Marketing Management विपणन व्यवस्थापन

Quick summary

Marketing is the process of finding out what customers need and satisfying those needs profitably. It is much wider than selling. This topic covers the meaning and definitions of marketing, the core concepts, the evolution of marketing philosophies (from production to societal and holistic marketing), the functions of marketing, and the marketing mix.

Key points

• Philip Kotler: marketing is "a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others."
• American Marketing Association (AMA): marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large.
• Core concepts: needs, wants, demand; products (goods, services, experiences); value and satisfaction; exchange and transactions; relationships; markets.
• Production concept – customers want cheap, available products; focus on mass production.
• Product concept – customers want the best quality; focus on product improvement ("marketing myopia" risk).
• Selling concept – customers will not buy enough unless pushed; focus on aggressive selling.
• Marketing concept – find customer needs first and satisfy them better than competitors.
• Societal marketing concept – satisfy customers while protecting the long-term welfare of society and the environment.
• Holistic marketing – relationship, integrated, internal and performance (socially responsible) marketing together.
• Evolution of marketing concepts (विपणन संकल्पनेचा विकास):
• Functions of marketing: market research, product planning, buying and assembling, standardisation and grading, packaging and labelling, branding, pricing, storage and warehousing, transportation, promotion, selling, financing, risk-bearing and after-sales service.
• Marketing mix (4 Ps) – Product, Price, Place, Promotion (E. Jerome McCarthy). For services, 7 Ps add People, Process and Physical evidence.
• Importance: helps business earn profit, raises standard of living, creates employment, gives feedback for new products, supports economic growth.

Important terms

• Need – a state of felt deprivation (food, clothing).
• Want – the form a need takes, shaped by culture (pizza, vada pav).
• Demand – a want backed by buying power.
• Marketing myopia – focusing on the product rather than on the customer's need (Theodore Levitt, 1960).
• Customer value – benefits received minus costs paid, as seen by the customer.

Key facts

5 important questions

Q1. Define marketing.

Marketing is the process of identifying customer needs and wants, and creating, communicating and delivering products that satisfy them profitably. Kotler calls it a social and managerial process of exchanging products and value.

Q2. What is the societal marketing concept?

It says a firm should satisfy customer needs in a way that also keeps or improves the well-being of society, e.g. eco-friendly packaging, no harmful products, fair advertising.

Q3. Explain the evolution of marketing concepts.

Outline the six concepts with period, focus, example and weakness; show the shift from product-centred to customer- and society-centred thinking.

Q4. Distinguish between selling and marketing.

Use the table above; add points on scope (narrow vs wide), time horizon (short vs long term), emphasis (seller's needs vs buyer's needs), and planning.

Q5. Explain the functions of marketing.

Outline: exchange functions (buying, selling), physical supply functions (storage, transport), facilitating functions (standardisation, grading, finance, risk, market information), plus research, product planning, branding, packaging, pricing, promotion and after-sales service.

Exam tip

Begin every marketing answer with a short definition (Kotler or AMA) and end with an Indian example such as Amul, Patanjali or Tata. Examples bring extra marks.

Quick summary

The marketing environment is all the forces outside the marketing department that affect its ability to build good relationships with customers. Some forces are close to the firm (micro environment) and some are wide and general (macro environment). Marketers study the environment to spot opportunities and threats in time, often using SWOT and PESTLE analysis.

Key points

• Marketing environment (विपणन पर्यावरण) – the actors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing decisions (Kotler).
• Internal environment – the firm's own resources: men, money, machines, materials, management, brand image and culture. It is controllable.
• Micro environment – forces close to the firm: the company itself, suppliers, marketing intermediaries (dealers, wholesalers, retailers, transporters, banks, ad agencies), customers, competitors and publics (media, government, local community, financial publics).
• Demographic – population size, age, gender, literacy, urbanisation, family size.
• Economic – income, inflation, interest rates, savings, GDP growth, spending patterns.
• Natural – raw material shortages, pollution, climate change, government action on environment.
• Technological – new products, internet, AI, digital payments, e-commerce.
• Political-legal – laws such as the Consumer Protection Act 2019, GST, the Competition Act 2002, the Legal Metrology Act, government stability and policies.
• Social-cultural – values, beliefs, festivals, lifestyle, food habits, language.
• Macro environment – wider forces, mostly uncontrollable:
• Environmental scanning – continuous watching of the environment to spot changes early.
• PESTLE analysis – Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors.
• SWOT analysis – internal Strengths and Weaknesses, external Opportunities and Threats.
• Indian examples: rising rural incomes and smartphones opened rural markets; UPI changed payment habits; ban on single-use plastic changed packaging.

