Students should refer to Worksheets Class 12 Business Studies Marketing Management Chapter 11 provided below with important questions and answers. These important questions with solutions for Chapter 11 Marketing Management have been prepared by expert teachers for Class 12 Business Studies based on the expected pattern of questions in the Class 12 exams. We have provided Worksheets for Class 12 Business Studies for all chapters on our website. You should carefully learn all the important examinations questions provided below as they will help you to get better marks in your class tests and exams.
Marketing Management Worksheets Class 12 Business Studies
One Mark Questions :
Question. Give the meaning of Product?
Answer: Product means goods or services or ‘anything of value’, which is offered to the market for sale.
Question. What do you mean by Zero Level distribution channels?
Answer: Zero level distribution channels are a channel of distribution when goods are made directly available by manufactures to customers, without involving any intermediary.
Question. What is Publicity?
Answer: Publicity is a non-personal and non paid form of communication of some favorable news presented in the mass media about a product or service. For example: if a manufacturer achieves a breakthrough by developing a car engine and if this news is covered by television or radio or newspapers in the form of a news item.
Question. What is Packaging?
Answer: Packaging ‘refers to designing and developing a package for a product.
Question. Name any one Distribution Channel.
Answer: Direct Channel of Distribution (Zero level) – Manufacturer to Customer.,
Indirect channels of distribution
1. One level- (manufacturer – retailer – consumer)
2. Two level- (manufacturer – wholesaler-retailer-consumer)
3. Three level- 3 intermediaries (manufacturer- agents- wholesaler- retailers)
Question. State any one Marketing Philosophy or concept.
Answer: The production concept.
The selling concept.
Question. What is labeling?
Answer: Labeling refers to designing a label to be put on the package. It may vary from a simple tag to complex graphics. For e.g. Colgate, lays etc.
Question. State any one feature of convenience goods.
Answer: Convenience products have a regular and continuous demand.
Question. What is a Brand?
Answer: Brand is a name, term, sign, design or some combination of them used to identify the products of the seller and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
Question. Give an example for the marketing of services.
Answer: Financial services, car rental services, insurance.
Two mark Questions :
Question. State any two examples for the things that can be marketed other than product?
Answer: Ideas-Donation of Blood (Red Cross)
Place -Mysore – The city of Gardens.
Events-Elephant race (Kerala Tourism)
Question. Give two examples for Convenience goods.
Answer: 1. Medicines 2.Creams. 3. Newspaper .
Question. State any two distinguishing features of advertising.
Answer: Paid Form : Advertising is a paid form of communication.
Impersonality: It is referred as impersonal method of promotion.
Identified sponsor : advertising is undertaken by some identified individual or company.
Question. Define Marketing.
Answer: The Philip Kotler has defined marketing as, “a social process by which individual groups obtain what they need and want through creating offerings and freely exchanging products and services of value with others”
Question. What is Personal Selling?
Answer: Personal selling involves oral presentation of message in the form of conversation with one or more prospective customers for the purpose of making sales. It is a personal form of communication.
Question. Name any two examples for Durable Products
Answer:
1. Refrigerator
2. Radio
3. Bicycle
4. Sewing machine.
Question. How do you describe Shopping Products?
Answer: Shopping products are those consumer goods in the purchase of which buyers devote considerable time, to compare the quality, price, style, suitability, etc at several stores, before making final purchase. Example: Clothes, Jewellery, Shoes
Question. What is Standardization?
Answer: Standardization refers to producing goods of predetermined specifications, which helps in achieving uniformity and consistency in the output.
Question. What is grading of products?
Answer: Grading is the process of classification of products into different groups, based on some of its important characteristics such as quality, size, etc. such as quality, size, etc.
Question. State any two functions of packaging.
Answer: Product Identification: Packaging helps in identification of the product.
Product Protection : The main function of the packing is to provide protection.
Product promotion: packaging is also used for promotion purposes. It is used to attract attention of the people.
Question. Define Marketing Management.
Answer: Philip Kotler has defined Marketing management as ‘the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer values of management’.
Question. State any two objectives of Pricing.
Answer:
Obtaining Market Share Leadership : It will keep the price of its products at lower levels and attract more customers to purchase the products.
Attaining the product quality Leadership : Higher prices are charged to cover high quality and high cost of research and development.
