PROJECT REPORT

ON
“Name of the project”

Submitted to

Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj

Nagpur University,Nagpur

In Partial Fulfillment of the requirement of the

“Bachelor Of Business Administration”

Submitted by

Name of the student

Guidance by
 Name of Guide

Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Management Studies & Research

Deeksha Bhoomi Nagpur-440012
(2010-2011)
 INTRODUCTION

MARKETING

Marketing is a term, which has got different meanings for different groups. For housewives
marketing means shopping, for sales persons it is selling, for technical persons it is
merchandising (product designing) and for buyers it is purchasing. If we synthesise these
views we understand that marketing is all sort of activities which facilitate the exchange of
goods, services, persons, place, and idea.

In process of marketing we have to take the following decisions:-

i. What is to be marketed?
ii. Who is the marketer?
iii. Who are the customers?

What is to be marketed?
a) Goods
b) Services
c) Ideas
d) Persons
e) Places.

Goods:-It consists of all the consumer and producer goods, vegetables, fruits, soft
drinks, cloth, equipments etc.

Services:-It consists of services of professional’s like’s doctors, advocates, chartered accountants,

mechanics etc.

Ideas:-These days ideas are also marketed such as ideas of family planning by donation, protection
of railway property, help the needy. Concerned people are persuaded to follow the ideas.

Persons:-We have started marketing of persons also. In the election campaign, candidates are
marketed and voters are convinced to vote for them.

Places:-The marketing of place is the common feature of the day. Our tourism departments have
been regularly inducing people to visit various tourists and health resorts, such as Pink City, Jaipur,
Taj Mahal Agra, Kashmir, Mussouri etc.
Generally seller is the marketer. Buyer can also be marketer such as in case of heavy water for
nuclear plants. We have been arguing with the seller countries that we shall be making its use for
peaceful purposes. In case of sophisticated arms also the buying countries insist upon the sell it. In
this way, marketer can be either seller or buyer, who takes more active interest in the deal.

Traditional Marketing Concept:-

According to F.E.Clark,” Marketing consists of those effect transfers in ownership of goods and care
for its physical distribution.”

Traditionally, marketing was restricted to the physical transfer of goods from its producers to the
consumers. In this way, marketing includes all those activities which facilitate the transfer of goods.
According to traditional approach goods should be supplied at the time when it is needed, at a place
where they are required and delivered to those who need it.

Production Concept of Marketing:-

Production concept of marketing stresses on the production of standard superior quality of product.
It is true that in the long run quality product sells. The product having better quality dominates the
market. The process of making further improvement in the product must also continue. The
improved superior quality of product will result in higher sales, increased profit and prosperous
future of the enterprise.

Societal Concept of Marketing:-

Societal Concept of Marketing has emerged these days. According to this concept marketing strategy
must honour the social values. It should enhance wellbeing of the society. It should aim at consumer
satisfaction with environmental conservation. It means that the marketing efforts should not be
selfish enough to maximise profit at the cost of the society. It should not only maintain but add to
the social welfare.

Modern Marketing Concept:-

Modern marketing concept explains that the objectives of business can be achieved by identifying
needs and wants of consumers. It stresses consumers’ satisfaction. According to Peter Ducker, the
purpose of business is to create customers. Creation of customer means identification of consumers
‘needs and then organising the business activities to meet these needs. According to modern
thinkers, marketing includes the following:-

Identification of consumers ‘needs and their satisfaction.

Sales forecasting/Targets customers.

Formulation of marketing policy for the specific market.

Planning and organising of marketing activities and co-ordinating it.

Salesmanship and sales promotion.

Advertising.

Costing and budgeting efforts.

Measurement and review of the marketing result.

Profitability-Profit cannot be ignored because it is necessary for survival and growth.

According to modern concept, marketing is not separate function but covers the entire business
process, because every business activity is consumer oriented. Marketing in this way, covers all the
business activities which revolve round the consumers.

Marketing as defined by management authorities:

According to William Stanton’s, Marketing is a total system of interacting business activities

designed to plan, price, promote and distribute wants satisfying products and services to the present
and potential customers.

In the word of Philip Kolter, Marketing is specifically concerned with how transactions are created,
stimulated, facilitated and valued.

E.F.L.Breach views, marketing is the process of determining consumer demand for a product or
service, motivating its sales and distribution it into ultimate consumption at a profit.

The main objectives of marketing may be mentioned as under:-

OBJECTIVES OF MARKETING

Creation of demand and Service to the social Securing customer

organs Satisfaction.

Retaining reasonable Profitable sales Market share

volume

Building goodwill

Creation of demand and securing consumers satisfaction:-

Marketing is consumer oriented activities. Marketing tries to create demand of its product through
advertising and sales promotion measures. Consumers’ satisfaction is the ultimate end of all
business activities. The business cannot last long without customers’ satisfaction. The potential
growth of the company is possible, if the consumers are satisfied.

