Course Material

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Prepared by
Dr. C. Karthick,
Assistant Professor
Department of Professional
Studies CHRIST (Deemed to be
University).
Unit – I
INTRODUCTION
Meaning and Definition of Marketing:
INTRODUCTION: Marketing is everywhere and it affects our day- to-day life in every possible
manner. Formally or informally people and organizations engage in a vast number of activities
that could be called as marketing. Good marketing is no accident, but a result of careful planning
and execution. It is both an art and science. Let’s discuss various concepts and issues in
marketing. Meaning: In simple words, marketing is a process which carries goods from producer
to 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’
Definition: According to American Marketing Association, “Marketing is the performance of
business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or user.”
Features / Nature of Marketing:
1. Modern marketing is consumer oriented:
A business exists to satisfy human needs. Therefore, business must first find out what the
consumers want and then produce goods according to the needs of the consumers. Only such
products should be produced which best satisfy consumer needs and at a profit to the maker.
What is offered for sale should be determined by the buyer rather than by the seller.
2. Modern marketing precedes and succeeds production:
All organisations accept that the marketing activities must start far ahead of production. It
is not enough if the activities are begun after the product is ready. In companies operating under
the marketing concept entire marketing is designed to serve consumer needs. Thus, marketing
through its studies and research, will determine for the engineer, designer and the manufacturing
man, what the customer wants in a given product, what price he is willing to pay, and where and
when it will be wanted.
3. Modern marketing starts and ends with the buyer:
Under the consumer oriented marketing, it is highly essential to know what the customers
really want. That is possible only when information is collected from the customers. In the older
days the producer was in direct contact with the consumers. But after the mass production
system, this limit was broken. Therefore, a formal mechanism is required to keep in touch with
consumers.
Marketing research and marketing information system have, therefore emerged as a full-fledged
function of marketing. Marketing involves satisfaction of customer needs and wants. 4. Modern
marketing guides business:
Marketing become a pervasive force that guides a business today. It involves the
integration of a number of activities from the conception of a product idea to its profitable
selling and ultimate consumption. In recent years marketing has assumed greater importance due
to the rapidly increasing tempo of production of a wide range of goods and services. This
stimulation leads to the multiplication of products and ultimately leads to higher production.
Marketing, therefore, is at the heart of all industrial activity.
5. Exchange process is the essence of marketing:
All marketing activities revolve around exchange process. Exchange implies transactions
between buyer and seller. The seller hands over a product or service to the buyer who in turn
gives money. There is also exchange of information between buyer and sellers.
6. It is a goal oriented:
Like any other business activity, marketing seeks to achieve some useful results like, to
develop an intelligent appreciation of modern marketing practices, to provide guiding policies
regarding marketing procedures and their implementation , to study marketing problems
according to circumstances and to suggest solutions and to enable manager to assess and decide
a particular course of action.
7. Marketing is a science as well as an art:
Marketing is inter-disciplinary in nature, orientation and design. It has borrowed heavily
from economics, law, psychology, anthropology, sociology etc. Marketing is an art in the sense
that a considerable body of rules or principles on buying, selling, financing, standardization,
market information, etc. have been put into practice to achieve success in the economic life of
man. But later developments have changed the art base of marketing into a science base.
Objectives of Marketing:
⮚ To apply effective and intelligent modern marketing policies.
⮚ To develop the market field.
⮚ To develop and implement guiding policies for better results
⮚ To suggest solution by studying the problems relating to marketing.
⮚ To find sources for further information concerning the market problems.
Importance of Marketing:
1. Delivers the standard of living:
Marketing is above all the giving of a standard of living to the community. By making
available the uninterrupted supply of goods and services to consumers at a reasonable price,
marketing has played an important role in raising and maintaining living standards of the
community. Community comprises of three classes of people i.e., rich, middle and poor.
Everything which is used by these different classes of people is supplied by marketing.
2. Connects the producers and consumers:
Marketing is very helpful in transfer, exchange and movement of goods. Goods and
services are made available to customers through various intermediaries’ viz., wholesalers and
retailers etc. Marketing is helpful to both producers and consumers.
3. Increases the national income:
 Adam Smith has remarked that “nothing happens in our country until somebody sells
something”. Marketing is the kingpin that sets the economy revolving. The marketing
organization, more scientifically organized, makes the economy strong and stable, the lesser the
stress on the marketing function, the weaker will be the economy.
4. Provides employment opportunities:
Marketing is complex mechanism involving many people in one form or the other. The
major marketing functions are buying, selling, financing, transport, warehousing, risk bearing and
standardization, etc. In each such function different activities are performed by a large number of
individuals and bodies. Thus, marketing gives employment to many people. It is estimated that
about 40% of total population is directly or indirectly dependent upon marketing. In the modern
