Most important role of marketing - Essay Example

Marketing is mostly seen by many people as only advertising and selling of a product or a service. But real marketing is not only considered as an art of selling, but it is also considered as the art where an organization gains market leadership by understanding the customers wants and needs and making sure that those wants and needs are fulfilled and which will satisfy the customer. For example, if customer value and satisfaction are missing from a product or a service, then any kind of advertising or selling will not be able to compensate or help the company with keeping a profitable relationship with their customers and the company will be able to become a leader in its market.

Simply stated, the aim of marketing is to create and build and manage profitable customer relationships. Marketers study customer needs and wants, select target markets that they think they will serve best, design products and services and programs to serve the select markets. Marketers are the ones who have to attract new customers by making sure that customers are given superior value so that the current customers and the potential customers are satisfied with their product and they remain loyal with the company.

Marketers throughout the organizations need to know how to define and segment markets, develop attractive value propositions and to build strongly positioned brands for their company. The marketers must know how to price their company's product and to make them attractive and affordable. They need to know how to advertise and promote products to customers and they must know how to adapt to their marketing strategies and management to a host of new technological and global realities. Clearly need a broad range of skills in order to build profitable relationships with their customers.

Consumer/Market Analysis and TargetingMarket AnalysisWhen we talk about market analysis, the company needs to have thorough knowledge of their market and need to decide upon their market's size, growth rate, profitability, trends, the success factors and distribution channels etc. The rapid technological change, global competition and the diversity of the buyers preferences in many markets require the constant attention of market watchers to identify promising business opportunities, see the shifting requirements of buyers, evaluate changes in competitive positioning and guide the choice of which buyers to target and how to position a product or service.

Mapping the entire market is considered very important for the company to understand and anticipate market changes and competitive threats. Understanding the markets and how they are going to change in the future indefinitely, are considered very important elements to market driven strategies for a company like Orange Crush of Dr Pepper Snapple, which is an orange soft drink. The importance of forming a vision about the future is highlighted by the changes occurring in the beverage market. The key strategic issue for Orange Crush and other beverage companies competing in this market is anticipating the nature and the scope of the impact of the introduction of