Marketing is possibly the most widely opted for as a career option out of all the management functions. It has the glamour quotient attached to it, besides possibilities of unlimited interaction with the customers, travel and parties at the promotional schemes.
Career Opportunities in Marketing Management, besides possibilities of unlimited interaction with the customers, travel and parties at the promotional schemes.
Marketing can be defined as the organizational function and processes required to identify which products and services are required by the customer and to deliver them to the market place.
It can be also defined as delivering a value proposition to the customer.
Market is a real or virtual space where the sellers and buyers meet to transact business, which in effect means exchange of products or services for a consideration, usually monetary.
Marketing classically deals with the four Ps; Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
Products can be a physical product like fast moving consumer goods or consumer durables, a virtual product like songs on the internet or any financial service like mutual fund or an insurance policy.
Price for the product can be determined through various mechanisms, like total cost plus profit, marginal cost plus margin etc. and is a function of the company policy and the market dynamics.
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Students with different educational backgrounds can take up marketing management as their area of specialization, with an aim to make this function as their career choice.
While every organization has to market its goods and services, there is lot of hard work involved, with a continuous focus on achieving targets.
In today’s globalized world the customer is spoiled for choices and every company has to be very alert to get their own share of any particular segment.
The results and achievements are measurable and distinct in comparison to some other management functions and this can be a powerful motivator.
The incentives are directly linked to the targeted performance and the high achievers are swiftly recognized.
Marketers have to strategize to create differentiators and place their offerings to the right demographic profile and at the right price points.
This calls for clear understanding of the company’s own products and policies as well as those of the competitors.
The pressure to achieve results can be intense and the working hours very long. One has to engage with the customers with patience and alertness as the consumer today is very sensitive and discerning.
Marketers are the company’s face and link with the customers and have to always present the best but realistic profile.
Most of the marketing jobs require considerable amount of travel and it is therefore not an ideal function for those preferring the desk bound assignments. Boys and girls with extrovert personalities would find the marketing field to be more suited since one has to regularly meet and engage with customers.
There are increasingly higher opportunities in on-line marketing field as this is becoming increasingly popular due to penetration of the internet and the influence of social networking. The digital medium is going to grow exponentially, especially with the roll out of the 4 G telephony.
More innovative ways are continuously being sought by the organizations to achieve an edge over others and this will keep you alert and on your toes. This is all very interesting and rewarding for the go-getters.
While the basics may remain the same, there are significant differences in the strategy and style for marketing consumer goods, durables, capital goods and services. The approach also varies for the domestic and the export markets as the consumer profile and the local parameters are vary important.
International marketing provides opportunities for travel to different countries and learning but would need flexibility to learn and be comfortable in different cultures.
You should take stock of your own personality and then decide whether this exciting discipline of management is for you or not.
Arun Vedhera