13 Primary Functions of Marketing (With Examples)

Marketing is the process of discovering, and translating consumer needs and wants into product and service specifications, creating demand for those products and services and then, in turn, expanding this demand. It works with many functions of Marketing.

What is the primary function of marketing?
What is the primary function of marketing?

So, marketing is the response of businessmen to the need to adjust production capabilities to the requirements of consumer demands.

Different activities related to marketing are included in the functions of marketing.

What are the Important Functions of Marketing

In Brief, the functions of marketing can be explained as under:

1. Product Planning and Development

It is the time when every activity of a producer clusters around the needs and wants of consumers.

Today a producer produces only those goods and services which are required by his customers.

A producer has to produce the goods and services according to the needs of his customers so that the object of customer satisfaction may be achieved.

He has to make the design, size, weight, price, and packing of his product according to the changing needs and tastes of his customers.

Therefore, the very first function of marketing is to plan a product and to develop it so that it may satisfy the Expectations of customers.

At the early stage of trade and Commerce, the function of product planning and development was performed by the production department with the help of Engineering and Technical Research Development.

Now, this work has also been delegated to the marketing department with a view to meet the consumer needs more effectively and easily.

Therefore, nowadays, all the important decisions related to product planning, product modification, product development, grading, standardization, diversification, brand, and packing, etc. are taken by the marketing department.

2. Create Demand

When a marketing company introduces an innovative product in the market, demand creation is required.

Since the product or services is totally new for the market there is no demand for the product.

It requires the formulation of effective appeals to convince the target customers how the product satisfies specific needs.

The success of the ‘Tea Industry’ in India is the best example of demand creation.

3. Standardizing and Grading

Standardizing and grading are two very important aspects of marketing today, because, with the help of these two aspects, marketing functions become easy, production becomes uniform, prices become equal and marketing becomes extensive.

Therefore, nowadays, the goods are produced on the basis of definite standards as to the quality of the product, size of the product, the color of the product, the weight of the product, price of the product, etc.

Standardizing and grading make it easy for both the consumers and sellers to achieve their individual objects.

This is the reason why the sale and purchase of most of the goods become very easy on the basis of standardization and grading.

4. Counter Marketing

The are several products which have good sales and high profits, but they have an adverse impact on the larger welfare of society and mankind.

For example, baby milk powder, hard drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol, etc. have good marketing prospects, but they use it not in the interests of consumers.

Therefore, when unwholesome demand exists, a suitable strategy is needed to destroy the demand.

5. Buying and Assembling

For the purpose of functions of marketing, buying means the acquisition of goods and services by the seller or industrial user for the purpose of resale.

Though ultimate consumers also purchase the goods and services for the satisfaction of their needs, such purchases are not included within the purview of the functions of marketing.

Assembling for the purpose of functions of marketing means the collection of different types of goods and services by mediators for the purpose of resale.

For example, the purchase of crops of small farmers scattered throughout the country by wholesale grain merchants is the assembling, because they sell it to the retailers who sell them to the ultimate consumers for real consumption.

Related: What is the basic need of small scale industry?

6. Selling

Selling is the object around which all the activities of marketing cluster because no activity in the world of marketing is completed unless and until the real sale of goods and services bought or acquired by the seller on intermediary has been affected.

Broadly, speaking, marketing does not mean to sell goods and services only.

It includes the discovery of tastes and wants of the customers, production of goods and services according to their tastes, creation of demand, real sale, and after-sales services for the achievement of this purpose.

It becomes essential for the marketing personnel to establish effective coordination among the activities of advertisements, personal selling, sales promotion, and after-sales services.

7. Storage

Storage is considered to be the main activity of marketing these days.

Whenever and wherever the production is seasonal and consumption is perennial or whenever and wherever the consumption seasonal but the production is perineal, the goods are to be stored in good condition from the time of production to the time of consumption.

Storage aims at meeting different objects such as – the gap between the time of production and the time of consumption, to get the expected appreciation in prices, to capture the market, etc.

Related: What is the major inventory management techniques?

8. Transportation

Transportation refers to the real distribution of goods from the place of production to the place of consumption.

Business and transportation are the two aspects of one coin.

One is its head and the other is its tail.

different tasks of marketing management
different tasks of marketing management

 

Thus, business and transportation are not competitors but complementary to each other.

Effective Marketing System must be associated with an economical and effective transportation system because an effective system of transportation creates place utility.

It also helps in expanding the market and maintaining a regular supply and improved service to the consumer.

Production at a large scale and specialization has been possible only because of the means of transportation.

9. Marketing Finance

Marketing finance means the arrangements of adequate finance for the distribution of goods and services to real consumers.

Marketing finance is a very important function of marketing because it is only imaginary to carry on marketing activities successfully without adequate finance.

The Businessman has to arrange for short term finance, medium-term finance, and long term finance according to the needs of the business.

What are the Factors Affecting Business Finance (Complete List).

10. Risk Bearing

Marketing involves many large risks. Some are the risks that can be insured, such as flood, fire, theft, robbery, dacoity, loot, etc.

On the other hand, some of the risks which cannot be insured, such as – fall in the prices, changes in the demand, changes in fashion, changes in the tastes of consumers, etc.

These can never be eliminated, however, these can be minimized through an effective system of sales forecasting, market research, advertisement, sales promotion, and product diversification, etc.

11. Market Information

Market information plays a very wide role in the success of an enterprise.

A businessman has to collect different types of market information so that he can chalk out his market program and policy according to this information.

The market information includes the collection of data regarding Trends of the market, government policy, price policy of different business Enterprises, tastes of consumers, changes in fashion, scientific development, channels of distribution, media of advertisement, etc.

No business effort can be successful in the absence of this information.

This information is collected by different business Enterprises, specialized Agencies, Government, and Research Scholars at different times.

These are published in different papers and magazines.

A businessman must collect all this information to get through these problems so that he may make necessary changes in his marketing policy and program.

If any information is not available, Emphasis must be laid upon marketing research.

12. Pricing

Pricing is perhaps the most important decision taken by a businessman.

It is the decision upon which the success or failure of an enterprise depends to a large extent.

Therefore, the price must be determined only after taking all the relevant factors into consideration.

While determining pricing policy, the factors to be considered are – the cost of production severity of competition, prices of competitors, marketing policy, government policy, and the buying capacity of the consumer, etc.

An analytical study of all the functions of marketing discussed above makes it clear that marketing is a very wide term including all the activities from the discovery of needs and wants of consumers to their satisfaction.

13. Maintenance

In the situation where the demand for the product is equal to the expected level, the main task of the marketing manager is to maintain the demand.

It is not easy to maintain the sales level and market alike in the full demand situation.

Keeping in view the competition, changing consumer needs and so many external factors, it is not easy to maintain the present quantum of sales.

The function of maintenance requires strategic marketing planning, in which efforts are made to identify the rapid changes taking place in the market and to take suitable remedial measures to deal with the changes situation.

What is the primary function of marketing?

Standardizing and grading are two very important aspects of marketing today, because, with the help of these two aspects, marketing functions become easy, production becomes uniform, prices become equal and marketing becomes extensive.

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