Marketing Organization

Meaning of Organization

An organization is a group of people that is structured and managed to achieve a common goal. Every organization have a defined structure that determines relationship between its members, and assigns their roles, responsibilities, and authority.

Definition of Marketing Organization-

"Marketing organization can be defined as a  formal or informal group of individuals working together to reach quantitative and  qualitative marketing objectives  by making decisions on product, price, place, and promotion."

Types of Marketing Organizations- 

Marketers must have knowledge of what type of marketing organization they have in place; and what type of marketing organization the company actually needs. Following are the different types of marketing organization that commonly exists today :-

1. Functional Type of  Marketing Organization;
2. Product Oriented  Marketing Organization;
3. Market/Territory Oriented  Marketing Organization;
4. Customer Oriented  Marketing Organization;

1. In functional type of marketing organization the different marketing activities are grouped on the basis of functions to be performed like - product planning, market research, advertising, sales, or promotion. Each main function is further divided to sub-functions to be performed to achieve marketing objectives. Each sub function is managed by separate manager under the control of marketing manager. 
2. Product oriented marketing organization is common where organization is producing or marketing wide variety of products. For each product or group of products a separate product manager is assigned and made responsible for marketing decisions for that particular product or group of products. 
3. Market oriented marketing organization is common in big organizations serving large number of customers spreading over large territories. Depot manager, district manager, area manager, zonal manager, divisional manager, etc., are assigned to manage each territories. 
4. Customer oriented marketing organization is common in organizations engaged in providing specialized services to different class of customer.

FACTORS AFFECTING MARKETING ORGANIZATION-

The environmental factors that are affecting marketing function can be classified into-

1) Internal environment and
2) External environment

Internal Environment of Marketing :
This refers to factors existing within a marketing firm. They are also called as controllable factors, because the company has control over these factors :

a) it can alter or modify factors as its personnel, physical facilities, organization and function means, such as marketing mix, to suit the environment.
There are many internal factors that influence the marketing function, they are :

Top Management : The organizational structure, Board of Director, professionalization of management..etc..Factors like the amount of support the top management enjoys from different levels of employees, shareholders and Board of Directors have important influence on the marketing decisions and their implementation.

Finance and Accounting: Accounting refers to measure of revenue and costs to help the marketing and to know how well it is achieving its objectives.Finance refers to funding and using funds to carry out the marketing plan. Financial factors are financial polices, financial position and capital structure.

Research and Development : Research and Development refers to designing the product safe and attractive. They are technological capabilities, determine a company ability to innovate and compete.

Manufacturing : It is responsible for producing the desired quality and quantity of products.Factors which influence the competitiveness of a firm are production capacity technology and efficiency of the productive apparatus, distribution logistics etc.,

Purchasing : Purchasing refers to procurement of goods and services from some external agencies. It is the strategic activity of the business.

Company Image and Brand Equity : The image of the company refers in raising finance, forming joint ventures or other alliances soliciting marketing intermediaries, entering purchase or sales contract, launching new products etc.

External Environment of Marketing.

External factors are beyond the control of a firm, its success depends to a large extent on its adaptability to the environment.
The external marketing environment consists of :
a) Macro environment, and
b) Micro environment

a) Micro environment: The environmental factors that are in its proximity. The factors influence the company’s non-capacity to produce and serve the market.The factors are :

1) Suppliers: The suppliers to a firm can also alter its competitive position and marketing capabilities. These are raw material suppliers, energy suppliers, suppliers of labor and capital.

2) Market Intermediaries : Every producer has to have a number of intermediaries for promoting, selling and distributing the goods and service to ultimate consumers. These intermediaries may be individual or business firms.

3) Government and other non-profit customers: These customers purchase goods and services to those for whom they are produced, for their consumption in most of the cases.

4) International customers: These customers are individual and organizations of other countries who buy goods and services either for consumption or for industrial use. Such buyers may be consumers, producers, re-sellers, and governments.

b) Macro Environment:   
Macro environment factors act external to the company and are quite uncontrollable. These factors do not affect the marketing ability of the concern directly but indirectly the influence marketing decisions of the company.
These are the macro environmental factors that affect the company’s marketing decisions :

1) Demographic Forces: Here, the marketer monitor the population because people forms markets. Marketers are keenly interested in the size and growth rate of population in different cities, regions, and nations ; age distribution and ethnic mix ; educational levels; households patterns; and regional characteristics and movements.

2) Economic Factors: The economic environment consists of macro-level factors related to means of production and distribution that have an impact on the business of an organization.

3) Physical Forces: Components of physical forces are earth’s natural renewal and non-renewal resources. Natural renewal forces are forest, food products from agriculture or sea etc. Non- renewal natural resources are finite such as oil, coal, minerals, etc. Both of these components quite often change the level and type of resources available to a marketer for his production.

4) Technological Factors: The technological environment consists of factors related to knowledge applied, and the materials and machines used in the production of goods and services that have an impact on the business of an organization.