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Essay on Marketing

Term Paper Contents:

1. Essay on the Introduction to Marketing

2. Essay on the Evolution of Marketing
3. Essay on the Approaches to the Study of Marketing
4. Essay on the Objectives of Marketing
5. Essay on Marketing Process
6. Essay on Integrated Marketing Communication Process
7. Essay on the Role of Marketing in Economic Development
8. Essay on the Importance of Marketing
9. Essay on the Challenges and Opportunities of Marketing

Essay # 1. Introduction to Marketing:

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Marketing is everywhere. Everything from presenting yourself for

a job interview to selling your products includes marketing. Main
objective of any company is to gain profits which can be achieved
only through marketing of the products. Marketing enables the
companies to create demand and earn profits. If these two aspects
are not taken care of, then the company will not survive in the
market.

“Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for

creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers, and
for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the
organization and its stakeholders.” – (American Marketing
Association)
“Marketing is a social process by which individuals and groups
obtain what they need and want through creating,
communicating, and delivering value to customers and for
managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the
organization and its stakeholders.” – (Philip Kotler)

Thus it can be safely said that a company reaches its customer

through marketing and communicates to them about the products
and services offered by the company.

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Essay # 2. Evolution of Marketing:

In earlier days, an organization was mainly concerned with

production of goods. It used to believe on mass production and
paid less or negligible attention on quality of the product and the
customer’s demand.

After some time, the focus of organization shifted from

production of the product to the sale of the product. The concept
of marketing emerged gradually in 1970’s after the production
and sales era. It took many years for organizations to realize that
a customer is the key for making profits in the long run. The
marketing concept is evolved through various stages.

These stages are explained below:

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1. Production Era:

The production era began with the Industrial Revolution in the

17th century and continued till 1920s. Say’s law – Supply creates
its own demand – was applicable in this era. The demand for
products was more than the supply in the market; thus, it was a
seller’s market. In the production era, the main aim of an
organization was to manufacture products faster and at low
prices. In this era, customers were concerned only about the
availability of products and no importance was given to features
and quality of products.
2. Sales Era:

The sales era came into existence in 1920s and continued till the
mid of 1950s. This era was marked by the great depression of
1923. The depression proved that manufacturing products was
not everything because the sale of the products was also
important for organizations to earn profit.
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Thus, the need for developing promotion and distribution

strategies emerged to sell products. The organizations started
advertising their products to increase their sales. Many
organizations created specialized market research departments to
collect and analyze the prevailing market data.

3. Marketing Era:

The sales era merely focused on selling the goods and ignored the
consumers’ needs and demands. The year 1970 marked the advent
of marketing era. In the marketing era, organizations realized the
importance of customers and started designing the products as
per customers’ needs.

Therefore, the marketing era led to the development of customer-

centered activities over the production and selling activities.
Organizations came up with different techniques, such as
customer survey, to collect and analyze data for understanding
the customer’s expectations, needs, and wants.

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Essay # 3. Approaches to the Study of Marketing:

The meaning of marketing is different to different people. In

common parlance, marketing is the process of selling something
at a market place. To a salesman it means selling whereas to an
advertising manager it means advertising. To some it means the
study of individual commodities and their movement in the
market place, to some others marketing means the study of
institutions and persons who move their products or study of the
economic contributions.

Thus, there are different approaches to the study of

marketing:

1. Commodity Approach:
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The commodity approach focuses a specific commodity and

includes the sources and conditions of supply, nature and extent
of demand, the distribution channels used and the functions, such
as buying, selling, financing, advertising storage etc. various
agencies perform. Prof. Paul Mazur defined as “the delivery of a
standard of living to society. Prof. Malcolm McNair expanded the
definition to “the creation and delivery of a standard of living”.

2. Institutional Approach:

The institutional approach focuses on the study of various

middlemen and facilitating agencies.

3. Functional Approach:
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The functional approach considers different kinds of functions

recognized for their repetitive occurrences and necessarily
performed to consummate market transactions. Converse, Huegy
and Mitchell define marketing as the “business of buying and
selling and as including those business activities involved in the
flow of goods and services between producers and consumers.”
American Marketing Association, perhaps, gives more factual or
descriptive definition. It defined marketing as the performance of
business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from
producer to consumer or user.

