Marketing Management
Marketing management is identifying customer needs and satisfying them profitably. The exam tests the marketing mix (4Ps), the difference between marketing and selling, and product, price, place and promotion decisions.
Marketing mix
- Product: quality, features, brand, packaging, labelling, after-sales service. Branding builds identity; labelling gives information and legal warnings; packaging protects and promotes.
- Price: cost, demand, competition, objectives, government regulation. Strategies include skimming (high initial price) and penetration (low initial price).
- Place: channels - direct (manufacturer to consumer) or indirect (wholesaler, retailer). Channel choice depends on product, market, company and competition.
- Promotion: advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity. Advertising is paid and identified; publicity is unpaid and not directly identified.
Marketing vs selling
Selling focuses on the product and pushing it; marketing starts with customer needs and integrates all activities. Marketing is broader than selling.
Worked example
A firm launches an herbal soap. It positions the product for sensitive skin (product), uses penetration pricing of ₹40 to gain trial (price), sells through supermarkets and pharmacies (place), and runs a dermatologist-endorsed campaign plus free samples (promotion). The campaign answers a customer need, not just pushes stock.
Traps
Do not equate marketing with selling or advertising. Publicity is not paid advertising. Packaging is not the same as labelling. Price is not determined by cost alone. A channel with more levels is not always better.