Meaning and Definitions of Marketing:
Generally,
the marketing is the purchase and sale of commodities are taken to be the meaning of
marketing. Even a top executive in the field of marketing feels that marketing
is to sell. A farmer feels that the sale of agricultural products in the market
is marketing. A general consumer feels that the purchase of goods and services
for the satisfaction of his needs is marketing. A businessman feels that the sale
of his stock is marketing, but it is a limited form of thinking to think so.
Marketing is somewhat broader and wider than it is understood. Marketing can broadly
be divided into two parts:
Narrow
or Product Oriented Concept of Marketing:
This
concept of marketing stresses upon the concept product. It is traditional in
marketing. It is based on the assumption that whatever is produced by the
producer can be easily and readily sold in the market without any problem. This
concept further assumes that customer has no important role to play in the market.
Therefore, the producer is to concentrate only upon the production. He need not
to bother for the choice or likings of the customers.
"Marketing comprises both buying and selling
activities." This definition of Marketing consists only the purchase and
sale. It ignores the functions of physical distribution and auxiliary functions
of marketing.
F. Pyle,
"Marketing consists
of those efforts which affect transfers in the ownership of goods and services
distribution." This definition is, and provide for their physical includes
the transfers of course, wider than that of Prof. ownership and physical
distribution in the meaning of Pyle. It is marketing.
Tousley, Clark and Clark,
"Marketing is the performance of
business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to
consumer or user."
American Marketing
Association
Narrow concept of
marketing is clear that:
First, this marketing starts only
after the completion of the production process.
Second, it assumes that the
producers or sellers of goods and services know what is good and what is bad
for their consumers. In other words, this definition lays emphasis upon
production than the customer. It is
called product-oriented concept of marketing.
Therefore, this marketing represent only a limited and narrow
concept of marketing.
Broad or Customer-oriented Concept of Marketing.
This concept of marketing lays more emphasis on customers than production.
Therefore, this concept is known as a customer-oriented concept. Main definitions
of this concept are as follows:
"Marketing is the
process of discovering and translating consumer needs and wants into product
and service specifications, creating demand for these products and services and
then in turn expanding this demand.'
Prof. H. L. Hansen,
This definition of marketing,
explains some very important facts of the meaning of marketing.
1) First, Marketing functions
do not start with the production. They start well before production. First of
all the needs and wants of consumers are discovered.
2) Second, when the needs and
wants of consumers are discovered, goods and services are produced to meet
these wants and needs.
3) Third, demand is created
for these goods and services and then this demand is expanded.
Thus, it includes investigation regarding the needs and tastes of
consumers, planning for production of goods and services so that these needs
may be effectively satisfied and the determination of marketing policies and
programmes.
"Marketing is the business process by which products are matched with markets and through which
transfers of ownership are affected."
Cundiff and Still,
This definition makes it clear that the producer produces
goods and services, according to the needs and requirements of the market or of
customers. Thus, it is clear that the functions of marketing commence well in
advance before production.
"Marketing is a total
system of interacting business activities designed to plan, price, promote and
distribute want-satisfying products and services to present and potential
customers.’’
William J. Stanton,
It includes all the activities performed by the producers to
satisfy the marketing needs of their customers in the field of marketing. Thus,
marketing functions start well before production and continue till the wants of
customers are satisfied.
"Marketing is the response of businessman to the needs to adjust production capabilities to the
requirements of consumer demands."
E. Jerome McCarthy,
This definition of marketing makes it clear that marketing is
an activity of producing the goods and services to meet the demands of
consumers.
"Marketing is the analysing,
organising, planning and controlling of the firm's customer impinging
resources, policies and activities with a view to satisfying the needs and wants
of chosen customer-groups at a profit.'
Philip Kotler,
It clear that all the marketing activities cluster around the
needs and wants of consumers. These activities start with the discovery of such
needs and end with the satisfaction of these needs.
Functions of Marketing
[I] Merchandising Functions:
Merchandising
functions of marketing include all those functions of marketing which are
performed in relation to create a demand of a product and to make it available
in a specific market having some specific needs. Following are the functions
included in this group:
(1) Product Planning and Development: A producer has to produce
the goods and services according to the needs of his customers so that the
object of customer satisfaction may be achieved. He has to make the design,
size, weight, price and packing of his product according to the changing needs
and tastes of his customers. Therefore, the very first function of marketing is
to plan product and to develop it so that it may satisfy the expectations of
customers.
