What is Marketing?

Movie Case Study

The scene that you just saw shows, how a company manager is discussing the sales of the soap (Shaandar Sabun). He claims that the product that sells in the market is not because of their quality but because of product marketing. Ramesh (employee) comes up with a plan based on market research. He suggests adding ginger to the soap (Adrak yukt). He also creates a jingle for the soap, which is quite catchy.

This blog, Learning Perspectives explores the meaning of Marketing.

What is Marketing?

Marketing refers to activities that are undertaken to promote a product of a business. These include advertising, publicity, public relations (PR) et cetera. Sometimes marketing can be done on behalf of the affiliates. Similar to the scene we saw, marketing campaigns generally involve catchy lines and advertisements.

Marketing includes actions that pull customers toward the product or the service they offer. It could also involve pushing the information toward the customers Networking with clients and meetings over dinners are some ways of expanding reach.

As indicated in the scene, market research forms the basis of connecting customers to the product or service of the organization. In real life, we have seen products such as Chyawanprash containing Sona or chaandi (Gold and Silver) and toothpaste consisting namak (salt). Over the years, these products have recorded high sales and generated profit. Then a soap with Adrak (ginger) certainly has some chance to perform well in the market.

4P’s of Marketing:

Marketing is made up of 4Ps. These 4P’s are Product, Price, Place, and promotion.

Product:

The product could be tangible in nature or a service that provides value. This product is what connects the organization to the customer. The product in the scene that we saw is a ginger soap.

Before starting a marketing campaign, understanding the need of the customer is essential. The product should fill the void in the market.

Price:

Price should be decided according to the various costs associated with it. These could be marketing costs, unit production costs, and distribution costs. Competitive prices should also be taken into consideration when setting the price of the product. Customers would pay the price that is set by the company, hence it should be a fair price and reflect quality too.

Place:

Place refers to the medium through which the product is sold. It could be through a retail store or this could be through online sales. Maybe the product could be sold both ways. It is an important decision for the company to make. Hence, it is important that the proper distribution of the product is determined.

Promotion:

This involves trials, coupons, sales, public relations, etc. Promotions are dependent on the life stage of the product. If the product is in the introduction stage, there needs to be heavy advertising and publicity. In the growth stage, the company generally looks to build a brand and increase its market share.

Understand Marketing with a Video