Marketing Management

The term “Marketing” literally means the use of communication. In other words marketing is a process through which the marketing of a product or service takes place. It involves the analysis of prospective customers, gathering information about those customers, designing and intending the marketing campaigns, testing marketing strategies, implementing the marketing programs, and monitoring the results of the marketing efforts. Marketing is one of the most important activities of any business. Without marketing a product or service, no business can survive.

Marketing involves many processes and it is an interactive process. Marketing is carried out by defining and communicating the general concept of the products and services that the company intends to sell to its customers. A marketing concept consists of the marketing philosophy, organizational structure, financial structure, and customer needs and wants. Marketing therefore, is a concept that encompasses all aspects of conducting business. Marketing therefore, refers to the entire process that an organization undertakes in order to engage its targeted customer audience, develop brand equity, create value for the company through value creation, and then extract value from the customers through satisfaction.

Marketing is an overall approach and requires three main elements: the customer, the market, and the marketing concept. The customer is the person to whom the product is to be sold; the market is the collection of persons who actually buy the product; and the marketing concept is the structure, values, rules and guidelines on which the marketing program is based. These three elements need to be combined in harmony in order to make the marketing concept work effectively. There are many approaches that organizations use to develop and fine tune the marketing concept. These include but are not limited to, financial, functional, and ethical issues, technical issues, regulatory issues, social issues and internal management issues.

Marketing concepts are designed to meet the objectives of the marketers. Marketing concepts are used to create awareness, to promote the product or service, and to generate sales for the organization. The product concept is how the marketers intend to sell a product or service to the customers. Marketing concepts help in creating a need for a product, driving customers towards purchasing the product or service, and maintaining customer loyalty. A marketing strategy therefore focuses on all these aspects. The market concept focuses on the demographics and the buying behavior of the customers.

Marketing concepts are implemented by marketing professionals who have the authority and the knowledge to create a need for buying by the customers. A marketing management concept therefore consists of various components such as advertising, promotion, sales promotion, and selling. Advertising is the manner in which the product or service is advertised. It may be through media like newspapers, magazines, billboards, trade shows, electronic mail etc. Sales promotion involves creating and setting up the selling structure such as the sales floor, the customer database, and the product catalogue. Selling is the manner by which the product or service is marketed to the customers.

The concepts of marketing are used to identify and address the market problems in the customers so that the needs of the customers can be fulfilled. The marketing concept therefore aims at meeting the consumer’s requirements. This concept is the base of the selling process and involves the development of marketing plans. It is very important to use a marketing plan effectively for attaining the goals of marketing. Marketing research is an essential part of the concept and helps in the identification of the marketing needs of the consumers.