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Q. Explain the scope of marketing .

Ans. The scope of marketing can  be understood in  terms of  functions that a marketing manager performs. In most of the business enterprises, marketing department  is  set  up  under  supervision  of  the  marketing  manager.  The functions of marketing may be classified into   four categories as shown in the following figure

A. FUNCTIONS OF RESEARCH :–

A1. Marketing Research :–

It means the intelligence service of organization Marketing research helps in analyzing the buyer’s habit ,  relative popularity of a product, effectiveness of advertising media , etc. Its major task is to provide the marketing manager with timely and accurate information so that  better decision can be made.

A2. Product planning and development :–

A product is something which  is offered   by a business to customers to satisfy  their  needs.  It  has  great  importance  in  all  other  areas  of  marketing management  .The  success  of  marketing  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the product  offered  to  the  customers.  The  product  must  be  so  designed  and developed that it meets requirement of the customer.

B. FUNCTIONS OF EXCHANGE :–

B1. Buying and Assembling :–

Procurement  of  raw  materials,  semi  -finished  or  finished  products  has gained  great  importance  for  the  modern  industrial  and  commercial enterprises. The marketing department plays an important role in  purchasing material  for  production  or  finished  goods  for    resale.  It  is  the  marketing department which will supply the information regarding the needs and taste of customer.

Purchasing is different from assembling   Assembling means collection of goods already purchased from different sources at a common point . this is also done by marketing department.

B2. Selling :–

This is an important aspect of marketing under which ownership of goods is  transferred  from the  seller  to buyer. If sales  will  not be there than all the marketing  activites    will  go  waste.  In  selling  activities  marketer  has  to  do different activities such as creating demand, selecting distribution channels, motivating customer to buy the  products etc.

C. FUNCTIONS OF PHYSICAL TREATMENT :–

C1. Standardisation, Grading, and Branding :–

Standardisation means setting up of  specification  of a product. Grades of agriculture  products  are  based  on  these  specifications  and  standards. Industrial goods  are given brand names by their manufactures to convey to the customers that their goods conform to certain well-defined standards. These activities promote the sale of  products.

C2. packaging :–

Packaging  has  become  one  of    the  essential    services  of  modern marketing. It acts as a multipurpose arrangement. It gives protection to goods on its route from manufacturer to  consumer. Packaging facilitates the sale of a product. It  acts as a silent salesman of   the manufacturer , particularly at a place where there   is widespread use of self-service , automatic vending and other self-selection methods of retail selling.

C3. Storage :–

Goods  are  generally  produced  in  anticipation  of  the  demand. They  are Institute of IT & Management stored  in  warehouses  till  they  are  actually  sold    in  the  market.  Thus warehousing  creates  time  utility.  In  addition,  modern  warehouses  perform certain marketing  services also such  grading, packaging, labeling, etc.

C4. Transportation :–

Modern  organizations  produce  on  a  large  scale  to  cater  to  the requirements  of  customers  scattered  throughout  the country. This calls  for transportation  of  goods  from  the  place  of  production  to  the  place  of consumption .Transportation provides the physical means which facilitate the movement  of  persons, goods, and  services  from  one  place  to  another Transportation  is  an  important  service  which  is  provided  by  marketing department.  Rapid    industrialisation  and  exchange  of  goods  and  services

cannot take place unless sufficient facilities for transportation are available.

D.FUNCTIONS FACILITATING EXCHANGE :–

D1. Salesmanship :–

Personal selling is an important method of selling goods. It is widely used in retail marketing. The art of salesmanship has undergone a big change. The attitude  of  salesman  towards  the  customer  and  of  customer  towards  the salesman has also changed   .Selling has become a science of human relations and an art of getting along with people so effectively that sales resistance may be reduced to minimum.

D2. Advertising :–

Advertising  has  become    an  important  function  of  marketing  in  the competitive world. It helps to spread the message about the product and thus promote its sale. The importance of   advertising has increased in the modern era of large scale production and tough competition in the market. Business firm use several media of advertisement to sell their products. These include newspapers, megazines, radio, television, etc.

D3. Pricing :–

Determination of price of a product is an important function of marketing manager. Price  of product  is  influenced by the  cost of  product  and  services offered , profit margin desired , prices fixed by the rival firms and government policy. A sound pricing policy is an important factor for selling the products to the customer . The price policy of a firm should be such that it attracts all types of customers of different means.

D4. Financing :–

Financing  and  marketing  functions  of  a  business  are  interlinked  with each other. The marketing department has an important say on policies of the finance department in regard to cash and credit sales .Financing of customer purchasing has become an integral part of modern marketing.

D5. Insurance :–