I. Introduction and Definition of Marketing:

Every country is interested in increasing the productivity in all spheres, with the object of fulfilling all the wants and needs of the people. Thus, the factories, offices and commercial establishments are engaged in the production of variety of good and services in order to fulfill the wants and needs of the people. In this direction,

marketing is concerned with finding the consumers, deciding their exact service, giving guarantee the goods and handling the distribution including after sales service. In other words, marketing is a special management function, just like organizing, staffing, financing and production. But many have not understood the meaning of the word, marketing clearly. A salesman or a sales manager considers that marketing is advertising and a department store manager considers that marketing is retailing.

The Meaning, Funtion and Scope of Marketing:

With the coming of industrial revolution production increased considerably on account of mass production, automation. As output increased rapidly, cheaply made good were available at a price, which was within the reach off every man and woman. Again, to ensure survival in a highly industrialized society where severe competition prevails among manufacturers, every manufacturer tries his best to keep the cost of production at the lowest level possible. This necessities them to undertake production on large scale. To maintain high volume output, there must be high volume sales. The sales can be maintained and increased only when the selling side of the organization is able to obtain repeat orders from the existing customer as well as from new customers to replace those who cease to use its products for variety of reasons. On the other side, due to growth of the population, changes in fashion, social habits of the population, development of national economy and various other environmental reasons, there were considerable changes in the consumer of user requirements. Thus, on one side production increased considerably due to the technological developments and on the other side consumers, requirements too changed widely for various reasons. At this stage, manufactures realized that dependence on the selling division for effecting sales of their products would not fetch them the desired results.

They also realized that to ensure survival, the production must be carried on according to the requirements of the consumer. Therefore, the function of marketing starts from the base as to where the consumers of the product are to be found and what is there total number. It is also a marketing function to probe into the attitude of the consumers with regard to both current product and those products which it is proposed to develop, to find the consumers need their market preference between one brand and another, their attitudes towards prices. In

addition, marketing should determine he future pattern of demand, establish sales forecast to ensure correct allocation of its resources to various planning activities. Besides effecting proper coordination between the departments, the planning of sales is further major function of marketing. It is also the marketing function to select the best channel for distribution, promote and present the product through various promotional activities. It includes after sales service such as maintenance, repairs, instruction booklets, spare parts, and guarantee.

II. Marketing Concepts:

Marketing as a discipline has no centralized basis as in the physical science and also in the behavioural sciences.

An economy is essential system by which people earn a living. That is why their standard of living is generally accepted as an indicator of the efficiency of the economy. The basic economic problem is any economy is the struggle for existence. The economic problem derives ultimately from the scarcity of nature. If there were no scarcity, goods would be as free as air and the struggle for existence would cease. While natures stringency is scarcity, man is also a source of many of our economic problems. Thus is an industrialized society, man and nature combine to create scarcity. This fundamental problem involves the solution of three important component problems. What goods and services shall be the society produce How shall society produce the goods and services And for whom shall goods and services be produced The first two problems may be called the production problem and the latter the distribution problem.

Marketing Management Philosophies:

Marketing managements is the conscious efforts to achieve desired exchange outcomes with target markets.

There are four alternative concepts, under which business and other organization can conduct their marketing activity. They are:

1. The product concept It is the oldest concept guiding producers. It is based on certain principles. They are:

a. The company should concentrate its attention on the task of producing good products that are fairly priced.

b. The concept considers that the consumers are interested in buying products rather than solving particular problems.

c. The concept takes into account that the consumers will know the available brands.

d. And again, the consumers choose among competing brands on the basis of their quality and their relative price.

2. The selling concept The selling concept is build on certain assumptions. They are:

a. The main task of the company is to get sufficient sales for its products.

b. Consumers do not normally buy enough on their own accord.

c. The consumers can be induced to buy through various sales stimulating techniques.

d. The consumers will buy again, and even if they dont there are many other consumers.

For the selling concept to work for an extended period of time the following circumstances are felt necessary:

a. Many customers know that the dealers are hard sellers.

b. Customers who are dissatisfied soon forget their dissatisfaction.

c. Dissatisfied customers do not talk very much of their dissatisfaction to other customers.

d. The company does not have to depend on repeat business.

3. The Marketing concept The min purpose of producers and marketing functionaries was to sell goods and services produced. This is what is precisely known as sales concept. Sales concept thus starts with firms existing products. It aims simply to stimulate a profitable volume of sales. Marketing concept on the other hand starts with the firms existing and potential customers and their needs. Its aim to build profits on creating meaningful value satisfaction.

A firms the produces and markets its commodities and services that follow the marketing concept should conduct its business on the following objective lines:

a. Customer orientation.

b. Integrated marketing

c. Customer satisfaction

4. Social marketing concept Establishing the marketing concept in an organization is an extremely difficult task. It takes considerable planning, persuasion, education and reorganization. Many firms and companies give only lip service to marketing concept and they do not actually practice it. If every firm or company follows the marketing concept there is no need for any movement against many marketing practices, pollution, and inflation. Thus, we find in obvious gap between concept and its practice even in the U.S.A.

In U.S.A. the detergent industry has very well catered to the America passion for whiter clothes. The serious complaint against its products is this, they pollute rivers and streams, killing fishes and killing fish culture and entertainment avenues.

These situations have led in recent years for the revision of marketing concept or even its replacement.

The social marketing concept is management orientation aimed at generating customer satisfaction and long run consumer and public welfare as they key to satisfying organizational goals and responsibilities.

Marketing Management:

Marketing implies working with markets, in turn, it means attempting to actualize potential exchanges for the purpose or satisfying human needs and wants.

