Introduction of marketing and services marketing - B.com - B Com PDF Download

Marketing is an organizational function and a set-of process for creating communication and delivering value for the consumer and for managing customer relationship in such a way, which benefits the organization. In all types of organizations like manufacturing, service, profit and non-profit marketing plays the key role. “Marketing is everywhere. Formally or informally people and organization are engaged in a large number of activities that could be called marketing.” Good marketing has become an increasingly vital ingredient for business success and marketing profoundly affects any business. Marketing is applicable to almost every activity of our day to-day life. We can understand that marketing management is an art as well as science. It is multi-functional because it chooses target market, gets prospective customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value.

Interpretations of the Marketing: Marketing manages beneficial customer relationship. The two-fold goals of marketing are to attract new customers by promising superior value and to retain and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction. The American Marketing Association defines marketing, as ‘Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals.’ 1

Definitions of Marketing: Some of the definitions of marketing are as under: The American Marketing Association offers the following formal definition: “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stake holders”. 2 “Marketing means the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from production to consumption.”

“Marketing includes all the activities involved in the creation of place, time and possession utilities.” 4 “Marketing is the process of discovering and translating consumer needs and wants into product and service specifications, creating demand for these products and services and then in turn expanding this demand.” 5 “Marketing includes all those business activities involved in assessing and converting customer purchasing power into effective demand for a specific product or service and in moving the product /service to the final consumer.” 6 “Marketing activities are those most directly concerned with the demand stimulating and demand satisfying efforts of the enterprise.” 7

Importance of Marketing: Marketing is the eyes and ears of business, because it keeps the business in close contact with its environment and informs about events that can influence its operations. Marketing is concerned with the creation of four utilities. They are firm, place, time and possession. The firm utility includes product development, packaging, branding, transportation, and intermediaries who direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers. Until and unless the selling of the produced goods takes place, they remain in warehouses that are also part of marketing. Marketing is more or less essential to all the aspects of business activities. They are as follows:

1. Importance of marketing in a Firm Marketing plays a very important role in achieving the objectives of the firm and it helps in focusing on the activities of an organization regarding the needs and wants of the consumer. Every business firm exploits marketing thoroughly for the beginning of the firm, for its development, for running it smoothly, for achieving its end and so on.

2. Importance of marketing in Economy Marketing also plays a significant role in the development of the organizational economy. It can inspire people to undertake new activities and to set-up enterprises for producing goods that are needed by customers. Marketing gives a wide exposure by creating large job opportunities in the economic system of the firm. Marketing not only contributes to sustain economic development of the firm but also help to make the development speedy. Marketing is the motivating factor or engine of economic development.

3. Importance of marketing for a Consumer Marketing plays a significant role in enhancing consumer satisfaction and benefits. Marketing helps the customer to select a specific product from the wide range of products. The customer decides the product of his choice from the variety of products according to his taste, need and purchase capacity. Marketing provides different tools like advertising, personal selling, promotion, publicity etc.

4. Importance of marketing for the Society The Commercial and Government agencies and non-profit organizations also employ marketing approach to promote socially desirable product. Thus, the government recently promoted the Pulse-Polio program through the marketing approach. Through marketing, people get plenty information of the things what they want to buy at reasonable prices. 

Interpretation of the term ‘Services’: 
The perception of service marketing gives emphasis on selling the services in the best interest of users. Marketing of service means marketing of something witch is intangible. It is marketing of promises. The term ‘service’ is rather general in nature and it consists of a wide variety of services. Services may be business services that include advertising, banking and insurance. They may be professional services such as medical counseling, legal counseling, recreation, education, and fine arts, which help to meet emotional needs of people. The ultimate aim of both product and service marketing is to give satisfaction to consumers. To be successful in marketing of services, the management should identify customers’ basic needs well in advance. Then, it should find ways and means to differentiate its product and services from those of its competitors. There are, however, several differences between products and services. A product is identifiable and one can feel its presence in many ways. However, we cannot identify a service. For example, a mobile is a product but hearing it is service. One can identify a mobile but not its services. Secondly, in buying a product the buyer obtains an asset whereas in buying a service the buyer incurs an expense. For example, when you stay in a hotel, you take away nothing but the experience of a night’s stay. In short, service is abstract, while product concrete.

Definition of services: The American Marketing Association defines services as “activities, benefits or satisfactions, which affect sale or are provided in connection with the sale of goods.” According to William Stanton, “Services are those separately identifiable, essential intangible activities which provide want satisfaction and are not necessarily tied to the sale of a product or another service.” In the words of Philip Kotler, “A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything.” Payne has broadly defined services as “An activity which has some element of intangibility associated with it which involves some interactions with customers or with property in their possession, and does not result in the transfer of ownership. A change in condition may occur and production of the service may or may not be closely associated with a physical product.” According to Peters and Waterman, “Services are those separately identifiable, essentially intangible activities which provide want satisfaction, and are not necessarily tied to the sale of a product or another service. To produce a service may or may not require the use of tangible goods. However, when such use is required there is no transfer of title of these tangible goods.” “Services can also be defined as a human effort which provides succor to the need. It may be food to a hungry person, water to a thirsty person, medical services to an ailing person and education to a student, loan to a farmer and transport to a consumer, communication aid to two persons who want to share a thought, pleasure or pain.” 8 “Services can also be defined as actions of organizations that maintain and improve the well-being and functioning of people”. 9 “Services refer to social efforts which include even government to fight five giant evils, e.g. Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Illness in the society”.

Importance of service marketing: Service marketing is an art. Capacity of a service provider is of prime importance because it can attract the clients to obtain the services. It also requires impressive public relations. The organization, which maintains good rapport with client, is always a winner. At present, the regulatory agencies of governments play very important role at every junction. Thus, the service providers have to establish good rapport and live liaison with them to make clients demands fulfilled in time. Marketing a product-base business is different from marketing of a service– base business. Healthcare marketing falls under the category of service marketing. Hence, it develops through service marketing. Service marketing does involve any material objects. Last two-three decades have witnessed a fastest growth in service industry. Modern age is the age of service marketing. The changing life style and technology account for attracting a large share of consumer spending to get services. In fact, more than half of consumer’s expenses are for services. In view of changing needs of customers, changing world, changing lifestyle and technological change and innovations, the market has become customer service oriented. Therefore, it is very important to learn about service marketing, service quality, service delivery and service management.