s rapidly changing world, it is strategically important to put the customers at the heart of the business. But some businesses in certain industries may still have to put other concepts other then the market orientation concept. The businesses that follow the market orientation concept have a greater chance of being successful. ROLE OF MARKETING IN ORGANIZATION: Today, the role of marketing in organizations has become very important. Making effective marketing strategy and defining the product the right way for the right customers will separate winners from losers. (Chris Lane. (1988).20.) For organizations, marketing is a vital business that is necessary in every industry. It is important for both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. But marketing helps both types of organizations in its own way. For the for-profit organization, marketing is responsible for most tasks that bring revenue and, hopefully, profits to an organization. Whereas for the not-for-profit organization, it is the responsibility of marketing to attract customers in order to support the not-for-profit’s mission ; missions like for supporting a cause or raising donations. But in either case, it is unlikely that the business ideas will thrive without the support of strong marketing. (Chris Lane. (1988).20.) (Oliver Richardson, Charles Dennis. (2003).13) Marketing is also that business area of the organization which interacts with the public. It is thus through marketing that a company gets to know what its customers feel about it. It is through marketing intelligence, that organizations gets to know about the 5 Cs, company, customer, context, competitors and the consumers. In the modern economic society, marketing has been very close to everyone’s life. It aims to understand the customer and come up with those practice that satiate his needs. Marketing refers to all the activities that start from the place of production till it reaches the final consumers. In other words, it means those activities concerned with the services of warehousing, product planning, merchandising, promotion, distribution, advertising, publicity, R&D, sales and the transportation. (Roger B. Mason, Gavin Staude. (2009).16-22.) (Oliver Richardson, Charles Dennis. (2003).13) Marketing plays an important role in all these activities in an organization. Marketing in an organization helps in Research and development .this ensures that organizations create better products or services, which serve the individual needs more efficiently. It plays an important role in transforming marketing information into products and later, in the positioning of these products in the minds of the potential target market. Marketing department in any organization helps the management by providing marketing intelligence. Marketing intelligence refers to facts, information, and insight. This information is provided to the organization’s top management and can be used for decision making. Market intelligence is primarily, concerned with future, forecasting, and predicting in context of the past. The concept of corporate marketing provides information about the competitive environment. It also provides insight into other types of customers for instance, the trade customers and advocates customer orientation for developing a long-term corporate strategy. (David M. Reid. (1980). 19-23.) (Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005).8-13.) Strategic Marketing in any organization provides an analysis of competition and the customer in order to develop long-term business strategies, to gain competitive advantage. Competitive advantage refers to any advantage achieved by a firm. It is achieved due to a superior product or by bringing the product at a lower price than most of its competitors. Strategic marketing also means developing segmenting, targeting and positioning strategies. Even product-line decisions fall under the re-alma of strategic marketing. Marketing Management means the short term evolution and implementation of marketing strategies to achieve business unit objectives, coordinating marketing activities and allocating resources. (Paul Herbig, Bradley O’Hara, Frederick A. Palumbo. (1998). 20-21.) ROLE OF MARKETING IN RELATION TO CUSTOMERS: Marketing teams in this new customer-centric business world are becoming more and more customer oriented When businesses cater the different customers’ need based on the information they get about them, they have created a unique value proposition for their businesses that their competitors can’t match. Value proposition defines how a company’s products or services fulfill the needs of the customers. (William B. Wagner. (1989). 13-15.) As marketers begin to understand their customers’ needs, they can create more customized and relevant campaigns, and are more likely to prompt engagement of customers with the brand. Thus, we see that the key objective of an organization’s marketing efforts is to develop good customer relationships. These relationships not only benefit the organization but the customers as well. (Vincent-Wayne Mitchell, Mike Greatorex. (1988). 22) MARKETING IN FUTURE: Marketing will continue to grow in future. It will continue to be the driver behind growth in businesses in the years to come. In future, due to the presence of intense competition, marketing will have to play an even more strategic role. Marketers will have the skills and talent to think strategically and will have the authority to even persuade the CEO to think in terms of creating branded items rather than just focusing on sales. Consumers are thinking and behaving in new ways, looking forward to new things, cooperating differently - and are increasingly prejudiced, intolerant and impatient with. With the increasing customers’ demands, Marketing will altogether mean a different mindset in future. (Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005).8-13.) BIBLIOGRAPHY: Anthony R. Bennett. (1997). The five Vs - a buyer’s perspective of the marketing mix . Marketing Intelligence & Planning . Volume: 15 (issue 3), G.E. Kiser, S.R.G. Rao, C.P. RAO. (1974). Clues to the design of a marketing mix. European Journal of Marketing . 8 (2), 18-22. A. R. Thorne. (1971). The marketing mix – a problem analysis. European Journal of Marketing1971. Volume: 5 (4), 1-7. David M. Reid. (1980). Evaluation of the Marketing Mix — Its Application to Strategic Marketing. European Journal of Marketing. Volume: 14 (4), 19-23. Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005). Finding the best marketing mix. Journal of Business Strategy . 26 (6), 8-13. Mohammed Rafiq, Pervaiz K. Ahmed. (1995). Using the 7Ps as a generic marketing mix: an exploratory survey of UK and European marketing academics. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 13 (9), 29-31. Chris Lane. (1988). WHY PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST MUST FORM AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE MARKETING MIX. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. Volume: 6 (2), 20. Oliver Richardson, Charles Dennis. (2003). UK vineyards sector case study: Analysis of retail activities using exemplar strategic marketing tools. British Food Journal. Volume: 105 (Issue: 9), 13. Roger B. Mason, Gavin Staude. (2009). An exploration of marketing tactics for turbulent environments. Industrial Management & Data Systems . Volume: 109 (2), 16-22. Paul Herbig, Bradley O’Hara, Frederick A. Palumbo. (1998). Trade show: who, what, why. Source: Marketing Intelligence & Planning . Volume: 16 (Issue: 7), 20-21. William B. Wagner. (1989). Icon: Backfiles. Customer Service: A Competitive Covenant. Management Decision. Volume: 27 (1), 13-15. Vincent-Wayne Mitchell, Mike Greatorex. (1988). Consumer Risk Perception in the UK Wine Market. European Journal of Marketing. 22. Read More