Important terms

• Publics – any group that has an actual or potential interest in, or impact on, the firm.
• Marketing intermediaries – firms that help promote, sell and distribute products.
• Demography – the study of human population by size, age, sex and other statistics.
• Opportunity / threat – a favourable / unfavourable external trend.

Key facts

5 important questions

Q1. What is the marketing environment?

It is the set of forces and actors outside the marketing function that affect the firm's ability to serve its customers, e.g. suppliers, competitors, economy, laws and technology.

Q2. What is SWOT analysis?

A tool that lists a firm's internal Strengths and Weaknesses and its external Opportunities and Threats, so it can build on strengths, fix weaknesses, use opportunities and guard against threats.

Q3. Explain the components of the micro environment.

Outline: company (other departments), suppliers, intermediaries (resellers, physical distribution firms, service agencies, financial intermediaries), customers (consumer, business, reseller, government, international markets), competitors, publics; one example each.

Q4. Explain the macro environment with Indian examples.

Outline the six forces with an Indian example each: young population (demographic), GST (legal), UPI (technological), monsoon and rural demand (natural/economic), festivals like Diwali sales (cultural), government schemes like Make in India (political).

Q5. Why is the study of the marketing environment important?

Points: identifies opportunities and threats; helps in planning and strategy; helps meet competition; ensures legal compliance; helps adapt products to changing tastes; reduces risk; improves image with publics.

Exam tip

Write the macro forces using the memory word "DENT-PC" (Demographic, Economic, Natural, Technological, Political, Cultural), and give one Indian example for each.

Quick summary

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals and families choose, buy, use and dispose of products and services. Marketers study it to understand why people buy, so that they can design the right product, price, place and promotion. This topic covers the meaning and importance of consumer behaviour, the factors that influence buying, the buying decision process and the types of buying behaviour.

Key points

• Consumer behaviour (ग्राहक वर्तन) – the behaviour consumers show in searching for, buying, using, evaluating and disposing of products that they expect will satisfy their needs (Schiffman and Kanuk).
• Consumer vs customer: the customer buys; the consumer uses (a parent buys toys, the child consumes them).
• Cultural – culture, sub-culture (region, religion, language), social class.
• Social – reference groups, family, roles and status, opinion leaders and influencers.
• Personal – age and life-cycle stage, occupation, income, lifestyle, personality and self-concept.
• Psychological – motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes.
• Factors influencing buying behaviour:
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs: physiological → safety → social → esteem → self-actualisation. Products can be positioned at any level.
• Buying decision process (5 stages): need recognition → information search → evaluation of alternatives → purchase decision → post-purchase behaviour.
• Post-purchase dissonance – doubt or discomfort after an important purchase; firms reduce it with warranties, follow-up calls and good after-sales service.
• Buying roles: initiator, influencer, decider, buyer and user.
• Types of buying behaviour (Assael): complex buying (high involvement, big brand differences – a car), dissonance-reducing (high involvement, few differences – a sofa), habitual (low involvement, few differences – salt), variety-seeking (low involvement, big differences – biscuits).
• Recent trends: online reviews, social-media influencers, mobile shopping, "buy now pay later", rural consumers going digital.

Important terms

• Reference group – a group a person compares himself with, which shapes his attitudes (friends, film stars, cricketers).
• Perception – the process of selecting, organising and interpreting information to form a meaningful picture.
• Attitude – a lasting favourable or unfavourable feeling towards an object or idea.
• Involvement – the importance and personal interest a buyer attaches to a purchase.
• Brand loyalty – repeated buying of the same brand.

Key facts

5 important questions

Q1. Define consumer behaviour.

