Explain ‘Market Planning’ and ‘Product Designing and Development’ as functions of marketing.
Marketing Planning: In order to achieve the objectives of an organisation with regard to its marketing, the marketeer chalks out his marketing plan. For example, a company has a 25 per cent market share of particular product. The company wants to raise it to 40 per cent. In order to achieve this objective the marketeer shall have to prepare a plan in respect of the level of production and promotion efforts. It will also be decided that who will do what, when and how. To do this is known as marketing planning.
Product Designing and Development: Product designing plays an important role in product selling. The company whose product is better and attractively designed sales will be more than the product of a company whose design happens to be weak and unattractive. In this way, it can be said that the possession of a special design affords a company competitive advantage. It is important to remember that it is not sufficient to prepare a design in respect of a product, but it is more important to develop it continuously.
‘Bending the customer according to the Product’ and ‘Developing the product according to customer-needs’ are the two important concepts of marketing management. Identify the concepts and differentiate between the two.
(i) ‘Bending the customer according to the product.’ – This statement is related with selling concept.
(ii) ‘Developing the product according to customer needs.’ – This statement is related with marketing concept.
Following are the main differences:
Basis of Difference |
Selling Concept |
Marketing Concept |
1. Starting Point |
Factory. |
Market. |
2. Main Focus |
Attracting consumers. |
Consumer satisfaction. |
3. Means |
Advertising, personal selling and sales promotion. |
Various marketing activities. |
4. Ends |
Profit through maximum sales. |
Profit through consumer satisfaction. |
Explain briefly the various marketing functions performed by a modern business enterprise.
Or
Explain various functions of marketing.
There are various functions of marketing described as below:
Define Marketing. Explain its features.
Definition: According to Philip Kotler, “Marketing is that social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating offerings and freely exchanging products and services of value with others.”
Features: Following are the main features of marketing:
(i) Need and Want: Marketing is the process of fulfilling the needs and wants of the consumers. All the people have almost the same needs but their wants happen to be different, e.g., feeling hungry is a need but satisfying it by eating only sambhar and dosa is a want. A seller tries to find out the needs of the consumers and how those needs are to be satisfied.
(ii) Creating a Market Offering: It refers to provide complete information about the product and services e.g., providing information about the name of product and service, type, price, size, centre of availability, etc. A good market offer is always prepared keeping in mind the needs and priorities of the customers.
(iii) Customer Value: A buyer analyses the cost and the satisfaction that a product provides before buying it. When he find that the satisfaction, that it provides out weighs the cost factors, only then he buys it. The seller should manufacture the product keeping in view this tendency of the customer.
(iv) Exchange Mechanism: Literal meaning of marketing is exchanging things. Marketing has two sides — buyer and seller. Marketing becomes possible only by the medium of exchange between the two. For example, the seller gives goods and services and in exchange the buyer gives money or something equivalent to it. These days the distance between the place of production and the place of consumption has increased. To lessen this distance the help of many intermediaries like the agents, wholesalers, retailers, etc. is taken. All these reduce this distance through the medium of marketing. Therefore, it can be said that exchange is the essence of marketing.
What is meant by the 'Product Concept’of marketing?
Those companies who believe in this philosophy are of the opinion that if the quality of goods or services is of good standard, the customers can be easily attracted. The basis of this thinking is that the customers get attracted towards the products of good quality. On the basis of this philosophy or idea these companies direct their marketing efforts to increasing the quality of their product.