On an everyday basis, we are introduced to at least one new product, service, or brand. It doesn’t matter in which form you are introduced to them- humongous billboards on the streets, emails, and newsletters in your mailbox, your social media home page- it all boils down to one word: Marketing.
Marketing has a history as long as trade and commerce have existed. Sure, the nature, form, and content have drastically changed, but at the heart of the matter, the objective has remained unchanged- to promote and sell a service and/or a product.
Our ancestors may not have had the advantages of technology, especially social media and the internet, like we do, but they definitely used what medium they had to their advantage. Whether it was using papyrus or wall graffiti or just using their voices to get the word out, marketing was important even back in the day. Although we continue to use some of the past methods in some capacity, we have become increasingly more innovative with how we do marketing today. Adapting and adopting to changing times and technologies has ensured that marketing remains relevant even today.
Today, we have a thriving and ever-growing industry that caters to the marketing needs of businesses and expands the scope of marketing management. The industry is expected to grow further in the future as the outlook remains positive. If you want to stay relevant in the market, you need to understand the fundamentals of marketing and its scope.
Before we explain the scope of marketing management, it is important to understand what marketing is in the first place.
Marketing refers to a practice of companies or organisations to promote buying or selling of a service or product. It includes selling, advertising, and delivering final products to consumers and businesses. Every strategy that a business undertakes is to plan and execute the layout, prices, promotion of ideas, and provide goods and services to satisfy the target customer base. It is a way to promote business and improve profit. As marketing acts as the face of the company, a career in marketing is very desirable in the upcoming generations and is becoming a popular choice among the candidates.
To put it simply, as the industry consistently grows, so does the marketing scope. Before we explain the scope of marketing, it is essential to highlight that marketing is part of almost all the stages of business activities and a customer’s purchase cycle. It bridges the gap between the objectives of the business and the needs and wants of the customer.
In this article, we explain not simply what is the scope of marketing in the current climate but also, explain the scope of marketing management.
Nature of Marketing
Marketing is a complex process, it is dynamic and evolving with evolving technologies. Being consumer and goal-oriented, it provides profit margin to companies and satisfying both seller and buyers. Marketing is all about exchanging ideas and information among consumers and organisations. Well-planned marketing strategies have a direct impact on the growth and profit of a company.
Scope of Marketing
The future scope of marketing is increasing exponentially. It involves researching, planning, and coordinating. The growth of digital technologies and the Internet boom have positively impacted marketing scope. Much credit goes to digital marketing and social media marketing for contributing to the explosion of the marketing industry and immensely expanding the scope of marketing management.
Moreover, marketing is not limited to just goods or services anymore. Today, marketing also includes marketing events, persons, experiences, properties, places, organizations, information, and ideas. The list is ever-increasing.
So, you must be wondering, “What is the scope of marketing ?” Well, here we go.
- Study of marketing research and consumer needs: Marketing research involves identification of need and preference of the potential consumer, analysing consumer’s behaviour to marketing mix strategies, business environment, competitor’s marketing processes in order to plan the marketing activities of future efficiently. Customer satisfaction is also a major part of marketing management.
- Determination of objectives and development: Marketing management has the task of determining the objective of profit maximisation. It deals with attracting new customers, retaining existing customers, and expanding the current customer base by product planning and development of new products, commercialisation of products ideas, improvement of old products ideas, etc.
- Planning Marketing activities: Marketing activities help in systematically executing the planned objectives. It relates to defining product line policies, product diversification, commercial and promotional activities, planning related to the selling and distribution process.
- Distribution: Study of distribution process and channels is also essential to hit maximum sale and profits while delivering the goods and services at minimum cost. The distribution process provides products to the consumer in a convenient time span depending upon the nature and price of the product, availability of suppliers for distribution, and rate involved in the distribution process.
- Pricing policies: Pricing policies differ within a range of products. It depends on the cost of manufacturing and distribution, availability of products, number of competitions, competitors strategy, the life cycle of the products, customers perspective about the product and demand, and marketing agenda and goals.
- Promotion: Promotional strategy is crucial in accomplishing intended marketing goals. It includes sales promotion and advertisement. The main goals of promotion are to educate new customers about products and retain the existing customers, to provide information about product improvement or the introduction of new brands. The scope of marketing expands in this area as marketing management develops new techniques and strategies to keep their customers invested.
- Evaluating and controlling marketing activities: Marketing management also accomplishes the task of regulating and assessing marketing activities. Evaluation enables to categorise the effectiveness and reach of the marketing campaigns and actions.
- After-sales activities: Marketing doesn’t simply stop once a buyer purchases a good or service. The scope of marketing management involves providing after-sales support to consumers to retain their business, build brand loyalty, and boost the business’s image. Additionally, it involves gathering customer feedback to gauge customer satisfaction. After-sales activities have the potential to strengthen customer loyalty.
