Marketing Management Tasks

For write-ups on other topics of marketing and sales management, refer:

(Marketing Management Overview) http://marketing-management-overview.blogspot.com/, (Marketing Orientation) http://marketing-orientation.blogspot.com/, (Market research) http://market-research-function.blogspot.com/, (Market Segmentation) http://market-segment.blogspot.com/, (Advertising) http://advertising-mass-communication.blogspot.com/, (Sales Promotion) http://sales-promotion.blogspot.com/, (Sales/Selling Process) http://selling-process.blogspot.com/, (Negotiation Skills) http://negotiating-skills.blogspot.com/, (Negotiation Tactics) http://negotiation-tactics.blogspot.com/, (Objection Handling) http://objection-handling.blogspot.com/

Tasks of Marketing Management

In our write-up on "marketing orientation" (Refer: http://marketing-orientation.blogspot.com/) we mentioned about five types of focus that companies may have towards marketing their good and services. They were: product orientation, product orientation, selling orientation, marketing orientation and holistic (marketing) orientation.

Considering the changes that take place in markets, customers and organizations, large number of marketers like to implement the holistic marketing.

The tasks of marketing given below, therefore, relate to the requirements of holistic marketing approach.

Environment Analysis (MIS and Market Research)

• There are two aspects of environment analysis: macro environment analysis and micro environment analysis.
• Organization must institute MIS for marketing for getting information on both macro and micro factors regularly and frequently.
• Macro environment includes: social, cultural, political, economic, legal, technological and demographic factors.
• Micro environment includes: suppliers, company’s internal functions, distributors, wholesalers, dealers, retailers, service organizations, customers and competitors.
• In addition to MIS on marketing management to facilitate environment analysis, organizations can take help of market research studies to know on market demand in various market segments, existing competitors: their strengths and their share of business, supply-demand gaps, expected share of business, marketing activities required, marketing budgets required etc. Marketers may also like to know about their own organization’s internal strengths and capabilities.

Formulation of Marketing Strategies

• Strategies to be formulated should aim at: short, medium and long term new product development and introductions, customer segments, positioning, offers differentiation, product mixes, volumes of sales, market shares, prices, margins, revenue and profit earnings.

Marketing Planning and Implementation

• Within the framework of marketing strategies, the organization plans its marketing activities which are basically outcome of market mix tools of McCarthy’s four Ps of marketing (Refer http://marketing-orientation.blogspot.com/ (Marketing Orientation).
• These four Ps are: product, price, promotion and place.
• Product includes: product types, product models, product mix, product features including service aspects, brand, packaging, warranty etc.
• Price includes: list price/price range, discounts, credit terms, finance arrangements etc.
• Promotion includes: advertising, promotional campaigns, customer relations, sales staff etc
• Place includes: locations, channels, transport, inventories etc
• Having worked out the detailed plans of such activities, proper implementation of them is very important.
• Marketing department will need to be organized according to plan and its implementation requirements.

Strengthening Customer Relationships

Also refer: http://customer-relationship-crm.blogspot.com/ (Customer Relationship management- CRM)

• It has emerged as an important marketing management task.
• It is about knowing your customers, understanding their requirements, providing them the best value, getting closer to them and developing long term relationships with them.

Building Strong Brands

• Brand is a name, term, design, logo/symbol or any other feature that distinguishes your products and services from those of competitors.
• It creates certain images of the product in the minds of the customers.
• With that favorable and strong image of the product, the customers are motivated to buy that particular product.
• Marketing task is to create such favorable and strong image associated with the brand.

Communicating Value to Customers (Advertising, Product Promotion, Events etc)

• It is the value of the products and services that customers want and ultimately feel satisfied with.
• Therefore, marketing management should communicate as to what kind of value proposition they are offering to the customers via their products and services.
• For this purpose this organization must devise an integrated marketing communication program.
• The marketing communication program will be mass as well as personal communication by using judicious mix of advertising in various types of media, product promotion, events, exhibitions, fliers, direct mailers, Internet/emails, interactive marketing.
• For this purpose the marketing function will have to partner with outside agencies as well as their internal resource personnel.

Delivering Value for Money (VFM) to Customers

• This marketing task aims at deciding and implementing the ways and means of delivering the value of their products and services to the customers.
• It includes channels management.
• The agencies through which the value will be delivered will include organizations own internal logistics resources and external distributors, wholesalers, dealers, retailers etc.
• Market task will be to maximize value delivery to the customers using all of these resources.

Self Test by Marketers to Ensure That Their Marketing Tasks Are in Place

Check against each of the following items if you, as a marketer, have prepared yourself fully?

1. New product development plans.
2. Product differentiation ideas.
3. Appropriate market/customer segments.
4. Value for money (VFM) design of products in terms of quality, price, service levels, customer relations and delivery lead times.
5. Value for money (VFM) delivery strategies.
6. Value for money (VFM) customization for each type of buyer.
7. Optimization of product mix offerings.
8. Mass and personalized communication of product value to the customers.
9. Optimization of distribution channels/logistics
10. Optimization of sales volumes.
11. Optimization of share of business.
12. Optimization of revenue.
13. Maximization of profits from sales.
14. Long term customer relationships.
15. Effective marketing management organization structure and competent people in place.

For More Guidance, Assistance, Training and Consultation

Contact: prodcons@prodcons.com

Originally posted at http://marketing-management-tasks.blogspot.com/ Thursday, March 5, 2009