Marketing Functions

Functions of Functions of Facilitating

Exchange Physical supply functions

Buying
Transportation Financing
Assembling Risk - Taking
Storage and
Selling Standardization
Warehousing
and Grading

Market
Information
 Function of exchange include all those
activities which are performed to transfer
possession as well as ownership of goods by
the seller to the buyer.
 Everyone in this world buys goods as a
matter a daily routine.
 Hand to mouth buying
 Speculative buying
 Buying by inspection
 Buying by samples
 Buying by description
 Contract buying scheduled buying
 Period buying
 Buying by requirement/need
 Open market buying
 Reciprocal buying
 Concentrated buying
 Scattered buying
 Assembling of goods is done only after they
have been bought.
 Assembling refers to the process of keeping
the goods, purchased from different places,
at a particular place.
 The process of transferring ownership of
goods from the seller to the buyer is what is
known as selling.
 Sale by inspection
 Sale by sample
 Sale by description
 Under cover method
 Auction
 Tender system
 Sake at a flat rate
 Gentlemen’s agreement
 Transportation:
 The goods produced in a particular place are not
consumed there itself.
 From the place of production the goods need to
be taken to the various consumption centers
which are scattered throughout the country or
even throughout the world.
 Land transport
 Road transport
 Rail transport
 Sea transport
 Air transport
 Storage:
A manufacturer needs to keep adequate stock of
raw materials to ensure smooth production.
 Maintenance of stocks of raw materials and
finished products calls for storage.
 Warehousing:
A warehouse is a place where goods are
stored.
 It is otherwise known as a ‘godown’.
 It is usually found away from the place of
business of merchant.
 These are the ancillary functions of
marketing.
But their importance cannot be
ignored.
 Needless to say finance is the life-blood of
any business.
 A business needs finance for various
purposes.
 One such purpose is marketing.
 Both fixed capital and working capital are
required for marketing.
 A marketer has to encounter different types
of risks while performing his activities.
Marketing risks can be grouped under the
following categories:
 Risks due to natural calamities
 Physical risks
 Economic risks
 Risks due to changes in buyer preference
 Risks due to technological development
 Political risks
 A ‘standard’, in the context of marketing,
provides the basis that enables the
consumers to make a comparison between
goods.
 In the case of agricultural goods, there will
be variations between products of the same
variety. The size, shape, colour and taste
of two or more pieces of tomato or
beetroot will not be the same. This process
is what is known as ‘grading’.
 The marketer requires lot of information
about the market. Such information helps
him in taking certain important
decisions.
 Information is generally required in respect
of the following:
 Substitutes available
 Demand
 Tastes and preferences of the consumers
 Positive and negative aspects of the product.
 Views of the retailers and so on.