Marketing

Marketing is a total system of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want satisfying goods and services to present and potential customers. Marketing is concerned with exchange of goods and services from producer to consumers which involves many activities.
(i) Gathering and Analysing Market Information
This is done to identify the needs of the customers and take various decisions for the successful marketing of the products and services.
(ii) Marketing Planning
Another important activity or area of work of a marketer is to develop appropriate marketing plans, so that the marketing objective of the organisation can be achieved.
(iii) Product Designing and Development
The design of the product contributes to make the product attractive to the target customers.
A good design can improve performance of a product and also give it a competitive advantage in the market.
(i) Standardisation and Grading
Standardisation refers to producing goods of predetermined specification which helps in achieving uniformity and consistency in the output which reduces the need for inspection, testing and evaluation of the products.
Grading is the process of classification of products into different groups, on the basis of its features such as quality, size etc. It ensures that goods belong to a particular quality helps in realising higher prices for high quality output.
(ii) Packaging and Labelling
Packaging refers to designing the package for the products. Labelling refers to designing the label to be put on the package. Packaging provides protection to the product and also helps in its promotion. Labelling helps in self service.
(iii) Branding
Brand names help in creating product differentiations i.e., how the product can be distinguished from its competitors.
(iv) Customer Support Service
Marketing management relates to developing customer support service such as after sales services, handling customer complaints. All these aim at provides customer satisfaction which is a key to marketing^success.
(viii) Pricing of Product
Price is an important factor affecting the success or failure of a product in the market. The marketers have to analyse properly the factors determining the price of a product.
(ix) Promotion
Promotion of products and services involves informing the customers about the firm’s product, its features etc and persuading them to purchase these products. It includes four method advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and publicity.
(x) Physical Distribution
The important decisions areas under physical distribution include managing inventory, storage, warehousing and transportation of goods from one place to the other.
(xi) Transportation Transportation involves physical movement of goods from one place to another. A marketer has to perform this function very efficiently keeping in mind the nature of product, cost, location of target market etc.
(xii) Storage or Warehousing
In order to maintain smooth flow of products in the market, there is a need for proper storage of the products. Further, there is a need for storage of adequate stock of goods to protect against unavoidable delays in delivery or to meet ‘out contingencies in the demand. Wholesalers and retailers are playing an important role.