era of large scale production and industrialization, role of marketing has widened. 5. Helps to
maintain economic stability:
Marketing helps to maintain economic stability and rapid development in underdeveloped
or developing countries. If production is more than demand, the excess goods cannot be sold at
acceptable price. Thus, there would be glut in the market, resulting in fall in price, and depression
creeps in. Similarly, if production is less than demand, prices shoot up, resulting in inflation. In
such situations, marketing maintains the economic stability by balancing the two aspects
production and consumption.
6. Creates revenue to the firm.
A firm fulfils its motive only through marketing. Development of market is possible-local
to world market. When markets are widened, sales increase, and thus profit to the firm increases.
Scope of Marketing
1. Products and Services:
2. Marketing Research
3. Channel of Distribution
4. Physical Distribution
5. Promotional Decisions
6. Pricing Decisions
7. Feedback from Customer
Functions of Marketing:
Functions of marketing has been classified into three major categories:
1. Functions of Exchange:
It is the process of the passing of goods into the customer’s hands. It can be split into
buying, assembling and selling.
a. Buying:
This is the first step in the process of marketing. A manufacturer has to buy raw materials
for production of goods; a wholesaler has to buy goods to sell them to the retailer; a retailer has
to buy goods to be sold to the consumer. Buying involves transfer of ownership of goods from
seller to buyer.
b. Assembling:
Assembling implies to the creation and maintenance of the stock of goods, purchased
from different sources. Usually, the dealer or middleman purchases the goods from more than
one seller. The goods have to be collected and assembled at one place in such a case. c. Selling:
Selling and buying are related to each other. Marketing efforts evolve around the buying
and selling functions. In business, the selling function is most important. The primary objective
of marketing is to sell the products at a profit. By selling, the ownership is transferred to the
buyer. Sales are concerned with the activities, which convert the desire into demand. Creation of
demand, its maintenance, expansion, etc., are the soul of sales efforts.
2. Functions of Physical Supply:
The important group of marketing process is the physical supply. These are the functions that are
related with creation of place and time utilities.
a. Transportation:
Marketing process requires an economical and effective transportation system. A good
system of transportation increases the value of goods by the creation of place utility. An opening
of new markets has been possible by the quick development of transportation and
communication. It has resulted in the expansion of markets, regular supply at lower price and
improved services to the consumers.
b. Storage and Warehousing:
Usually, there is a time lag between production and consumption of goods. Sometimes,
seasonal production of goods having continuous consumption or seasonal consumption of goods
produced regularly, requires storage. It involves holding and preserving goods between such time
periods.
3. Facilitating Functions:
Marketing process turns easy by these functions and includes financing, pricing, risk
bearing, standardization and market information, etc.
a. Financing:
It is perilous to carry on marketing activities smoothly without the availability of adequate
and cheap finance. Commercial Banks, Co-operative Credit Societies, and Government Agencies
arrange for short-term, medium-term, and long-term finance to facilitate marketing. Trade credit
is also one of the important sources of finance.
b. Risk-Bearing:
In the marketing process, numerous risks arises like—damages to goods, physical loss,
changes in economic values of goods, mismanagement, credit losses, etc. These are more or less
inherent in the marketing process. There are losses— on accounts of fire, flood, deterioration, bad
debts, etc. On all these occasions, an intelligent businessman minimises risks. As a result, the
risks are to be shouldered, shifted or reduced. Some of the risks are insurable, while others are
not.
c. Standardisation:
Standard is a specification of goods. It is a ‘norm’, ‘grade’ or ‘category’. Standards are
fixed on physical characteristics of products. Standardisation is related with the division of
commodities into distinct groups. Standard is used in providing certain basic qualities to the
goods for their use. The standardised products possess uniform characteristics e.g., shape,
weight, size, etc.
d. Marketing information:
It is dynamic and affect the industry to any extent. Market information includes all facts,
estimates, opinions and other information used in making decisions, which affect the marketing
of products or services. The desired success of marketing depends on correct and timely
decision. These decisions are based on market information or market intelligence. Modern
marketing must have information of size, location, characteristics of markets, etc. The
customer’s wants, habits, purchasing power, etc., are to be considered; the strength or weakness
of competitors, trend in market, supply and demand, etc., are also to be taken into consideration.
Evolution of Marketing Concept:
1. Self Sufficient Stage:
After the stage of nomads, people started to settle on the bank of rivers. This had led to
starting of economic activities like agriculture. But each family then was a self-sufficient unit as
far as production and consumption is concerned. They produced what they wanted to consume
and practically no surplus was available to initiate the process of exchange. Hence, it may be
stated that the concept of marketing was absent in this stage.
2. Exchange Oriented Stage:
When nomads chose to live permanently at river banks and continuously engaged in
agricultural and allied operations, the problem of surplus production came. The necessitated
exchange of surplus products with others. In order to smooth out exchanges, ‘Barter System’
came into vogue, though the latent inconvenience of such a system were felt only a little later.
The shift from self-sufficiency to the exchange orientation may, therefore, be considered the first
stage in the historical evolution of the term marketing.