Surviving in a competitive market : it may resort to discounting its products its products.
Question. State any two features of Marketing.
Answer:
1. Creating a Market Offering:
Market offering refers to a process of offering and introducing a product or service, having given features like size, quality, taste, etc. for the purpose of selling.
2. Customer Value:
The process of marketing facilitates exchange of products and services between the buyers and the sellers.
3. Exchange mechanism: the process of marketing works through the exchange mechanism. The individuals obtain what they need and want through the process of exchange.
Question. How do you describe Marketing Mix?
Answer: Marketing mix is described as the set of marketing tools that a firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in a target market.
Marketing mix refers to the combination of four basic elements known as four P’s — Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
Question. What is marketing?
Answer: Marketing is a process whereby people exchange goods and services for money or for something of value to them.
In other words, Marketing is a social process wherein people interact with others, in order to persuade them to act in a particular way, say to purchase a product or service.
Question. What do you mean by Consumer Goods?
Answer: Goods or Products which are purchased by the ultimate consumers or users for satisfying their personal needs and desires are referred to as consumer products.
Example: Tooth paste, soap,
Four mark Questions :
Question. State any four features of specialty products.
Answer:
Specialty products are those goods which have certain special features because of which people make special efforts in their purchase.
Example: Rare collection of art work, rare paintings etc.
Four features of specialty products:
• Demand for these products is limited as relatively small number of people buys these products.
• These products are generally costly and their unit price is very high.
• These products are available for sale at few places as the number of customers is small and are willing to make extra efforts in the purchase of these products.
• An aggressive promotion is required for these types of products
• After sales, services are very important for many of these products.
Question. Briefly explain any four characteristics of industrial products
Answer:
Industrial products are those products, which are used as in puts in production process. Example: Raw materials, engines, tools etc.
Four characteristics of industrial products:
1. Number of buyers
2. Channel Levels
3. Geographic concentration
4. Derived Demand
5. Role of technical considerations
6. Leasing out
7. Reciprocal buying
1. Number of buyers: The numbers of buyers of these products are limited. For example Sugarcane is purchased by few producers of sugar, but sugar, which is a consumer product, is purchase by crores of people in our country.
2. Channel Levels: Because of limited number of buyers, the sale is done with the help of shorter channels of distribution, i.e.,direct selling or one level channel.
3. Geographic concentration: Because of location of industries certain points or regions it is concentrated geographically.
4. Derived Demand: The demand for these products is derived from the demand for consumer products.
Example: The demand for leather will be derived from demand for shoes and other leather products in the market.
5. Role of technical consideration: technical considerations assume greater significance in the purchase of industrial products because these products are complex products bought for use in business operations.
6. Leasing out: a growing trend in industrial product market is to lease out rather than to purchase the products on outright basis because of the heavy price of these products.
7. Reciprocal buying: some big companies like steel, rubber, medicines, resort to the practice of reciprocal buying.
Question. State any four considerations to be kept in mind while choosing a brand name.
Answer:
That is part of a brand, which can be spoken, is called a brand name. Example: L.G, Asian Paints, Life boy.
Four considerations to be kept in mind while choosing a brand name are:
• The brand name should be short, easy to pronounce, spell, recognize and remember
Example: Rin, Vim, Shine, Joy etc.
• A brand should suggest the product’s benefits and qualities.
It should be appropriate to the product’s function. Example: Horlicks makes taller, stronger, and sharper.
• A brand name should be distinctive. Example: Parle-G biscuits, Sun feast biscuits.
• A brand name should be registered and protected legally.
• Chosen name should have staying power i.e., it should not get out of date.
Question. How does packaging acquire significance in the marketing of goods?
Answer:
Packing refers to the act of designing and producing the container or wrapper of a product.
Significance (Importance) of Packing
• Rising Standards of Health and Sanitation
• Self Service Outlets
• Innovational Opportunity
• Product differentiation
Rising Standards of Health and Sanitation: Because of the increasing standards of living in the country, more and more people have started purchasing packed goods as the chances of adulteration in such goods are minimized.
