Working on the success of any product or company based on selling and providing services is considered one of the tasks of marketing management. It is said that if you have a successful marketing department and do not have a quality product, you will easily sell this product to the consumer.
The product is not considered important, the most important thing is how you will market and sell it to the consumer. This is considered one of the tasks of marketing management. This confirms the importance of having this department in any successful company.
Marketing management concept
Marketing management is an organizational system that focuses on the practical aspects of marketing orientation and the use of assistive technologies and methods within an organization, in order to manage the organization’s resources and marketing activities.
What is marketing?
Marketing Management
Marketing management is defined as the art and science of selecting target markets and building profitable relationships. It also includes ways to acquire and retain customers and provide good value to customers. Marketing management also includes:
Demand management:
Most people think that one of the tasks of marketing management is to find enough customers to match the company’s current production. But this is a very short view.
The tasks of marketing management are to find new ways to deal with the time, when there is no demand, irregular demand or large demand. Therefore, marketing management is not only concerned with creating and increasing demand, but is also concerned with changing it or even reducing it.
Building relationships with customers
Demand management means customer management. The demand for the company’s products comes from two groups: either new customers or repeat customers.
Summary | It costs five times more to attract a new customer than to satisfy an existing one. Therefore, finding new customers is still important for the organization. But you should focus on retaining existing customers and building lasting relationships with them.
What are the tasks of marketing management?
We have a specific set of tasks that make up successful marketing management and leadership. The following are the tasks of the marketing department:
1. Market research
The first stage in developing any product is market research which is conducted to assess the potential demand and growth forecast in the market.
If these products already existed, such as shoes, cooking oil, soap, and television, there would be a lot of data to be obtained from the research department.
If it is a new product or service, it makes sense to conduct a survey of a sample of the market and measure the rate of interaction with the product. In such cases, the term – market research is used in the marketing department.
Among the tasks assigned to the market research team is to measure:
- Buyers’ position.
- Potential market size.
- Consumer preferences.
- Acceptable prices.
- Product features and attributes.
This is also the case in the service industry, where a new product or service is usually launched after a process of detailed research and surveys. Among these surveys, a name for the product or brand may be chosen. In business, the name is considered a factor in the success or failure of the product.
Product, price, promotion, and place are the four important elements in marketing. Market research may usually focus on one aspect, such as price or promotion. However, marketing management professionals rely on two types of data to analyze the market:
- Qualitative analysis: Focuses on consumer perception, attitudes and opinion of a particular product or service.
- Quantitative analysis: refers to the units sold, produced and distributed in a specific area and time.
It may be noted that when a company launches a new product or brand, if there is no market research or surveys, then most likely the product or service will fail.
On the other hand, scientifically designed research and survey methodologies are likely to lead to better product development and acceptance by consumers.
The importance of market research
Market research is one of the tasks of marketing management, as it is the first step and the foundation for building a successful product. Every product or service must serve a consumer need, and if this does not happen, the launch will likely end in failure as we will mention below:
- Satellite phones launched in many countries were not successful due to their cost and were perhaps too early in the market.
- Sometimes, a brand name may not be acceptable in the cultural context of the target market, leading to failure.
- Colgate launched its “Cue” toothpaste brand in France without knowing that it was the name of a famous pornographic magazine.
- Mercedes-Benz launched the “Bensi” model in China, but that meant a “rush to death.”
2. Product development
Once market research has enabled the development of product or service specifications, the next task on the marketing management to-do list is to create the product. The search for raw materials, the creation of prototypes and other processes begin.
The success of the product depends on raw materials, technological knowledge and good inventory management. Experts say that with rapid advancement in technology and availability of raw materials, the life cycle of a product is becoming much shorter.
Every product goes through a cycle commonly known as Product Life Cycle (PLC) which consists of the following stages:
- Product development.
- Introducing it to the market.
- Growth through increased promotion and sales.
- Maturity is when sales reach their peak.
- Followed by market saturation and subsequent decline.
The Product Life Cycle (PLC) will vary across products and categories, sometimes lasting a few weeks or months while in other cases, it may last some years.
PLC can be extended through advertising to gain new market share, via:
- Price discounts to attract customers.
- Use product improvements to add value.
- Targeting new areas.
- Even new changes in packaging and color can improve perception levels.
Before planning promotional activities and using it on a large scale, it makes sense to test the product in specific cities or regions to measure market response.
If there is a need to add any changes to the product, we take care of it and make design changes and modifications before it reaches consumers and retail shelves.
3. Marketing management tasks | Promotion
The product will not be sold if it is not known to consumers, but with the advent of marketing management technology. The promotional options at marketers’ disposal have become more and faster than before.
With a little effort and support from advertising and public relations agencies, it is possible to get some publicity and launch the campaign in newspapers and business pages.
Promotion is through traditional marketing methods such as:
- Newspapers.
- the radio.
- TV.