Retaining reasonable market share:-

Survival of the enterprise depends upon capturing reasonable share of the market. Marketing helps
the enterprise in positioning itself firm in the market. The success of marketing depends upon
capturing more share of the market.

Building goodwill:-

The competent and capable marketing management sells quality product at reasonable price and
thus goodwill of the enterprise is built. Marketing adopts various image building activities by
popularising products at convenient outlet.

Profitable sales volume:-

Marketing management refers to all business activities, which are consumer oriented. It is the
sincere effort of marketing management to maximise the profit of the company. The management
looks for the opportunities and tries its best to avail of the opportunities. It is duty of the market
management to undertake profitable operations and maximise the profit of the business.

Service to the social organs:-

Social responsibility must be assumed by the business. These days business is assumed to be social
organ, so it must earn its profit by rendering services to the following sections (a) Employees (b)
Consumers (c) Shareholders.

FUNCTION OF MARKETING

Function of exchange. Function of physical distribution of goods

Buying and Assembling 1. Transportation

Selling 2. Inventory

3. Warehousing

4. Order processing
Function of exchange:-

Buying and assembling:-Buying is the first step of the marketing. In case of manufacturing concerns,
raw material is purchased and trading concerns purchase finished goods. Buying is marketing
function, because it refers to decision making by marketing management as to the time, quantity,
quality, and price and sellers goods to be bought. Goods may also be assembled or collected from
different sources and made available to the users.

Selling:-

It is a process, whereby goods and services flow finally to the consumers. Selling function involves:-

Planning production of needs based goods.

Discovery of the market for goods and buyers for goods.

Salesmanship, advertising and sales promotion for creating demand.

Determining terms of sales and price, quantity, nature of packing and delivery etc.

Transfer of title and possession of goods. Selling creates demand for products.

Functions of Physical Distribution of Goods:-

Marketing management has to decide about the physical distribution of goods. This function
involves:-

Transportation: - Transportation facilitates the transfer of products from one place to other place. It
reduces the distance between the producers and consumers. These days the business uses road, rail,
water and air transport for acquiring goods and also for distribution of goods.

Inventory: - Physical distribution of goods requires inventory decision. The marketing management
has to decide the type and the amount of different commodities to be maintained in the stock.
Optimum level of inventory is necessary to facilitate the smooth flow of goods as per requirement of
the customers.

Warehousing: - There is wide gap between the production and actual sale of goods. This is why; the
marketing management is required to make necessary arrangement of storing the raw material and
finished goods.

Order Processing:-The final step in the physical distribution of goods is order processing. It is always
in the interest of the enterprise quickly the orders received from buyers.
ALTERNATIVE PRESENTATION OF MARKETING FUNCTIONS

Functions of Function of Facilitating transfer of

Exchange Physical Distribution ownership & product

Of goods

1. Buying and 1. Transportation 1. Product Planning and Assembling

2. Inventory. Development. 2. Selling 3. Warehousing
2. Standardising, Grading,

4.Order processing Branding & Labelling.

3. Packaging.

4. Salesmanship.

5. Advertising & Sales

Promotion.

6.Insurance and Risk

Taking.

7. Marketing Research.

8.Marketing

Intelligence.

9.Financing.

DISTINCTION BETWEEN MARKTING AND SELLING

SALES FUNNEL

The sales funnel is not a new tool for the management of the sales process.  Most sales managers
use it to understand the sales pipeline and its status.  However, the sales funnel can be an important
tool in improving performance.  It can help us identify areas for improvement and understand what
actions can help the sales and marketing process to both increase deal flow and lower the cost of

sales.  

To leverage the traditional sales funnel, it will help to regard it as the sales and marketing funnel. 
Marketing’s role is to bring forth potential buyers from the
market and provide tools to help sales move these
potential buyers to sales revenue.  Sales’ role is to both
identify potential buyers and follow the sales process
to move the potential buyers to sales.  Both marketing
and sales have an impact on the shape of the sales and
marketing funnel.
Different sales executives define the sales funnel in different ways.  For the purpose of this
discussion, allow us to define how we see the sales funnel (figure 1).  Programs are executed by
marketing to bring potential customers into the sales funnel.  The entrance into the sales funnel is
defined in many ways and each sales or marketing executive can use their own definition.  For our
purposes, we will define the entry point as customer expressing enough interest for us to justify
handing the information over to the sales force.  

The width of the funnel at any one point measures the number of potential customers involved at
any one time.  The height of the funnel represents the amount of time the average potential
customer stays in the pipeline before they conversion into sales.  Most sales executives define the
funnel with a series of stages (suspect, prospect, hot, etc.) which we encourage.  However, for our
analysis, what we call the stages is not meaningful.