Self Service Outlets: packaging plays the role of personal selling in respect of promotion in self service retail outlets, particularly in major cities and towns
Innovational Opportunity: Some of the recent developments in the area of packaging have completely changed the marketing scene in the country. For example, milk can now be stored for 4-5 days without refrigeration in the recently developed packing materials. Similarly, in the area of pharmaceuticals, soft drinks, etc., lots of new innovations have come in respect of packaging. As a result, the scope for the marketing of such products has increased.
Product differentiation: Packaging is one of the very important means of creating product differentiation. The color, size, material, etc., of package makes real difference in the perception of customers about the quality of the product.
Question. Discuss briefly any four differences between Selling and Marketing.
Answer:
| Basis | Marketing | Selling |
| Scope | It is a wide term consisting of a number of activities such as identification of customer needs, product development, fixing of price, distribution and promotion and Selling. | It is only a part of process of marketing. |
| Focus | Achieving maximum satisfaction of the customer’s needs and Wants. | Transfer of the title from seller to consumer. |
| Aim | Profits through customer Satisfaction. | Profits through maximizing Sales volume. |
| Emphasis | Bending the customer according To the product. | To develop the products as Per the customer needs. |
| Start and end Activities | It starts before a product is produced. | It starts after a product is developed. |
| Strategies | Involves efforts like product, promotion pricing and physical Distribution. | Involves efforts like Promotion and persuasion |
Question. Explain any four functions performed by a label.
Answer:
Labeling means putting identification marks on the package. Label is a carrier of information & provides information like- name of the product, name of the manufacturer, contents of the product, expiry and manufacturing date, general information for use, weight etc.
Four Functions of Labels are:
1. Identification of the product or brand
2. Describe the product and specify its contents
3. Grading of products
4. Helps in promotion of products
5. Providing information required by law
1. Identification of the product or brand: It helps the customers to identify the product from different types of product available. For e.g. the brand name of any product, say biscuits or potato chips imprinted on its package, helps us to identify, from number of packages, which one is our favorite brand.
2. Describe the product and specify its contents: The label on the package of a local tea company describes the company as ‘Mohini Tea Company, an ISO 9001:200C Certified Company’; a popular brand of Prickly Heat Powder, describes how the product provides relief from prickly heat and controls bacterial growth and infection, giving caution forbidding its application on cuts and wounds. Thus, one of the most important functions of labels is to describe the product, its usage, cautions in use, etc. and specify its contents.
3. Grading of products: With the help of label, products can be graded in to different categories based on quality, nature etc. For example, a popular brand of Hair Conditioners comes in different categories for different hair, say for ‘normal hair’ and for other categories. Different type of tea is sold by some brands under Yellow, red and Green Label categories.
4. Helps in promotion of products: Attractive and colorful labels excite the customers and induce them to buy the products. For example: 40%extra free mentioned on detergent, buy 2 get one free etc.
5. Providing information required by law: Another important function of labeling is to provide information required by law. For example, packaged food articles must have list of ingredients declaration regarding vegetarian or non-vegetarian food additives and date of manufacturing or packing on the label. In case of hazardous or poisonous material, appropriate safety-warning need to be put on the label.
Thus, labels perform number of important functions relating to communicating with the potential.
Question. Explain briefly any four objections against advertising.
Answer:
Objections against Advertising:
1. Adds to Cost
2. Undermines Social Values
3. Confuses the Buyers
4. Encourages Sale of Inferior Products
5. Some Advertisements are in Bad Taste
1. Adds to Cost: The opponents of advertising argue that advertising unnecessarily adds to the cost of product, which is ultimately passed on to the buyers in the form of high prices. An advertisement on TV, for a few seconds, for example, costs the marketers several lakhs of rupees.
2. Undermines Social Values: Another important criticism of advertising is that it undermines social values and promotes materialism. It breeds discontent among people as they come to know about new products and feel dissatisfied with their present state of affairs. Some advertisements show new life styles, which don’t find social approval.
3. Confuses the Buyers: Another criticism against advertisement is that so many products are being advertised which makes similar claims that the buyer gets confused as to which one is true and which one should be relied upon. For example, we may note similar claims of whiteness or stain removing abilities in competing brands of detergent powder or claims of whiteness of tooth or ‘feelings of freshness’ in competing brands of toothpaste that it is sometimes confusing to us as to which one to buy.
4. Encourages Sale of Inferior Products: It does not distinguish between superior and inferior products and persuade people to purchase even the inferior products.
