Important marketing Functions

IMPORTANT MARKETING FUNCTIONS
Important marketing functions

By
Dept. of Agricultural Economics
CCS HAU

 Marketing
 Agricultural Marketing
 What is Marketing functions?
 Various marketing functions
 Market Performers
 Importance of marketing functions
Outline of Presentation

What is Marketing?
 Marketing is identifying and meeting human and social needs. Thus, it is
“meeting needs profitably.”(Shivendu Mishra: 2009).
 Marketing must be understood not in the old sense of making a sale - 'selling' -
but in the new sense of satisfying customer needs (Antharjanam, 2012).
 It then refers to the identification, selection and development of a product,
determination of the price, channel to reach customers place and the
development and the implementation of promotional strategy.
 In other words it is the process of planning, pricing, promoting, selling, and
distributing ideas, goods or services to create exchanges that satisfy customers.
 Thus everything that happens between generated idea, produced goods and the
sale
Introduction

Agricultural Marketing
 It is the movement of agricultural produce / production inputs/services from
the point of production(e.g. farm) to the final consumer/manufacturers.
 The movement process covers areas such as:
 planning,
 physical handling,
 Transportation : to make produce / inputs available to consumers at the right place
 Processing: - to reduce wastage
 packing : - to simplify handling
 Grading and quality control:- to simplify sales transaction
 Storage:- to match continuing demands of consumers throughout the year
 pricing,
 promoting,
 selling, etc.
Introduction

Marketing Functions
 To achieve success in marketing, effort must be made to have glimpse of the
big picture and the activities that must be performed to achieve the set
marketing objectives. These set of activities are called marketing functions
 Marketing function refers to a set of specialised processes/activities performed
in order for the objectives of marketing to be achieved.
 Thus the objective of:
 Giving value/satisfaction to consumers at steady supply at a reasonable price
 Achieving good customer relationships
 Profit / benefit to producers or organization and its stakeholders. i.e. having a
convenient outlet of sales at a remunerative price
Marketing Functions

Marketing Functions
 It is often asserted that marketing serve as a bridge between producers and
consumers.
 This property of marketing is achieved through marketing functions
 Thus, market function is a link between producers and consumers
Marketing Functions…
Producers ConsumersMarketing
Functions
Marketing Bridges the Gap!

Various of marketing functions
 There are several components of marketing functions. These include
 Researching
 Pricing
 Buying
 Promotion
 Distribution
 Storage
 Processing
Product development and management
Standardization and grading
Market Information
Financing
Selling
Risk Bearing
After sales-service
The fulfillment of these functions in a particular place/culture/commodity
varies widely, but all the functions are needed in any macro-marketing system.

Research function:
 The collection, analysis, and distribution of
all the information the marketer needs to
plan, implement, and control need-satisfying
marketing activities.
 that function of marketing that makes it
possible for adequate information regarding
a particular market of target to be generated.
 Research must be carried out to identify the
size, behaviour, culture, believe, genders etc.
of the target market segment, the needs and
want.
 Effective product is then developed to meet
and satisfy the market needs and want.

Pricing Function
 The process of coming up with an amount to charge each customer for a
produce/product/ service.
 Prices must be seen by customers as fair, i.e. not too high or too low but it
must also allow the marketer/producer to make a fair profit.
 Basic questions to consider in deciding the price for goods and services
 What will customers pay?
 How much does it cost us to produce?
 How much do competitors sell for?

Buying function
 The function of buying is performed in order to acquire quality materials for
production.
 When a good product concept is designed, it must also be ensured that
essential materials are purchased for the product.
 This function is carried out by the purchase and supply department,
 The specifications of materials goes a long way in assisting the purchasing
department to acquire the necessary materials needed for production.

 The effort to inform or persuade customers about a business’s products or
services.
 Designing effective communication strategies to inform, persuade, or remind
consumers/target/potential market about the availability and features of a
product.
 Some of the strategies include;
 advertisement,
 personal selling,
 public relation etc.
Promotion

 Holding an inventory of goods until needed by customers.
 products must be stored and protected until they are needed.
 This function is especially important for perishable products such as fruits and
vegetables.
Processing
 Processing involves turning a raw product into commodities that are more
preferred or can easily be used by consumer.
 For example, like converting wheat into bread/ paddy into rice
Storage

 It is the process of ensuring that produce/product is easily and effectively
moved from the point of production to the target market to enable the
produce/product to be easily accessed by consumers.
 Thus it is the process of ensuring that produce/goods get in the hands of
consumers/customers.
 It involves considering:
 the kind of transportation system to employ e.g. Road, rail, water or air,
 Involves the systems that track products
 the kind of middlemen to engage in the channel of distribution, their incentives and
motivations etc.
Distribution

Risk Bearing:
 Risk is the probability or threat of damage, injury, liability, loss or any other
negative occurrence that is caused by external or internal vulnerabilities and
that may be avoided through preemptive action.
 The process of marketing is characterized with lots of risks, such risks as
produce damaging, pilferage, price fluctuations, storage loss etc.
 Thus risk bearing is assuming responsibility for uncertainties
 Hence marketers should have the capacity to bear risk such as:
 effective packaging system to protect produce,
 good warehouse for the storage of your produce until they are needed,
 effective transportation system to speedily deliver produce on time.
 Effective production system (e.g. Diversification, merging, insurance, integration) to cater
for price fluctuations, natural disasters, theft, etc

 It is a process whereby the market needs or wants are identified which are later
on factored into the produce / product during the product design to enhance
produce or product quality or acceptance in the market.
 Product development passes through some basic stages carried out by the
marketers to develop a targeted market specified product.
 Produce/ Products can be managed by evaluating its performance and changing
them to fit the current market trend.
 In a nutshell, it is obtaining, developing, maintaining and improving a product or
a product mix in response to market opportunities or demands
 Marketing research helps you know what customers want
Product development and management

 The function of standardization is to establish specified characteristics that
produce/product must conform to, such standard as in having a specific test,
ingredient etc. That makes the product brand so unique.
 Grading comes in when you sort and classify your product into deferent sizes or
quantities for different market segment while maintaining the product standard.
Standardization and Grading

 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.
Market Information

 It refers to raising funds/capital to start operation and remaining in operation.
 It also refers to the modes of payment for the goods and services transferred to
costumers.
 Thus it is providing the necessary cash or credit to produce, transport, store,
promote, sell, and buy products.
 In simple words it refers to getting money that is necessary to pay for setting up
and running a business.
 Loans, selling stock, etc.
 Also involves ways that customers can pay
 Credit cards
 Billing
 Payment on delivery
Financing

 Providing customers with the goods and services they need and educating them
on those goods and services so they can make an informed buying decision.
 Provides customers with the goods and services they want
 In retail stores
 Business-to-business (B-2-B)
 Involves:
 Determining client needs
 Persuading and influencing decisions
 Responding to reactions
 Forming relationships
Selling

 In a more complex and technical product, marketers should make provision in
order to assist customers after they have purchased product.
 In terms of machines or heavy equipment product that requires installation or
maintenance, most marketing organization renders such services like installing
the machine or maintaining it for stipulated periods on time for free or by a
little service charge.
 After sales services is an effective marketing strategy to building a long lasting
customer relationship, staying ahead of your competitors while making profit.
 After sales service enables a marketer to know what is required to be done to
having an effective transfer of ownership to costumers, creating a big picture,
while also making profit
After sales-service

 Market performers are individuals and organizations that execute /perform
marketing functions.
 It is often easier to think of producers, such as manufacturers of tangible
products and providers of intangible services.
 However, there are many other marketing performers which include
intermediaries and collaborators
 Intermediaries: firms that specialize in trade rather than production and
execute tasks related to buying and selling. i.e.
 Wholesalers
 Retailers
 Middlemen
 Other Specialist
Market Performers

 Collaborators: firms that aid in the exchange process and provide marketing
functions other than buying and selling.
 These include
 Advertising agencies,
 Marketing research firms;
 Independent product-testing laboratories;
 Internet service providers (ISP’s);
 Transporting firms, etc.
 There can be specialization in the performance of these functions.
 Functions can also be shared and shifted among the marketing performers.
Market Performers…

Transport
Firms
ISP's
Product
Testing
Firms
Ad Agencies
Research
Firms
Wholesalers Other
Specialists
Retailers
Consumers
Producers
Marketing Performers

 Market functions help the macro-marketing system to overcome separations
and discrepancies between those wishing to participate in an exchange.
 Setting and communicating the value of products and services. E.g. price
setting at right level
 Designing, developing, maintaining, improving and acquiring products and
services that meet consumer needs.
 Determine the quality manners for consumers to locate and use services &
products of the entity.
 They care for organization’s budgeting,
 Obtaining, managing and using information about what consumers wants,
improve entity decision making activities, and determining what will sell.
 Good communication with the customers determine and satisfy their needs
Importance of marketing functions

Important marketing Functions

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Important marketing Functions