4. Managerial Approach:

The managerial approach concentrates on the decision making

process involved in the performance of marketing functions at the
level of a firm. Howard, Phelps and Westing and Lazo and Corbin
are the pioneers of the managerial approach.

5. Societal Approach:

The societal approach consider the interactions between the

various environmental factors (socio-logical, cultural, political,
legal) and marketing decisions and their impact on the well- being
of society. Kotler, Feldman and Gist, were the main proponents of
the societal approach.

6. Systems Approach:
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The systems’ approach is based on Von Bartalanffy’s general

systems theory. He defined system as a “set of objects together
with the relationships among them and their attributes”. This
approach recognizes the inter-relations and inter-connections
among the components of a marketing system in which products,
services, money, and equipment and information flow from
marketers to consumers that largely determine the survival and
growth capacities of a firm.

7. Modern Concept:

The new managerial awareness and desire reflected in the

consumer orientation for all all-out commitment to the market
consideration and to connect all marketing operations to the
consumer needs has given birth to a new operational concept.
Felton views the marketing concept as “a corporate state of mind
that insists on the integration and coordination of all marketing
functions that, in turn, are welded with all other corporate
functions, for the basic objective of producing maximum long-
range corporate profits.

According to Kotler, the marketing concept is a customer

orientation backed by integrated marketing aimed at generating
customer satisfaction as the key to satisfying organizational goals.
According to McNamara,” marketing concept is … a philosophy of
business management, based upon a company- wide acceptance
of the need for customer orientation, profit orientation, and
recognition of the important role of marketing in communicating
the needs of the market to all major corporate departments”.

Lazo and Cobin describe marketing concept as ” the recognition

on the part of management that all business decisions of a firm
must be made in the light of customer needs and wants; hence,
that all marketing activities must be under one supervision and
that all activities of a firm must be coordinated at the top, in the
light of market requirements”. King has given one of the most
comprehensive descriptions of the marketing concept. He defined
it as, “a managerial philosophy concerned with the mobilization,
utilization and control of total corporate effort for the purpose of
helping consumers solve selected problems in ways compatible
with planned enhancement of the profit position of the firm”.

These definitions suggest that marketing is only concerned with

the movement of goods and services from the plant to the
consumer. This is thus a production-oriented definition more
appropriate for a sellers’ market and dangers in case of buyers’
market. In fact, marketing is related with the sophisticated
strategy of attempting to offer what the consumer may want and
at a profit.

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Essay # 4. Objectives of Marketing:

According to Peter F. Drucker, “Marketing means such a perfect

understanding of the customer that the product fits him totally
and sells itself. Marketing would result in a customer who is ready
to buy all that, what should be needed then is to make the product
available.”

Organization’s marketing strategies are designed in tune with

various marketing objectives.

The objectives of marketing aim at:

1. Creating demand for the products by identifying the needs and

wants of customers. The consumers get familiar with the usage of
products through different promotional programs, such as
advertising and personal selling. This helps in creating demand
for the products by the customers.

2. Increasing the market share of the organization. The marketing

efforts, such as promotion, create the product awareness in the
market. The product awareness helps in capturing the reasonable
share in the market by organization.
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3. Building the goodwill of the organization in the market. Every

organization tries to earn reputation in the market by providing
quality goods to the customers. It builds its goodwill by
popularizing products supported by advertising, reasonable
prices, and high quality.

4. Increasing profits and achieving long-term goals through

customer satisfaction. All the marketing activities revolve around
the customer. These activities fulfill the organization’s long-term
goal of profitability, growth, and stability by satisfying the
customer’s demands. All the departments, such as production,
finance, human resource, and marketing, coordinate with each
other to fulfill the customer’s expectations keeping the
maximization of profit as the focus.

Essay # 5. Marketing Process:

Marketing Process —– The marketing process is one that involves

the following chain of business activities:

1. Identification and study of the desires, needs, and requirements

of the^ consumers;

2. Testing the validity of the consumers’ reaction in respect of

product features, price, distribution outlets, new product
concepts, and new product introduction;
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3. Matching the consumers’ needs with the firm’s offerings and
capabilities;

4. Creating effective marketing communications and programmes

with emphasis on lower price, mass distribution channels and
mass advertising to reach numerous market segments so that the
consumers know about the product’s availability; and

5. Establishment of resource allocation procedures among the

various marketing components like sales promotion,
advertisement, distribution, product design, etc.