Salary in Marketing
Salary in marketing differs based on several factors. They are:
- Salary based on experience: One of the most important factors in determining the salary in the marketing industry is work experience. Salary in marketing management differs through the years of experience of the candidate. According to PayScale, the average annual pay for marketing positions ranges from Rs 415,885 to Rs 995,964. At entry level with less than one year of experience can expect to earn an average of total (including bonus and overtime pay) Rs 415,885, an early career with 1-4 year of experience can earn an average of Rs 508,046. With 5-9 years of experience, this average increases to Rs 732,195. An experienced Marketing Manager Salary with 10-19 years of experience earns an average of Rs. 955,964. A senior marketing manager and brand manager can earn up to an average of 1 million. For positions like VP of marketing, direct sales, and marketing, general sales manager earn up to 2 million bases on the skills and the company they’re working for.
- Salary based on location: The location of your job, that is, the country or city that you are working in, will impact your salary package to a great extent. This results from the cost of living and the demand for marketing specialists in the area.
- Salary based on skills: Having in-demand skills and expertise in marketing can determine your pay package. The right skillsets can help you bag high-paying jobs, so it is essential to keep updating the skills valued in marketing.
- Salary based on the employer: The company or organisation you work for plays an essential role in your remuneration. Working with well-reputed businesses with high employee satisfaction that pays competitive industry pay packages will improve your chances of getting a higher salary.
Career Opportunities in Marketing
Pursuing an MBA course after completing under graduation increases the future scope in the marketing sector. It boosts and advances your career with many opportunities in the vast domains of marketing. As there are many sectors in marketing positions, here’s a list of jobs you can choose from after graduation for a career in marketing.
- Marketing Manager: A marketing manager is accountable for managing the promotions of a product and service offered by a company. Their primary role is to raise brand awareness through innovative marketing strategies.
- Marketing Research Analyst: A marketing research analyst helps companies to examine the market conditions for potential sales. They are tasked with making insights into the serviceability of products for clients.
- Advertising or Promotions Manager: An Advertising or Promotions Manager is assigned with organising and directing advertising program and promotions. They promote marketing campaigns for a new product or service and also manage the promotional campaigns of existing offerings.
- Product or Brand Manager: The brand or product manager is responsible for creating strategies to change the insight of clients about the particular product, using customer and trend study. This can involve overseeing promotions and events to ensure branding is consistent across all platforms.
- Sales Manager: Sales managers perform a major role in keeping the company competitive and innovative. They are responsible for assigning sales territories, mentoring the sales team members, setting quotas, assigning sales training, and building a sales plan.
- Public Relations Specialist: Public Relations Specialist helps to maintain a corporate’s image and identity in ways that endorse their business, sustaining media relations, and cooperating with marketing teams in promotional activities.
- Marketing Coordinator: Marketing coordinators are authorities who organise all the marketing initiatives and marketing activities of an organisation. They conduct research on the market, carry out advertising campaigns, categorise marked viewers and evaluate current trends.
How to Become a Marketing Expert?
To become an expert in the marketing sector and advance in your career in marketing, you must specialise in the area you are currently employed in or the domain you’re interested in building your career. Today, universities and colleges offer a wide range of on-campus and online marketing courses in different specialisations. However, nothing can beat the value provided by an MBA (Marketing) program. You can apply in MBA course in any of the following branches:
- MBA in International Marketing will allow you to understand the international outlook and focus on international branding strategies combined with customer relationship development.
- MBA in Marketing prepares students for the complex challenges in marketing sectors of companies in a highly competitive environment. Marketing and marketing communications have become vital aspects in gaining and maintaining market share and corporate placement. This option is ideal for preparing students for a senior marketing role. The specialist subjects build on the core subjects to provide inclusive marketing information
- MBA in marketing and sales management trains students in business management in all their specialities (human resources, strategic management, information systems, marketing, commercial, finance, etc.), in which all characteristics necessary for a Commercial and Marketing Director are studied in-depth, determining what elements should be taken into account to create the best commercial offer of the company, with which to go to market.
Since marketing sections often collaborate, you’ll have to opt for an MBA program featuring a flexible curriculum, one that allows you to gain expertise in your chosen specialisation area. You can check out upGrad’s MBA from Liverpool Business School with a Specialization in Marketing. This course will expand your knowledge by covering topics like consumer behaviour, marketing channels, relationship marketing, fundamentals of marketing, and many more. It also gives you on-hands experience by exposing you to real industry projects like Vodafone M-Peas, LinkedIn Live Project, etc. It guarantees a 30% salary hike for professionals and on completion of this program, you get both a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from Liverpool Business School UK and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Management from IMT-Ghaziabad.
Conclusion
This is an exciting time to be in the field of marketing. The space is constantly innovating, and this dynamism constantly pushes the scope of marketing. Today, marketing is not simply confined to promoting and selling goods and services. It encompasses so much more, both in terms of operations and the subject of marketing.
To truly understand and explain the scope of marketing management, you must consider the context of wider societal and technological changes. Additionally, the scope of marketing management does not end at the point of sale anymore, it goes beyond it to account for the after-sales activities of the team.
The scope of marketing is constantly expanding thanks to rapid technological advancement and the increasing interests of organisations to foster global connections. Consequently, new roles in marketing are emerging that are more focused on leveraging disruptive technologies to drive brand awareness, increases sales, boost ROI, and enhance customer satisfaction. Marketers now aim to provide value to their target customers by addressing their pain points and delivering stellar customer experiences. If you, too, wish to establish yourself as a successful marketing professional in the modern industry, an MBA in Marketing is the right way to go!