Read this article to learn the (i) Nature of Marketing, (ii) Scope of Marketing, (iii) Functions of Marketing, and (iv) Importance of Marketing…
Nature of Marketing
This includes various related points like:
1. Marketing is a part of the total Environment:
The business environment defines its threats and opportunities. A marketing system is directly related to the distribution and production of goods, ideas, services, place, and persons for the satisfaction of human needs. However, it is better to look at the remote and adequate environment of any marketing organization.
2. Marketing is Consumer-oriented:
A business is a work to satisfy human needs. The activities of marketing must be focussed and directed at the customer. It involves the combination of various business activities whose main objective is the gratification of customer needs and desires.
By satisfying the previous needs of the consumers and creating new needs or wants for improved and better products, marketing sets the pattern of consumption and improves the standard of living of the individuals.
3. Marketing is a Specialized Business Function:
In any business organization, the selling function did not require any special skill. But in the previous days marketing requires a specialized skill, the management of a business firm has to develop a business organization with a motive of absorbing new approaches, new ideas, and new marketing demands.
4. Marketing as a Discipline:
The topic of marketing is an essential part of a business which has desired its existence from economics.
After appearing from business, Marketing has got its strength from related areas- psychology, law, sociology, anthropology, statistics, mathematics, because of the related problems affecting heavily on consumer behaviour, research canon consumer needs, advertising media, legal aspects of marketing, promotion, pricing method, etc.
5. Marketing is a System:
Marketing is a system including several inter-dependent and sub-systems. It is right that a system might vary according to changes in the concept. In simple words, the marketing system may be called as a socio-economic process.
In another sense, the marketing system is a combination of the firm and society.
6. Marketing is a Social Function:
Marketing is a kind of social function because it requires interaction with the various segment of society. It involves the combination of various business activities whose main objective is the satisfaction of consumer desires and needs.
7. Marketing Starts and Ends with the Consumer:
Traditional marketing is concerned only with the flow of goods or services from the manufacturer to the consumer. Under consumer-oriented marketing, it is essential to understand what the consumers really want. It is possible when data of information are collected from the consumers.
So, that is the reason, marketing information system and marketing research have emerged as a full-fledged function of marketing.
8. Marketing creates mutual relationships:
A customer is the focus of all marketing activities. But during the last previous years, the focus has shifted to the way of doing business, i.e., the strategic approaches of marketing.
Here the means of marketers are their experience and knowledge, and the end result is in the form of a mutual better relationship. Marketing is everything that results in mutually better relationships with potential buyers or customers.
Scope / Functions of Marketing:
The functions or scope of marketing in business can be categorized into three parts:
- Research Functions
- Exchange Functions
- Physical Supply Functions
- Facilitating Functions
1. Research Functions:
(i) Marketing Research:
This is a primary function of marketing. In developing world economy, we can not survive without market research and analysis. In marketing research, we predict the buyer’s behavior, habits, taste, preferences, other substitute products, different income groups in society, etc.
It provides much essential information about products in the market to the marketing manager. So, In this way, marketing research helps in to take a decision for the pre-production stage of any product.
(ii) Product Planning and Development:
The growth of any marketing division depends upon the nature of the product demanded by the buyers. The product must be so developed and designed that it meets the requirements of the buyers.
In this way, marketing research mainly focused on knowing the needs of customers and according to these, we can ensure planning, growth, and development of the product.
2. Exchange Functions:
(i) Buying and Assembling:
Firstly, resources are purchased for production by the industrial businesses and finished goods are purchased for resale by the commercial businesses. The essential role of marketing development is to supply the necessary information regarding the preferences and needs of customers.
In the process of purchasing, it makes coordination between marketing officials and purchasing officials to purchase the right resources at the right time in the right quantities.
(ii) Selling:
Selling is a kind of routine activity. It consists only the physical movement of goods and services. It stresses upon maximization of profits through maximization of sales.
3. Physical Supply Functions:
(i) Standardization, Grading, and Branding:
In standardizing process, marketers establish a basic measure to which products must have to be designed. Grading is the process of separating the goods according to established specifications to determine the grades. When producers supply their goods by well-defined names is called branding.
(ii) Packaging and Labelling:
The packaging protects goods from unnecessary problems and also provides necessary information to our buyers. Labeling is a part of the packaging. Through labelling, a manufacturer communicates grade, brand, weight, and other things about the product.
(iii) Storage:
Storage helps to store the goods in an optimum quantity and also provide the full safety to our manufactured goods.
(iv) Transportation:
Transportation helps our manufacturer to transfer their goods or material from one place to another place.
4. Facilitating Functions:
(i) Financing:
Financing is a term by which the company can run our business because it provides the working structure to the company. With the proper fund of finance, the company can easily purchase the raw materials and can pay the expenses.
Various commercial banks, industrial banks, co-operative institutions, consumer-credit co-operative centers, etc., provide financing facilities for dispersion of working capital.
(ii) Salesmanship:
Without the art of salesmanship, we cannot sell any product sequentially. Through various techniques of salesmanship like demonstrating, personal selling, sample distribution for measuring qualities of a product and taking feedback of customers, a salesperson finds out what his buyers need and does his best to meet it.
(iii) Advertising:
Advertising is an important term of marketing. Through advertising, a seller communicates a message about the product and promote its sale. A seller uses various modes of advertising like magazines, newspapers, hoardings, radio, television, and so on.
(iv) Marketing Information:
Marketing managers require a lot of correct and accurate information. This information becomes the foundation of many decisions in marketing.
Marketing information makes a seller know when to sell, at what price to sell, who are the opponents, etc. In the modern business environment marketing information is the primary source for making business decisions in marketing.
Importance of Marketing
The importance or significance of marketing in business can be explained as under:
1. Helpful in Communication between Manufacturer and Customers:
Through marketing activities, a seller collects various information regarding customer taste and their preferences and changes in customer behaviour from time to time.
On the other hand, marketing gives necessary information regarding product quality, place, price, product quantity to buyers. In this way, buyers come to know about the new products.
2. Helpful in Profit Maximization:
Profit maximization is the main task of every business firm. Marketing makes easier to availability of products are reduced cost at each level.
It creates demand for products through sales promotion and advertisement activities. All these efforts create a maximum profit of the firm.
3. Helpful in Decision-Making:
In modern changing economy a seller collects information and takes accurate decisions regarding the business. All over the marketing activities deeply concerned with are of decision-making. On the basis of various information seller able to take the right decision.
4. Provides Employment:
Marketing activities require the services of various enterprises such as insurance, finance, production, transportation, research, wholesaler, warehousing, advertising, and retailers. These services require a large number of individuals and it provides employment to society.
5. Provides Standard of Living:
Marketing provides the best goods and services to the people in the society according to their needs and expectations. Marketing generates, increases and maintains the demand for an existing product and new product and improve the standard of living of the society.
