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UNIT 3 MARKETING MANAGEMENT
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1. Marketing Management as both Science and Art
Marketing Management is both a science as well as an art. The science of marketing management provides certain general principles which can guide the managers in their professional effort. The Art of Marketing management consists in tackling every situation in an effective manner.
Science should not be over-emphasised nor should art be discounted.
The science and the art of marketing management go together and are both mutually interdependent and complementary. Marketing Management is thus a science as well as an art.
2. Choosing Target Market
It is impossible for a marketer to satisfy everyone in a market.
Therefore, marketers start with market segmentation. They identify and profile distinct groups of buyers who might prefer or require varying products and marketing mixes. Market segments can be identified by examining demographic, psychographic, and behavioural differences among buyers. The firm then decides which segments present the greatest opportunity or those needs the firm can meet in a superior fashion.
3. Marketing Mix
Marketers use numerous tools to elicit the desired responses from their target markets. These tools constitute a marketing mix. Marketing mix is the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market. These marketing mix are classified these tools into four broad groups known as the four Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. The ‗four P‘s‘ represents a convenient way to summarise the main factors involved in any ‗marketing strategy.
3.3 Marketing Management Cycle
Marketing is a process that marketing managers execute. In a number of instances, a marketing manager does not manage people, but manages the marketing process. A product manager is an example of such a marketing manager; he manages the marketing process for a product within a larger marketing organisation. The results of that process in the form of products, stores, shopping malls, advertisements, promotions, prices, etc. This process is known as marketing management cycle. The marketing management cycle consists of four phases namely Planning, Implementation, Monitoring and Correction (PIMC).
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1. Planning
Planning is the process of examining and understanding the surroundings within which the organisation functions. For example,
―environmental scanning‖ is the process of studying and making sense of all the things that might impact the firm‘s operation that is external to the firm. This would include studying and gaining an understanding of such things as: competition, legislation and regulation, social and cultural trends, and technology. Both present and developing trends in each of these areas must be identified and monitored. The planning stage also includes creating documents that outline the organisation‘s intended response to these environmental (external) variables.
2. Implementation
The second phase is in marketing management cycle is implementation.
Implementation is the process of putting plans that have been made into action. It is the transition from expected reality to existing reality.
Marketing events that are involved in implementation or execution of plans include advertisements, setting of prices making of sales calls etc 3. Monitoring
Monitoring is the third phase. Markets are not static entities and thus must be monitored at all times. After events execute, they need to be evaluated. Monitoring is the process of tracking plans and identifying how plans related to changes that take place during programme operations. When more information is acquired, assumptions upon which plans are based may no longer hold and thus require modifications on the basis of available information.
4. Correction
Correction is the fourth stage in marketing management cycle. It is a stage in which we take action to return our plan to the desired state based on feedback obtained in the monitoring stage. If we find that return to the planned state is not practicable, we may adjust our planning outcomes. Thus, Monitoring and Correction may be considered two stages because after plans are put into action, one must continually monitor performance and make adjustments to the plan based on the feedback gathered through these monitoring activities.
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3.3 Roles of a Marketing Manager
Marketing managers play many roles, and we can describe them with words that begin with the letter D:
1. Detective
The marketer is charged with understanding markets, and thus must spend considerable time learning about consumers, competitors, customers, and conditions in the markets. This learning takes many forms: formal marketing research studies, analysis of market data, market visits, and discussions with people in the markets. The results of these studies include insights about market conditions, and the identification of problems and opportunities in the various markets.
2. Designer
Once a problem or opportunity has been identified, the marketing manager turns his attention to designing marketing programmes that can solve the problems and/or capture the opportunities.
3. Decision Maker:
Marketing is a group process that involves many different people, each of whom may be designing marketing programmes and events. Thus the marketer must make decisions about which programmes to execute.
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, you have learnt the meaning of marketing management, marketing management cycle and the roles of marketing manager.
5.0 SUMMARY
Marketing Management is the process of allocating the resources of the organisation toward marketing activities. The marketing management cycle consists of four phases namely planning, implementation, monitoring and correction. The 3Ds roles of marketing manager are Designing, Detecting and Decision making.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. What is marketing management?2. Enumerate and discuss the marketing management cycle phases.
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3. What are the roles of marketing manager?
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Adegeye, A.J. & Dittoh (1985). Essential of Agricultural Economics.
Ibadan: Impact Publishers Nig Ltd, Pp 106-155.
Adesimi, A.A. (1988). Farm Management Analysis with Perspective through the development process.
Kohls, R.L. & Uhl, J.N. (1990). Marketing of Agricultural Products.
(6th ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company pp.
18–21.
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