Outline of functions in the Marketing Process : In order to place

the goods in the hands of the consumers, an integrated group of
activities is involved in marketing. Marketing functions cover all
those activities which are required for the journey of goods from
the producer to the consumer. Goods require some preparations,
undergo many operations and pass several hands before they
reach the final consumer.

In consideration of the above factors, Clark has divided

the modem marketing process into three broad
categories as under:

(i) Concentration
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(ii) Dispersion

(iii) Equalisation.

These are explained below.

1. Concentration – In a marketing process, concentration is that

business activity in which the goods flow from many
manufacturers/producers toward a central point or market. If we
think of international trade, we find that the customers of a
particular corporation or firm world reputation are scattered in
different countries and even located thousands of miles, away,
and the products are transhipped to points accessible to than.
Similar scene is found even in the case of national trade. With the
development of trade and commerce, the efforts in the direction
of concentration activity have to place more stress on the
functions like collection, storage, transportation and inventory of
goods in the central markets, and processing of customer’s orders.
In addition, the aspects of financing and risk-bearing are also to
be taken into consideration.

In India, the concentration activity is undertaken by the

Governments at the Central and State levels. Food example, The
Food Corporation of India undertakes this activity in case of
grains, rice, sugar, etc.

2. Dispersion – In a marketing process, dispersion is that busi-

ness activity in which the goods flow from the central locations to
the final consumers. The wholesalers and retailers play a great
role in this activity. This activity involves many other supporting
activities like classification, gradation, storage and transportation
of goods. The functional aspects of finance and risk-bearing need
important considerations.

In India, the agencies like The State Trading Corporation of India,

The Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of India, and The
Food Corporation of India undertake this dispersion or
distribution activity in respect of certain specified goods. Sane
large scale manufacturing companies have, of late, undertaken
this activity as a part of their marketing activities.

3. Equalisation – In a marketing process, equalisation refers to

the adjustment of supply to demand on the basis of tint, quality,
and quantity. This process helps to maintain the state of
equilibrium between the forces of demand and supply. The
primary responsibility of a business unit towards the consumers
and customers is to make available the right products of right
qualities at the right tine, in right quantity, at the right place and
at the right price. The equalisation activity can serve these
objectives.

Essay # 6. Integrated Marketing Communication Process:

Marketers operate is a very dynamic environment characterised
by changing customer needs and wants, severe competition,
changing process technology, advancements in information
technology, government regulations, etc. That is why, they are
adopting Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC).

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) involves integration

of company’s various communication channels to deliver a clear,
consistent and compelling message about the company and its
products and brands. Most of the companies communicate with
target customers by using promotion tools like advertising,
personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct
marketing. Through each of these tools, some message is
transmitted to the target customers. IMC calls for careful
blending of these promotional tools to ensure effective
communication.

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) requires developing

a total marketing communication strategy that recognises that all
of a firm’s marketing activities (not just promotion) communicate
with its customers. Everything a marketer does sends a message
to the target market.

The EMC approach is an improvement over the traditional

approach of treating various promotional activities as totally
separate. It helps to develop the most suitable and effective
method to contact customers and other stakeholders.

Often different tools play different roles in attracting, informing

and persuading target customers. These tools are carefully
coordinated under IMC so that they provide the same clear and
consistent information about the company and its
products/brands.

IMC leads to a total marketing communication strategy aimed at

building strong customer relationships by showing how the
company and its products can help customers solve their
problems. It ties together all of the company’s messages and
images.
The company’s television and print advertisements have the same
message, look, and feel as its e-mail and personal selling
communications. And its public relations materials project the
same image as its Website or social network presence.

Communication Process:

Definition of Communication:

The term ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin word

‘communis’ which means common. That means if a person
communicates with another, he establishes a common group of
understanding. According to Newman, Summer and Warren,
“Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or
emotions by two or more persons”.

Communication does not mean merely sending or receiving

message. It involves understanding also. It is, in fact, a bridge of
meaning and understanding between two or more people. Thus,
communication is a two- way process.

The salient features of communication are as follows:

(i) Communication involves at least two persons—one who sends

the message and the second who receives the message.

(ii) Communication is a two-way traffic. The process of

communication is not completed until the message has been
understood by the receiver. Understanding is an essential part of
communication, but it does not imply agreement.

(iii) The basic purpose of communication is to create an

understanding in the mind of the receiver of information.

