Functions of marketing department employees. What does the marketing department do? Roles and Responsibilities

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Quite often, marketers are identified as PR managers or sales specialists. However, their responsibilities are much broader and include developing a development strategy for the entire company, as well as resolving economic issues. To understand what the marketing department does and whether your company needs it, you need to study this issue in more detail.

From this article you will learn:

  1. Main tasks and key functions of the marketing department
  2. Employee Responsibilities
  3. What problems may arise with management?

What does the marketing department do in an enterprise and do you need it?

The need to create a marketing department at an enterprise depends solely on whether the manager is aware of this need and whether he is ready to provide all the relevant powers to the specialists of this department. When the functioning of a department is based on the principle “I don’t know why, but everyone does it,” all the endeavors of marketers will be in vain, even if they are professionals of the highest level.

The feasibility of creating such a service depends on the specifics of your product. The higher the competition in a given niche, the higher the need for a marketing department.

In the table below you will find the arguments for and against creating a marketing department in an enterprise. By correlating them with the needs of your own company, you can draw a conclusion about whether you need such a unit.

4 stereotypes about the marketing department in a company

The lack of understanding among many company employees of what the marketing department does gives rise to stereotypes regarding its tasks. However, some managers who have little idea of ​​the purpose of this unit are also guilty of generating such stereotypes. In this regard, certain rules for managing the marketing department arise at the enterprise:

  1. "Narrow window." This stereotype is based on the idea that marketing is a management function. In this regard, marketing is no longer included in the development of tasks for coordinating and adjusting the strategic development of the company, and the head of the department turns into a middle manager, losing his position as a top manager.
  2. "Swimming Octopus" In this case, top management perceives the marketing department as a tool for analyzing the market and making some recommendations based on this research. Such conclusions are not taken seriously by management, since in their eyes they are in the nature of wishes, and not specific instructions.

    Therefore, the information received from the marketing service is perceived as insufficiently reliable, and deviations in forecast values ​​only strengthen the confidence of top management that such recommendations should not be trusted. As a result, managers who do not have clear instructions and action algorithms are forced to rely not on marketing indicators, but on their own experience and professional intuition.

  3. "All-seeing eye". In this case, marketing plays the role of a wonderful tool that literally makes it possible to manipulate the market. As a rule, such high expectations end in disappointment even with positive results.
  4. "An annoying fly." Such a stereotype arises as a result of a competent assessment of the capabilities of the marketing department, coupled with insufficient desire of the staff to follow its recommendations. When receiving information from marketers, managers are often faced with situations where completing tasks requires acquiring and applying new knowledge and competencies, as well as spending more time.

However, not everyone is ready to deviate from the usual algorithm of actions. The result of such inertia is the desire of staff to brush aside marketers, who, in turn, strive to change this state of affairs and form a completely new holistic management based on feedback from the external environment.

The reason for the emergence of stereotypes is not only the lack of a clear understanding among staff of what the marketing department does, but also the insufficient theoretical training of such specialists in educational institutions.


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Main tasks of the marketing department

In addition, this list can be supplemented by searching for the necessary partners to carry out transactions, cooperation or sign the necessary contracts. Often the tasks of the marketing department include SMM promotion, as well as maintaining and filling the corporate website.

Key functions of the marketing department

Marketing planning

The company's marketing plan must take into account the overall development strategy, according to which the marketing department receives the main task (for example, the development of regional markets). In addition, the amount of time and financial investment required to achieve this goal is determined.

When a company plans to hold a promotion, the marketing department deals with:

  • determining the number of hours spent by the sales manager working with clients attracted by the promotion;
  • planning the degree of load of telephone lines and determining the number of calls that can be received and processed;
  • establishing the required number of managers, as well as the degree of their qualifications;
  • determining the number of workers required for the further implementation of orders placed;
  • planning the assortment of products offered as part of the promotion in order to identify an analogue that can replace the missing product unit, or determine the necessary temporary changes if an analogue cannot be found.

All planned activities must have predictable quantitative results. If the expected metrics are measured, it is much easier to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign and adjust it as necessary.