5. Some Advertisements are in Bad Taste: Another criticism is in bad taste. These show something which in not approved by some people, say advertisements distort the relationship like employer employee and are quite offensive.
Question. Explain any four functions performed by public relations department of an organization.
Answer:
Functions of Public relations
1. Press Relations
2. Product publicity
3. Corporate Communication
4. Lobbying
5. Counseling
1. Press Relations: A press release is an announcement of an event, performance, or other newsworthy item that is issued to the press by a public relations professional of an organization. It is written in the form of a positive story with an attractive heading so that the media quickly grasp and circulates the message.
2. Product publicity: The Company tries to draw attention to new products by arranging sports and cultural events like news conferences, seminars and exhibitions etc.
3. Corporate Communication: The public relations department promotes the image of the organization through communicating with the public and the employees within the organization.
4. Lobbying: The organization has to deal with government officials and ministers in charge of corporate affairs, industry, and finance in respect to policies relating to business and the economy. The public relations department is proactive in promoting or decoding regulations that affect them.
5. Counseling: The public relations department advises the management on general issues which affect the public and the position the company would like to take on a particular issue. The company can build goodwill by contributing money and time to certain causes like environment, wildlife, children’s rights, education, etc. Such cause-related activities help in promoting public relations and building goodwill.
In addition, maintaining good public relations also helps in achieving the following marketing objectives:
• Building awareness: Public relations department can place stories and dramatize the product in the media. This will build marketplace excitement before the product reaches the market or media advertising takes place. This usually creates a favorable impression on the target customer.
• Building credibility: If news about a product comes in the media whether print or electronic it always lends credibility and people believe in the product since it is in the news.
Stimulates sales force: it comes easier for the sales force to deal with retailers and convince dealers if they have already heard about the product in the news before it is launched. Retailers and dealers also feel it is easier to sell the product to ultimate consumer.
• Lowers promotion costs: maintaining good public relations costs much less than advertising and direct mail. However, it requires a lot of communication and interpersonal skills to convince the media to give space or time for the organization and its product.
Question. Explain the elements of Marketing Mix.
Answer:
Marketing mix is described as the set of marketing tools that a firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in a target market.
Marketing mix refers to the combination of four basic elements known as four P’s — Product, Price, Promotion and Place.
The marketing mix consists of four main elements
Product
Price
Place/Physical Distribution
Promotion
These elements are more popularly known 4 P’s of the marketing.
Product: Product means goods or services or ‘anything of value’, which is offered to the market for sale. E.g. Colgate Dove etc.
The concept of product relates to not only the physical product but also the benefits offered by it. It also includes other aspects like after sales services, availability of spare parts, handling complaints etc. the important product decisions include, deciding about the features, quality, packaging, labeling and branding of the products.
Price: price is the amount of money a customer has to pay in order to obtain a product/ service. The marketers have not only to decide about the objectives of price setting but to analyze the factors determining the price and fix a price for the firm’s products. Decisions have also to be taken in respect of discounts to customers, traders and credit terms, etc,
Place: place or Physical distribution of products i.e. making the product available to the customers at the point of sale. Important decision areas in this respect include selection of dealers or intermediaries to reach the customers, providing support to the intermediaries (by way of discounts, promotional campaigns, etc.). The other decision areas relate to managing inventory, storage and warehousing and transportation of goods from the place it is produced to the place it is required by the buyers
Promotion: Informing the customers about the products and persuading them to buy the same. Most marketing organizations, undertake various promotional activities and spend substantial amount of money on the promotion of their goods through using number of tools such as advertising, personal selling and sales promotion techniques (like price discounts, free samples, etc.).
The success of a market offer will depend on how well these ingredients are mixed to create superior value for the customers and simultaneously achieve their sale and profit objectives
Fivee Mark Questions :
Question. What is Branding? Explain briefly its advantages to marketers and customers.
Answer:
Meaning of Brand: A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design or some combination of them, used to identify the products–goods or services of seller to group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the competitors.
Meaning of Branding: The process of giving a name or a sign or a symbol etc., to a product is called branding.
