What Is Marketing Management

09/03/2021 What is Marketing Management?
What is Marketing Management?

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Everything you need to know about marketing management. Marketing

Management performs all managerial functions in the field of marketing.
Marketing Management identifies market opportunities and comes out with

appropriate strategies for exploring those opportunities profitably.
It has to implement marketing programme and evaluate continuously the

effectiveness of marketing-mix. It has to remove the deficiencies observed in the
actual execution of marketing plans, policies, and procedures. It looks after the
marketing system of the enterprise.
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Management is the process of getting things done in an organised and efficient

manner. Marketing management aims at efficient operation of marketing
activities.
Marketing management smoothen the process of exchange of ownership of goods

and services from seller to the buyer. Marketing management, like all other areas
of management comprises of the function of planning, organising, directing
coordinating and controlling.
Learn about:- 1. Definition of Marketing Management 2. Marketing Concept 3.

Features 4. Importance 5. Functions 6. Process 7. Scope 8. Marketing Mix 9.
Marketing Decision Making 10. Orientation 11. Issues.
What is Marketing Management:

Introduction, Definition, Concept,
Importance, Functions and Process
Content:
1. Introduction to Marketing Management

2. Definition of Marketing Management
3. Marketing Concept
4. Features of Marketing Management
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5. Importance of Marketing Management

6. Functions of Marketing Management
7. Process of Marketing Management
8. Scope of Marketing Management
9. Marketing Mix
10. Marketing Decision Making
11. Marketing Management Orientation
12. Issues of Marketing Management
What is Marketing Management – Introduction
In considering how the individual selling unit in the marketing system operates,
we will investigate the question- What is marketing management? Some readers
will be students who intend to be in marketing management, others already are
marketing managers, and still others may be in related activities that bear on mar-
keting management in either a managerial or a regulative capacity.
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To meet all their needs our main objective is to develop a structure, a “theory”, of
managerial marketing around which they can organize their reading and
experience in order to arrive at a better understanding of it.
This understanding can serve two objectives. First, it will help them obtain new
insights from the experiences they will be acquiring on the job in the future.
Inevitably they will develop from experience some such structure to serve this
crucial need anyway, so they can profit from new experience and new knowledge.
To acquire such a structure from experience alone, however, is a slow and often
uncertain process. Formal education can help them to speed this up so they grow
in marketing skill much faster.
Second, understanding of marketing management will permit a better grasp of the

role of marketing in economic development, which many countries are so
earnestly seeking. This structure is culture- free and can be applied to any
environment. In general, study of marketing management leads to a better
evaluation of marketing activity in terms of its performance in meeting the
consumer’s needs.
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Marketing management is the process of decision making, planning, and

controlling the marketing aspects of a company in terms of the marketing concept,
somewhere within the marketing system. Before proceeding to examine some of

the details of this process, comments on two aspects will be helpful background.
The marketing concept is simple in principle but often very difficult, if not
impossible, to fully implement. Adam Smith’s comment cited above is most
consistent with it. The concept is that a company can more effectively serve its
own objectives if it will integrate the various aspects of its marketing activities
explicitly so as to meet the preferences of its customers.
To one unfamiliar with company practice the need for implementing the concept
and the capacity to do it would seem to be so obvious as not to merit discussion.
This process of marketing management takes place “somewhere” within the

marketing system. Having seen the marketing system portrayed, you know that
“somewhere” can be within any of the many, many companies—manufacturing,
wholesaling and retailing—that make it up. Marketing management is practiced in
every one of them.
Assume, to simplify, that we are concerned only with the manufacturing level in a
direct sense because the manager we are considering occupies a marketing
management position there.
What is the nature of each of the three elements making up the marketing
management process – decision making, planning, and control?
What is Marketing Management – Definition:

Provided by Institute of Marketing Management
and Philip Kotler
Traditionally, markets were viewed as a place for exchange of goods and services
between sellers and buyers to the mutual benefit of both. Today, marketing is
exchange of values between the seller and the buyer. Value implies worth related
to the goods and services being exchanged. The buyer will be ready to pay for the
goods if they have some value for him.
Marketing is the business function that controls the level and composition of
demand in the market. It deals with creating and maintaining demand for goods
and services of the organization.
Marketing management is “planning, organising, controlling and implementing of

marketing programmes, policies, strategies and tactics designed to create and
satisfy the demand for the firms’ product offerings or services as a means of
generating an acceptable profit.”
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It deals with creating and regulating the demand and providing goods to
customers for which they are willing to pay a price worth their value.
Marketing Management performs all managerial functions in the field of

marketing. Marketing Management identifies market opportunities and comes out
with appropriate strategies for exploring those opportunities profitably. It has to
implement marketing programme and evaluate continuously the effectiveness of
marketing-mix. It has to remove the deficiencies observed in the actual execution
of marketing plans, policies, and procedures. It looks after the marketing system
of the enterprise.
Institute of Marketing Management, England, has defined Marketing Management

as “Marketing Management is the creative management function which promotes
trade and employment by assessing consumer needs and initiating research and
development to meet them. It co-ordinates the resources of production and
distribution of goods and services, determines and directs the total efforts required
to sell profitably to ultimate user”.
According to Philip Kotler, “Marketing Management is the art and science of

choosing target markets and building profitable relationship with them. Marketing
management is a process involving analysis, planning, implementing and control
and it covers goods, services, ideas and the goal is to produce satisfaction to the
parties involved”.
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From the above definitions, we can conclude that Marketing Management is the
process of management of marketing programmes for accomplishing
organizational goals and objectives.
Marketing Management Involves:
1. The setting of marketing goals and objectives,
2. Developing the marketing plan,
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3. Organising the marketing function,
4. Putting the marketing plan into action and
5. Controlling the marketing programme.
Marketing Management is both a science as well as an art. Those responsible for

marketing should have good understanding of the various concepts and practices
in marketing, communication, and analytical skills and ability to maintain
effective relationship with customers, which will enable them to plan and execute
marketing plans.
Continuous practice in the areas of personal selling, sales promotion, advertising,