Market research

Market development is impossible without knowledge of its specifics. Market research can be carried out in two ways:

  • collection and analysis of information about clients;
  • research of competitors' activities.

The collection and analysis of customer information is carried out jointly by the marketing and sales departments. In this case, the sales department is delegated the task of attracting information about customers. The preparation of the questionnaire is carried out by marketing specialists, who subsequently analyze and prepare the main conclusions regarding the company’s activities in the market.

Positioning

Positioning of a company or product can be based on a portrait of the target consumer and analysis of competitors. The marketing department is developing a set of measures that will allow a product or company to unify in the market, taking an advantageous position relative to the position of competitors.

Pricing

The formation of a pricing policy cannot be carried out without the participation of the marketing department, therefore there must be a close relationship between the financial department and marketing specialists. The basic price is formed on the basis of the cost price proposed by economists, and its adjustment is carried out by the marketing department, which makes changes taking into account market prices, the pricing policy of competitors and the chosen strategy of the enterprise.

Assortment policy

The formation of the assortment is influenced by market needs, the financial position of the company and the goals of the strategy being implemented. The marketing department analyzes customer preferences and determines the dynamics of demand for certain units of a product group.

Development of new ideas

It is the marketing department that helps formulate a “portrait of an ideal product” that has the qualities necessary for its successful introduction to the market. To highlight such signs of a new product, marketers need to hold round tables together with the technology department, sales department, development department and others. During the discussion, the product design (and its packaging) and distribution system are developed. In addition, the marketing department is developing an advertising campaign.

Analysis of marketing activities

Without a report from marketers, a marketing event cannot be considered complete. This document should include information about the summed up results (how many new customers were attracted, how much sales volume increased, how much income increased), as well as information about the methods that were used during the implementation (advertising campaigns, promotions, other marketing activities).

Such reports can demonstrate the dynamics of development if similar events are analyzed in the long term.

Responsibilities of Marketing Department Employees

Head of the Marketing Department

The head of the marketing department is responsible for operational control of the development process of marketing, advertising and PR campaigns, as well as their coordination. The purpose of such events is to implement the company's strategy to make a profit, conquer and retain markets.

Applicants for the position of head of the marketing department are required to meet the following requirements:

Marketing Manager

A marketing manager plans and implements marketing campaigns for an enterprise.

Main activities:

  • Strategic and detailed marketing planning.
  • Implementation of the marketing plan.
  • Development of a budget for marketing campaigns.
  • Identification of characteristics of target consumers that will help to effectively organize and carry out activities to expand the sales market.
  • Studying the dynamics of supply and demand in the market and making forecasts.
  • Analysis of promising sales markets.
  • Coordination of competitors' market changes.
  • Identifying reasons for conducting marketing research.
  • Coordination of the organization and conduct of tenders among third-party companies ensuring the implementation of marketing programs.
  • Development and signing of contracts with third-party companies.
  • Study of the effectiveness of carried out marketing activities.
  • Development of reports on the conduct and results of marketing campaigns.

The following requirements apply to applicants for the position of Marketing Manager:

  1. At least 25 years old.
  2. Experience as a marketer - from two years.

Manager of PR, media relations and special projects

The PR, media relations and special projects manager is responsible for creating and maintaining a positive image of the enterprise.

Applicants for the position of PR, media relations and special projects manager are subject to the following requirements:

  1. Experience in conducting PR events: development of image campaign projects, established relations with the media.
  2. At least 25 years old.
  3. Higher education in the humanities.

Advertising Manager

With whom and how does the marketing department interact?

Effective work of the marketing department is impossible without well-coordinated interaction with other related departments.

  1. Cooperation with the commercial department.

Such interaction is based on preventing situations of order failure associated with the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances (for example, a shortage of components or raw materials). In addition, marketers must keep sales department employees informed regarding contracts concluded and planned for conclusion.

In such interactions, the marketing department must be aware of the degree of risk that arises in the event of providing erroneous forecasts regarding the volume of future orders. An under- or over-forecast can lead to incorrect financing.