3. Production Oriented Stage;

The next stage came with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The prevailing attitude
and approach of the production orientation era was -“consumers favor products that are available
and highly affordable”. The mantra for marketing success was to “Improve production and
distribution”. The rule was “availability and affordability is what the customer wants”. The era
was marked by narrow product-lines; pricing system based on the costs of production and
distribution, limited research, primary aim of the packaging was to protect the product, minimum
promotion.
4. Sales Oriented Stage:
The increased competition and variety of choices / options available to customers changed
the marketing approach and now the attitude was “Consumers will buy products only if the
company promotes/ sells these products”. This era indicates rise of advertising and the mantra for
marketers was “Creative advertising and selling will overcome consumers’ resistance and
convince them to buy.
5. Marketing Oriented Stage:
Marketing orientation means being driven by customer needs: this is sometimes also
called customer orientation. Companies that are truly marketing oriented will always start with
the customer’s needs, whatever the business problem. Customers can be grouped according to
their different needs, and a slightly different product offered to each group. This type of
differentiation allows the company to provide for the needs of a larger group in total, because
each target segment of the market is able to satisfy its needs through purchase of one or other of
the company’s products.
6. Consumer Oriented Stage:
During this stage, competition became keen and it was realized that measuring consumer
needs or behavior alone was not enough. Consumer Satisfaction should be the real and correct
perspective on which marketing policies of an organization should be built. This marketing
concept is the philosophy of business that believes that satisfaction of the wants of the consumers
is the economic and social justification for the existence of business.
7. Management Oriented Stage:
 This is the present stage of the evolution of the marketing concept. As consumer
orientation became an acceptable marketing philosophy, the entire business philosophy
underwent a subtle change. Today marketing considerations are most crucial in business
planning and decision making.

Changing Concept of Marketing:

1. The Production Concept:

This is probably the oldest concept of marketing. Under this concept, businessmen or
producers believe that customers want products at lower prices. They do not concern for product
attributes, i.e. product qualities. Hence, the attention of the producer gets focused on production.
This concept may be adopted in specific situations. One, when the demand for the product is
higher than its availability. Two, when the mass production through the economies of scale is to
bring down the higher cost of production. In nutshell, producer dictates the market under the
production concept.
2. The Product Concept:
The ‘product concept’ is somewhat different from the ‘production concept’. Production
concept seeks to win markets via large-scale production and low unit costs; the product concept
seeks to achieve the result via product attributes. The product concept holds that consumers
appreciate quality products even by paying higher price. The marketers or producers believe that
all products cannot be sold in the market. Instead, only those products can be sold in the market
which are qualitative and meet and satisfy the consumers’ requirements.
3. The Selling Concept:
As more and more markets become buyers’ concept, the sales concept assumes increasing
relevance. It is realized that production is not as a big problem as sales is. It is sales only that
converts goods and services into money and revenue and loss / or profit. Hence, selling assumes
greater importance. Some producers believe that if customers/consumers are left to themselves,
they will not buy enough goods and services of the organization unless the organization does not
undertake aggressive sales and promotional efforts.
4. The Marketing Concept:
Marketing concept is broader than selling concept in the sense that it considers the needs
and wants of consumers. In other words, selling concept considers the present growth whereas the
marketing concept focuses on future growth. It is, thus, said that marketing concept is consumer
oriented with the objective of earning profits in long-run.
In other words, the focus of marketing concept lies on identifying the consumer wants and
desires and then producing products that will satisfy the identified wants and needs and also
provide the maximum satisfaction to the consumers. Thus, the focus moves from production to
product to selling and rests with the consumers. That is why, under the marketing concept, the
consumer is the boss or king who dictates the market.
5. The Societal Marketing Concept:
The societal concept is an extension of the marketing concept that covers the society at
large in addition to the consumers. Under this concept, marketing is not considered a business
activity alone but an activity to take care of social needs. Of late, wanton exploitation of limited
resources, environmental degradation and deterioration and the consumer movements have
necessitated the recognition of the relevance of marketing to the society.
Modern Marketing Concept:
The marketing concept is a consumer orientation backed by integrated marketing aimed at
generating customer satisfaction as the key to satisfying organizational goals. Features of the
Marketing Concept:
1. Customer Orientation:
All business activities should be directed to create and satisfy the customer.
Emphasis on the needs and wants of consumers keeps the business on the right track. All
marketing decisions should be made on the basis of their impact on the customer. Consumer
becomes the guide of business.
2. Marketing Research:
Under the marketing concept; knowledge and understanding of customer’s needs, wants
and desires is very vital. Therefore, a regular and systematic marketing research Programme is
required to keep abreast of the market. In addition, innovation and creativity are necessary to
match the products of requirements of customers.
3. Marketing Planning:
The marketing concept calls for a goal-oriented approach to marketing. The overall
objectives of the firm should be the earning of profits through satisfaction of customers. On the
basis of this goal, the objectives and policies of marketing and other departments should be
defined precisely. Marketing planning helps to inject the philosophy of consumer-orientation into
the total business systems and serves as a guide to the organisation’s efforts.
4. Integrated Marketing:
Once the organisational and departmental goals are formulated, it becomes necessary to
harmonize the organisational goals with the goals of the individuals working in the organisation.
The activities and operation of various organisational units should be properly coordinated to
achieve the defined objectives. The marketing department should develop the marketing mix
which is most appropriate for accomplishing the desired goals through the satisfaction of
customers.
5. Systems Approach:
Marketing concept is a systems approach to marketing. It requires intelligent coordination
of the four ‘Ps’ of marketing mix namely, product, price, place and promotion. Price should be
consistent with the product quality, the channel made consistent with the price and nature of
product and promotion made consistent with product quality, price and place.
6. Long Term View:
Creating long-lasting relationships with consumers with consistent service and quality
that they can trust ensures profits, retaining customers, and attracting new customers over a
long period of time. This makes a business into a trusted and well-known brand. Differences
between Marketing and Selling:

Sl.No Marketing Selling

1. Focuses on consumer needs Focuses on seller’s needs

2 Customer enjoys supreme importance Product enjoys supreme importance

3 Product planning and development High pressure selling to sell

to match products with markets goods already produced

4 Integrated approach to achieve long Fragmented approach to

term goals achieve immediate gains

5 Converting customer’s needs Converting products into cash

into products

6 Profits through customer satisfaction Profits through sales volume

Marketing Environment:
Marketing activities are influenced by several factors inside and outside a business firm.
These factors or forces influencing marketing decision making are collectively called marketing
environment.
Marketing Environment is broadly divided into two parts:
a. Micro Environment: It implies the factors and forces in the immediate environment which
affect the company’s ability to serve its market. The factors are:
1. Suppliers
Suppliers are an essential part of every organization. Suppliers’ supplies material and all
other types of resources required for the production of products. A company can run its business
successfully only if its suppliers supply material of good quality and on time. 2. Market
Intermediaries:
Market intermediaries are the intermediary parties that help a business to distribute its
products in the market. The market intermediaries can be wholesalers, retailers, and distributors.
All of these market intermediaries are an essential part of the business as they are the face of the
company in the market and represent the products of the company in the market. 3. Customers:
Customers are the most crucial component of the business. Customers are the target
audience of the product, and the preference of customers influences all the marketing and
business efforts of a company.
4. Public:
The public is people other than the target audience of the organization. The public plays a
vital role in the success of the business as it can build or destroy the image of a company in the
market. The public has the power to influence the purchasing decision of the target audience.
Especially in the times of the internet, the ability to control the public has increased as they can
share their views about your products and services on the internet freely.
5. Competitors:
The last but not least component of the microenvironment is the competitors of a
business. The competitors are the other businesses that sell similar products as your products or
are part of the same strategic group in the industry.
b. Macro Environment: It refers to those factors which are external forces in the company’s
activities and do not concern the immediate environment. The components of macro environment
are:
1. Demographic Forces:
The demographic environment component of the macro marketing environment consists
of people that form a market. The population of the demographic environment can be
characterized based on various factors such as age, gender, density, size, location, race, and
occupation, etc.
The demographic environment is a crucial component for business as the company design
and builds its products based on the characteristics of the demographic environment. 2.
Economic Forces:
The economic environment component is a type of component that influences all
industries. The economic environment affects the purchasing power and spending patterns of the
buyers.
The following are the different factors that form an economic
environment. 1. Interest Rates.
2. Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
3. Gross National Product (GNP).
4. Inflation.
5. Subsidies.
6. Income distribution.
7. Government funding.
8. Other significant economic variables.
3. Political and Legal Forces:
The political-legal environment consists of laws and policies of a country. In addition to
rules and procedures, the political-legal environment also includes agencies and pressure groups.
All of these political entities impact the working capacity of the industry in society. 4.
Technological Factors:
Technology is one of the elements that have great potential to influence the business of an
organization. It is dynamic, as it changes rapidly. Technology provides several threats and
opportunities to the business environment.
The technological environment consists of research and development in technology, innovation,
inducement of technology, and technical alternatives, etc.
5. Natural Factors:
Potential shortages of certain raw materials like coal, minerals, unstable cost of energy,
increased levels of pollution, changing role of Government in environment protection are a few
of
the dangers this world is facing on physical environmental forces. Keeping these forces in mind
world thinkers have expressed their concern over whether the physical environment is being
irreparably damaged by the industrial and other business activities of today’s modern nations. 6.
Social & Cultural Factors:
In recent years, the concept of ‘Social Responsibility’ has crept into the marketing
literature as an alternative to the marketing concept. The implication of socially responsible
marketing is that business firms should take the lead in eliminating socially harmful products. As
such, social responsibility has become another legitimate pressure of the market place. Cultural
forces refers to values, perceptions, attitudes, beliefs of people in a society.
Marketing Environment can also be classified as:
a. Controllable Factors: These consist of marketing policies and marketing strategies which are
framed by the firm. Various aspect of controllable factors are depicted below: 1. Marketing
Planning
2. Selection of Target Market
3. Marketing Objectives
4. Marketing Control
5. Marketing Mix
b. Uncontrollable Factors: Various elements are called as uncontrollable variables affect an
organisation and its marketing efforts. Thus the external environment must be continually
monitored and its effects incorporated into marketing plans. The important variables are; 1.
Competitive Environment
2. Consumers
3. Technological Environment
4. Political / Legal Environment
5. Economic Environment.