(iv) Communication may take several forms, e.g., order,

instruction, report, suggestion grievance, observation, etc. The
message may be conveyed through words spoken or written, or
gestures.

Elements of Communication:
Communication is a process involving exchange of facts,
viewpoints and ideas between persons placed in different
positions in the organisation to achieve mutual understanding as
shown in Fig. 11.5. The communication process starts when the
sender or communicator has a message communicate to some
other person known as receiver. It will be completed when the
receiver gets the information and sends feedback to the
communicator.

The essential elements of communication are described

below:

(i) Sender or Communicator:

The person who conveys the message is known as communicator

or sender. By initiating the message, the communicator attempts
to achieve understanding and change in the behaviour of the
receiver. In case of marketing it is the marketer (sender) who
starts the communication process.

(ii) Message:

It is the subject-matter of any communication. It may involve any

fact, opinion or information. It must exist in the mind of the
communicator if communication process is to be initiated. In
marketing, the marketer’s message relates to product, price and
place.

(iii) Encoding:

The sender of information organises his idea into a series of

symbols (words, signs, etc.) which, he feels, will communicate to
the intended receiver or receivers. This is called encoding of
message. Communication may take place through physical
gestures also.

(iv) Media or Communication Channel:

The communicator has to choose the channel for sending the

information. Communication channels are the media through
which the message passes. It may be either formal or informal. In
marketing, media may be salespersons, advertisement and
publicity.

(v) Receiver:

The person who receives the message is called receiver. The

communication process is incomplete without the existence of
receiver of the message. It is the receiver who receives and tries to
understand the message. The receiver in case of marketing is the
prospective or present customer.

(vi) Decoding:

After the appropriate channel or channels are selected, the

message enters the decoding stage of the communication process.
Decoding is done by the receiver. Once the message is received
and examined, the stimulus is sent to the brain for interpreting, in
order to assign some type of meaning to it. It is this processing
stage that constitutes decoding. The receiver begins to interpret
the symbols sent by the sender, translating the message to his
own set of experiences in order to make the symbols meaningful.

(vii) Response:

Response refers to the set of reactions that the receiver has after
being exposed to the message. In case of advertising, a response
may mean developing a favourable attitude towards the product
as a result of an advertising campaign. However, in many cases,
measuring such responses is not easy.

(viii) Feedback:

Communication is completed when the communicator receives

feedback information from the receiver. The feedback may reveal
that the receiver has understood the message. It may also contain
information about the action taken by the receiver on the basis of
message sent by the communicator. Thus, feedback is the
backbone of effective communication.

(ix) Noise:
Noise is a very common thing we observe in our day-to-day
interaction with others. At times it affects adversely the
effectiveness of communication. For example, if a person is
talking over the phone to another and there is a noise around him,
he will feel great difficulty in listening to the person at the other
end of the phone. Even the noise can affect the voice of the sender
of the message.

Hurdles or Difficulties in Marketing Communication:

There are four factors which might create hurdles or problems in

communication between the marketer and the target customer.

These hurdles include noise, selective attention,

selective distortion and selective retention as discussed
below:

(i) Noise:

Noise is a sort of interfering sound in the communication process

anywhere along the way from the sender to the receiver and vice
versa. It can be sound of running bus, two persons talking close at
hand or someone shouting around. Noise of any kind has the
potential of creating disruption or barrier to effective
communication. The sources of noise can be both internal and
external. Noise within the office can be controlled, but it is very
difficult to control the external noise.

Noise is one of the biggest obstacles in marketing communication.

For example, a driver’s need to provide safety to the traffic
sidetracks the role of billboards, banners, etc. during disturbed
weather conditions —wind, dust storm, rain, etc. Similarly, too
much advertisement exposure during the day of purchase of tyre
for a car, would disturb the planned purchasing.

These constitute noise in the communication process. The level of

noise may not allow a customer to receive the message as
intended. The effectiveness of communication depends upon the
level of congruity and compatibility between different elements of
the communication.

(ii) Selective Attention:

A person may be exposed to hundreds or thousands of ads or
brand communications in a day. Because a person cannot possibly
attend to all of these, most stimuli will be screened out. This
process is called selective attention. Because of this, the
marketers have to work hard to attract consumer’s notice.
Generally, people are more likely to notice stimuli that relate to a
current need.