  1. Cooperation with the financial department.

Of course, marketers do not have to know all the intricacies of accounting, but they must understand the basic techniques of costing and production. Developing a marketing budget is impossible without these skills, and their practical application allows you to effectively coordinate the expenditure of funds.

Ultimately, it is the work of the marketing department that allows us to judge the activities of the company itself. In order for the execution of the marketing budget to meet the company’s goals, marketers need not only to know the indicators of expenses and income, but also to be able to control them.

  1. Cooperation with legal services.

Since interaction with counterparties (marketing and creative agencies, marketing research services, etc.) is impossible without concluding and signing contracts, the coordination of such processes must be carried out by the legal department.

The legal service has a significant volume of templates for regulatory legal acts that regulate all aspects of the economic and business activities of an enterprise (development of a new product, conditions and rules of production, storage and transportation, terms of sale, pricing, advertising, etc.).

  1. Cooperation with the HR department.

Good personnel determine the effective functioning of any department, including the marketing department. The head of the marketing service interacts with the human resources department if there is a need to hire personnel or improve the skills of existing ones. In addition, close interaction between the HR and marketing departments is necessary at the stage of preparing instructions and training programs for hired new specialists.

  1. Cooperation with the planning and economic department.

The economic planning department prepares and transmits to marketers the constructed forecasts regarding sales volumes, information on price changes, methodological materials for competent planning, and also submits cost estimates for ongoing marketing activities for approval.

  1. Cooperation with accounting department.

The interaction in this case consists of the transfer by marketers of the documentation necessary for balance sheets, as well as documents required when preparing an employee’s business trip. In turn, the accounting department sends all the information regarding travel expenses, pay slips for issuing salaries, etc. Such document flow looks routine, but without it it is impossible to imagine the effective functioning of all departments of the company.

What problems may management have with the marketing department?

Problem #1. Owner/management lacks understanding of the marketing process.

If company management has little understanding of what the marketing department does, it can be very difficult to explain the specifics of the marketing tools. Many owners are put off by the popular belief that just one specialist can carry out the entire range of marketing processes.

Problem #2. No understanding of basic functionality.

When the basic functionality is a “dense forest”, this can lead to a decrease in the efficiency of execution of all processes of the marketing department:

  1. Lead generation.
  2. Qualification of incoming leads.
  3. Planning of lead generation indicators.

Problem #3. There is no professional education in the field of modern marketing technologies.

Most internet marketers educate themselves. This is explained by the specifics of the marketing field, which is constantly changing and developing. New tools appearing almost daily require immediate use. Therefore, the construction of theoretical teaching postulates can be difficult, and during the five-year period of university study, all acquired knowledge becomes obsolete almost immediately after receiving a diploma.

Problem #4. The marketer does not understand who the company's target audience is.

This phenomenon can occur periodically even among experienced marketers. Insufficient knowledge about the characteristics of the target audience or lack of understanding of the specifics of the reference buyer complicates further marketing work.

To prevent such situations, a marketer should:

  • performing ABC XYZ analysis;
  • preparation of client characteristics based on ABC XYZ analysis;
  • conducting constant testing of product marketers.

Problem #5. There is no communication between the marketing department and the sales department.

If there is a lack of close communication between marketing and sales, this gap can negatively impact the entire company. Lead feedback provided by sales managers ensures openness in identifying characteristics of the target audience and product niches. If it is not there, non-target consumers may be included in the sample, which will lead to distortion of the results, as well as to time and investment losses.

Internet sales and marketing department

Online sales are gradually conquering the market. That is why any business project today cannot exist successfully without its own high-quality website that meets .

If the manager or owner of the company has little understanding of the specifics of online advertising and does not consider it necessary to finance this area, this can lead to a loss of attractiveness of the corporate website in the eyes of potential buyers, and therefore to a decrease in sales.

If you understand the power of online advertising, an experienced marketing specialist can ensure good growth of the company even with a small investment in this area. Depending on the capabilities and scale of the enterprise, the marketer may be alone, dealing with the entire range of marketing tasks (one specialist can be effective only if you need to provide search engine promotion and contextual advertising).