etc. would enable them to become artists. Scientific and artistic aspects of
marketing would influence each other, leading to a new generation of marketing
managers.
What is Marketing Management – Concept
This concept advocates that a manufacturer should begin his task with the
consumer focus. He has to primarily study the consumer and understand the
needs, desires, requirements and conveniences of the latter. A manufacturer
should design a new product or improve an existing one strictly keeping in mind
the needs, desires etc. of the consumer. The product should exactly satisfy the
consumer.
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Therefore, a manufacturer should design and manufacture a product which will be

accepted by the consumer rather than the one which can be manufactured by him
easily. A consumer is basically fastidious and fickle minded. This makes that task
of understanding the consumer and designing an appropriate product much more
difficult, however this is the only way a manufacturer can succeed in a
competitive market.
Selling should be preceded by customer study, marketing research and product

development. The entire focus should be on the consumer and his needs.
“There will always, one can assume, be need for some selling. But the aim of
marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and
understand the consumer so well that that the product or service fits him and sells
itself. Ideally marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy. All that
should be needed then is to make the product or service available” – Peter
Drucker.
This concept is also called customer orientation.
The marketing concept which is also called the modern marketing concept as
practised by most of the firms in the present situation is actually a combination of
all the other concepts. The modern marketing concept consists of an integrated
effort on the part of the marketer to identify the consumer needs and satisfy them
through appropriately designed products and for this task use all the marketing
techniques related to product, selling, market study, consumer behavior, product
designing, pricing etc.
“The Marketing concept is a customer orientation backed by integrated marketing

aimed at generating customer satisfaction as the key to satisfying organizational
goals”. – Philip Kotler
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“Modern marketing concept is a corporate state of mind that insists on the

integration and co-ordination of all marketing functions which in turn are welded
with the other corporate functions for the basic objective of producing maximum
long range corporate profits.” -Felton
The following are the features of marketing concept (modern marketing

concept, integrated marketing concept, customer orientation):
i. Focus on customer needs – The needs of the consumer are studied and these
become the basis of all product related activities such as designing, pricing,
distribution, packaging etc.
ii. Providing consumer satisfaction – Every organization aims at providing

maximum consumer satisfaction by understanding his needs and designing an
appropriate product. The success of an organization is directly related to the
consumer satisfaction it provides.
iii. Integrated Marketing Management – Marketing management is only a part of

the total managerial functions of an organization such as finance management,
production management, human resources management etc. All these functions
are integrated in order to provide maximum satisfaction to the consumer. Thus all
the functional areas of an organization are integrated.
iv. Achieving organizational goals – Modern marketing states that an organization

must aim at maximizing consumer satisfaction and in the process enable itself to
achieve its goals such as growth, market share and reasonable amount of profit or
return on investment.
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v. Innovation – Innovation is an important tool to provide consumer satisfaction.

Innovative methods must be used to understand the consumer, design an
appropriate product and offer it to the consumer.
What is Marketing Management – Features:

Managerial Process, Consumer Centric,
Research Analysis, Planning and Development
and a Few Others
1. Managerial Process:
Marketing management is a managerial process involving planning, organising,

decision making, forecasting, directing, coordinating and controlling. Stanley
Vance defines management as the process of decision making and controlling.
Every aspect of marketing, starting with identifying the consumer’s need and
wants, identifying the targeted customer, product planning, development, pricing,
promotion, distribution process requires planning, decision making, coordination
and controlling.
2. Consumer Centric:
All marketing activities are consumer centric. The consumers are the king.
Marketing activities are based on the premise of “make what the market wants”.
The principal objective of marketing is to create new customers and to retain
current customer. Marketing management performs the task of converting the
potential customers into actual customer.
This is possible through satisfaction of customer’s needs and wants by delivering

them, appropriate goods and services according to their needs and wants, at right
time and through convenient channel.
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3. Research Analysis:
The basis function of marketing is identification of consumer’s needs and wants

.This requires continuous and systematic collection of data, analysis and reporting
of data relevant to marketing activities. This helps the management to understand
consumer’s needs, wants, preferences and behaviour of the consumer towards
firm’s marketing mix strategies. This helps in forecasting and planning future
course of action.
4. Planning and Development:
Marketing involves planning and development of goods and services.

Organizations make a continuous endeavour towards planning, development and
innovation of product and services so as to meet the changing demand, taste and
preferences of the consumers.
5. Building Marketing Framework:
Marketing activities are not just selling and distribution of ownership of goods
and services from the producer to the ultimate consumer. But it involves a series
of activities like research analysis, production, development and innovation,
advertisement and promotion pricing decision, selling and distribution, customer
relationship and after sales service.
All these functional areas of marketing must be effectively planned, organised and
built effectively to achieve best results. Marketing structure depends upon the size
of the enterprise, geographical coverage of the operation, number of product lines,
nature of product, size of customers.
6. Organizational Objectives:
All marketing activities are based on overall organisational objectives. The

marketer bridges the gap between overall organisational objectives of achieving
high profit and maximization of sales and consumer’s interest of satisfying needs.
7. Promotional and Communication Process:
The ultimate objective of a firm is to maximise sales volume and profit. This can
be achieved through promotion and communication about the goods and services.
This function of marketing management enables the firm to provide information
about the product to the customers.
8. Controlling of Activities:
Marketing management performs the function of controlling of marketing

activities. Marketing management evaluates the effectiveness of marketing
activities, to judge the efficiency of marketing personnel and the plans. This
process involves measuring the actual performance with the standard and
identifying the deviations and taking corrective actions.
What is Marketing Management – Importance:

