- Describe the core marketing functions within an organisation.
- Discuss the goals and expected outcomes of this organisational function.
- Explain how companies create customer-centered businesses.
- Describe how customer-centered businesses impact the consumer decision-making process.
- Describe what tools are used to make effective marketing decisions.
C16.V.3.1 Principles of Marketing
Assignment 04,
Role of Marketing in Business
Marketing is a action of a company which is related to the buying and selling of a product by advertising, promoting, market research and delivering a products to customers. Marketing plays a very important role to run a successful business organization. Its main function is to research needs and wants of a customer to satisfy them by producing a product they are interested in. In an organization there are three types of core marketing functions. They are Exchange functions, Physical functions and Facilitating functions. Exchange function is the first process of marketing. It is a method of buying, pricing and selling of a product. Its actions allow transfer of ownership. Advertising, public relations and sales promotion are good example of Exchange functions. Physical functions means the process of movement and storage of products from producer to consumer. Assembling, warehousing, packaging, grading, transporting and handling and standardizing are the good example of Physical functions. Facilitating functions is the task accomplish by marketing intermediaries on behalf of the producers whose goods they deliver. It contains information gathering about the status market, promotions of the product, local advertising, promise of servicing and financing and risk taking.
Business planning process set the goals to run a successful business. In an organization there are many departments such as marketing, finance, human resources and operations. In a planning process a company sets a goal and the departments are divided to reach the goal of a company. Management decides what objectives to follow in a future and actions to undertake to reach those objectives through planning process. In a business more than 50 percent goals of a company is depend on marketing. If a company adopt business goal as a marketing goal, it clearly shows the targets. Business plan only looks after what a company wants to achieve but a marketing plan shows how to achieve these outcomes. While starting a business every company sets their own goals. They also have a idea of a possible outcomes or results. Company's goal may be same or different with one another. For example, Bill Gates and Paul Allen co-founders of Microsoft "A computer on every desk and in every home." To establish a business mission in an organization leads to better outcomes and makes a company profitable. Outcomes of a company is depend on goals and its process to achieve it. Basically, well planned business goals leads to profitable result.
Customer centric business is not only providing great customer service, it means providing a quality service experience from the awareness level, through the purchasing and post-purchase process. It follows a strategy called "putting your customer first, and at the core of your business." It is very important to know your customer and offering a better service in the comparison of competitors to satisfy them. Sometimes companies provide services like promotions, 50% discount and in sale of a goods, which helps to attract customers and to make customers to know their product. To make a customer-centered business, a company make it easy for their customers to connect with their product whenever and wherever through the websites, mobile applications and social media sites. While giving a information about the product it is very necessary to provide a truthful information. A salesman should build a good and friendly relation with the customers. A company should empower their employees by providing guidelines for a outstanding service. One of the most important thing to make a customer centric business is always focus on what your customers want to do rather than a product and respond promptly and respectfully to customers about their queries to the product and complaints.
Customer centered-business are those companies who take care of their clients and get information from customers that what type of products they are looking for. At the beginning of starting a business, a company collect the information and produce a product according to the needs and wants of the customers. It also collects the data of complaints and new product queries of their customer to make them possible in future. It meets the needs of the customers and best way getting closer to them for the growth of the company. It has a direct impact on consumer decision-making process. A buyer or consumer wants to buy the product what he needs, wants or what solve his problem. A company should keep in mind these type of things. The consumer decision-marketing process is made up of five steps and they are need recognition, purchase and post-purchase behavior, evaluations of alternatives and information search. Marketers can use this as guidelines to understand and communicate with the consumers effectively. Through the decision making process consumers do not move always in the accurate order, it depends upon such things like financial status of the consumer, the buying stage and the types of product. An organization should follow a motto while producing a product that, "product is made only to consumers and for consumers" to make a company successful and profitable.
In an organization while making a right decisions lead to a successful business and wrong decisions lead to a failure. To spend a lot of time for thinking on each decision, it is very important that carefully thought consideration is put into each one which needs to be made. Business leaders go through a various thoughtful marketing decision making process to make their business powerful. There are four main categories to make effective marketing decisions. They are called Ps: product, price, place and promotion. Product marketing decisions include a quality of a product, product coming up with a brand name, deciding the functions of the product and make it safe to use. Pricing of a product plays main role in a marketing decision. It may not be the same in different places. Price of a product should be suitable according to the quality, quantity and place to attract many consumers. It includes many research on customers and on competitors. In a marketing, place means the distribution of a product. It involves how to get the product, where it belongs, managing inventory and warehouse operations to distribute products. Considering place to sell product, it must be on where there is a large movement of a people and will sell best. It may be in the store or online. At last, Promotion of the product which means the effective way to communicate with consumers about the product. When it comes to promotion it include advertisements, billboards, television commercials and websites for a large companies and providing samples, setting up displays in a retailer's store and mouth advertising in a society.
References
Michael Levens (2012). Marketing: Defined, Explained & Applied (2nd Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.
Roger Kerin, Steven Hartley & William Rudelius (2012). Marketing: Experience, Leadership & Innovation (11th Ed.). Columbus: McGraw-Hill Education.
Dhruv Grewal & Michael Levy (2013). Marketing (4th Ed.). Columbus: McGraw-Hill Education.
Gary Armstrong & Philip Kotler (2014). Marketing: An Introduction (12th Ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