Definition of Branding: Branding is creating a corporate brand identity for consumer, and getting that brand identity imprinted on the minds of consumer, and this requires brand positioning and brand management. -Jeff Bezos
Advantages to Marketers:
1. Enables Marking Product Differentiation
2. Helps in Advertising and Display Programmes
3. Differential Pricing
4. Ease in Introduction of New Products
1. Enables Marking Product Differentiation: It helps in distinguishing its product from that of its competitors. This enables the firm to secure and control the market for its products.
2. Helps in Advertising and Display Programmes: A brand aids a firm in its advertising and display programmes. Without a brand name, the advertiser can only create awareness for the general product and can never be sure of the sale for his product.
3. Differential Pricing: It helps firm to charge different price for its products than competitors. This is possible because if customers like a brand they do not mind paying a little higher for it.
4. Ease in Introduction of New Product: If a new product is introduced under a known brand , it enjoys the maximum benefits Example: Tata is a popular brand, it extended its this names to many of its new products like , Tata Tea, Tata irons, Tata motor services etc.
Advantages to Customers:
1. Helps in Product identification
2. Ensures Quality
3. Status Symbol
1. Helps in Product identification: It helps customers to identify the products. For example; if a person is satisfied with a particular brand of a product, say detergent soap, while buying it, he need not make a close inspection every time. Thus, branding greatly facilitates repeat purchase of the products.
2. Ensures Quality: Branding ensures a particular level of quality of the product, thus, whenever there is any deviation in the quality the customers can get remedy from the marketer. It creates confidence of the customers and helps in increasing his level of satisfaction.
3. Status Symbol: some brands become status symbols because of their quality. The consumers of those brands of products feel proud of using them and add to the level of satisfaction of the customers.
Example: Benz cars
Conclusion: An innovative and unique branding strategy is needed for every business to attract more customers and sale the products and also to stay particular product in market for a long period of time.
Question. Explain the advantages and limitations of advertising.
Answer:
Advertising is the most commonly used tool of promotion. It is an impersonal form of communication, Which is paid for by the marketers to promote some goods or service
1. Mass Reach
2. Enhancing Customer Satisfaction
3. Expressiveness:
4. Economy
Explanation:
1.Mass Reach: a large number of people can be reached over a vast geographical area. For Example: For given advertisement in Times now channel it reaches all over the State of India.
2. Enhancing Customer Satisfaction: It creates confidence amongst prospective buyers as they feel more comfortable and assured about the product quality and hence feel more satisfied.
3. Expressiveness: with the development in art, computer designs and graphics, advertising has developed into one of the most forceful medium of communication. With the special effects that can be created, even simple products and messages can look very attractive.
4. Economy: it is a very economical mode of communication because of its mass reaches helps to reduce the advertising cost.
Disadvantages or Limitations or Demerits of Advertising :
1. Less forceful
2. Lack of Feedback
3. Inflexibility
4. Low Effectiveness
Explanation:
Less forceful: Is an impersonal form of communication. It is less forceful than the personal selling there is no compulsion on the prospective buyers to pay attention to the message.
Lack of Feedback: The evaluation of the effectiveness of advertising message is very difficult as there is no immediate and accurate feedback mechanism of the message that is delivered.
Inflexibility: It is less flexible as the message is standardized and not tailor made to the requirements of the different customer groups.
Low Effectiveness: as the volume of advertising is getting more and more expanded it is becoming difficult to make advertising messages heard by the target prospects. It leads to low effectiveness of advertising.
Question. What is pricing? Explain the factors affecting price determination.
Answer:
Pricing is the process of determining and fixing the price of a product or service. Pricing decision is to be taken after considering certain factors like product cost, expected profit, competitor’s price and so on.
Factors affecting price determination:
1. Product cost
2. The utility and demand
3. Extent of competition in the market
4. Government and legal regulations
5. Pricing objectives
6. Marketing methods used.
1. Product cost: One of the most important factors affecting price of a product or service is its cost. This includes the cost of producing, distributing and selling the product. The cost sets the minimum level or the floor price at which the product may be sold. Generally all marketing firms strive to cover all their costs, at least in the long run. In addition, they aim at earning a margin of profit over and above the costs.
2. The Utility and Demand: the utility provided by the product and the intensity of demand of the buyer sets the upper limit of price, which a buyer would be prepared to pay. The buyer may be ready to pay up to the point where the utility from the product is at least equal to the sacrifice made in terms of the price paid. The seller would, however, try to at least cover the costs. According to the law of demand, consumers usually purchase more units at a low price than at a high price.