Analysing Market Opportunities,
Determination of Target Market, Planning and
Decision Making and a Few More
Marketing management smoothen the process of exchange of ownership of goods

and services from seller to the buyer.
1. Analysing Market Opportunities:
Marketing management collects and analyses information related to consumer’s

needs, wants and demands, competitor’s marketing strategies, changing market
trends and preferences. This helps to identify market opportunities.
2. Determination of Target Market:
Marketing management helps to identify the target market that the organization
wishes to offer its product.
3. Planning and Decision Making:
Marketing management helps to prepare future course of action. Planning relates

to product introduction, diversification. Decision making regarding pricing,
selection of promotional mix, selection of distribution channel is taken by the
marketing management.
4. Creation of Customer:
Consumers determine the future of the market .Therefore providing the best
product to the consumer according to their preference is the important task of
marketing. Marketing management helps in creation of new customers and
retention of current customers.
5. Helps in Increasing Profit:
Marketing caters to the varied and unlimited needs of consumers. Marketing

management helps to increase profit and sales volume. This is achieved by
expansion of market and increasing customers.
6. Improvement in Quality of Life:
Marketing management aims at providing innovative product and services to the

customers. Marketers continuously strive to incorporate new technology and
mechanism in their product to provide more satisfaction to customers than before.
This improves quality of life and makes life of consumers easier than before.
7. Employment Opportunities:
Marketing process is a combination of different activities like research work to

assess the marketing environment, product planning and development, promotion,
distribution of product to customers and after sales service. Marketing process
requires researcher, production engineer, different distribution intermediaries,
sales personnel also creates employment opportunities in advertisement section.
Thus marketing management opened up different employment avenues thus
creating employment opportunities.
What is Marketing Management – Functions:

Assessing the Marketing Opportunities,
Planning the Marketing Activities, Organising
the Marketing Activities and a Few Others
Marketing is related to markets and therefore marketing management calls for

integration of the various elements of market. It has the task of organising these
elements into an effective operating system so that it can serve both customer and
business enterprise effectively.
Various functions of marketing management are:
1. Assessing the Marketing Opportunities:
Determination of marketing objectives and assessment of the marketing

opportunities for the firm, is an important function of marketing management. The
constantly changing market conditions and opportunities make it imperative for
the marketing management to come out with planned progammes to meet the
challenges, and reap the opportunities.
2. Planning the Marketing Activities:
Planning is an important managerial function. Planning of marketing activities is a

crucial task and involves numerous steps. It involves planning effective strategies
to achieve the desired marketing objectives. It is concerned with formulation of
policies relating to product, price, channels of distribution, promotional measures,
forecast of target sales etc. Planning provides the basis for an effective marketing
for the enterprise.
3. Organising the Marketing Activities:
Another significant function of marketing is organising it implies determination of

various activities to be performed and assigning these activities to right person, so
that marketing objectives are achieved. In the light of the changing concept of
marketing, it is necessary that the organisation structure is flexible and
accommodative. This will help in better interaction between organisation and
environment.
4. Co-Ordinating Different Activities of Enterprise:
Even the best of planning will not be rewarding if there is improper coordination
between different activities of the organisation. Marketing involves various
activities and these are inter-related and interdependent. Product decisions, pricing
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strategies, channel structure research activities all require proper coordination.

Only then the objectives can be achieved.
5. Directing and Motivating the Employee:
A good direction is a must for effective performance of marketing functions.

Direction helps in rightful performance of the work. Different leadership style are
practised to guide the subordinates. A leader directs his subordinates and ensures
through effective supervision, that the performance is as per planned specification.
At the same time, it is necessary that employers are properly motivated.
Motivation not only helps in better performance by the employee but also holds
him back to the organisation for longer periods.
These days organisations are very serious as far as their motivation policies are
concerned. New ways of motivation are being introduced so that the employee
gives his best of services.
6. Evaluating and Controlling Marketing Efforts:
In order to have a profitable venture, marketing manager must on a continuous

basis, evaluate the marketing efforts. This will help him in knowing the
deficiencies if any, which can be corrected beforehand only and proper
adjustments can be made with the changing environment. Controlling is a
managerial function concerned with comparison of actual performance with the
standard performance and locating the shortcomings if any, finally corrective
measures are taken to overcome the shortcomings.
What is Marketing Management – Process
Marketing Management process involves the following:
1. Managerial marketing process starts with the determination of mission and

goals of the entire enterprise and then defines the marketing objectives to be
accomplished.
2. Evaluate corporate capabilities on the basis of our strengths and weaknesses.
3. Determine marketing opportunities which have to be capitalised. We have to

identify and evaluate unsatisfied and potential customers’ needs and desires.
Market segmentation will enable us to select target markets on which we can
concentrate our efforts. Marketing opportunities are influenced by marketing
environment, competition, government policies, mass-media, consumerism,
public opinion, distribution structure, etc.
4. Once the company has full information regarding marketing opportunities, they
can formulate marketing strategies in the form of dynamic action-oriented formal
plans to achieve mission, goal, and objectives. A strategy is a pattern of purposes
and policies, a planned course of action in pursuit of clearly stated objectives in
the face of limited resources, and intelligent competition.
Marketing strategy points out the level, mix, and allocation of marketing efforts in
marketing action plans. The company has appropriate marketing-mix for each
target market. The marketing-mix is expected to sell more than competitors.
5. Marketing action plans or programmes are to be implemented through proper

communication, coordination as well as motivation of marketing personnel.
6. Performance according to plan is duly assured by effective marketing control.

