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Q.1 what do you mean by marketing functions? Briefly explain the important

marketing functions.

A. 1 As an entrepreneur, when we went to start a new business, we don't have a product. In

fact we will have to decide what product we should manufacture and sell.

We have first to decide what product we should select. This, we can do only if we can do

only if we identify the needs which require satisfaction among human beings. Once, we have

identified the needs of a group of human beings (or called market segment), we can

determine the product which can help to satisfy that needs. This is a part of the marketing

concept or we can say the part of modern philosophy of marketing.

Philip Kotler, an author in area of marketing defined marketing "a human activity directed at

satisfying needs and wants through exchange processes."

Human Needs

The human need is a state in which a person feels deprived of

something. There are many human needs described in many

ways.

Briefly, these needs can be divided into two types.

1. Physiological needs

2. Psychological and Sociological needs.

The physiological needs consist of the need for food, clothing, shelter and even sex.

Similarly, there are social needs for belonging, affection and love from others. Of course,

there are.higher order psychological needs of self-actualisation.

Important to understand that there are different needs for human being on the earth. At any

time some needs in a human being are dormant and unsatisfied, whereas others are active and

are being satisfied. A marketing man may thus devise a product or service aimed at satisfying

a certain dormant need and thus provide satisfaction to the user. This is why a man is often

described as a bundle of dormant wants. The need exists buy these have to the converted into'wants' by a marketing strategy.

In a socially competitive society, people may have unlimited wants but the ability to buy may

be restricted on account of their economic background. They will, therefore, select from

among those products, which give satisfaction or are needed more. Thus, when they are

backed by ability to buy, the wants are converted into demand for your product. Therefore,

when people decide to satisfy their needs and wants, in terms of marketing activities,

exchange takes place.

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On the current activities of human being, we can develop a process-oriented definition of

marketing as "the process of ascertaining consumer needs, converting them into products or

services, and then moving the product t or service to the final consumer or user to satisfy

certain needs and wants of specific consumer segment or segments with emphasis on

profitability, ensuing the optimum use of the resources available to the organisation".

In practice, often, separate departments with their own way of perform the business functions,

such' as production, finance and marketing, are performed by separate departments with their

own way of thinking, production is often considered the more important function as compare

to marketing. This practice is, gradually losing ground and it is being recognized that unless

you can sell a product, you should not manufacture it.

Production-orientation evolved because often products were designed and developed by

inventors who hoped that they would sell. However, if these products fail to satisfy some

needs they would never sell in the market place. Therefore, consumer oriented thinking

becomes necessary for any business to survive and grow.

Normally, a salesman would like to think of his activity as a 'selling' process. Wh"en he does

this, he is more cohcerned with handling over this product and receiving money in exchange.

However, if he adopts the modern philosophy of treating it as a 'buying' process, his job

becomes easier. This would definitely help him to start feeling and thinking of a customer.

For instance, as he puts himself in the shoes of the customer and asks the question-why

should I buy this article? His job will become smoother, as he will then know about the

benefits and the disadvantages of the product or the service he is offering. This is an

illustration of customer-oriented focus.

Theimportant marketing functions are:

Buying - people have the opportunity to buy products that they want.

Selling - producers function within a free market to sell products to consumers.

Financing - banks and other financial institutions provide money for the production and

marketing of products.

Storage - products must be stored and protect ed until they are needed. This function is

especially important for perishable products such as fruits and vegetables.

Transportation -products must be physically relocated to the locations where consumers can

buy them. This is a very important function. Transportation includes rail road, ship, airplane,

truck, and telecommunications for non-tangible products such as market information.

Processing - processing involves turning a raw product, like wheat, into something the

consumer can use - for example, bread.

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Risk-Taking - insurance companies provide coverage to protect producers and marketers

from loss due to fire, theft, or natural disasters.

Market Information - information from around the world about market conditions, weather,

price movements, and political changes, can affect the marketing process. Market information

is provided by all forms of telecommunication, such as television, the internet, and phone.

Grading and Standardizing - Many products are graded in order to conform to previously

determined standards of quality. For example, when you purchase india No. 1 Potatoes, you

know you are buying the best potatoes on the market.