3. Extent of competition in the Market: Competitors’ prices and their anticipated reactions must be considered before fixing the price of a product. Not only the price but the quality and the features of the competitive products must be examined carefully, before fixing the price.
The price to be fixed is affected by the nature and the degree of competition. The price will tend to reach the upper limit in case there is lesser degree of competition while under conditions of free competition, the price will tend to be set at the lowest level.
4. Government and Legal regulations: In order to protect the interest of public against unfair practices in the field of price fixing, Government can intervene and regulate the price of commodities. Government can declare a product as essential product and regulate its price.
5. Pricing Objectives: Pricing objectives are another important factor affecting the fixation of the price of a product or a service. Generally the objective is stated to be maximizing the profits. But if the firm decides to maximize profits in the short run, it would tend to charge maximum price for its products. But if it is to maximize its total profit in the long run, it would opt for a lower per unit price so that it can capture larger share of the market and earn greater profits through increased sales.
Apart from profit maximization, the pricing objectives of a firm may include:
• Obtaining Market Share Leadership: If a firms objective is to obtain larger share of the market; it will keep the price of its products at lower levels so that greater number of people are attracted to purchase the products;
• Surviving in a Competitive Market: If a firm is facing difficulties in surviving in the market because of intense competition or introduction of a more efficient substitute by a competitor, it may resort to discounting its products or running a promotion campaign to liquidate its stock;
• Attaining product quality leadership: In this case, normally higher prices are charged to cover high quality and high cost of research and Development. Thus, the price of a firm’s products and services is affected by the pricing objective of the firm.
6. Marketing Methods Used: Price fixation process is also affected by other elements of marketing such as distribution system, quality of salesmen employed, quality and amount of advertising, sales promotion efforts, the type of packaging, product differentiation, credit facility and customer services provided. For example, if a company provides free home delivery, it has some of flexibility in fixing prices.
Question. State any eight differences between Advertising and Personal selling
Answer:
Difference between advertising and Personal selling
| Advertising | Personal selling |
| ♦ Advertising is an impersonal form of communication. | ♦ Personal selling is a personal form of communication. |
| ♦ Advertising involves transmission of standardized messages, i.e., same message is sent to all the customers in a market segment. | ♦ In personal selling, the sales talk is adjusted keeping view customers background and needs. |
| ♦ Advertising is inflexible as the message can’t be adjusted to the needs of the buyer. | ♦ Personal selling is highly flexible. As the message can be adjusted. |
| ♦ It reaches masses, i.e., a large number of people can be approached. | ♦ Only a limited number of people can be contacted because of time and cost considerations. |
| ♦ In advertising the cost per person reached is very low. | ♦ The cost per person is quite high in the case of personal selling. |
| ♦ Advertising makes use of mass media such television, radio, newspaper, and magazines. | ♦ Personal selling efforts take a lot of time to cover the entire market. |
| ♦ Advertising lacks direct feedback. Marketing research efforts are needed to judge customers’ reactions to advertising. | ♦ Personal selling makes use of sales staff, which has limited reach. |
| ♦ Advertising is more useful in creating and building interest of the consumers in the firm’s products. | ♦ Personal selling provides direct and immediate feedback. Sales persons come to know about the customers reactions immediately. |
| ♦ Advertising is more useful in marketing to the ultimate consumer’s who are large in numbers. | ♦ Personal selling plays important role at the awareness stage of decision making. |
| ♦ Personal selling is more helpful in selling products to the industrial buyers or to intermediaries such as dealers and retailers who are relatively few in numbers. |
Question. Explain any eight functions of Marketing
Answer:
Marketing is a total system of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want satisfying goods and services to present and potential customers. Marketing is concerned with exchange of goods and services from producer to consumers which involves many activities.
Definition of Marketing: The Philip Kotler has defined marketing as, “a social process by which individual groups obtain what they need and want through creating offerings and freely exchanging products and services of value with others”.
