The marketers should manage all types of marketing decisions by taking into account the environmental aspect as well. The marketing decisions should not only be right but they should also be taken at the right time. Thus the marketing decisions are mainly divided into four categories. You may also say these categories are the different types of marketing decisions taken by the management when making marketing plans for the products.
Types of Marketing Decisions
There are four categories or areas, which are always kept in mind while making different sorts of marketing plans for different products and services.
- Product
- Price
- Place (Distribution)
- Promotion
In the 60s, the term “marketing mix” became familiarized. There are certain activities that are included as the ingredients of the marketing mix like branding, and distribution channels. Along with product planning, pricing, advertising, packaging, promotions, personal selling, and display. As well as physical handling, servicing, and fact-finding & analysis.
Major Marketing Decisions
Analysis, planning, execution, and regulation are the four fundamental concepts of marketing management. In fact, the most critical aspect of marketing management is planning and marketing. So the managers must make the best strategy possible to ensure long-term success. Good plans indicate that you are capable of making decisions. Here are the big marketing decisions that must be made in order for a campaign to be effective. As well as what marketing managers must know to make these decisions.
Marketing Objectives
The marketing manager’s first job is to establish the goal. It is important to know what the team would do in order to run an effective marketing campaign. Actually, the secret to achieving the target is to make the right decision. Managers should conduct a SWOT analysis to determine what is required to develop the current market. Moreover how to maximize the company’s current value. Therefore the analysis should then go over it in detail and create goals based on the criteria or opportunities identified in the previous analysis.
Marketing Strategies
The mechanism by which goals are met is known as strategy. What is meant by objectives is what should be achieved, and what is meant by tactics is how it should be done. Moreover, the company’s marketing plans are critical in making operational decisions and achieving marketing. As well as organizational goals within the time frames set out in the strategy.
Company Targets
Every business has a goal in mind on what they will do and what they will not do. Every country has clear objectives for which they must prepare during that planning year. Therefore setting targets in any area of the company, such as revenue, industry, operational, and corporate targets is critical in these situations.
Product and Market Scope
The actual state of the company’s marketing campaign is determined by a thorough examination of the marketing mix. Actually, this includes the product, price, location, and promotion. Although the product and market scope is derived from a thorough SWOT analysis.
For an effective marketing campaign, a thorough SWOT analysis is essential. The marketing manager takes a decision by first determining the complexity of the goods and the demand. Market segmentation aids decision-making by revealing what is required and what is not required. Hence the target market aids in the identification of more relevant and diverse current and future customers.
Marketing Mix Decisions
Marketing mix choices are regarded as the most critical for marketing managers to make. It is a vital aspect of the planning process. Since the marketing manager must represent the product to consumers in a variety of ways, he or she should have extensive product knowledge. Pricing is critical because it is the only part of the marketing mix that generates sales. Since targeted buyers come from this part of the marketing mix, putting goods in the right position is critical. Thus it is said that the more you sell a commodity, the more sales you can generate.
The Marketing Mix
The marketing manager should control the parameters of the 4Ps of marketing keeping in view the external & internal constraints of the marketing environment. Therefore the main objective is to take decisions that focus 4P’s on target market customers in order to develop perceived value & produce favorable responses.
Product Decisions
Product is related to physical, tangible products as well as services. So there are certain decisions that are related to the product like
- Functionality
- Brand Name
- Quality
- Safety
- Warranty
- Packaging
- Styling
- Repairs & support
- Accessories & services
Price Decisions
Following are some of the important Marketing Decisions related to pricing.
- Pricing Strategy (penetration, skim, etc.)
- Suggested retail price
- Seasonal pricing
- Cash & early payment discounts
- Bundling
- Price discrimination
- Price flexibility
- Volume discounts & wholesale pricing
Place (Distribution) Decisions
The availability of products to the customers is referred to as distribution. Following are some examples of distribution decisions.
- Market coverage (Exclusive, inclusive, or selective distribution)
- Distribution channels
- Inventory management
- Specific channel members
- Order processing
- Warehousing
- Distribution centers
- Reverse logistics
- Transportation
Promotion Decisions
Marketing decisions include promotion decisions which are important content of the marketing mix in which different aspects of marketing communication occur. The information about the product is communicated with the objective to produce a positive customer response. Following are some of the important promotion decisions.
- Promotional strategy (pull, push, etc)
- Sales promotion
- Advertising
- Public relations & publicity
- Personal selling & sales force
- Marketing communication budget
Limitations Framework of Marketing Mix
In the early days of the marketing concept, the framework of the marketing mix was particularly useful when a larger portion of the economy is represented by physical products. In today’s era marketing is more integrated into the organizations and with various categories of products & markets.
However, there are certain marketers that added further P into the Marketing Mix which may represent Packaging, Process, or People elements. In addition, mainly marketing mix is composed of only the above-mentioned four Ps.
The Product element is the starting point of the marketing mix because it represents the offering that the organization made to its target market. Thus it is a big fact that the organization always seeks to provide solutions to the problems of the target market. The organization can market both tangible & intangible offerings.
All types of products include distribution decisions. The physical goods are influenced greatly by the distribution decisions like truck parts or laundry detergents. Moreover, digital goods & services are equally affected by the distribution decisions like downloadable music, television programming, income tax services, etc. Product distribution is changed through the major role of the Internet which provides more opportunities for contacting customers. But same distribution issues & obstacles are faced by online marketers as faced by offline marketers.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
Love my efforts? Don't forget to share this blog.