It is the study of the decision-making process and physical activity involved in acquiring, using and disposing of goods and services, i.e. why, what, when, where and how people buy.

Q2. What is post-purchase dissonance?

It is the mental discomfort a buyer feels after an important purchase, wondering whether the choice was right. Marketers reduce it through reassurance, warranties and after-sales service.

Q3. Explain the factors affecting consumer behaviour.

Outline the four groups (cultural, social, personal, psychological) with sub-factors and one Indian example each, e.g. festivals (culture), joint family decisions (social), rising incomes of youth (personal), brand perception of Maggi or Apple (psychological).

Q4. Explain the consumer buying decision process.

Outline the five stages with the table above; mention that for low-involvement goods some stages are skipped.

Q5. Why is the study of consumer behaviour important for marketers?

Points: helps understand needs, segment the market, design products, fix prices, choose channels, plan promotion, predict trends, retain customers and face competition; also helps government and consumer protection.

Exam tip

Draw the five-stage process as a simple flow chart with arrows in the answer book; diagrams are given marks in RTMNU and SPPU papers.

Quick summary

No firm can serve every customer in the same way. So marketers divide the market into groups with similar needs (segmentation), choose the groups they can serve best (targeting), and create a clear place for their brand in those customers' minds (positioning). This STP process is the base of every marketing strategy.

Key points

• Market segmentation (बाजार विभाजन) – dividing a total market into smaller, similar groups of buyers who respond alike to a marketing mix.
• Geographic – country, state, urban/rural, climate (woollens for north India).
• Demographic – age, gender, income, education, family size, religion, occupation (baby products, women's razors).
• Psychographic – lifestyle, personality, values, social class (fitness lovers).
• Behavioural – occasion, benefit sought, usage rate, loyalty status (festive gift packs; toothpaste for sensitivity).
• Bases of segmenting consumer markets:
• Requirements of effective segments: measurable, accessible, substantial (large enough), differentiable and actionable.
• Targeting – evaluating segments and selecting one or more to serve.
• Targeting strategies: (1) undifferentiated (mass) marketing – one offer for all; (2) differentiated – different offers for different segments; (3) concentrated (niche) – one segment only; (4) micro-marketing – local or individual marketing.
• Positioning (स्थान निश्चिती) – arranging for a product to occupy a clear, distinctive and desirable place in the target customers' minds relative to competitors.
• Bases of positioning: product attributes, benefits, price and quality, use or application, user category, competitor, and cultural symbols.
• A positioning statement answers: for (target), (brand) is the (category) that (key benefit) because (reason to believe).
• Positioning errors: under-positioning, over-positioning, confused positioning, doubtful positioning.
• Repositioning – changing the position of a brand when the market changes.

Important terms

• Niche market – a small, well-defined segment with special needs.
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – the one key benefit that sets a product apart.
• Product differentiation – making a product different from competing products in features, design or service.
• Perceptual map – a chart showing how customers see brands on two attributes (e.g. price and quality).

Key facts

Indian examples of positioning: Volvo – safety; Nirma – value for money; Patanjali – natural and swadeshi; Fevicol – strong bond (shown with humour).

5 important questions

Q1. What is market segmentation?

Dividing a heterogeneous market into smaller homogeneous groups of customers with similar needs, so that each group can be served with a suitable marketing mix.

Q2. What is positioning?

Creating a distinct and favourable image of a product in the target customer's mind compared to competitors, e.g. Volvo as the safest car.

Q3. Explain the bases of market segmentation with examples.

Outline geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural bases with sub-variables and Indian examples; add the requirements of a good segment.

Q4. Explain the targeting strategies.

Outline undifferentiated, differentiated, concentrated and micro-marketing with merits, demerits and examples; factors in choosing a strategy (company resources, product variability, life-cycle stage, market variability, competitors' strategies).

Q5. Explain the STP process and its importance.

Outline: steps in segmentation, evaluation and selection of segments, developing positioning (identify differences, choose the right ones, communicate them); importance – better use of resources, customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, effective promotion.

Exam tip

Use one product (like a mobile phone or two-wheeler) to explain all three steps in a long answer. A worked example table like the one above is quick and impressive.