Marketing Management Basics and Concepts (Part 1)

Marketing Management represents the process of analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring programs designed to create, promote and maintain the benefits resulting from marketing activities.

Marketing Management aims to achieve the company's marketing objectives by considering the available resources and market situation, as the planning and implementation of activities that are necessary to achieve objectives. If they are properly met, the consumer's needs are accomplished under better conditions.

In addition to the two basic functions of management- organization and implementation- marketing management has two distinct functions- selling products and developing and implementing new products. Both are important for the organization to conduct a profitable activity; they must be developed simultaneously.

The role of marketing research in decisional processes

The entire process of marketing research seeks to address problems faced by managers on choosing the most appropriated action.

Marketing research aims to identify decisional options and their evaluation, considering the company's objectives, potential profits and the satisfaction degree of the customer's needs.

However, performing marketing studies doesn't guarantee the most profitable decisions.

Marketing research represents an input for decision making. The responsibility to decide and to take risks falls on all managers who base their choice on the survey results. The role of marketing research is to present possible solutions and make recommendations, while the manager has to take the final decision.

Marketing research may represent a manner of updating information on environmental characteristics in which the organization operates. Control function of management involves the market reaction to the company's marketing initiatives and the identification of those areas that must be improved.

The organization creates the necessary conditions for the practice of proactive management, implementing continuously new activities suitable for the economic, social and competitive environment. Information is vital, because the company is transformed from a spectator of the market n a genuine player. Marketing research, through its analysis and forecasts, allows the implementation of long-term strategies.

The relationship between manager and marketing researcher

Marketing research position depends on the type and quality of relations that are established between the company's manager and researcher, head of the marketing research department.

Depending on the attitude adopted towards the marketing research, managers can be classified on the following criteria:

- Lovers of information-managers' interest in marketing research is determined by their opening to new information;

- Expeditious- they appeal mainly to marketing research and sometimes, they depend excessively on its results in making decisions;

- Manipulators- they manifest disinterest and little respect for the potential contribution of marketing research.

When facing one of these types of managers, researchers will have to find the best way of establishing a mutual beneficial relationship. The elation between manager and researcher must be based on partnership and mutual support.

Potential conflicts arise from differences of views on issues such as the responsibility of research, research staff, research budget, topics investigated, the way of communicating results and the way of using these results.

The researcher must suggest to the manager where marketing research can be used effectively, because a top manager isn't aware of all the details resulted from studies conducted by the department of marketing research.

The research department staff consists of specialists with different tasks and responsibilities. The most common functions in marketing are:

- Vice President of marketing research - he is responsible for the activity performed by the marketing research department;

- Marketing Research Director-he is responsible for the marketing research projects elaboration;

- Deputy Director of marketing research - he has the role of administrative assistant of the director, coordinating the activities of some specialists;

-Head of project manager- he is responsible for the process of designing and implementing the project management research;

- Data processing specialist (statistician) - responsible for planning experiments, data processing and analysis;

- Chief Analyst - directs the operational execution of projects, working with analysts; is responsible for costs and deadlines;

Although the intensity and frequency of using marketing research varies, it can be said that the main categories of users are: producers of industrial goods, service providers, advertisers and public relations agencies, government institutions, etc.

Sources:

Kotler, Philip - " Marketing Management. Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control", 9th Edition, Prentice-Hall International, Inc., Upper Saddle , River, New Jersey, 1997, p. 114.

" Principles of Marketing" 3rd Edition, Prentice-Hall International, Inc. , New Jersey, 1998, p.86

Hollart, N.; Golden, P. - "Marketing Research for the Marketing and Advertising Executive"; American Marketing Association, New York , Chapter 1981, chap.V, p. 42-43.

Lucas, Henry C. - "Marketing Research", Reston Publishing, Reston 1993, p. 334-350.

Cohen, William - "The practice of Marketing Management. Analysis, Planning and Implementation", Macmillan Publishing Company 1988, p. 440.

Dabrymple, Douglas J.; Parsons, Leonard J. - "Marketing Management. Strategy and Cases." , 5th Edition, John Wiley & Sons Publishing, 1990, p. 353-443