An effective control system is essential to measure and evaluate the actual results
of the marketing strategy. The results are evaluated against our desired objectives.
Feedback of evaluation enables marketing management to revise, adopt, or
modify goals and objectives and replan on the basis of feedback of evaluation.
7. Marketing process is on-going or dynamic and it must adapt itself to the ever-
changing environmental needs.
Notes:
1. Marketing programme starts from the product concept and it does not end until
customer wants are adequately satisfied.
2. Profitable sales over the long-run and repeat-purchase by customers are vital to
success in marketing.
3. Marketing research and marketing information service alone can act as

effective tool in all decisions of Marketing Management
4. Marketing policies cover marketing analysis and research, product analysis,

marketing channels, personal selling, sales promotion and advertising, pricing and
non-price competition.
What is Marketing Management – Scope:

Marketing Research, Determination of
Objectives, Planning Marketing Activities,
Pricing of Product and a Few Others
Marketing management, like all other areas of management comprises of the

function of planning, organising, directing coordinating and controlling.
1. Marketing research:
Marketing research involves identification of needs, wants taste and preferences

of the targeted customer. Marketing management conducts a continuous analysis
of consumer’s behaviour towards firm’s marketing mix strategies, business
environment; competitor’s marketing strategies in order to plan effectively the
marketing activities of future.
2. Determination of Objectives:
Marketing management performs the task of setting marketing objectives. The

marketing objectives are set in accordance with the overall organisational
objectives of profit maximization. Marketing objectives relates to attracting new
customers, retention of current customer, expansion of customer base,
introduction of new product, improvement of old product and so on. Marketing
management aims at maximising the customer’s value by providing high
satisfaction to the customers.
3. Planning Marketing Activities:
Planning involves determining the future course of action. Planning helps in

accomplishment of objectives in a systematic manner. Planning of marketing
activities relates to determining product line strategies, planning for product
diversification, advertisement and promotional activities, planning related to
selling and distribution process.
Planning may be conducted on short term, medium term and long term basis
depending upon the requirements. Plans should be flexible so as to adjust with the
changing business environment.
4. Product Planning and Development:
Product is the basic element of marketing. Products are goods or services that are
offered to the customer for satisfying their needs and wants. Products are
customer oriented and offered to the customer’s as per their requirement and
preferences. Product planning involves new product development, product
innovation, product diversification plan.
5. Pricing of Product:
Pricing is a complex function of marketing management. In most of the cases

prices form the decision making criterion for purchase decision. Pricing decisions
are based on cost of the manufacturing and distribution of product, competitor’s

pricing strategies, customer’s willingness to pay for the product, customer’s
perception about the product.
6. Promotion:
Promotion and advertisement are essential in order to maximise sales. Promotion

and advertisement is essential to provide information to the customers about the
product, to attract new customers, to provide reminder to customers about the
product and to continue purchase, to provide information about product
improvement or introduction of new brand. Marketing management develops new
techniques and tools for promotion of their product.
7. Distribution:
Distribution process facilitates easy availability of goods and services to the

customers at right time and at right and convenient location. Selection of
distribution channel depends upon the nature of the product, price of the product,
availability of intermediaries for distribution and cost involved in the distribution
process.
8. Evaluation and Controlling of Marketing Activities:
Marketing management performs the task of evaluation and controlling of the

marketing activities. Evaluation enables identification of effectiveness of
marketing plans and actions.
What is Marketing Management – Marketing

Mix: Product Mix, Pricing Mix and Promotion
Mix
The marketing manager makes marketing plans within the framework of

controllable and non-controllable variables. The non-controllable variables are
social, technological, political, cultural and legal factors which affect the
marketing strategies. Controllable factors are the product, price, promotion and
channels of distribution. Marketing mix is the combination of four controllable
variables that make a successful marketing programme.
(a) Product Mix:
It deals with physical attributes of the product and the benefits associated with use
of that product. Ownership of the product gives a sense of pride and satisfaction
to the consumer and, therefore, the product should be properly designed, coloured
and packed.
(b) Pricing Mix:
Pricing is an important decision made by the marketing manager. While pricing a

product, managers consider factors such as costs, legal framework, prices charged
by competitors and the prices that consumers are ready to pay. Managers must
price the product to recover the costs and earn a reasonable return on capital. This
ensures long-run survival and growth of the enterprise.
(c) Promotion Mix:
It refers to firm’s communication with the consumers regarding the product. It

motivates them to buy the goods.
Sales can be promoted in three ways:
(i) Advertisement:
It presents the product details to consumers through media. It is a non-personal

means of communication.
(ii) Personal Selling:
The seller directly contacts the buyer and convinces him to buy the goods and
services.
(iii) Sales Promotion:
It supplements advertisement and personal selling as a means of promoting sales.

It increases sales by holding contests, lotteries etc.
Different combinations of sales promotion techniques can be used at a point of

time.
(d) Channel Mix:
After the product is designed, priced and advertised, it arouses consumers’

interest to buy it. The channel mix identifies the path or the route through which
goods are transferred from sellers to buyers. The seller may sell directly to the
buyer or through intermediation of wholesalers and retailers. More than one
channel of distribution can be adopted at the same time; for example, a wholesaler
can sell through retailers and also directly to consumers.
The channel mix not only selects a channel of distribution, it also maintains it to
ensure consistency in the selling practices followed by the sales people.
What is Marketing Management – Marketing

Decision Making: Product Variation, Marketing
Channels, Prices and Promotion
The manager makes decisions about things he can control—the controllable. In

very general terms, what does he decide? Roughly, he decides the kind of a
product to produce, the kind of a distribution system to use, the price to charge,
advertising messages and media, and the salesmen’s message to customers on
whom they call.
In making these decisions he learns from experience to use an operating principle

which simplifies his task and avoids substantial frustration. It might be called the
“law” of marketing management, like other rules of behaviour such as Aristotle’s
Golden Mean and the Golden Rule.
This “law” of marketing management states- Since some things are controllable
and others are not, separate the controllable from the uncontrollable and don’t
waste your time and energy trying to change the uncontrollable. Rather attempt to
understand it so you can adapt the controllable to the uncontrollable in such a way
as to satisfy your company’s needs as effectively as possible. The application of
this law is an art in which analytic tools from science can aid.
As suggested by the discussion of the marketing system, there is a complex of