However, from the point of view of time costs, it is much more efficient to attract an experienced team that can work harmoniously.

But don’t be intimidated by the prospect of hiring so many specialists and securing their jobs. One person can do the work of several people (for example, a content manager can successfully cope with the work of a copywriter).

If you still cannot afford to hire even 4 out of 7 people, some of the work can be outsourced to third-party marketing organizations. But do not forget that this process must be coordinated by your in-house marketing specialist, otherwise the result may be unpredictable, and the effectiveness of promotion will approach zero.


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There are many definitions of marketing, but it is not so much important to know all the definitions as it is important to understand that they all reflect the same essence of marketing: in order to make a profit, a campaign must effectively, at a competitive level, sell its products or services to the end buyer.

The main goal of the marketing department in an enterprise

The primary responsibility of a marketing manager is to manage the perceived value of a company's product. Why is this necessary? The perceived value of a product directly affects the ability to receive a high rate of profit from the sale of a product and is the simplest working indicator for assessing the effectiveness of the marketing department.

Increasing the customer value of a product is the main goal and priority of the marketing manager. It is with this task that the work of any specialist in this field should begin. The high value of the product increases the profitability of the exchange with the buyer, as a result of which the buyer satisfies his need, and the company receives maximum income and profit.

Perceived value is the perceived difference between the benefits and costs of choosing and using a product.

It is important to understand that marketing directly affects the company’s profit, which means it must occupy a key role in the company’s structure, be part of top management and have sufficient resources (including management) to manage the value of the product.

The main functions and tasks of the marketing service at the enterprise

So, we have figured out the main importance of marketing for a company. Now we propose to consider the tasks that a marketing specialist must perform in order to follow his global goal of increasing the value of the product. In practice, there are 8 key tasks of a marketing manager, by performing which a specialist of any level can move the company’s sales in a positive direction and increase the success of the brand in the market.

Marketing Manager Responsibilities:

  • Market research and market trends
  • Consumer Behavior Study
  • Target Market Selection
  • Developing a Competitive Advantage
  • Approval of product development strategy
  • Tactical product management of the company
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Monitoring and analysis of work results

Now we propose to consider each task of a marketer in more detail.

Researching market needs and key trends

Market analysis is carried out by a marketing manager. He can do this on his own, or he can involve analytical research agencies in this process. It all depends on the budget and the significance of the analysis for decision making. In the first case, the marketer himself conducts research, draws up reports and draws conclusions. In the second case, he draws up a research plan, determines the depth of market analysis and the main data that needs to be obtained, and also helps, based on the market research, to make the right strategic decisions.

It is important to understand that it is the marketer who can form a general picture of the market, divide the market into niches/segments, assess the attractiveness and viability of each segment, and identify growing and promising business areas.

Studying the behavior of the target audience

It is believed that it is the marketer who has sacred and ideal knowledge of the end consumer. And it is this knowledge that helps him make a good product, sell it in the right place, at the right price, with effective communication. How he does it?

A marketing manager talks to a consumer. He, through various studies and surveys, creates an ideal knowledge about the needs, problems and prejudices of the target audience. And it offers a product that helps solve existing problems and fits perfectly into the consumer’s picture of the world. The marketer determines the key purchasing motives and encourages consumers to make purchases more often and in larger volumes, works with consumer prejudices that limit the purchase of the campaign product; identifies unmet market needs to enable intensive campaign growth.

Selecting the target market and target audience

Through good knowledge of the market and target audience, a marketing manager understands which group of buyers will bring more money to the company in the long run, and also helps identify the company's strengths and weaknesses. It helps make decisions on choosing the target market and target audience, taking into account the potential of the market segment, competition in the segment and the company’s ability to invest in product development.

Creating a Competitive Advantage

It is the marketer who gives the product its character, the desired image, and distinguishes it from the mass variety of similar market offers. The marketing manager ensures the competitiveness of the product by analyzing competitors and creating differentiating benefits from the purchase of the final product. He knows the weaknesses of competitors and understands what methods of competition will be effective in a particular market.

