Marketing - Meaning, Importance, Components & Example

Marketing is a process in business which helps to generate, communicate and transfer value about a
product or service to customers, partners and the potential market. Marketing involves processes like
market research, advertising, marketing communication, branding etc which showcases the customers
the value proposition offered by companies. Marketing helps create brand awareness among the
potential market and drives the business.

It also focuses on customer service, PR activities and other means which help a business grow.
Marketing along with finance, human resources and operations forms the backbone for any business
to increase sales revenue. All the activities managed within an organization fall under marketing
management.

Importance of Marketing
❖ Useful in fulfilling a need or requirement of a person
❖ Many companies involved in giving similar products or services, people are unaware of all
the options available to them
❖ Promotion plays an important role in business and helps improve the market share for a
company
❖ Helps businesses reach out to new customers, understand their needs better and advertise
products for the customers to buy by advertising.
❖ Helps in creating brand awareness of any business which has some value to offer to its
customers
❖ It requires a lot of skill, experience and knowledge to understand the customer and deliver the correct
message to them
Components of Marketing

Marketing is a big domain in business covering important aspects of a business related to the
product, service, customer, recognition, brand awareness etc. Some of the most important
components are:

1. Marketing research- Understanding the business and customers by studying the market,
industry, demographics etc which is a part of research.

2. Advertising- Using mediums of communication like TV, print, online, OOH etc by
promoting brand through advertisements and sponsorships are essential components

3. Pricing- It helps to understand the optimum price of a product which a company should keep
for maximum sales and high margins

4. Customer support- Providing service to customers in terms of after sales service, customer
relationship management etc all come under customer support

5.Media Planning- Utilizing the correct channel for brand promotion is studied by
understanding different types, costs and effectiveness of media

6. Public Relations- It helps companies spread a positive word about the products and services
through news channels, newspapers, magazines etc and help build strong PR relations.

7. Sales- Marketing and sales go hand in hand in ensuring that a company’s business is
prosperous as both are interdependent.
8. Brand promotion- Brand building exercises are done by effective strategies which help to
build a loyal customer base for a business.

Advantages of Marketing

There are several advantages of marketing for a business. Some of the benefits are:

1. It helps a business reach out to many customers across geographies by advertising

2. It helps understand the customer needs and requirements in a more systematic way.

3. The price of products which can give maximum profit to a business can be understood by
marketing.

4. A good market research can help develop new products, improve existing products and
capture a bigger market.

5. It helps companies have a loyal customer base as they provide a good after sales service,
customer support etc

6. Brand awareness is spread by promotion as most of the people are unaware about the products
or services available worldwide

Disadvantages of Marketing

Even though marketing is pivotal for every business, there are certain drawbacks. Some of them
are:

1. It becomes extremely costly for a company which is involved in promoting its products by
extensive promotion

2. A lot of time is invested into ensuring that the right kind of communication is given

3. Despite all investments, communication and business strategies, customers do not buy the
product or service, which can lead to severe losses to a company.

Examples of Marketing

There can be thousands of examples of marketing. A few selected examples are:

1. Vodafone through its TV commercials, online ads and print ads created a buzz in the market
with its ZooZoo campaign, which helped the business become a top of the mind brand

2. Nike is one of the leading companies in the world which focuses on promotions through
advertising by having sports celebrities as brand ambassadors
3. Beverage giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi come up with new campaigns every season and try
to build a strong connect with their customers

What is Marketing Function?

Marketing function is a role which helps a company to identify and source potentially
successful products for the marketplace they operate on and then promote them by
differentiating them from similar products. It is a vital part of any company.

1. Market Planning
One of the most important functions of marketing is to plan, research the market trends. The
entire planning exercise is done by the marketing department/function.Market planning takes
the entire organization's view and strategy to make sure that the right market strategy and tactics
are used for designing and developing the product/service offering for the customers.

2. Product Design
Product life cycle design and management is an important task performed by the marketing
function. The entire PLC is management by the marketing function. Product design includes
product functionalities, customer requirements, research and development activities. Branding
is also included in this step.

3. Product development
After the product is designed, the product has to be developed as per the design. It includes
prototyping, testing, test marketing, user feedback etc. After the confirmation, the product is
handed over to manufacturing for development.
4. Distribution
Though distribution is main responsibility of operations and logistics department, the marketing
function has a vital role to play in terms of market plan, locations, distribution strategy in
making sure that product reaches the right location

5. Financing
Marketing function also has inputs in financing. To make sure that the right audience is able to
buy and afford the product. Marketing department plays important role in pricing, financing
along with the finance department.

6. Sales Support
Once the product is ready to be shipped and made available in the market, the sales force needs
to be enabled to understand the product offerings including features, pricing, promotions,
margins etc. to make sure that sales is able to sell it effectively.

7. Packaging and Labelling

Marketing function has the responsibility of planning the artwork and labelling as per the
protocols and branding. The packaging and labelling has to be in sync with the production
schedule.

8. Customer Service and Support

Aftermarket support is very much an important aspect of marketing function. The customer
may have queries or require support for the product usage or repair.The marketing function
needs to enable the support and technical staff to answer the customer queries.

9. Market Research and Development

Market research is an ongoing task of the marketing department. Marketing function needs to
understand the market and target audience well to make sure that the right product features are
designed and developed.