more or less uncontrollable forces operating on the manager. These can be
summarized, as in the outer hexagon of Figure 6, as competition, demand, non-
marketing cost, structure of distribution, public policy, and company organization.
Underlying these are, of course, the much more fundamental forces of techno-
logical, social, political, and economic change. While over the long term these
factors will share the nature of the uncontrollable forces, the manager is forced by
such aspects as convenience and lack of adequate data to concern himself mainly
with the immediate uncontrollable item.
The inside pentagon of Figure 6 portrays the controllable elements, the ones about
which the marketing manager can decide. The art of marketing management is the
effective adaptation of these elements to the uncontrollable in the marketing
environment so as to optimize the company’s welfare. This optimum welfare can
be thought of as the maximum area attainable in the inner pentagon within the
constraints of its environment, the outer hexagon.
With Figure 6 for perspective, we will first examine each of the controllables.
These relate to:
(1) Product or service variation,
(2) Selection and management of marketing channels for distributing the product,
(3) Setting prices, and
(4) Fixing and allocating the promotional budget to advertising and selling.
(1) Product Variation:
A company’s modification of the nature of its offering is achieved through

product and service decisions which are essentially of two types. Some decisions
are concerned with change of an existing product to conform more nearly to the
demands of the market. These changes may be superficial or fundamental (for
example, the use of a new package as opposed to a revolutionary redesign of the
product).
Other decisions concern dropping or adding an item to the product line. These
decisions of product change and change in product line are common, since few
companies in the United States produce a single product. They are also serious
decisions for most firms. A marketing manager must be constantly on the alert to
exploit new-product opportunities and to avoid continuing an unprofitable item.
(2) Marketing Channels:
All companies must choose the set of channels they think will be most effective.
The possibilities, as we have seen, are almost unlimited. Selecting the correct
channel requires careful analysis, particularly since the decision usually involves
a heavy investment of time by managers and salesmen and goes far in fixing the
rest of the marketing plan for some time into the future.
The spatial aspects of the structure of distribution, for example, the geographical
concentration of buyers in each market, will make a great difference in
determining the best set of channels for a particular situation.
(3) Prices:
Prices must be set. Competitors’ prices typically establish significant limits to the
range of choice, but there is usually some discretion. There are many pricing
problems. Not only must a number of products be priced, but if a marketing
channel other than direct-to-user is employed, consideration must often be given
to the prices set at each level of the marketing channel. Finally, some buyers may
receive a different price (or discount as it is usually called), based on such factors
as the quantity they purchase.
(4) Promotion:
Most companies must use some type of promotional effort. The function of both
types of promotion—advertising and personal selling—is to provide potential
buyers with information about the product—its quality, its availability, and its
price. A salesman may well perform other functions, such as delivery and repair,
but, to simplify he will be viewed here as a conveyer and receiver of information.
Thus advertising and personal selling are alternative methods of performing the
function of conveying information, but a particular blend of the two may be more
effective than either of them alone. In many companies promotion decision
require much of the marketing manager’s time.
Advertising is concerned with deciding how much advertising to use, what media
to use (newspapers, radio, television, direct mail, billboard, car cards, point-of-
purchase display, etc.,); the frequency with which the advertisements will appear
(daily, weekly, monthly, etc.,); and the message to be employed (this involves the
artwork and copy prepared for printed media and the commercials prepared for
radio and television. Personal selling deals with the selection, supervision, and
training of salesmen; the allocation of salesmen to territories; and the evaluation
of salesmen.
“Promotion” is also often used in the trade literature in a restricts sense of special
pricing arrangements to retailers and consumers.
The uncontrollable or environmental elements that the decision maker must adapt
to, as shown in the outer hexagon of Figure 6, are not uncontrollable in an
absolute sense. Instead they can best be viewed as controllable, but only at a cost.
They are:
(i) Demand,
(ii) Competition,
(iii) Non marketing costs,
(iv) Structure of distribution,
(v) Public policy, and
(vi) Company organization.
What is Marketing Management – Orientation:

Production, Product, Selling, Marketing and
Societal Marketing Orientation
Marketing is all about interacting with markets, notwithstanding whether it is for

profit or for non-profit. Firms such as Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and
Procter & Gamble (P&G) operate in consumer markets whereas Schneider
Electric and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) are business to business marketers.
Humans have various ideas as to how life should be conducted. Some kind of
philosophical core governs behaviours setting up moral and ethical boundaries. It
is this philosophical idea that sets apart right from wrong and what is acceptable
and what is not.
The absence of a strong philosophical core is likely to render a person

inconsistent and confused. In a similar vein, organizations need philosophy to
guide their thinking and behaviour. Organizations can be distinguished in terms of
their corporate mindset or business orientation.
The orientation, in case of a person, influences his or her fundamental attitude,

belief, feeling, and action with respect to a particular subject or issue, whereas an
organization’s interaction with its market in terms of extended responses is
influenced by its governing philosophy or orientation.
This implies that an organization can choose to conduct its business or marketing
activity in different ways. Five different philosophies or concepts have been
distinguished, namely production concept, product concept, selling concept,
marketing concept, and societal marketing concept.
The ideas contained in these concepts give rise to different cultures in terms of
how business is conducted with consumers. These concepts suggest that there are
different ways to achieve organizational goals.
i. Production Orientation:
Production concept is probably the oldest business governing idea, which dates
back to the period of short supply of goods. Earlier when demand exceeded
supply, there was no incentive for the firms to factor in consumers into their
operation. A business that is run on production oriented philosophy works with
markets with the belief that product availability and affordability are key
determinants of consumer buying.
This assumption creates strategic orientation that a firm should focus on while
making the product available and affordable. The availability and affordability
imperative brings two functions, namely distribution and production, at the centre
of marketing strategy.
Accordingly, the first management task is to find an efficient distribution strategy

that ensures product availability so that consumers can buy products with ease.
Second, work on the production systems to bring down cost so that more
consumers could buy them. The cost reduction creates affordability and thereby
expands market.
The production concept was common to firms during the early period of
industrialization when different products were born. Ford in its early times
practised production concept where the company sought to bring down car prices
so that it could attract a large number of customers.
Ford’s Model T was among the early cars that was manufactured on an assembly
line, which reduced the car’s production cost by efficiencies in production
processes. Production concept could still hold true in industries where consumer
buying is predominantly done on the basis of price (they do not attach importance
to non-price differentiation) and ease of buying.
Such a situation is often seen in commodity markets such as sand, cement, and
iron ore. Mergers and acquisitions in the field of commodities such as cement,
aluminium, and steel are guided by a motive to create large production systems
that become instrumental in driving the cost of production down through
economies of scale and experience curve effects.
ii. Product Orientation:
Businesses operate in a dynamic environment. Two of the important marketplace

