Marketing is one of the most important business process for the success of any business. Marketing is basically an activity to promote a product or service and it includes advertising, selling and delivering products or services to customers. Like every business process, the management of marketing is also crucial to sell the products or services of a company. Marketing management is

What is Marketing Management?

Marketing management is application of strategy, tools and techniques to promote a business. There are various marketing management techniques, which are used to identify market opportunities and to promote the products and services.

According to marketing experts Philip Kotlar and Kevin Lane, the marketing management is defined as follows:

“Marketing Management is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.”

There are various marketing techniques, which are used by the businesses to achieve business objectives. Some of these techniques include brand storytelling, Digital PR, brand extensions, podcasting, video marketing, etc, which are used by the companies to connect with their customers.

Benefits of Marketing Management

There are various benefits of marketing management, few of which are mentioned below:

(a) Build the brand

(b) Increase sales of company

(c) An opportunity to launch new products

(d) Helps communicating with customers effectively

Marketing Management Philosophies

There are various marketing management philosophies, which can help the marketing professionals to achieve their business goals. Let us know, which are those philosophies:

(a) Marketing Concept

This concept says that the success of an organization depends on its ability to satisfy the customer’s needs better than its competitors.

(b) Production Concept

According to this concept, the customers are willing to buy the products which are cheap and easily available.

(c) Product Concept

This concept says that the customers buy high quality products which can add value to their lives.

(d) Selling Concept

This concept is based on the philosophy that the product which is aggressively and continuously promoted sells in the market. Therefore the organizations need to actively promote their products to achieve good sales.

(e) Societal Marketing

Societal marketing is based on the principle that the customers buy the products which are associated with a social cause.

Processes Involved in Marketing Management

The processes of marketing management are discussed below. The organizations can include all or some of these processes in their marketing strategy.

(i) Conduct Market Research & Analysis

This is the first step in marketing management process which is very essential to know your customers and market. completing surveys, collecting data, assessing industry trends, and tracking previous campaigns are some of the techniques to conduct market survey. A SWOT analysis is also helpful in understanding the company and market. Understanding the needs and pain points of customers is also crucial to launch an effective marketing campaign.

(ii) Establish Mission Statement and Objectives

Setting mission and objectives gives right direct to the business and becomes a binding force for all the stakeholders. If you have a clear goal and mission in place, then all the strategies revolve around that. The marketing objectives and strategies are also aligned with the mission and objective of the organization. Therefore, a mission and clear objectives help making and implementing the marketing strategy. It is also important to include sales goals & budgets in the strategy as monitoring them continuously keep you on track.

(iii) Develop Appropriate Marketing Strategy

As mentioned earlier, it is important to develop appropriate marketing strategy for successful marketing of any product or service. The marketing strategy should be aligned with the mission statement and high level objectives of the organization. An organization may choose any of the marketing strategies as mentioned below, depending on the goals of the organization and the product. There are various marketing strategies which are described below:

Positioning

When you have to build/ position a brand in terms of quality or pricing, then this strategy is adopted.

Segmentation

In this strategy, market is divided into many segments to identify potential customers for your product or service.

Targeting

In this strategy, the segment is further sub divided and you focus on a particular target.

Marketing Mix

There are four basic Ps of marketing i.e., product, price, place, and promotion. The organization focuses on these Ps in this strategy, to achieve its objectives.

Budgeting

This strategy is about allocating a budget for marketing and all the financial planning and marketing management is done according to that allocated budget.

(iv) Write an Effective Marketing Plan

The next process is to write an effective and actionable marketing plan. All the further activities are done as per this marketing plan. Having a marketing plan is crucial for the successful marketing since it acts as a roadmap for the marketing team.

(v) Monitor the Performance and Make Improvements

Finally, the marketing plan in implemented and monitored regularly. In this stage, various parameters, such as sales, revenue, customer feedback, brand positioning, etc. are monitored. After analyzing the above data, you can continuously modify your marketing plan to achieve your objectives.

Conclusion

Marketing management is application of strategy, tools and techniques to promote a business. An effective marketing management involves certain processes such as conducting market research and analysis, setting mission & financial goals, developing appropriate marketing strategy, writing an actionable marketing plan and monitoring & improvement in the marketing plan. Developing a marketing plan is one of the most important processes of the marketing management as it acts as a binding force for all the team members. The marketing plan and marketing strategy should be aligned with the mission and high level goals of the organization. Implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of the marketing plan are vital to achieve the marketing targets of any organization.

Also read: What are 7 Ps of Marketing and Why they are Important?