Thus, a person who is motivated to buy a car is most likely to

notice car ads. The process of selective attention explains why
advertisers make extra efforts to grab the audience’s attention
through fear, music, or bold headlines.

(iii) Selective Distortion:

Selective distortion is the tendency to interpret information in a

way that fit one’s perception. Consumers often distort
information to be consistent with prior brand and product beliefs.
Thus, the target audience will hear what fits into their belief
systems.

As a result, receivers often add things to the message that are not
there and do not notice other things that are there. The
advertiser’s task is to strive for simplicity, clarity, interest and
repetition to get the main points across.

(iv) Selective Retention:

People retain in their long-term memory only a small fraction of

the messages that reach them. If the receiver’s initial attitude
towards the brand is positive and he rehearses support arguments
(that is, tells himself things such as the product is in fashion or
that it is reasonably priced or that it delivers good value, etc.), the
message is likely to be accepted and have high recall.

If the initial attitude towards the brand is negative and the person
rehearses counter arguments (that is, tells himself that the
product is highly overpriced or that the competing products offer
more value to customers or that the brand is not doing well in the
market, etc.) the message is likely to be rejected but to stay in
long-term memory.
Thus, the advertiser’s task is two-fold here. He not only has to
create an initial favourable attitude towards the brands but also
through his ads communicate to the audience strong points about
the brands so that the customers can rehearse the same and the
brand is positively placed in the long-term memory of the
customers.

Essay # 7. Role of Marketing in Economic Development:

In today’s era of globalization role of marketing is increasing to

fulfill different needs and requirements of people. Due to increase
in scale of production and expansions of markets, producers need
support of marketing tools to distribute their goods and services
to the real customer.

High competition in market and product diversification has

increased the marketing activities like advertising, storage, sales
promotion, salesmanship etc. Now high profits can be attained by
high sales volume and good quality of products and services.
Marketing has acquired an important place for the economic
development of the whole country. It has also become a necessity
for attaining the objective of social welfare and high quality of life.

The importance of marketing can be explained as under:

(a) Importance of Marketing to a Firm:

Marketing is considered to be the prime activity among all the

business activities. Success of any business depends on success of
marketing. Peter F. Drucker has rightly said that, “Marketing is
the business.” Objective and goals of any organization can be
achieved through efficient and effective marketing polices. The
success of an enterprise depends to a large extent upon the
success of its marketing activities.

The importance of marketing to the firm can be

explained as under:

1. Marketing in Business Planning and Decision Making:

Marketing research is helpful in searching opportunities and
potential in market. It is necessary for an organization to decide
what can be sold before deciding that what can be produced.
Unless and until these key decisions are taken, it is not practical
to take the decisions regarding production, quality of product,
type of product and quantity of production etc.

Marketing is very helpful in taking all such decisions therefore its

plays an important role in business planning. Marketing provides
valuable information regarding production policies, pricing
policies, advertisement and sales promotion policies of
competitors, so that a suitable policy may be formulated by the
top management.

2. Increase in the Profits:

The main objective of every firm is to increase the profitability by

successful operations of its activities. Maximization of profits can
be possible only through the successful operations of its activities.
Marketing department need the help of other departments as well
for discharging its duties successfully, marketing department
coordinate with other departments like finance, production, to
fulfill the needs of customers and regular supply according to
market demand.

3. Flow of Marketing Communication:

Integrated marketing communication makes it possible to flow

marketing information to intermediaries, publics and customers.
Marketing acts as a medium of communication between the
society and the firm. Various information regarding trends,
needs, attitudes, fashions, taste preferences etc., are collected by
marketing department.

(b) Importance of Marketing to the Society:

1. To Uplift Standard of Living:

Ultimate objective of marketing is to produce goods and services

for the society according to their needs and tastes at reasonable
prices. Marketing discovers the needs and wants of the society,
produces the goods and services according to their needs, creates
demand for these goods and services encourages consumers to
consume them and thus improves the standard of living of the
society. By advertising utility and importance of products and
services are communicated to the people.

2. To Decreases the Total Marketing Cost:

Next important responsibility of marketing is to control the cost

of marketing. Distribution cost and production cost can be
decreased by creation of high demand in market. Decrease in cost
of production will have two impacts, firstly the high profitability
of organization and secondly to increase in the market share of
the firm.

3. Increase in the Employment Opportunities:

Marketing provides direct and indirect employment in society.