forces are consumers and competition. With the passage of time the consumer and
competitive conditions evolved. As participating firms in a market went up so did
the product availability.
The markets gradually shifted from excess demand to surplus supply. In this new
evolved scenario, the old mantra of availability and affordability became
ineffective. The ideas enshrined in production concept gradually got diffused
across different firms rendering participating firms similar in their marketing
approach.
This called for revisiting the business orientation and discovering something new
which would allow firms to deal with the emerged scenario effectively. The key
ideas of availability and affordability were found to be necessary but not sufficient
to succeed. This led to a change in business orientation and product concept came
into existence. The product concept shifted the focus to product quality, thus
stating that ‘the consumer would favour products with the highest quality at a
given price’.
The product concept is based on the belief that consumers are motivated to buy
those products that offer most quality. This proposition changed the marketing
focus to developing better products and improving them over time. Prima facie
this concept makes good sense. People do look for better quality products and
services.
This concept created a kind of product obsession wherein production managers

sought to concentrate on quality improvement and built better product than ever
before. However, soon this blind faith in the power of product quality exposed its
fallacy. The belief that a better product is always bought by consumers actually
turned out to be wrong.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ‘If a man can write a better book, preach a better
sermon, or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbour, though he build his
house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door’.
This statement probably inspired the product concept, which lays absolute faith in
the power of quality so much so that it blinds its followers to the reality. For many
marketing companies product orientation turns out to be a trap. The advice given
by Emerson that if you build a better mouse-trap the world would make a beaten
path to your door wrongly shifts marketing focus from consumer to product.
What guarantees that a better mouse-trap will always get sold? Suppose
somebody manages to invent an excellent quality mouse-trap, does it mean that
people would flock at his door to take it? The answer is no, unless they face the
menace of mice. People are not interested in products, rather they want a solution
to their problems.
The better mouse-trap is a fallacy that may wrongly orient an organization into
believing that people buy products when instead they buy solutions of their
problems.
The product concept ignores the role of other marketing activities. People are
unlikely to throng to buy a superior quality product automatically. The creation of
superior quality product cannot be a ‘be all’ strategy. Even if a good quality
product has been created for people to make a beaten path to firm’s door, many
other enabling things will have to be done to make that happen.
First, people who could buy the product must be made aware and be informed
about its superiority. Second, the product needs to be attractively designed,
packaged, priced, and made available so that consumers can see, touch, and feel
and become willing to buy it.
iii. Selling Orientation:
As time progressed several industries witnessed expansion of production capacity.

This intensified competition and put pressure on firms to offer better quality
products. It tilted the marketing situation in favour of the buyers. Reluctance was
observed on the part of the buyer to respond promptly to marketed products and
services.
The failure of earlier ideas in getting consumer response caused managers to

rethink what they thought to be the key to doing business. This search led to the
discovery of selling concept. The selling concept reposed faith in the power of
persuasion. The followers of selling orientation have the belief that ‘it is a belief
that consumers will not purchase or purchase enough of an organization’s product
unless their interest is stimulated and they are persuaded to buy.’
The selling concept starts with an assumption that consumers are indifferent or
reluctant to marketed products or services. This is especially true for things that
are perceived to be inessential. Several products and services such as insurance
and preventive health check-ups face consumer resistance because they are
perceived to be unnecessary.
Two categories of products can be distinguished, namely bought products and

sold products. Bought products are the ones consumers are self-motivated to buy
for their perceived importance and interest (e.g., cosmetics and spectacles),
whereas sold products are the ones consumers are unlikely to buy on their own.
It is for this indifference and reluctance that the sold products are pushed or
offloaded on to buyers by putting in selling efforts. People rarely buy insurance
and maintenance contract out of their self-motivation.
The sales orientation lays stress on overcoming consumer resistance through

information, persuasion, and often hard selling. Selling is based on the premise
that a consumer can be manipulated and cajoled into buying what is being sold. It
reposes great faith in the power of salesmanship and advertising.
Consumers can be either psyched out or lured into giving a favourable response. It
is not uncommon to come across aggressive pushy salesmen in trades such as car
dealerships, insurance, credit cards, real estate, fund raisers, and grocery stores.
The selling orientation exclusively focuses attention on ways to push the product
across with little or no regard for consumer interest. A practitioner of selling is
guided by his own self-interest rather than the interest of the buyer.
The selling concept can have disastrous consequences in the long term. A
customer can be lured into buying by the power of persuasion or aggression only
once but not repeatedly. The customers victimized by the power of seller
aggression become dissatisfied and vent their anger by spreading negative word-
of-mouth publicity.
The negative publicity influences future sales by turning potential customers into
non-customers. This can erode future business opportunities. Selling approach can
yield successful outcomes in situations when an organization enjoys unending
supply of customers and it does not have to depend upon repeat sales.
This orientation is practised by sellers at the railway stations and places of tourist
attraction. Their survival does not depend on repeat business from the same
customer.
iv. Marketing Orientation:
Selling orientation is likely to be ineffective when an organization has to depend

upon repeat business. The constraint of repeat business changes the marketing
paradigm in favour of the customer. It becomes a legitimate concern of businesses
to discover what actually is critical to get the customers to keep coming back.
The new reality of competitive intensification and market saturation led to the
discovery of marketing concept in 1950s that placed the customer at the centre of
the marketing universe. The earlier philosophies were centred on something that
belonged inside the firm such as product, technology, production, or sales effort.
The marketing concept reversed the inside-out approach to outside-in approach,

which implied that the business of an organization is not dictated by insiders or
managers rather is dependent on outsiders or customers. The marketing concept
believes that
‘It is fundamental for the organization to determine the needs and wants of target
customers and develop and deliver satisfaction better than competitors.’
The marketing concept holds customer satisfaction as the key to achieving