Development of a long-term strategy

It is recommended to involve a marketing manager in the development of a long-term development strategy for the company. Firstly, he knows the trends of the market and the market consumer, which means he can find interesting free niches, point out promising segments and low-competitive markets. Secondly, he has a strategic mindset and will help identify key sources of growth and existing business threats, and help develop an action plan to reduce risks.

Company product management

The marketing manager knows which product, with what characteristics, will appeal to the consumer; understands that it is necessary to talk about the product in order to stimulate purchase; knows at what price the consumer is willing to buy a product and where it will be more effective to sell the product.

Forming relationships with clients

A marketing manager is responsible for growing a company's consumer base. He develops measures to attract new clients, retain existing ones and return departed clients. Growing a loyal customer base is often a key goal for marketers, as it has been proven that loyal consumers can provide high long-term income.

Control and analysis

A marketer is always a project manager and coordinates the actions of different departments to create the ideal product. He analyzes sets marketing goals and analyzes the results achieved, develops corrective measures and manages limited resources to achieve maximum results.

Tags: https://site/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Prezentacionnyj.jpg 300 450 Igor Belov /wp-content/uploads/2018/05/logo.pngIgor Belov 2014-04-20 19:48:48 2014-04-20 20:55:46 What does the marketing department do?

In today's world, it is difficult to imagine even a medium-sized company without a marketing department or at least one or two specialists in this field. Market realities do not allow us to do without an integrated approach to the process of creating a product or service and their further distribution. In the variety of brands and brands, it is very difficult to find a place for your product on a store shelf. Without knowledge and practical skills in this area, it will be very difficult to continue your activities.

Market activity

Marketing is considered to be any activity of a company or firm with the aim of creating products and their further sale. The main tasks can be considered the collection and analysis of the necessary information to draw up a portrait of the target audience, search for USP, study the commitment and expectations of potential buyers. In addition, marketing helps to understand what place the company occupies among other companies in the industry.

Market activity begins with product development and ends only after a person has purchased the product or service, tried it and was able to form an opinion. If the final product does not meet customer expectations in some way, the task of specialists is to understand the reason and find ways to eliminate it.

To answer the question of what the marketing department does, you need to define its functions. The tasks that specialists solve can be both tactical and strategic, the correct formulation of which can affect the achievement or failure to achieve the set goals. Any one must have a result that can be assessed in units of measurement (company profit, quantity of goods sold, percentage growth of customers, etc.).

Work principles

To organize a competent functioning process, several rules must be followed.

First, the structure of the marketing department should be simple. It is necessary to remove all unnecessary links from it that affect the speed of finding the necessary solutions.

Secondly, each employee must be responsible for a limited number of functions. It is absolutely forbidden for a large number of people to be responsible for the same area of ​​work. This will complicate and prolong the process of solving the assigned tasks.

Third, all employees must be flexible and adaptable. In rapidly changing market conditions, the main success factor will be the ability to quickly find new ways to solve problems than a competitor can do.

The specifics of organizing the work of the marketing department also depend on the type of activity of the company, production volumes, number of employees, the presence of subsidiaries and branches, industry focus, the presence of competitors and their number, distance from end consumers and points of sale.

Structural device

The number of specialists working in one marketing department may vary. It depends on the size of the company and its goals. As mentioned above, each marketer must focus on his own area of ​​market activity. Some will research competitors, some will draw up a portrait of the buyer, some will look for new ways and means of selling finished products.

Many modern companies sell their goods not only offline, that is, through physical stores, but also online. The methods for promoting services through these channels differ significantly, so it is advisable to entrust these tasks to different specialists. In addition, marketers are required who are responsible for current projects and SEO promotion of the company itself on the Internet.

The marketing department also includes logisticians, designers, content editors, copywriters, photographers, and videographers. It is often necessary to supplement the existing team with promoters and workers for one-time projects. Each of these specialists has a number of unique tasks that ultimately make up a full-scale marketing activity. In most cases, departments have either a boss or a general manager who controls the work process and directs it in the right direction.