Employment opportunities are directly related with the
development of marketing. Successful operation of marketing
activities requires the services of different enterprises and
organizations such logistics, warehousing, transportation,
retailing finance, etc.

4. In controlling Business Fluctuations:

Business fluctuations like recession and depression causes

unemployment, and deflation. Marketing helps in protecting
society against all these problems. Marketing helps in innovation
and discovery of new markets for the goods, modifications and
alterations in the quality of the product and development of
alternative uses of the product. It reduces the cost of production
and protects the business enterprise against the problem of
recession.

5. Increase Per Capita Income:

Marketing operations create, maintain and increase the demand

for goods and service. Marketing activities flow money from one
part of economic system to other. By generation of new
employment opportunities it helps to increases income of people.

(c) Importance of Marketing in Economic Development:

Marketing plays an important role in the development of a
country. Most of developed countries like USA, Japan, and
Germany are having strong marketing system, they are moving
towards global marketing. Industrial growth and development
need support of marketing, large scale of production requires new
markets. In these countries, the production exceeds the demand it
need marketing system to be much more effective so that the
produced goods and services can be sold.

Marketing has a vital role to play in the development of an

underdeveloped and developing economy. In developing
economies the industrialization and urbanization is increasing at
a faster rate and so the importance of marketing is also increasing
as it is required for selling the produced goods and services. A
rapid development of underdeveloped economy is possible only if
the modern techniques of marketing are used in these countries
marketing activities are increasing at a fast rate in developing
countries.

Essay # 8. Importance of Marketing:

Role of Marketing in a Firm:

Efficient marketing management is a pre-requisite for the

successful operation of any business enterprise. A business
organisation is differentiated from other organisations by the fact
that it produces and sells products.

The importance of marketing in modern business is

discussed below:

Marketing is the beating heart of the business organisation. The

chief executive of a business cannot plan, the production manager
cannot produce, the purchase manager cannot purchase, and the
financial controller cannot budget until the basic marketing
decisions have been taken. Many departments in a business
enterprise are essential for its growth, but marketing is still the
sole revenue producing activity. Marketing function is rightly
considered the most important function of management.
Marketing gives top priority to the needs of customers. Quality of
goods, storage, display, advertisement, packaging, etc. are all
directed towards the satisfaction of customer.

Marketing helps in the creation of place, time and possession

utilities. Place utility is created by transporting the goods from
the place of production to consumption centres. Time utility is
created by storing the goods in warehouses until they are
demanded by customers. Possession or ownership utility is
created through sale of goods. The significance of marketing lies
in the creation of these utilities to satisfy the needs of the
customers and thereby earn profit. It a firm is able to satisfy its
customers, it will have better chances of survival and growth even
in the fast changing environment.

Marketing generates revenue for the business firm. Marketing is

an important activity these days, particularly in the competitive
economies. Marketing generates revenue for the business
enterprises. No firm can survive in the long-run unless it is able to
market its products. In fact, marketing has become the nerve-
centre of all human activities.

Role of Marketing in the Economy:

Marketing plays a significant role in the growth and development

of an economy. It acts as a catalyst in the economic development
of a country by ensuring better utilisation of the scarce resources
of the nation. Since a business firm generates revenues and earns
profits by its marketing efforts, it will engage in better utilisation
of resources of the nation to earn higher profits.

Marketing determines the needs of the customers and sets out the
pattern of production of goods and services necessary to satisfy
their needs. Marketing also helps to explore the export markets.

Marketing helps in improving the standards of living of people. It

does so by offering a wide variety of goods and services with
freedom of choice. Marketing treats the customer as the king
around whom all business activities revolve. Besides product
development, pricing, promotion, and physical distribution of
products are carried out to satisfy the customer.
Marketing generates employment for people. A large number of
people are employed by modern business houses to carry out the
functions of marketing. Marketing also gives an impetus to
further employment facilities. In order to ensure that the finished
product reaches the customer, it passes through wholesalers and
retailers and in order to perform numerous jobs, many people are
employed.

On the whole, marketing leads to economic development of a

nation. It increases the national income by bringing about rise in
consumption, production and investment. It mobilises unknown
and untapped resources and also facilitates full utilisation of
production capacity and other assets. It helps in the integration of
industry, agriculture and other sectors of the economy. It also
contributes to the development of entrepreneurial and managerial
talent in the country.