organizational goals. The dominant business logic according to marketing concept
is that an organization depends upon customers for its survival. It is the customers
who open up revenue streams.
Revenue is not found inside an organization rather it resides outside, in the

customer’s pocket. Customer is the source of revenue. The only way to get
customers to open their wallet is to offer those satisfying products and services.
Therefore, customer satisfaction becomes the first precondition to do business in a
competitive scenario. Customers do not patronize a dissatisfying organization if
they have an option.
Let us consider how a customer chooses a product such as a toothpaste or a

mobile phone. The choice is generally based on a subtle or elaborate calculation
as to which out of the available brands offers the best satisfaction. Therefore,
customer satisfaction is an essential starting point for doing business in the current
business environment.
Marketing concept was initially met with a lot of resistance by managers because
it sought to create a power shift from managers to customers. The earlier belief
that decisions like what to produce, how to produce, how to sell, and where to
distribute were the prerogative of people inside the organization and customer’s
role was confined to ‘take it or leave it’.
In the absence of choice, customers were forced into compliance or subordination

by organizations. Marketing concept makes customer supreme and seeks to
achieve organizational goals through customer satisfaction. Profit goals will only
be achieved if customers willingly accept product or services.
Getting the customer to do business with the firm is supreme and that is likely to
happen only when managers give up their ego and work with subordinates as a
team to target customers. Marketing ensures that all decisions are taken for
customer satisfaction.
The essence of marketing concept is that the business of an organization is not

what managers want it to be rather what customers want it to be. Customers are
the ultimate arbiters who decide whether the decisions taken in an organization
are correct or not. In marketing, a product or service represents condensation of
all decisions taken by managers.
These are put to test at the point of purchase. For instance, in compact detergent
market Surf competes with Ariel; these brands essentially represent the
condensation of decisions made by their respective managers, which include
decisions regarding colour, quality, packaging, price, brand name, form,
communication and availability.
The correctness of these decisions is determined not by managers who take them
rather customers. A positive customer response affirms that the managers’
decisions regarding that particular brand were right. A situation where the
managers claim correctness of their decisions but the customer does not respond
favourably is not possible. A decision is right only if it creates a satisfied
customer.
Marketing concept introduced a paradigm shift that the whole business has to be
seen from the point of its final result, that is, customer’s point of view. The
marketing concept is put into practice by shifting the focus of value creation
process to market or customers.
The processes are- (i) choice of the market (e.g., Apple operates in mobile handset
market), (ii) selection of the target customer group (e.g., Apple does not cater to
all customers in mobile handset market rather it targets the premium ones), (iii)
determination of what customers in the target group need and want or what
constitutes the concept of satisfaction (e.g., Apple understands what its target
customers want in terms of usage ease, product touch and feel, instrument looks,
and communication eco system), (iv) develop products or services in response to
customer needs and wants (e.g., Apple devices like iPhone 6 is an outcome of
product development in consonance with customer expectations), (v) plan how
the product or service in question offers better satisfaction than competition (e.g.,
Apple devices score over its competitors in a number of customer significant ways
such as aesthetics, appeal, and imagery).
Marketing concept offers a pragmatic solution as to how to survive in a

competitive situation by putting customer at the centre of the business universe
and singularly committing to create customer satisfaction the marketing concept
can inadvertently jeopardize societal interest.
v. Societal Marketing Orientation:
The marketing concept adopts a narrow perspective of exchange as a transaction

that happens between an organization and customer. It dictates that determining a
customer’s needs and wants and delivering desired satisfactions is the key to
achieve organization goals. There are two problems with this limited perspective.
The marketing concept legitimizes every product and services if it creates

customer satisfaction. This means if a customer group demands hard drugs or
firearms selling the same then becomes justified. Therefore, this logic ignores
larger societal effects of such business.
From social perspective, drugs are undesirable because their use causes addiction
with a host of personal and family ramifications. Marketing of firearms without
adequate checks may promote crime and killings.
Some of the products that have attracted criticism for their undesirable social
effects include fast food (e.g., hamburgers and fries) and high calories laden
drinks for causing poor health; tobacco, alcohol drinks, and cigarette for causing
addiction; plastic containers and bottles for causing environmental degradation;
high pollution and gas guzzling SUVs for causing pollution; fur and rare animal
skin as well as exotic meat for threatening animal welfare; mining for causing
ecological disturbance; blood diamonds for human rights violation; gambling
services for causing addiction and insolvency; and prostitution for causing
exploitation.
Societal marketing originated after it was realized that what is good for an
individual customer or a select group may not be good for society. This concept
seeks to insert societal interest in the marketing concept so that customer
satisfaction does not compromise societal well-being in the long run.
The societal marketing concept holds that the ‘key to achieving organization goals
is in determining customer needs and wants and delivering satisfaction better than
competitors in a manner that it preserves or enhances long term well-being of
consumer and society’.
Marketing concept takes an individualistic perspective to business with a

complete disregard for society. On the other hand, societal concept introduces the
concept of what economists call ‘externality’. One of the categories of goods in
economics is ‘demerit goods’. These goods refer to the goods whose consumption
results in incurring of costs by those who actually do not consume them.
For instance, people who get addicted to drugs become a cost burden to either
their family or the state. Smoking is a major cause of a variety of health problems,
which requires expensive treatment. Societal marketing concept introduces an
element of conscience into marketing and urges organizations to factor in the
social effects of their actions.
What is Marketing Management – Issues: Size,