By keeping statistics through time, we can develop insight into our sales and marketing process, how
it is changing and most importantly, how we can improve the process.  Further, if we reduce the
data to what it takes to get one sale, we can standardized how the data is presented so we can
better understand the elements of leads versus deals without regard to the number of deals.

The basic shape of the funnel gives us the quickest analysis.  First, what would be the perfect shape? 
The perfect sales funnel would be a pipe (figure 2).  With the pipe shape, potential customer would
enter the sales process with 100% of these customers turning into a sale.  No wasted sales or
marketing efforts would be required to bring the one potential customer to a sale.  The cost of sales
and marketing would be very low.  Efficiency and effectiveness are very high.

Even with the perfect sales funnel, can it be improved?  Probable the answer is yes, it can be
improved.  The process of moving the potential customer to a sale takes time, the length of the
pipe.  Can we do anything to make the process faster?  Perhaps better marketing tools, sales training
or references could speed up the process and further reduce our cost of sales.

In the real world, does anyone have the perfect sales funnel?  No, the world is not that simple.  We
can use the perfect sales funnel as a model of what we are seeking when we work to improve our
sales and marketing operations but we will not reach the goal of the perfect sales funnel.  Looking at
the shape of sales funnels, analyzing them and looking at possible improvements will help us
understand the power of the sales funnel as a diagnostic tool.  

In using the sales funnel as a diagnostic tool, several characteristics are key.  

The slope of the funnel indicates the rate at which we are disqualifying or being disqualified
from the sales process.  By accelerating the process of qualification, we can focus on those
who will buy instead of those who eventually will be disqualified.  

Kinks in the slope indicate a pattern in our sales process.  Why do these kinks occur?  If we
have a lot of fall-out at a specific point in the process, what can we do to improve?  

The height of the funnel indicates time.  Efforts to reduce the time spent on the sale will
always lower the cost of sales and increase revenue.  Any one section that appears
elongated is a target for improvement.

Remember that the shape of the funnel gives us clues; we develop reasons and
improvements by understanding how the shape occurs.

In Figure 3, we are bringing in many potential customers at point A and quickly disqualifying
many of them by point B.  However, the centre section of the funnel, between points B and
C, appears to be almost stagnant.  We are spending our resources on many potential
customers for an extended period but only a few of them
will convert into sales.

We may be seeing this shape because we should be disqualifying more prospective

customers between points A and B.  Does the sales force have the tools and training to
disqualify more aggressively?  Does sales management ask the right questions to force the
sales force to make better decisions?  

We may being seeing this shape because we are hiding a fact from potential customers until
point C and they are disqualifying themselves at that point.  Can we develop tools to convert
the fact we are hiding into a sales asset or at minimum neutralize its impact?  If we cannot
turn this fact into an advantage or neutralize it, should we introduce the fact earlier in the
process so we are not selling to potential customers who will eventually eliminate us
anyway?

The shape of the funnel in figure 3 reminds us of a very old and very good sales and
marketing rule, LOSE OFTEN AND LOSE EARLY.

In Figure 4, we are bringing in many potential customers and quickly disqualifying a high
percent between point A and B.  This is good.  We are progressing nicely from point B to a
sale.  Many would consider this a good sales funnel.

Between point A and B, how are we

qualifying?  If we are using sales resources or additional marketing
resources, can we do it more effectively?  Perhaps we could
improve our effectiveness if we were not introducing so many
unqualified potential customers into the process.  If we study the
reasons for disqualification between points A and B, we can fine
tune our marketing messages and programs to be more focused so
we get more qualified potential customers and fewer who we or they
will eventually disqualify.

Can we automate the qualification between point A and B?  We can devise a sales tool,
perhaps a web based questionnaire that sells the customers we can eventually sell and
disqualifies the ones we cannot, and lower our cost of qualification.

Figure 5 presents us with what looks like a good funnel shape.  We could do a better job of
qualifying but the interesting point with this funnel is the tail, between points B and C.
 

We are getting a good close rate between points B and C with a high percentage of potential
buyers actually buying.  However, it appears to be taking a long time to move them to a
decision and the order.  We need to investigate what is happening between points B and C
to understand why the customer is delaying.  It is our job to remove obstacles from the
customers’ decision and commitment process.  Perhaps we are not providing the tools or
training our sales team needs.  Perhaps we need assistance from sales management or
company executives to assist in the close.  Perhaps customers have an internal sales or
justification process and we are not arming our champions with what they need.  

Everyone can make improvements in their sales and marketing processes.  What to improve
is a critical question.  Too many sales and marketing executives rely on experience and
feel.  Sales and marketing management can be more of a science and using the sales funnel
can help us understand what is happening, and why and how we can improve the
processes.  The results can increase revenue while lowering the cost of sales.