Functions of the Marketing Department

To achieve all of the company's goals, it needs clear tactics and strategy. The person responsible for this type of work is the marketing manager, or marketer. The positive dynamics depend on his professional efforts. This could be an increase in sales or awareness, conquering new target groups, entering a new market segment, or the success of a promotion to launch a new product or service.

The responsibilities of marketers, or marketing managers, include the following activities:

  • Analysis of the market situation and future trends.
  • Analysis of the behavior of potential buyers and consumers.
  • Defining the target market.
  • Identification of competitive advantages.
  • Drawing up programs to introduce benefits into the company’s activities.
  • Development of strategy and tactics for product promotion.
  • Tactical management of the company's product line.
  • Increasing customer loyalty.
  • Analysis, control and calculation of the results of the work carried out.

Studying market needs and trends

A marketing manager should begin his activities with a complete analysis of the market: from its trends and competitors to the expectations of buyers and intermediaries (for a B2B company). Often, specialized analytical and statistical agencies are involved for higher-quality research. Small and medium-sized businesses with limited budgets generally do not need this.

Upon completion of marketing research, the specialist draws up relevant reports and draws conclusions regarding a particular strategy for the development and promotion of the product. If he receives third-party data, he will still have to adapt the information received taking into account his goals and objectives.

After a full and thorough study of market niches and segments, assessing the attractiveness of each segment and the potential viability of the company in the chosen category, the marketer can determine the prospects for business development and the direction in which to move.

Studying the target audience

A marketing manager must have the necessary knowledge to identify the desires and expectations of the end consumer. They will ultimately help create a product that is in demand on the market, correctly determine its price and distribution methods.

This complex chain of processes begins with a detailed analysis of the potential buyer. Marketers conduct surveys, work with representative groups, and collect research conducted before them. Based on this data, it is already possible to determine the needs and prejudices of the audience. A marketing manager must not only know all the positive aspects that customers would like to find in the proposed product, but also all their concerns about it.

The main task of a product is to solve a specific problem for the buyer. At the same time, it must meet his expectations. There are also certain motivational incentives behind the act of purchasing. The marketer’s task is to identify them, then the consumer will buy the product more often and with greater willingness. For example, cellulite cream can be sold on the basis that being attractive and slim will help women maintain family relationships or simply attract the attention of the opposite sex.

The mood of the audience can change due to various external reasons (the appearance of cheaper competitive analogues, cooling of interest, etc.), so the marketer must always monitor the behavior and attitude of buyers towards the product in order to determine the moment when the product or service needs to be modified.

Target Market Selection

There are two ways to develop a product or service:

  1. Conduct research on the target audience and identify their expectations, on the basis of which the product is subsequently created.
  2. Conduct an analysis of the company’s technical and resource capabilities and create a product based on them, and then look for the audience that will be interested in the existing product.

A thorough market study allows marketers to identify the most promising group of buyers that will bring maximum profit and be loyal. It also helps determine the target market and segment in which the company would benefit most from being present. Knowing consumer preferences helps identify the weaknesses of competitors and the shortcomings of their products.

Creating a Competitive Advantage

An attractive appearance can be considered one of the keys to the success of a product. The task of marketers in this case is to give the product the necessary external characteristics and distinguish it from a number of similar products. In addition to this, you can create a unique selling proposition (USP), which will make the product even more attractive in the eyes of potential buyers.

The competitiveness of a product is considered one of its key characteristics. If the functionality of two products, for example, pots, is the same, the client will choose the one that he liked best or that suited the price. For some categories of goods, price is no longer a determining factor (essential goods, luxury products). In this case, everything depends only on the appearance and the availability of additional services that come with the product. Knowing the weaknesses of a competitor's products allows you to take a more advantageous position in the market.

Development of a long-term strategy

Without the participation of the marketing department at the enterprise, long-term planning is impossible. Firstly, its employees are familiar with all market trends and customer expectations. Secondly, they will quickly find a profitable segment to place the product. Thirdly, they will be able to not only develop a strategy aimed at emphasizing the strengths of the advertised product, but also take into account potential dangers, reduce the risks of losses and develop a plan for marketing research and activities that will help to quickly achieve their goals.