At the early stage of trade and commerce, the function of product planning and
development was performed by the production department with the help of engineering
and technical research development. Therefore, nowadays, all the important
decisions related to product planning, product modification, product
development, gradation, standardisation, diversification, brand, and packing,
etc. are taken by the marketing department.
(2) Standardising and Grading: The goods are produced on the basis of
definite standards as to the quality of the product, size of the product, colour of
product, weight of product, price of the product, etc. Standardising and grading
make it easy for both the consumers and sellers to achieve their individual
objects.
(3) Buying and Assembling: For the purpose of functions of
marketing, buying means the acquisition of goods and services by the seller or
industrial user for the purpose of resale. Assembling means the collection of
different types of goods and services by mediators for the purpose of resale.
For example- The purchase of crop of small farmers scattered
throughout the country by wholesale grain merchants is the assembling because
they sell it to the retailers who sell them to the ultimate consumers for real
consumption. Such types of activities are included within the purview of
functions of marketing.
(4) Selling: Broadly speaking, marketing does not mean to sell the
goods and services only. It includes the discovery of tastes and wants of the
customers, production of goods and services according to their tastes, creation
of demand, real sale, and after-sale services. For the achievement of this
purpose, it becomes essential for the marketing personnel to establish effective
coordination among the activities of advertisement, personal selling, sales
promotion and after-sale service.
[II] Physical Distribution Functions:
Physical distribution functions of marketing are the
activities performed for the purpose of distributing the goods and services to
their real consumers.These functions include all the functions related to the
transportation of goods and services from the place of producer or seller to
the place of buyer. It includes the following two functions.
(1) Storage: Storage is considered to be the main activity of marketing these days.
Whenever and whatever the production is seasonal and consumption is parenial, the
goods are to be stored in good condition from the time of production till the
time of consumption. Storage aims at meeting different objects such as-- Gap
between the time of production and the time of consumption, to get the expected
appreciation in prices, to capture the market, etc.
(2) Transportation. Transportation refers to the real distribution of goods from
the place of production to the place of consumption. Business and
transportation are the two aspects of one coin. One is its head' and the other
is its tail. Effective marketing system must be associated with an economical
and effective transportation system because an effective system of
transportation creates place utility. Production at large scale and
specialisation has been possible only because of the means of transportation.
[III] Auxiliary Functions:
Auxiliary
functions are the functions which make the process of marketing easy and
convenient. It includes the following functions:
(1) Marketing Finance. Marketing finance means the arrangement of adequate finance
for the distributing the goods and services to their real consumers. Marketing
Finance is a very important function of marketing because it is only an
imagination to carry on marketing activities successfully without adequate
finance. The businessman has to arrange for short-term finance, medium-term
finance and long-term finance according to the needs of the business.
(2) Risk Bearing. Marketing involves many large risks. Some are the risks
which can be insured, such as flood, fire theft, robbery, dacoity, Toot, etc.
On the other hand, some are the risks which cannot be insured, such as - fall
in the prices, changes in the demand, changes in the fashion, changes in the
tastes of consumers, etc. These risks can never be eliminated, however, these
can be minimized through an effective system of sales forecasting, market
advertisement, sales promotion and product research, diversification, etc.
(3) Market Information. Market information plays a very wide role in the success of
an enterprise. A businessman has to collect different types of market
information so that he can chalk out his market programme and policy according
to this information. The market information includes the collection of data
regarding trend of the market, Government policy, price policy of different
business enterprises, tastes of consumers, change in fashion, scientific
development, channels of distribution, media of advertisement, etc. No business
effort can be successful in the absence of this information. These information
are collected by different business enterprises, specialised Agencies,
Government and Research scholars at different times, papers and magazines. A
businessman must collect all these information to get through these problems so
that he may make necessary changes in his marketing policy and programme.
(4) Pricing. Pricing is perhaps the most important decision taken by a businessman.
It is the decision upon which the success or failure of an enterprise depends
to large extent. Therefore, the price must be determined only after taking all the
relevant factors into consideration. While determining pricing policy, the factors
to be considered are the cost of production, the severity of competition, prices of
competitors, marketing policy, Government policy, and the buying capacity of
consumers, etc.