Essay # 9. Challenges and Opportunities of Marketing:

A large number of changes have taken place in the recent

years which have influenced the field of marketing as
discussed below:

1. Globalisation:

The term ‘globalisation’ means the process of integration of the

world economy into one huge market through the removal of all
trade barriers or restrictions among countries. In India,
restrictions on imports and exports and inflow and outflow of
capital and technology have been lifted by the Central
Government so that Indian business may become globally
competitive.

The broad features of globalisation are as follows:

(i) Free flow of goods and services across national frontiers

through removal or reduction of trade barriers.

(ii) Free flow of capital across nations.

(iii) Free flow of technology across nations.

(iv) Free movement of human resources across nations.

(v) Global mechanism for the settlement of economic disputes.

The aim of globalisation is to look upon the world as a ‘global

village’ which would allow free flow of goods, capital, technology
and labour between different countries. Because of globalisation,
there has been a tremendous impact on marketing strategies of
business firms, particularly engaged in international marketing.
They have to design product, price, promotion, place or
distribution strategies to meet the challenges of global marketing.

2. Information Technology (IT):

Information technology has enabled real-time access and sharing

of digital information through digital networks, information
database, and computer graphics. It has brought about many
changes in the business landscape.

Electronic technology has facilitated purchase and sale of goods

and services electronically. E-Commerce can be used not only to
market product, but also to build better customer relationships.
Thus, marketers are facing new challenges as regards booking of
e-orders, e-deliveries of intangible products, receiving e-
payments and Customer Relation Management (CRM).

3. Increased Leisure Time:

As a result of shorter working week, vacations, and labour-saving

devices available for domestic use, most wage-earners now enjoy
more leisure time. So there has grown a market for articles used
for recreational purposes to enjoy the leisure time. In the
developing countries also, cinema shows, holiday trips, sports and
games have come into importance.

4. Changing Role of Women:

Throughout the world more and more women are taking up jobs
and have gained economic independence to a large extent. They
accept even challenging jobs. They also exert greater influence on
buying decisions of their families. It may happen that husband
buys a commodity according to the decision of the wife. This has
necessitated special study of the buying motives of the working
women.

5. Demand for Services:

Over the years, consumers’ demand for services is on the rise as in

case of tour and travel, educational, medical, repair and
maintenance services, etc. Due to growing complexity, business
firms also need expert services like accounting, taxation,
advertising, customer care, etc.

6. Increased Competition:

Business has become more competitive these days and this has
brought about many changes in the field of marketing, e.g.,
product differentiation, competitive pricing, competitive
advertising, customer support services, etc.

7. Social Emphasis:

Marketing is now concerned with the long-term health and

happiness of consumers and well-being of society. Marketers in
are getting involved in improving the quality of life of consumers
and preventing or minimising the evil effects of environmental
pollution on the society by practising green marketing.

Emerging Concepts in Marketing:

1. Social Marketing:

It refers to the design, implementation, and control of programs

seeking to increase the acceptability of a social idea, cause, or
practice among a target group. For instance, a recent publicity
campaign for prohibition of smoking in Delhi explained the place
where one can and can’t smoke in Delhi.

2. Relationship Marketing:

It is the process of creating, maintaining, and enhancing strong

value-laden relationships with customers and other stakeholders.
For example, British Airways offers special lounges with showers
at many airports for frequent flyers. Thus, providing special
benefits to valuable the customers to strengthen bonds will go a
long way in building relationships.

To achieve relationship marketing, a marketer has to keep in

touch with the regular customers, identify most loyal customers
to provide additional services to them, design special recognition
and reward schemes, and use them for building long-term
relationships.

3. Direct Marketing:

It means marketing through various advertising media that

interact directly with consumers, generally calling for the
consumer to make a direct response. Direct marketing includes
Catalogue Selling, Mail Order, Tele computing, Electronic
Marketing, Selling, and TV Shopping.

4. Service Marketing:

It is applying the concepts, tools, and techniques, of marketing to

services. Service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer
to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the
ownership of anything. Services may be financial, insurance,
transportation, banking, savings, retailing, educational or
utilities.

5. Non-Business Marketing:

Marketing is applied not only to business firms but also to non-

business organisations. Voluntary institutions are adopting
principles and practices of marketing to promote their ideologies,
schemes and programs among the target groups.