Q.2 Define the term Brand Equity ? Discuss the components of Brand Equity.

A. 2 Brand equity is a phrase used in the marketing industry to try to describe the value of

having a well-known brand name, based on the idea that the owner of a well-known brand

name can generate more money from products with that brand name than from products with

a less well known name, as consumers believe that a product with a well-known name is

better than products with less well known names. Another word for "brand equity" is "brand

value".

The components of Brand Equity are

1) Awareness,

2) Association,

3) Attitude,

4) Attachment and

5) Activity.

Q.3 Why are marketing channels indispensable? List the functions of marketing

channels.

A.3 Channel management programs have grown to be an indispensable part of channel

marketing nowadays. Channel managers look at these programs as a efficient choice for the

management of channel marketing. Today, programs have grown so advanced these help save

lot of time and as well as initiatives for the channel managers. You can even install

automated channel partner marketing software which usually will get upgraded automatically

as channel partners submit information. Automated software is of great advantage as it assists

channel partners get more precise data every time they sign in to the portal.

Additionally, there are numerous channel management application that aim at facilitatingbetter relationship with channel partner. All these help by building sales as well as technical

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readiness and also by offering prospects to channel partners to even more enhance sales. The

important goal of channel marketing management is to give partners information as and when

they require it.

Q.4.Explain the different methods which allows a media planner to decide budget

allocationA.4

Media vehicle selection, number of insertions and message structure depend on the budget

allotted for the communication program. A popular channel may charge more foradvertisement but organization gets better viewership. A newspaper having high circulation

charges premium for the advertisement but all the organization may not have enough budgetsto support such campaign. Hence marketer would like to decide what is the budget for thecommunication program? And how shall it be allotted optimally? There are four different

methods on which a media planner decides the allocation of advertisement budget.

1. Affordable method: The method is used by small companies who dont have enoughcommunication budgets. In this method company allots the fixed amount for thecommunication program. The advantage of this method is company can have better control

over the spending on the communication. The disadvantage is if sales require highercommunication effort, company is not in a position to allocate the budget.

2. Percentage of sales method. In this method company allots the budget on the basis oftotal sales forecasted. This is the simplest method. Marketer can have better control over the

budget and also have flexibility to allocate the budget.

3. Competition method:The Company sets its promotion budget on the basis of competitorsadvertising effort. Here company closely monitors the developments of the competitorscommunication program and study the industry trends in communication budget prior to

setting up communication budget.

4. Objective and task method: The procedure involved in estimating the advertisementbudget by this method are First, Objectives are set for the communication programs. Second,identifying the task to be performed to achieve the objective and third, estimating the cost of

achieving these objectives.

Q.5 Define the term direct marketing Explain the different methods adopted fordirect marketingA.5 Direct Marketing : Direct marketing is concerned with establishing an individual

relationship between the business offering a product or service and the final customer. Directmarketing has been defined by the Institute of Direct Marketing as: The planned recording,

analysis and tracking of customer behaviour to develop relational marketing strategies. Theprocess of direct marketing covers a wide range of promotional activities you may be familiarwith.

These include:

a) Direct-response adverts on television and radio

b)Mail order catalogues

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c) E-commerce (you bought this marketing companion following tutor2us direct marketing

campaign!)

d)Magazine inserts

e)Direct mail (sometimes also referred to as junk mail)

f) Telemarketing

Q.6 List the important differences between International marketing and Domestic

marketing.

A.6

Scope

The scope of domestic marketing is limited and will eventually dry up. On the otherend, international marketing has endless opportunities and scope.

Benefits As is obvious, the benefits in domestic marketing are less than in international

marketing. Furthermore, there is an added incentive of foreign currency that is importantfrom the point of view of the home country as well.

Sharing of technology Domestic marketing is limited in the use of technology whereasinternational marketing allows use and sharing of latest technologies.

Political relations Domestic marketing has nothing to do with political relations whereasinternational marketing leads to improvement in political relations between countries and also

increased level of cooperation as a result.

BarriersIn domestic marketing there are no barriers but in international marketing there are

many barriers such as cross cultural differences, language, currency, traditions and customs.

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