Promotion in modern marketing means:
- websites.
- Social media.
Some experts can expect the product to succeed through word of mouth advertising only, but this can only be confirmed after gaining sufficient growth and market penetration through traditional advertising channels such as :
- Billboards.
- Digital signage.
- Point of purchase (POP) helps increase awareness of the brand and the product in general.
There must be continuous monitoring and tracking of advertisements and evaluate their success and whether they were able to generate sales conversions or not. From this perspective, modern marketing techniques are considered the best in terms of cost.
But the process of converting advertising and publicity into immediate sales is not a sure thing, and this is because likes, shares and comments on Facebook are only the beginning of the process of interacting with consumers.
Participation in trade fairs and events can also enhance sales and revenues for companies, whether they are consumer goods, industrial goods, or banking and financial services.
4. Sales and distribution
After the company carries out the procedures we mentioned previously, which are as follows:
- Conduct market research.
- Select the desired product.
- Production planning.
- Prototype testing.
- Advertising and promotion.
- Marketing management experiences.
Now comes the most important part of marketing management tasks, which is the sales and distribution process. Products must reach the target markets through good distribution channels and in more than one way.
This marketing management function is an important step as the presence and availability of the product gives a positive impression to consumers. It will be an motivating step for them to complete the purchase process and consume the product.
Often times, ignoring this step leads to the product failing in the market. The reason for this mistake is poor planning and management of distribution channels. It is necessary for the product promotion process to precede the distribution process in retail stores.
There may also be another mistake, which is the success of the advertisement and increased demand for the product, but the store shelves are empty, which leads to a feeling of disappointment when the customer does not find the product available on the store shelf.
The solution for such cases is to build a network of distributors and work on the logistics part, either relying on an internal fleet of trucks or outsourcing it from logistics offices.
In the case of perishable products, adequate care must be taken and shipped in refrigerated containers or protected from direct sunlight and heat.
There should be a proper Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to track the activities of:
- Financing and production planning.
- sales and marketing.
- Storage and distribution
- Monitoring and management.
In order to adequately meet the requirements of marketing management, check inventory control and control financial costs.
The use of mobile computing applications can help field staff update market data and information and provide headquarters with their data and information in real time.
5. Marketing management tasks | Storage
Proper product storage is extremely important not only for perishable and breakable goods but also for processed foods and consumer goods with a long history. Distribution channels must also have suitable storage facilities.
6. Quality and testing
The products produced must comply with regulatory standards related to safety, environmental impact, quality of raw materials used, design and other standards.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and European countries, governments have set different standards for food, electrical equipment, portable appliances, etc. It is only permitted to be sold if it conforms to these standards.
Although it is a task of quality management and production teams, the success of the product depends on compliance with these standards. The marketing management team needs to ensure that products are tested and evaluated periodically based on consumer standards.
7. After-sales and customer service
Companies often pay less attention to the after-sales service function in the market. Do not forget that the success of any product depends on customer satisfaction first. There is no perfect product in the market, but there is good service and how quickly complaints are addressed.
Recently, major car manufacturers such as ( Ford – Toyota – Suzuki ) were forced to withdraw their products from the market due to technical defects. This also happened with iPhones.
This is proof that even large companies are not infallible and it is in their long-term interest to acknowledge, support and provide product replacement.
8. Marketing management tasks | Finance
Goods are often sold to distributors and wholesalers on credit and a few for cash. Here the process of extending financial credit to distributors and paying the costs of getting the goods into the hands of the end user is considered a function of marketing management.
The financing required in marketing activity depends on working capital and fixed capital. Which can be raised through the company’s own funds if it is cash-rich, or through bank loans and advance and commercial credit.
Trade credit is provided by the manufacturer to distributors and wholesalers. You have to take advantage of different options for short-, medium- and long-term financing in marketing goods and services.
It should be noted that in times of moderate recession and changing business cycles, wholesalers, distributors and retailers face cash flow problems and fail to meet their day-to-day obligations. They are unable to prove their creditworthiness.
Here, the marketing management team must extend a helping hand to them to overcome the crisis. By rescheduling payments and giving sufficient time to fulfill sellers’ obligations.
9. Market risks
Business carries a lot of market risk because:
- New competition.
- prices drop.
- Loss of goods due to:
- Wear and tear.
- Obsolescence and theft.
- Fires and floods.
- And other unknown reasons.
New regulations can also make it impossible to sell manufactured goods or products. The mission of marketing management is to provide solutions to unexpected market risks.
10. Market information
Timely availability of market information is vital for product promotion and sales growth. The importance of timely market information is emphasized more than before due to the expansion of markets, the spread of products, and intense competition.
Also, providing timely information to the marketing management team is important for companies to decide when to sell, at what price to sell, and how many competitors and their offers.
Currently, most companies employ service providers to collect data, analyze and interpret facts. They search for facts and information from external sources such as government publications, reports, and market research companies.