7 P’s of Marketing:
1. Price:
One very important aspect of any product/success being a success in the market is the
price at which it is marketed. The first colour of the marketing mix rainbow is one of the
determining
factors of what the people will see. Marketers tread very carefully while setting a price that is a
win-win situation for both the company as well as the consumers.
There are several pricing models. One of the most famous ones is Competitive Pricing Strategy as
is used by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola’s main aim is to penetrate the markets and achieve the highest
market share without compromising on its customer base and product positioning. Thus, the
company charges its consumers what its competitor Pepsi is charging. It’s a simple, yet highly
competitive strategy as the name suggests.
2. Place:
It is the channel through which your company’s goods/services get moved from the
manufacturer to the consumer. Your good/service will need to be brought into the market through
a mechanism, and ‘place’ is exactly that- a way for your offering to be seen by the correct
audience. An example of this element of the marketing mix can be the numerous branches of
McDonald’s all over the world. Almost every country in the world either has a McDonald’s
franchisee, or knows of it. And each country has its unique menu, with the standard guarantee of
tasty food, served fast, at low prices.
3. Product:
This is the P that starts it all. The need for this P to be known, positioned, and showcased
gets the marketers working hard at strategies. ‘Product’ is the offering that your company has for
the market whether it is a tangible good or intangible good (services). The product development
has various stages, and it is instrumental in being the deciding factor in many strategies. Various
aspects of a product like the product life cycle, the type of need it services, and its positioning
come into play with this P.
4. Promotion:
The essence of promotion lies in the activities that a marketer does in order to showcase
the product in the market in the right sense. Promotional activities involve multi-channel, multi
level marketing communications in the technical sense. In a more simplistic sense, these activities
are the communications that the companies indulge in like advertising, direct calling, using social
media channels, as well as print media. There are many instances of how promotional activities
have set a product apart from its competitors in the industry. One such is the launch of Sony
Xperia Z3 Dual in 2014 as an underwater pop-up store.
5. Physical Evidence:
Physical evidence is a part of the product. If your product is a tangible offering, then all of
its material cues (packaging, business cards, brochures, company branding) will be taken notice
of, by the consumers. However, these tangible cues are also attached to a product that is
intangible. The example can be, every time you encounter a FedEx delivery vehicle, you’ll
immediately recognize it because of its purple and orange color scheme. That’s how they’re set
apart from all the other delivery companies.
6. People:
All the people involved in the making, distributing, and selling of your company’s
product are also essential. Mostly, services (intangible offerings) have marketing mixes which
are focused on the people presenting the product. The employees you have in the store, the
delivery personnel’s, the sales executives, all of it and more leave a lasting impression on the
people. Hotels like Taj, Hyatt, JW Marriott are known for the people that work there to serve the
consumers. These brands have established themselves and built loyal customer bases due to the
kind of people they employ.
7. Process:
 Process involves all the ways the company and its customers can engage in order to
facilitate the product to reach the consumer. It’s a map of how the company and its offerings are
accessible to the market. It isn’t just a means to an end, but a roadmap of the company’s
operations. Here again, we can consider Starbucks as it has so many different ways in which the
company operates- joint ventures, retail store licensing operations, food service accounts,
depending on which country they’re operating in. They have an interactive website in order to
collect customer feedback and suggestions, which also tells people how accessible the company
is for the consumers.

Marketing Department:
The Marketing Department plays a vital role in promoting the business and mission of an
organization. It serves as the face of your company, coordinating and producing all materials
representing the business.
Role/Responsibilities of Marketing Department:
1. Listening to customer needs:
To establish a marketing strategy, it’s necessary to get closer to the clients and listen in
order to find out what their needs are. It’s a marketing department task, to plan the necessary
means for receiving customer feedback:
∙ Company internal channels: Create surveys or capture information of the sales team and

customer support (departments closest to the customer) that may be relevant to enhancing
or redirecting the marketing strategies in the future.
∙ Channels outside the company: Perform searches and create actions in social networks

that help to better understand the needs of users, in order to convert them into customers. 2.
Track trends and monitor competition:
Similar to the previous point, it’s important to know the position of the company
regarding the market and the competition. That's why from marketing, you must watch the
competition to learn what they do best or to identify their mistakes in order to avoid falling into
them. 3. Work and brand values:
Conceptually, a brand is a representation of the feelings that the products, services and
company shares show. The marketing department is responsible for creating and disseminating
images, messages and ideas that best communicate the brand values. Additionally, you must
ensure that all company departments convey these messages in a consistent and unified way.
4. Coordinate with those marketing partners:
Around the business’s marketing there are lots of contributors: publishers, designers,
journalists, consultants... The work of these contributors must be aligned with the objectives of
the company, and is the department itself who should control it to do so.
5. Innovate:
Customers need to be surprised, and every day, given the higher offer, they are more
demanding with this. The marketing department should work on new promotions, affiliate
programs, customer retention techniques, improvements in the conversion of their messages and
actions. It’s not a matter of inventing entirely different disruptive actions; you’ll find innovation
in the small details and in the continuous improvement.
6. Manage marketing budgets & calculate ROI:
Like any other division, the marketing department should be able to plan its budget for the
next year’s activities, stretching it in order to make the most of it, for ensuring a positive ROI.
Because marketing activities are an investment of time, money and effort. And like every
investment, it requires measuring actions in order to check whether they meet the intended
objectives and in order to compare a certain action with others.
7. Define Long term marketing plans:
The most cost-effective strategies are those that are planned for the long term. To do so,
draft a document setting out the objectives to be achieved in the following months; the actions
that are to be undertaken; the strengths of the company; the competition; the target markets. In
addition, these strategic plans must also be aligned both with the strategic plan of the company
and with other departments’ plans.
Marketing Outsourcing:
Outsourced marketing is the practice of contracting an organization’s marketing functions
to an outside firm. Both strategic and operational functions can be, and often are, delegated to a
third-party marketing partner, which has the specialized expertise, tools and professional staff to
provide a complete suite of marketing services.

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