Meaning of Market:
In common usage, the word ‘market’ refers to a place where goods are purchased and sold, e.g., vegetable market’, cloth market’, ‘fruit market’ ‘grain market’ etc. In simple words, it refers to a place where actual buyers and sellers meet to effect purchases and sales. The term ‘market’ does not only mean a particular place where goods are bought and sold but the whole of any region in which buyers and sellers purchase and sell.
It should be clearly understood here that the word ‘market’ does not refer to any particular geographical meeting place of buyers and sellers but as the getting together of buyers and sellers in person, by mail, telephone o
r other means of communication.
‘Market’ is not essentially concentrated at one particular point; it can scatter throughout the region.
A few definitions are given below:
“It is a center about which or are areas in which, the forces leading to exchanges of title to a particular product operate towards which and from which actual goods tend to travel.” —Professor Tousley, Clark and Clark
“Market means anybody of persons who are in intimate business relations and carry on extensive transactions in any commodity.”
From the above definitions, it is clear that ‘market’ does not necessarily mean a place. It is the sum total of the situation or environment in which the resources, activities, and attitudes of buyers and sellers affect the demand for products in a given area.
Meaning of Marketing:
In simple words, marketing is a process that carries goods from producer to the ultimate consumer. Marketing bridges the gap between consumer and producer. It is in this sense that marketing has been defined as “all the activities involved in the creation of place, time and possession utilities’.
Marketing is thus concerned with the handling and transportation of goods from the point of production to the point of consumption. In this process of carrying the goods from the place of production to the place of consumption, many hindrances have to be removed. Marketing involves the creation of three types of utilities viz,
(A) Place Utility:
Goods are to be taken from the place of their origin or production to the place where they are needed.
(B) Time Utility:
Goods are to be made available at the time when they are needed by the consumers. It means that they are to be stored and protected against the risks of fire, rain, and pests, etc.
(C) Possession Utility:
The ownership and possession of these goods are to be transferred from the producer to the ultimate consumer.
Some of the most important features of marketing are as follows: 1. Customer focus 2. Customer satisfaction 3. Objective-oriented 4. Marketing is both art and science 5. Continuous and regular activity 6. Exchange process 7. Marketing environment 8. Marketing mix 9. Integrated approach 10. Commercial and non-commercial organizations 11. Precedes and follows production.
1. Customer focus:
The marketing function of a business is customer-centered. It makes an attempt to study customer needs, and goods are produced accordingly. Business existence depends on human needs. In a competitive market, the goods that are best suited to the customer are the ones that are well-accepted. Hence, every activity of a business is customer-oriented.
2. Customer satisfaction:
A customer expects some services or benefits from the product for which payment is made. If this benefit is more than the amount paid, then the customer is satisfied. In the long run, customer satisfaction helps to retain market demand. It helps achieve organizational objectives. Customer satisfaction can be enhanced by providing value-added services, which includes providing additional facilities at little or no extra cost.
3. Objective-oriented:
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All marketing activities are objective-oriented. Different objectives are fixed at different levels, but the main objective is to earn profit from business along with the satisfaction of human wants. Marketing activities undertaken by sellers make an attempt to find out the weaknesses in the existing system, and measures are taken to improve the shortfalls so that the objectives are achieved.
4. Marketing is both art and science:
Art refers to a specific skill that is required in marketing activities of any type of business. Science refers to a systematic body of knowledge, based on facts and principles. The concept of marketing includes a bunch of social sciences such as economics, sociology, psychology, and law. It indicates market operations based on some principles. Hence, marketing is an art as well as science.
5. Continuous and regular activity:
Marketing is an activity designed to plan, price, promote, and distribute products. At the same time, it also addresses both current and future consumers. Thus, it is a continuous process. A marketer has to consistently monitor the environment. This helps in coming up with new products.
6. Exchange process:
Marketing involves the exchange of goods, services, and ideas with the medium of money. The exchange takes place between sellers and buyers. Most marketing activities are concerned with the exchange of goods. Functions such as distribution, after-sale services, and packaging help in the exchange process. Channels of distribution and physical distribution play an important role in the exchange process by creating place utility.
7. Marketing environment:
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Economic policies, market conditions, and environmental factors, such as political, technological, demographic, and international, influence marketing activities. Marketing activities are inseparable from such environmental factors. A successful marketer needs to adapt to these changing factors and adjust marketing strategies to suit new market developments.
8. Marketing mix:
A combination of four inputs constitutes the core of a company’s marketing system—product, price, place, and promotion. The marketing mix is a flexible combination of variables. They are influenced by consumer behavior, trade factors, competition and government regulatory measures.
9. Integrated approach:
The marketing activities must be coordinated with other functional areas of an organization. Functions such as production, finance, research, purchasing, storekeeping, and public relations (PR) are to be integrated with marketing. This will help in achieving organizational objectives. Otherwise, it will result in organizational conflicts.
10. Commercial and non-commercial organizations:
With the societal marketing concept gaining importance, social marketers are finding useful new ways of applying marketing principles. Commercial organizations are also adopting cause-related marketing to strike long-term relations with consumers.
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Business organizations such as educational institutions, hospitals, religious institutions and charitable trusts have also found meaningful applications of marketing. Thus, marketing is applicable to both business and non-business organizations.
11. Precedes and follows production:
Identifying consumer needs and wants is the primary task of a marketing manager. Production activities are adapted to these consumer needs. Thus, marketing precedes production. Marketing helps in the distribution of the goods which follows production. Hence, production and marketing activities are closely related to each other.
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