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Man is a social animal. Individuals do not live in isolation from one another. Persons constitute families. Families living together villages and towns, some of which in due course of time have developed into big cities. These persons, singly of in association with others, render services of produce various consumable products. Living not singly but together, results not only in exchange of ideas, but also of services as well as of commodities. This exchange of services and commodities later on developed into the art and Science of Marketing.

 First of all we try to understand the word of Marketing:

 Marketing is the field which deals with markets. The word market is derived from the Arabic word “Markaz” i.e  a place where people gather and come into contact with one another. In Cordova and other Spanish cities the bazaars and places where purchase and sale activities took place were generally knows as “Markaz”. This word was later on introduced in other western countries in the form of “Market” Marketing: It is the process of creating consumer value in the form of goods, services, or ideas that can improve the consumer’s life.

Marketing is the organizational function charged with defining customer targets and the best way to satisfy needs and wants competitively and profitably. Since consumers and business buyers face an abundance of suppliers seeking to satisfy their everyday need, companies and nonprofit organizations cannot survive today by simply doing a good job. They must do an excellent job if they are to remain in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. This is what we say that survival of the fittest. Many studies have demonstrated that the key to profitable performance is to know and satisfy target customers with competitively superior offers. This process takes place today in an increasingly global, technical, and competitive environment.

 Marketing involves:

 Finding out what the consumers want.

• Then planning and developing a product of service that will satisfy those wants.
• And then determining the best way to price, promote and distribute  that product or service to the satisfaction o f the producer and the user.

In other words Marketing is a CC, DV, and TP.

 CC:  stand for Create Communication,

 DV:  stand for Deliver Value,

 TP:  stand for Target Profit.

 Marketing: is typically seen as the task of creating, promoting and delivering goods and services from producers to consumers. The Marketing task is not only to deliver the product. In fact, it entails much more than just promotion and delivery. Marketing now is:

 “Right product for the Right people at the Right time at the Right place at a Right price with    Right services”.

 The term “marketing mix” became popularized in the 60s . The ingredients in marketing mix included

product planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions,

packaging, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis.

 The Marketing Mix

 These four P’s are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and

external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that center the four P’s on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response.

 Product Decisions

 The term “product” refers to tangible, physical products as well as services. Here are some examples of the product decisions to be made:

• Brand name

• Functionality

• Styling

• Quality

• Safety

• Packaging

• Repairs and Support

• Warranty

• Accessories and services

Price Decisions

Some examples of pricing decisions to be made include:

• Pricing strategy (skim, penetration, etc.)

• Suggested retail price

• Volume discounts and wholesale pricing

• Cash and early payment discounts

• Seasonal pricing

• Bundling

• Price flexibility

• Price discrimination

 Distribution (Place) Decisions

 Distribution is about getting the products to the customer. Some examples of distribution decisions include:

• Distribution channels

• Market coverage (inclusive, selective, or exclusive distribution)

• Specific channel members

• Inventory management

• Warehousing

• Distribution centers

• Order processing

• Transportation

• Reverse logistics

 Promotion Decisions

In the context of the marketing mix, promotion represents the various aspects of marketing communication, that is, the communication of information about the product with the goal of generating a positive customer response. Marketing communication decisions include:

• Promotional strategy (push, pull, etc.)

• Advertising

• Personal selling & sales force

• Sales promotions

• Public relations & publicity

• Marketing communications budget.

 Marketing Functions

There are eight Universal functions that are performed in marketing these are as shown in fig these are Buying, selling, transporting, storing, standardizing and grading, financing and finally risk taking now lets discuss these one by one:

 • Buying: (Raw material to produce goods and services and to purchase finished     goods or services as retailer or  whole seller to sell them again for final customers and consumers). It is a function that ensures that product offerings are available in sufficient quantities to meet customer demands.

 • Selling: The function to be performed to sell the products/services/idea to satisfy customer needs or wants. Using advertising, personal selling, and sales promotion to match goods and services to customer needs.

 • Transporting: Function related to create the availability of product or services. It is used for moving   products from their points of production to location convenient for purchases.

 • Storing: Warehouses are used to store the products for further distribution.

 • Standardizing and grading: To provide more quality products and services without variation in the quality. Ensuring that product offerings meet established and grading quality and quantity control standards of size, weight, and other product variables.

 • Financing: Providing the financial resources to carry out different function e.g. promotion of product and providing credit for channel members (wholesaler’s retailers) or consumers.

 • Risk taking: Marketer takes a risk specifically when any new product is introduced in a market because there are equal chances of success and failure. Dealing with uncertainty about consumer purchases resulting from creation and marketing of goods and services that consumers may purchase in the future.

 • Securing Marketing Information: Collecting information about consumers, competitors, information and channel members (wholesalers, and retailers) for use in making marketing decisions Almost all marketing functions are based on information acquired from external environment and information distributed out of organization. Marketer seeks information to find out customer needs and wants which are to be satisfied than after producing goods and services awareness about the availability is required so that consumer can purchase the available goods and services.

 The Marketing Concept and Marketing Challenges: 

In response to these pressures far-sighted firms changed their approach to marketing and developed it beyond the selling of production orientations that had characterized American Industry previously. Their new approach called the marketing concept as started by some large industries in the West, introduced the marketing man at the beginning rather than the end of the production cycle and integrated marketing into each phase of the business. Marketing would have authority in product planning,  production, scheduling and inventory control, as well as the sales, distribution and servicing of the product.

Rapid Globalization: 

 Technological and economic developments continue to shrink the distances between countries. World is becoming global village due to advancement in the connecting technologies. The world is shrinking rapidly with the advent of faster communication, and transportation, and financial flows. In the Twenty-First century, firms can no longer afford to pay attention only to their domestic market, no matter how large it is. Many industries are global industries, and those firms that operate globally achieve lower costs and higher brand awareness. At the same time, global marketing is risky because of variable exchange rates, unstable governments, protectionist tariffs and trade barriers, and other prohibitive factors Global Marketing into the Twenty-First Century:

The world is shrinking rapidly with advent of faster communication, transportation, and  financial flows.Domestic companies never thought about foreign competitors until they suddenly found them in their backyard. The firm that stays at home to play it safe might not only lose its chance to enter other markets but also risks losing its home market.

Although some companies would like to stem the tide of foreign imports through protectionism, this response would be only a temporary solution and, in the long run,  raise the cost of living and protect inefficient firms.

The longer that companies delay taking steps toward internationalizing; the more they risk being shut out of growing global markets. A global firm, is a firm that, by operating in more than one country, gains marketing, production, R&D, and financial advantages in its costs and reputation that are not available to purely domestic competitors.