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Marketing Management  

According to Philip Kotler, "Marketing Management is the analysis, planning, implementation and control of programmes designed to bring about desired exchanges with target audiences for the purpose of personal and of mutual gain. It relies heavily on the adoption and coordination of product, price, promotion and place for achieving responses.".

Marketing management is a business process, to manage marketing activities in profit seeking and non profit organisations at different levels of management. Marketing management decisions are based on strong knowledge of marketing functions and clear understanding and application of supervisory and managerial techniques.

Nature of Marketing ManagementIt Combines the Fields of Marketing and ManagementAs the name implies, marketing management combines the fields of marketing and management. Marketing consists of discovering consumer needs and wants, creating the goods and services that meet those needs and wants; and pricing, promoting, and delivering those goods and services. Doing so requires attention to six major areas - markets, products, prices, places, promotion, and people.

Management is getting things done through other people. Managers engage in five key activities - planning, organising, staffing, directing, and controlling. Marketing management implies the integration of these concepts.

Marketing Management is a Business ProcessMarketing management is a business process, to manage marketing activities in profit seeking and non profit organisations at different levels of management, i.e. supervisory, middle-management, and executive levels. Marketing management decisions are based on strong knowledge of marketing functions and clear understanding and application of supervisory and managerial techniques. Marketing managers and product managers are there to execute the processes of marketing management. We, as customers, see the results of such process in the form of products, prices, advertisements, promotions, etc. 

Marketing Management is Both Science and Art“Marketing management is art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value.” (Kotler, 2006). Marketing management is a science because it follows general principles that guides the marketing managers in decision making. The Art of Marketing management consists in tackling every situation in an creative and effective manner. Marketing Management is thus a science as well as an art.

3.THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT Introduction

Firms are affected by lots of different things; a firm's marketing environment is made up of all of the things that affect the way it operates. Some of the factor's in a firm's marketing environment can be controlled by the firm but some are uncontrollable. Firms need to understand their marketing environment so that they can make the most of positive factors and manage the impact of negative factors. A firm's marketing environment can be spilt into three parts: internal environment, macro environment and micro environment.

 

 

Internal Environment

The internal environment is made up of factors within the firm itself. Examples include employees, company policy, capital assets, the firm's structure and the firm's products (materials). These factors can be controlled by the firm.

Micro Environment

The micro environment is made up of factors that are close to the firm and affect it on a 'day to day' basis; usually these factors interract with the firm or are involved in the same industry. Micro environment examples include customers, banks and trade unions as they all interract with the firm. Competitors are also part of the micro environment because they are selling competing products, their activity could have a direct impact on the firm's daily business.

Macro Environment

The macro environment is made up of factors that affect the firm on a long term basis. In general macro environment factors are not close to the firm. Micro environment factors could be national or global measures and affect many industries and groups. Macro environment examples include legislation, the economy (e.g. recession, inflation, VAT changes), and technological change such as the internet. Macro environment factors are uncontrollabe factors

Conclusion

One factor can be part of a firm's micro environment and macro environment. The media can be used to illustrate this:

- A one off media story about the firm may affect daily operations and will therefore be part of the firm's micro environment;

- Whilst a general desire to avoid a negative media story may influence a firm's long term business operations and therefore make up the firm's macro environment.

Firms should not concern themselves too much about which of the three categories a factor fits into. Instead firms should ensure that they have correctly identified all of the factors which make up their marketing environment and plan how to manage them for the firm's benefit.