– K. Siddartha
Introduction
Marketing is the process of bringing a product into access to a consumer from the production unit. It is done through a mechanism in the systematized economy.
Marketing plays a major role in maintaining stability of the economy of a nation. The nation’s economy is wholly dependent on the efficacy of marketing mechanism which influences the living standards of its people.
Table of Contents
Factors influencing marketing:
Based on several factors like time, area and competition, the marketing strategies are decided in an economy. Demand and supply too play a key role in marketing process.
1. Time:
This factor decides span of business in terms of storage and disposal of a commodity. For instance, the longevity of the product decides the span of business as to whether it is to be brought into the access of the consumer in very short, short, long or very long period of time.
Business pertaining to clearance sale of clothes, groceries and products with very short expiry generally are marketed in very short time period (ranging from 1-3 days). Pickles, nuts and certain groceries are marketed under short period of time (1 week -1 month). Items related to construction
and food (small canteens) near by new colonies under construction need to be established under long term market (ranging from 1-3 yrs). Establishment of shopping malls and commercial marketing units on permanent basis comes under very long period marketing.
2. Area :
This factor decides the viability of the marketing unit based on population, purchasing power and targeted sector among consumer community. This includes local vendors and street vendors under local market, hawkers and peddlers under non- local market, shopping malls and super markets under national market and finally branded company outlets of foreign companies and mega malls under international market.
3. Competition :
This factor decides the place of the product of the company in the market. As this factor is common in all market processes, companies mainly focus on faster production of product with quality. This factor is very much essential to any company to continue the production in order to compete with the other companies. There are two types of competition in market, they are perfect and imperfect.
Perfect competition :
This is the condition where large numbers of buyers and sellers are present. It has zero advertising cost. Homogeneous product will be sold and purchased by buyers and sellers. At present this market is not present in India. This is an imaginary market.
Imperfect competition :
This is also market where large number of buyers and sellers can be seen. It has advertising cost. Heterogeneous product will be sold and purchase by buyer and seller. At present this market is seen widely. This is real world market. More profit is earned by seller.
Emerging trends in marketing :
With the advent of modern day technology, marketing companies are preferring to offer better services to consumers to choose several types of business transactions such as e-purchases, e-banking and EMI facility, etc..,
Strategies of marketing:
There are some tricks to attract the consumers and earn profit. This tricks are known as “Strategies” of the company. These are so essential to any company such as offers, gift vouchers, providing better services to consumers, working 24/7 hours, Enabling secure account transfer of money, creating brand image for the product, offering help to the poor, advertising the product with the help of electronic media, etc,…,
Marketing today :
Today marketing has major role in the economy. It is one which supports the nation economically. As of today companies have tough competition between them, which makes them withstand tough challenges in the present situation. In the race they are forgetting the quality of product produced by them. They are compromising in the quality of product and at times resorting to several malpractices that ruin the economy and business ethics.
Therefore in a country like India, which is fast growing in all sectors, the marketing strategies are needed to be upgraded periodically as per aspirations of the people and benefit of the companies.