Marketing management takes place when at least one party to potential exchange give thought to his objectives and means of achieving desired responses from other parties. The marketing activities in a firm must be better organized coordinated and managed. It necessitates a more important role to the chief marketing executive in total company planning and policy making.

It is obvious that marketing involves many specialized tasks such as product development, advertisement and pricing, but it is the relationship of these activities to the companys total efforts that account here. Marketing involves the management of every aspect of a business with the ultimate customer in mind.

Functions of Marketing Management:

The efforts of any business house should be goal directed i.e. objects oriented objective may be short or long term oriented. But the objectives set should be clear without any ambiguity better they are quantified. Once the objectives are set other functional efforts should immediately follow to attain the objectives. They are discussed below:

a. planning

b. organization

c. coordination

d. staffing

e. operation

f. control

Responsibilities of Modern Marketing Management:

It is order to achieve the objective of business the marketing manager has to assume many responsibilities. They are:

a. organization

b. product planning

c. advertising

d. market research

e. channels of distribution

f. marketing costs

g. pricing

h. packaging

i. service

III. Market Segmentation:

Market segmentation is defined as the process of taking the total heterogeneous market for a product and dividing it into several sub markets segment, each of which tends to be homogeneous in all significant.

The markets could be segmented in different ways. For instance, instead of mentioning a single market for shoes, it may be segmented into several sub markets.

Criteria for Successful Segmentation :

1. Substantiality It refers to the size of segmented markets.

2. Measurability The main purpose of market segmentation is to measure the changing behaviour patterns of consumers. The segments should be capable of giving accurate measurements. But this is often a difficult task and the segments are to be under constant review.

3. Accessibility Accessibility could be attained through the existing channels of distribution, advertising media and salesman. Newspapers and magazines also offer some help in this direction.

4. Representability Segments should be large and profitable enough to be considered as a separate market. More than that, such segments must be representative in nature and must have individuality of their own.

5. Nature of demand Nature of demand refers to different quantities demanded by various segments. Each segmented market must exhibit difference in consumption rates from another segment.

6. Response rates If various segments respond in similar ways to a marketing mix, there is no need to develop a separate marketing mix.

IV. Product Planning

A. Product and Classification of Products:

Product is the starting point of all marketing activities. In a very narrow sense, a product is simply a set of tangible physical and chemical attributes assembled in an identifiable form.

A product is defined by most modern marketers as the sum of the physical and psychological satisfaction the buyer receives when he makes purchase.

Classification of products (Goods) :

Products are broadly classified as consumer goods and industrial goods. Consumer goods are destined or final consumption by ultimate consumers. Examples are cigarettes, fruits, ice-cream, and soft drinks.

Industrial goods are designed for the use of commercial production of other goods or for use in connection with carrying on some business activity. Examples are electronic office equipment, electronic generators, and specified machine tools.

Consumer Goods Marketing Characteristics :

The variety of consumer goods is almost endless. However, consumer products are broadly classified into three. They are:

a. convenience goods

b. shopping goods

c. speciality goods

Industrial Goods Marketing Characteristics :

There are four major categories of industrial goods.

a. production facilities and equipment

b. production materials

c. production supplies and

d. management materials

B. Product planning and Development :

1. Product innovation A product or service, which is profitable today, cannot be so tomorrow or at some future time. Moreover successive new products may bring higher profit margins than mature or obsolete products. Hence, management places more emphasis of product innovation. In modern times the watchword for management has been innovate or die.

Reasons for product innovation :

1. market charges

2. technology changes

3. profitless price competition

4. Diversification of risk

5. Other reasons for product innovation

2. New product development :

The development and distribution of new products are of great current interest among businessmen. Business firms are placing increasing reliance on new products for the achievement of their profit objective. But most of new products are marketing failures. Even among a group of well managed companies in America, the success rate for products which reached the market was still only two out of three. Hence, a good programme for planning and developing new products is essential for the success of new products.

Steps in development process :

The new product planning process, progresses from the ideal stage to the production and marketing stage. Although there may seem to be no particular pattern in general, it includes the following six steps:

a. Exploration of new product ideas.

b. Evaluation of new product ideas.

c. Business analysis.

d. Product development.

e. Test marketing and

f. Commercialization

Product diversification :

When a manufacturer or distributor, manufacturers or distributes more than one product it is described as product diversification.

The following are the important reasons for product diversification:

a. To use more effectively the existing selling and distributive facilities.

b. To meet customer requests, particularly in case of industrial goods.

c. To increase the sale of existing products, and

d. To meet the needs of distribution channels.

V. Pricing:

In marketing management, pricing is a very critical decision as it affects sales, revenue and ultimately the profits. Without prices there can be no marketing. A price is simply an offer or an experiment to test pulse of the market. If the customer accepts the offer, this is line. If they reject it, the price usually will be changed quickly or the product may even be withdrawn from the market. Therefore sound pricing policies must be adopted to ensure that the organization secures satisfactory profits. Before being concerned with actual price determination, however, a marketing manager should understand:

a. the meaning and importance of price

b. Relevant economic concepts.

c. Factors affecting prices decisions

d. Pricing objectives and strategies, and

e. Pricing methods based on costs.

VI. Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relations:

Advertising is one of the most common tools companies use to direct persuasive communications to target buyers and publics.

Sales promotion is a key ingredient in marketing campaigns. Sales promotion consists of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or great purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade.

A public is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on a companys ability to achieve its objectives. Public relations involve a variety programs designed to promote or protect a companys image or its individual products.

VII. Desining the Sales Force:

Sales personnel serve as the companys personal link to the customers. The sales representative is the company to many of its customers, and it is the sales representative who brings back to the company much needed information about the customer. Therefore, the company needs to give its deepest thought to issues in sales force design namely, the development of sales force objectives, strategy, structure, size and compensation.