Function of marketing management?
We need to know the major functions of marketing management so as to realise
and condition our business. Below are some of the important functions of
marketing management −
1. Selling
2. Buying and Assembling
3. Transportation
4. Storage
5. Standardization and Grading
6. Financing
7. Risk Taking
8. Market Information
The marketing department in any business executes certain activities to facilitate
movement from the manufacturers to consumer. Most of these activities are to be
performed with utmost care by each and every company so that its marketing results
in profitability.
1. Selling
Selling is the essence of marketing. It involves persuading the prospective
consumers to make purchases. It includes transfer of title of goods
manufacturers to the buyer.
Selling plays a vital part in realizing the ultimate aim of profitability for
business. Selling includes personal selling, advertising, publicity and sales
promotion. Effectiveness and efficiency in selling decide the magnitude of
the firm’s profitability
2. Buying and Assembling
Business has to decide on quantity, quality, sourcing, time of purchase, price
etc. Business makes purchase to drive sales or to reduce costs. Purchasing
intermediaries are much enticed by quality, service and price. The products
that the retailers buy for resale are picked as per the requirements and tastes
of its customers.
Assembling refers to buying required components and to fit them together to
construct a product. ‘Assembly line’ defines a production line consists of
purely assembly functions. The assembly operation consists of individual
component, parts at the work place and sending these parts for compilation.
Assembly line is a system of employees and machines in which each
employee has a particular role and the work is passed right from one
employee to the next until the product is thoroughly compiled.
3. Transportation
Transportation is the physical movement of goods and raw materials from the
places where they are manufactured or procured to those places where they
are needed for consumption or further processing. It creates location
convenience.
Transportation is crucial from the sourcing of raw materials to the delivery
of finished products. Transportation includes mainly on railroads, trucks,
waterways, pipelines and airways.
4. Storage
Storage refers to holding of products in proper, i.e., functional or serviceable,
condition from the time they are produced until they are required by
customers in case of finished products or by the production department in
case of raw materials and stores.
Storing safeguard the products from decay and helps in carrying over excess
for future consumption or usage in production.
5. Standardization and Grading
Standardization refers setting up of definite standards or classification for
products based on the native physical qualities of any item. This may include
quantity weight and size or quality like shade, form, appearance, material,
taste etc. Setting a benchmark gives rise to uniformity of products.
Grading means classification of standardized products into certain well
defined brackets or groups. It includes the division of products into separate
categories having similar features of size and quality.
Grading is crucial in raw materials; agricultural produce like wheat and
cereals; mining products like coal, iron and manganese and forest products
like timber industries
6. Financing
Financing involves the usage of the funds to meet the financial needs of
organisation dealing with various activities of marketing. Business must
ensure uninterrupted flow of credit. Further the costs of getting merchandise
into the hands of the customers are largely referred to as the finance function
in marketing.
Financing in business have several needs like finance for the working capital
and fixed capital, which may be procured from three sources — owned
capital, loans and advance & trade credit. In other words, different kinds of
finances are short-term, medium-term, and long-term finance.
7. Risk Taking
Risk means probability of loss due to some unexpected situations. Risk
bearing in marketing means the capacity of business to indulge in the
ownership of goods held for an unexpected demand, including the future
losses because of decrease in prices and the losses from breakdown,
depreciation, antiquation, natural calamities like floods, fire, pandemic or any
other loss that may occur with the passage of time.
They may also be due to decomposition, deterioration and accidents or due
to variation in the prices induced by changes in supply and demand. The
various risks generally termed as place risk, time risk, physical risk, etc.
8. Market Information
The significance marketing information as one of the functions of marketing
management is recently noticed. The sole foundation on which marketing
decisions rely is timely and accurate market information. Business is driven
by data regarding needs and wants of its current and prospective customers
and the macro level changes in the economy.
