Course: C16.V.3.1 Principles Of Marketing
Assignment 4-04
06-29-17

  1. Describe the core marketing functions within an organization.

The three core marketing functions in an organization are exchange, physical, and facilitating. The exchange marketing function consists of finding a buyer or seller, negotiating a price, and transferring ownership of products. Buying is the first part of the exchange function in which customer needs are determined, suppliers are found who can provide these products, and goods are purchased for resale. Selling is the second part that includes targeting customers, competition consideration, price setting, and sales promotion to persuade customers to buy the product (“The Marketing Functions”, 2008). These activities take place in a market at the point of production, the product property rights transfer ownership, and are guaranteed to be legal (“Marketing Systems”, n.d.). The physical marketing functions are activities associated with supplying the finished product from the manufacturer to the customer. Examples include warehousing and transportation logistics(“Physical Distribution in Marketing” n.d.) The warehousing of products is the point between production and consumer purchase. The need for storage is important to make sure that adequate stock is available to meet consumer demand and avoid delays in delivery. Transportation is the physical movement of goods from the place of production to their ultimate destination of consumption. Not only does it include finished goods but raw material as well to be transported through various methods such as railway, trucks, or airplanes (Kalpana R, n.d.). The facilitating marketing functions are activities that assist in the execution of the exchange and physical functions. Examples include channel partners that provide services to facilitate product sales, provide financing making it easier for customers to buy, and sales force to provide customer servicethat includes gathering market intelligence (Linton, 2017).

  1. Discuss the goals and expected outcome of this organizational function.

There are three types of organization goals: official, operative, and operational. Official goals are generally found in the company’s mission statement and communicate the purpose of the organization. Operative goals are what the organization needs to achieve to become successful such as gaining a specific share of market. Business processes are established to develop workflow plans or benchmarks to present detailed information to direct people to perform day to day tasks required to run the organization. Peter Drucker suggests that operational goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time constrained (SMART) (Long, 2017). The expected outcome is an organization that coordinates employee, financial, and physical resources so that goals can be achieved.

  1. Explain how companies create customer centered businesses.

Companies create customer-centered businesses by focusing on their relationship withtheir customers. They do this by providing a positive experience before and after the sale whichleads to repeat business, loyalty, and profits (Macdonald, 2017).Companies that are committed to this type of business believe the customer comes first, focus on the customer wants and needs, and develops products and services that meet those wants and needs. They implement a strategythat will create and keep profitable loyal customers.

  1. Describe how customer-centered businesses impact the consumer decision-making process.

Customer-centered businesses impact the consumer decision-making process by putting emphasis on creating more perceived value and personalization. A company uses Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle. CRM systems give detailed information on customers’ purchase history, buying preferences, and concerns (“Customer Relationship Management”, 2014). Using this information will allow the company to increase customer service speed, offer price promotions, and new product offerings.

  1. Describe what tools are used to make effective marketing decisions.

The most common tools used to make effective marketing decisions is the marketing information system, market intelligence system, and marketing decision support system.The marketing information system analyzes informationaccumulated from sources inside and outside the organization. It is a constant interaction of people, equipment, and procedures that gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute timely and accurate marketing information. The information is used to make important decisions with product development, pricing, packaging, distribution, and promotion (“Marketing Information Systems” n.d.). The market intelligence system collects and processes information from all relevant sources to verify the trends in the marketing environment. To obtain such information a marketer uses sources such as publications, social media, and feedback from customers to make accurate business decisions and enhance the efficiency of business operations (“Market Intelligence System”, n.d.).A marketing decision support system (MDSS) uses software that coordinates the collection of data the organization gathers and interprets into relevant data acquired in the marketing information system and presents it in readable format for decision makers to spend on analysis and planning for the future (Cassie, 1997).The benefit of using MDSS is that it can speed up the process of making decisions, increase organizational control, quickly resolve problems in the organization, help automate managerial processes, and improve personal efficiency (“Decision Support Systems”, 2017).

References

Marketing 101 Understanding The World of Marketing and The Marketing Process: The Marketing Functions. (2008). Retrieved from

FAO Corporate Document Repository. 5.4 Marketing systems: Functions, agents, enterprises and channels. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Physical Distribution in Marketing: Definition, Functions & Importance. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Kaplana, R. (n.d.). Marketing Functions: 12 Essential Functions of Marketing – Discussed! Retrieved from

Linton, Ian (2017). What Are the Kinds of Marketing Channel Functions. Retrieved from

Long, Nicole (2017). Goals & Functions of a Business. Retrieved from

MacDonald, Steven (June 30, 2017). How to Create a Customer Centric Strategy For Your Business. Retrieved from

Customer Relationship Management. (November 2014). Retrieved from

FAO Corporate Document Repository. Chapter 9 Marketing Information Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved from

Market Intelligence System. (n.d.) Retrieved from

Claire Cassie, (1997) "Marketing decision support systems",Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 97 Issue: 8, pp.293-296,

Source: Boundless. "Decision Support Systems." Boundless Marketing Boundless, 4 Apr. 2017. Retrieved 1 Jul. 2017 from