Some of the most important functions of marketing are as follows:
The delivery of goods and services from producers to their ultimate consumers or users includes many different activities. These different activities are known as marketing functions. Different scholars have described different functions of marketing as under:
i. G.B. Giles described seven functions of marketing: (1) Marketing research, (2) Marketing planning, (3) Product development, (4) Advertisement and sales promotion, (5) Selling and distribution, (6) After sale services and (7) Public relations.
ii. Tousley, Clark and Clark, have described eight functions of marketing: (1) Purchasing, (2) Standardisation, (3) Collection, (4) Transportation, (5) Finance, (6) Risk bearing, (7) Marketing promotion and (8) Sales.
iii. The most commonly considered concept of functions of marketing has been given by Cundiff and Still who have divided the functions of marketing into three categories as follows:
TABLE 1.1: Functions of Marketing
| Merchandising
Functions |
Physical Distribution Functions | Auxiliary Functions |
| 1. Product Planning and Developments
2. Standardisation and Gradation 3. Purchases and Collection 4. Sales |
1. Storage
2. Transportation |
1.Arrangement of Finance
2. Risk-Bearing 3. Collection of Market Information |
In brief, the functions of marketing can be explained as under:
1. Merchandising Functions:
Merchandising functions of marketing include all those functions of marketing which are performed in relation to create a demand of a product and to make it available in a specific-market having some specific needs. Following are the functions included in this group:
i) Product planning and development:
For a producer today consumers are the major deciding factors. Their main areas of concern are needs and wants of consumers. Today a producer produces only those goods and services, which are required by his consumers. A producer has to produce the goods and services according to the needs of his customers so that the object of customer satisfaction may be achieved. He has to make the design, size, weight, price and packing of his product according to the changing needs and tastes of his customers.
Therefore, marketing begins with planning a product and developing it so that it may satisfy the expectations of customers.
ii) Standardising and grading:
Standardising and grading-are two very important aspects of marketing today, because with the help of these two aspects, marketing functions become easy, production becomes uniform, prices become equal and marketing becomes extensive.
iii) Buying and assembling:
Buying here means the acquisition of goods and services by the seller or industrial user for the purpose of resale. The purchase of goods and services for by the customers to satisfy their needs are not included within the purview of the functions of marketing. Assembling for the purpose of functions of marketing means the collection of different types of goods and services by mediators for the purpose of resale.
iv) Selling:
Selling is the major objective of any marketing activity in the world because marketing completes with the real sale of goods and services bought or acquired by the seller or when intermediary has been effected.
Broadly speaking, marketing does not mean to sell the goods and services only. It includes the discovery of tastes and wants of the customers, production of goods and services according to their tastes, creation of demand, real sale, and after sale services. For the achievement of this purpose, it becomes essential for the marketing personnel to establish effective co-ordination among the activities of advertisement, personnel selling, sales promotion and after sale service.
2. Physical Distribution Functions:
Once the goods and services are manufactured and packaged, ready to be sold, they need to be distributed to their real-consumer. This is done by Physical distribution functions. These functions include all the functions related to the transportation of goods and services from the place of producer or seller to the place of buyer. It includes following two functions:
i) Storage:
Storage is considered to be main activity of marketing these days. In case of production or consumption being parental or seasonal, the goods are to be stored in good condition from the time of production till the time of consumption. Storage aims at meeting different objects such as – reading the time between production and consumption, to get the expected appreciation in prices, to capture the market etc.
ii) Transportation:
Transportation refers to the real distribution of goods from the place of production to the place of consumption.
3. Auxiliary Functions:
The functions, which make the process of marketing easy and convenient, are called Auxiliary functions. It includes the following functions:
i) Marketing finance:
This is the arrangement of adequate finance for the distributing the goods and services to their real consumers.
ii) Risk bearing:
Marketing involves many large risks. Some of the risks can be insured, which include flood, fire, theft, robbery, loot, etc. On the other hand, some of the risks, which cannot be insured, include fall in the prices, changes in the demand, changes in the fashion, changes in the tastes of consumers etc. These risks can never be eliminated, however, these can be minimised through effective system of sales forecasting, market research, advertisement, sales promotion, product diversification etc.
iii) Market information:
Market information plays a very wide role in the success of an enterprise. A businessman has to collect different types of market information so that he can chalk out his market programme and policy according to this information.
Market information includes the collection of data regarding trend of market, government policy, price policy of different business enterprises, tastes of consumers, change in fashion, scientific development, channels of distribution, media of advertisement etc. No business effort can be successful in the absence of this information. This information is collected by different business enterprises, specialised agencies, government, and research scholars at different times.
iv) Pricing:
Pricing is perhaps the most important decision taken by a businessman. It is the decision upon which the success or failure of an enterprise depends to a large extent. Therefore, price must be determined only after taking all the relevant factors into consideration. While determining pricing policy, the factors to be considered are – cost of production, severity of competition, prices of competitors, marketing policy, government policy, the buying capacity of consumers etc.
An analytical study of all the functions of marketing discussed above makes it clear that marketing is a very wide term including all the activities from the discovery of needs and wants of consumers to their satisfaction.