Functions of Marketing:
1. Gathering and Analyzing Market Information
2. Marketing planning
3. Product designing and development
4. Standardization and grading
5. Packaging and labeling
6. Branding
7. Customer Support Services
8. Pricing of Product
9. Promotion:
10. Transportation
11. Storage or Warehousing
12. Physical Distribution
Explanation:
1. Gathering and Analyzing Market Information:
One of the important functions of a marketer is to gather and analyze market information. It involves gathering information about the market conditions such as number of potential consumers. Their location, their preference, their purchasing power etc. further, the gathered information must be analyzed. This is necessary to identify the needs of the customers and take various decisions for the successful marketing of the products and services.
2. Marketing planning:
Another important activity or area of work of a marketer is to develop appropriate marketing plans so that the marketing objectives of the organization can be achieved. Example: if a marketer of product ‘x’ decides to increase his market share by 20% over the last years shares, he has to develop a complete marketing plan for increasing the level of production, promotion of the product etc. to achieve target.
3. Product designing and development:
Involves decisions regarding the product to be manufactured and it‘s attributes such as its quality considerations, packaging, models and variations to be introduced etc.
A good design can improve performance of a product and also give it a competitive advantage in the market. Anticipate customer needs and develop new products or improve existing products to satisfy their needs.
4. Standardization and Grading:
Standardization refers to producing goods of predetermined specifications, which helps in achieving uniformity and consistency in the output.
Grading is the process of classification of products into different groups, based on some of its important characteristics such as quality, size, etc. e.g. grade 1 apple, grade 2 apple.etc.
5. Packaging and labeling:
Packaging ‘refers to designing and developing a package for a product. It protects the products from damage, risks of spoilage, breakage and leakage. It also makes buying convenient for customers and serves as a promotional tool.
Labeling refers to designing a label to be put on the package. It may vary from a simple tag to complex graphics. For e.g. Colgate, lays etc.
6. Branding:
It helps in differentiation of the product, builds customer loyalty and promotes its sale. Important decision area is branding strategy, whether each product will have a separate brand name or the same brand name to be used for all products. E.g. Reynolds pen, Samsung cell phone, Colgate tooth paste
7. Customer Support Services:
Customer support services are very effective in increasing sales from the prospective customers and developing brand loyalty for a product. It aims at providing maximum satisfaction to the customer and building brand loyalty.
Example: sales services, handling customer complaints and adjustments, procuring credit services, maintenance services, technical services and consumer information.
8. Pricing of Product:
Price of product refers to the amount of money customers have to pay to obtain a product. Price is an important factor affecting the success or failure of a product in the market. The demand for a product or service is related to its price. The marketers have to properly analyze the factors determining the price of a product and take several crucial decisions in this respect, including setting the pricing objectives, determining the pricing strategies, determining the price and changing the prices.
9. Promotion:
Promotion of products and services involves informing the customers about the firm’s product, its features, etc., and persuading them to purchase these products. The four important methods of promotion include advertising, Personal Selling, Publicity and Sales Promotion. A marketer has to take several crucial, decisions in respect of promotion of the products and services such as deciding the promotion budget, the promotion mix.
10. Physical Distribution:
Managing physical distribution is another very important function in the marketing of goods and services. The two major decision areas under this function include (a) decision regarding channels of distribution or the marketing intermediaries (like wholesalers, retailers) to be used and
(b) physical movement of the product from where it is produced to a place where it is required by the customers for their consumption or use.
11. Transportation:
Transportation involves physical movement of goods from one place to the other. A marketing firm has to analyze its transportation needs after taking into consideration various factors such as nature of the product; cost and location of
target market and take decisions in respect of mode of transportation to be chosen and other related aspects.
12. Storage or Warehousing:
Usually there is a time gap between the production or procurement of goods and their sale or use. It may be because of irregular demand for the products. Or there may be irregular supply because of seasonal production such as in the case of agricultural products. In order to maintain smooth flow of products in the market, there is a need for proper storage of the products. In the process of marketing, the function of storage is performed by different agencies such as manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.
Conclusion: Modern marketing involves many functions. In order to make marketing meaningful, these functions need to be carried on efficiently.
Practical oriented Questions :
Question. As a marketing manager, suggest any five sales promotional activities to boost up the sales.
Answer:
• Rebate
• Discount
• Refunds
• Product combination
• Quantity gift
• Instant draws and assured gift
• Lucky draw
• Usable benefit
• Offering full finance at 0%
• Offering free samples