Number of Buyers, Demographic Grouping and
Geography
The best way to understand marketing is to visualize it as a practise that

marketing firms undertake while working with markets. For instance, a company
like Pepsi develops products, packages, distributes, and advertises them to satisfy
consumers. These are all practices that fall within the ambit of marketing.
A market is a place or space that is made up of all present or potential buyers. A

number of issues are connected to the concept of market such as size, consumer
diversity and geographic spread, type of demand, volume and value.
1. Size:
The number of buyers in a market gives rise to its size, which can either be
expressed in terms of volume (e.g., number of cars sold in India in a given year)
or value (e.g., total car sales expressed in rupee terms). Markets differ in terms of
their value and volume size. Commodities such as rice and wheat enjoy big size in
terms of volume, whereas a product like gold does not have a big volume but has
large value. These differences are caused by per unit value that a product
commands.
2. Number of Buyers:
Size is also related to the number of buyers in a market. For instance, there are
specialized products that appeal to a limited number of customers like shoes for
astronauts or watches for deep divers. When a market consists of a small number
of customers with highly specialized needs it is often labelled as niche market.
3. Demographic Grouping:
Consumers in a market can be divided into different groups based on their

demographic aspects such as age, income, occupation, and gender. Presence of
demographic groups in the market creates differences in demand that may render
one product differently attractive to these groups. For instance, Fair and
Handsome brand of fairness cream is targeted at the male segment of consumers.
4. Geography:
Consumers can be geographically located at different places, which can create

differences in their needs and wants. This can be discerned by studying the
consumption basket of consumers situated at different locations. For instance, air
conditioner and refrigerator sellers’ market their products in tropical locations
with ‘tropicalized’ compressors that are equipped to work in hot weather.
Market is a complex concept, which makes working with the markets a

challenging task. The process of satisfying consumer needs and wants cannot be
haphazard and instinctual. The process of dealing with the markets must be
properly managed or else both effectiveness and efficiency of the process will get
compromised.
Accordingly, marketers properly analyse, plan, organize, implement, and control

their marketing efforts. Marketers set targets in terms of sales or profits that
eventually get converted into a number of exchanges with the customers. This
requires a systematic analysis, planning, implementation, and control of
marketing efforts or programmes.
Marketing is not an expense free activity. It requires resource spending on

different activities and programs designed to achieve mutually satisfying
exchanges between marketers and customers.
Accordingly, proper marketing requires the following activities:
i. Analysis:
Marketing begins with identification of the market in which a marketer wants to

enter. It requires a detailed investigation and examination of various markets and
selection of an attractive target. Some of the aspects include opportunity
identification by evaluating market size, growth rate, competition, distribution
channels, profit potential, and other trends. Market analysis is the first essential
step in determining where the firm seeks to market its product or service.
ii. Planning:
Once the market has been selected, the marketer has to plan how it will satisfy
customers in the selected market. This requires planning about different marketing
tools and their combinations that shall be mixed to achieve desired results.
Some important questions that need to be addressed include what product to

make, its quality level, price to be charged, promotion elements, and how it will
be made available. Essentially, marketing planning is about determining strategy
that requires detailing the steps that would be undertaken to achieve the set
marketing goals.
iii. Implementation:
Once planning is complete the marketer should move from drawing board to
action. This requires organizing of marketing activities and their execution. For
instance, a distribution plan execution of a company like Pepsi will include
undertaking activities such as handling of cartons at factory, loading on trucks,
transportation, and delivery at sale points.
iv. Control:
Control is needed to ensure that actual execution is done as planned. Deviations

are possible due to a variety of factors. Therefore, keeping a track of the progress
of marketing activities is required for achieving the marketing goals. For instance,
brands are advertised to create awareness, the effectiveness of which is assessed
through control mechanism such as recall and recognition measures. The
deviations are then identified and corrective action is undertaken.
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09/03/2021 What is Marketing Management?

What is Marketing Management?

Everything you need to know about marketing management. Marketing

Marketing Management identiﬁes market opportunities and comes out with

It has to implement marketing programme and evaluate continuously the

Management is the process of getting things done in an organised and efﬁcient

Marketing management smoothen the process of exchange of ownership of goods

Learn about:- 1. Deﬁnition of Marketing Management 2. Marketing Concept 3.

What is Marketing Management:

1. Introduction to Marketing Management

5. Importance of Marketing Management

What is Marketing Management – Introduction

Second, understanding of marketing management will permit a better grasp of the

Marketing management is the process of decision making, planning, and

somewhere within the marketing system. Before proceeding to examine some of

This process of marketing management takes place “somewhere” within the

What is Marketing Management – Definition:

Marketing management is “planning, organising, controlling and implementing of

Marketing Management performs all managerial functions in the ﬁeld of

Institute of Marketing Management, England, has deﬁned Marketing Management

According to Philip Kotler, “Marketing Management is the art and science of

Marketing Management Involves:

1. The setting of marketing goals and objectives,

2. Developing the marketing plan,

3. Organising the marketing function,

4. Putting the marketing plan into action and

5. Controlling the marketing programme.

Marketing Management is both a science as well as an art. Those responsible for

Continuous practice in the areas of personal selling, sales promotion, advertising,

What is Marketing Management – Concept

Therefore, a manufacturer should design and manufacture a product which will be

Selling should be preceded by customer study, marketing research and product

This concept is also called customer orientation.

“The Marketing concept is a customer orientation backed by integrated marketing

“Modern marketing concept is a corporate state of mind that insists on the

The following are the features of marketing concept (modern marketing

ii. Providing consumer satisfaction – Every organization aims at providing

iii. Integrated Marketing Management – Marketing management is only a part of

iv. Achieving organizational goals – Modern marketing states that an organization

v. Innovation – Innovation is an important tool to provide consumer satisfaction.

What is Marketing Management – Features:

Marketing management is a managerial process involving planning, organising,

This is possible through satisfaction of customer’s needs and wants by delivering

The basis function of marketing is identiﬁcation of consumer’s needs and wants

4. Planning and Development:

Marketing involves planning and development of goods and services.

5. Building Marketing Framework:

All marketing activities are based on overall organisational objectives. The

7. Promotional and Communication Process:

Marketing management performs the function of controlling of marketing

What is Marketing Management – Importance:

Marketing management smoothen the process of exchange of ownership of goods

1. Analysing Market Opportunities:

Marketing management collects and analyses information related to consumer’s

2. Determination of Target Market:

3. Planning and Decision Making:

Marketing management helps to prepare future course of action. Planning relates

5. Helps in Increasing Proﬁt: