Marketing and the Practitioners: As seen from different angles

Dr B K Mukhopadhyay

(The author is a Professor of
Management and Economics, formerly at IIBM (RBI) Guwahati. He can be contacted at m.bibhas@gmail.com)

Marketing is the most preferred subject among students, backed by the
teachings of teachers, professionals, and other specialists. So far as defining marketing is concerned, a number of definitions are there by qualified specialists we know right from the American Marketing Association.

On this score, we remember what Peter F. Drucker opined: ‘To any business, the task is to locate a customer.’

Let us have a look at what other specialists contributed.

Marketing is a means of creating awareness of the kinds of products and services provided by a manufacturing industry or by any business entity. It is the best way to keep awareness of products, brands, services, etc. among buyers, consumers, and the general public. There are different ways to market products and services. Electronic marketing is the latest marketing technique used by modern business communities. Generally, business enterprises conduct marketing activities under five marketing concepts. These are: (a) product concept; (b) production concept; (c) selling concept; (d) marketing concept; and (e) societal concept.

Under the marketing concept, the task of marketing begins with finding what the consumer wants and producing a product that will meet the consumer’s choice and requirements and provide maximum satisfaction. The “customer is the queen” concept emerged from this point of view. Building a strong customer relationship is increasingly important, and that’s why many business organizations have opened a department called the “customer services department” or “after-sales services department” to provide after-sales services and to establish a strong bridge with the customers.

In the process of evolution, many organizations changed their way of thinking to match the marketing concept. Under this concept, producers consider the needs and wants of consumers as the guiding spirit and deliver goods that can satisfy the consumer’s needs more efficiently and effectively than their competitors. The marketing concept is consumer-oriented and looks forward to achieving long-term profits by building a network of satisfied consumers. When an organization practises the marketing concept, all its activities, such as research and development, distribution, quality control, finance, manufacturing, selling, etc., become focused on satisfying the consumer’s choices, tastes, needs, and wants. 

It is a Highly Professional Job

Some people with inadequate knowledge about the importance of marketing are of the opinion that the marketing function is just like a normal function, and they do not attribute due attention to marketing. But penetrating into a new market, capturing a market, and branding a new product in the market with the increasing number of competitors in the local and international markets is not an easy job. It is a highly professional job. A lot of knowledge, experience, expertise, and training are immensely required to perform the marketing job successfully. Catering to a customer is very important. By proper catering, a customer can be won for ever, and by neglecting, a customer can be lost forever. 

Due importance to marketing needs to be given by the manufacturing industries, especially the export-oriented ones, for expansion of business and for selling products at home and abroad.  ‘‘We have adequate production capabilities to produce more products, but marketing products in a stiffly competitive market is a constant problem,” said the managing director of a large export-oriented textile industry who preferred to remain anonymous. Making and using a marketing strategy and plan has a strong positive impact on the profitability of industries and businesses. 

It has been wisely argued that spending more money on marketing functions like marketing research, marketing strategy, marketing planning, advertising and publicity, sales promotion, etc. pays a good dividend to investors. It is a very difficult job and involves a lot of patience and perseverance, as well as constant and consistent work by the marketing managers. Big companies—those in manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, and service-oriented areas around the world—have strong marketing departments consisting of highly qualified and professional marketing personnel who look after the marketing jobs of their companies. Such professionals are experts in all aspects of marketing and definitely contribute a lot to increasing sales in terms of value and volume. 

International Examples are

Not Difficult to Seek

Time has demonstrated that the textile industries in Bangladesh stand firmly in the global business cycle and operate in a demand-driven market due to the spectacular growth of the export-oriented apparel industry. This has proven its ability to maintain a global network with importers from the US, the European Union (EU), Canada, Australia, and many other countries. Bangladesh is much behind India, China, and Pakistan in the textile industries due to some reasons; the most prominent reason is the inefficient marketing system. 

Bangladesh has many export-oriented apparel and textile industries. These industries are increasingly in need of strong and effective marketing teams who help find genuine customers around the world. Sales and marketing are the limiting factors for most of the apparel and textile industries in Bangladesh. Most industries can meet the production targets framed by budgets but fail to achieve the sales and marketing targets framed by the same. There are many constraints to achieving the sales and marketing targets, namely, the lack of efficient marketing professionals and experts, the lack of IT facilities, the lack of proper marketing strategy and planning, the poor knowledge of English of the marketing managers, the lack of support from the management of the companies, and so on. Lack of marketing professionals is the most common problem faced by many large-scale industries. 

Internet marketing is a great means of quick exposure and an effective way of tracking your advertising strategy. The evolution of the Internet is what has propelled online advertising to gain massive amounts of popularity in recent years. Internet advertising, similar to TV advertising, is known to reach many people in a very short time. The difference, however, is that you can more easily target your advertising directly at your target market with Internet marketing. Also, it can reach all corners of the world in no time, and it also encourages web presence, which is crucial in order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace. 

Many large-scale industries with huge capital investments have been earning fewer profit margins due to poor marketing performance by their managers. In comparison with their investment, the sales (revenue) of these companies are lower, resulting in less profitability. On the contrary, some industries with less investment are doing excellent business due to the best performance of their marketing managers, and these companies are making a good profit margin. Apart from raising public awareness about a company’s products and services, marketing helps boost sales and revenue growth. Revenue is generated from increased sales. The marketing department should come up with effective and strategic marketing plans to help increase the sales and revenue of a company. 

An effective and proactive marketing strategy and plan need to be designed by the industries to meet the needs and requirements of customers. The plan should be based on clear objectives. A number of techniques will then be employed to make sure that the marketing plan is effectively delivered. Marketing techniques are the tools used by the marketing department. The marketing department will set out to identify the most appropriate techniques to employ in order to make profits. These marketing techniques include public relations, trade, and consumer promotions. 

Market research enables the organization to identify the most appropriate marketing mix. The mix should consist of the right product and be sold at the right price in the right place by using the most suitable promotional techniques to increase sales.