Discuss the role of marketing and the marketing department of tesco to illustarte the points you make - Essay Example

marketing department has to either seek new territories or new products or, most importantly, create new demand within an established market. Innovative ideas and affirmative action can generate new demand even for existing products. Initiatives like consumer loan schemes in association with banks, discounts, incentives, gift schemes, limited time offers and targeted promotion are the forte of marketing departments. Thus marketing plays a crucial role in any organisation. The famous four Ps (product-price-packaging-promotion) together with distribution and service form the tools of a marketing department.

For successful marketing, it is necessary to understand the customer preferences for products, distribution logistics and strengths of competition. Customer preferences depend upon price, packaging and promotion. In all these matters, the marketing department has a vital role as it acts as the communication bridge between the customers’ preferences and the company. It also constantly monitors distributor / retailer activity, their inputs regarding customers feedback on product quality, price and attractiveness.

While these activities keep the marketing department on its toes all the time, there is the ever-present threat of newer products and newer players entering the market, taking away customers on the one hand and the demands of management for improved performance on the other. Within the allotted budget, marketing department has to maintain the existing market share and take actions for garnering new customers or entering new territories. These activities form the ‘challenging role’ for any marketing department.

‘Customer is the king’ is the marketing mantra and the efficiency with which he is serviced will determine an organisation’s success or failure. offering a basic product with variations in features, quality and packaging in order to service different customer segments. Obviously, this is intricately related to