Company product management

The marketing department manager always knows the product in every detail. He will be able to highlight the strengths and hide the less attractive ones. In addition, the marketing manager will always be able to talk about the product and stimulate both the buyer’s interest and motivate him to take the final action.

Skillful product management is as important as developing a competent strategy and media plan for an advertising campaign. Without understanding consumer expectations for a specific product, it will be impossible to correctly determine the price, size, and number of units in a package.

Forming relationships with clients

Since the marketing and advertising department is responsible for growing the customer base and establishing feedback from consumers, their responsibilities also include developing and implementing measures to attract more attention to a product, service or organization. Specialists must attract new ones, maintain relationships with existing ones and try to win back lost clients.

In the realities of the modern market, expanding the customer base and establishing relationships with them becomes the key task of marketers. This is primarily due to the simplification of other processes thanks to the Internet. In addition, it has been proven that loyal customers can provide more stable income in the long term.

Control and analysis

Typically, the chief marketing officer sets short-term and long-term goals for the entire team. In the future, he also has to control the process of achieving them. He will need to develop “corrective measures” if any of the assigned tasks cannot be successfully implemented. Management and control of resources is also included in the list of his direct responsibilities.

From idea to sale

The marketer himself is both a manager and a coordinator, and often a performer. The future fate of not only one product taken, but also the entire organization as a whole depends on his knowledge and actions. When answering the question of what the marketing department does, it is important to remember its multifunctionality. He not only manages existing products and services and conducts research, but also develops and markets new ones, helping the company move forward, increasing its customer base and annual turnover. Therefore, having a competent marketer turns out to be important for maintaining the life of the company in the long term.

To achieve marketing goals, the company creates a specialized department. There are different versions of the organization of the corresponding service. The choice of one option or another will depend on the type of product, production volume and market.

It is not so important to know exactly the definition of the term “marketing”; it is much more important to understand the essence of such activity. Work is closely related to generating income, as well as increasing the competitiveness of the company's goods and services.

The service for promoting goods and services can be formed according to one of the following principles of organization:

  • market, i.e. in the actual presence of market segments;
  • functional - when the department consists of a number of specialized units: advertising, research of trading platforms, sales and others;
  • commodity, i.e., in addition to the functional division of specialists, they are distinguished by the types of products sold;
  • commodity-market or matrix (for companies with a large assortment).

Expert opinion

It is important to determine the place of the marketing department in the structure of the enterprise

Roman Lukyanchikov,

General Director of the Moscow Windows company (Moscow)

For the successful implementation of marketing goals and objectives by a division, it is necessary to establish its place and competence in the structure of the organization. There are different variations in the relationship between such management and other services. You can make sure that the marketing, advertising and sales departments each report to their own manager. Another option is when employees of the marketing and advertising departments report to the product promotion director, and his employees report to the sales manager.

It seems to me that a more effective option is one in which the marketing department controls the activities of the advertising and sales departments. That is, its employees determine the goals of advertising specialists, and also provide assistance to sales managers in selling goods.

  • Category manager: job responsibilities and instructions

Marketing department tasks

1. Increasing the value of goods for buyers.

The main goal: to convince the consumer to pay for the product. Customers' perceptions of the benefits of a product and its properties determine its advantage. The highly effective result of branding and a competent advertising campaign leads to an increase in consumer perception of the importance of the product. Through the profitability of sales or units of products, as well as through an increase in the total sales volume and income growth, this marketing function can be reflected in the form of a specific goal. Since the manager manages the advertising budget, which can be used to increase the customer's perceived value of the products, the company's profitability goals are set minus advertising costs.

2. Selection and analysis of sales markets.

It is necessary to regularly monitor trading platforms, track fundamental directions to search for free and previously unknown ones. It is in this activity that the research, i.e. analytical function of the service is expressed. Its task is to constantly collect initial data on market developments, competitors and the most important market programs. A correct understanding will lead the company to competent entry into new and free trading niches, will help give a timely response to the aggression of competitors, and will also guide the timely liquidation of unprofitable business segments.

The effectiveness of work in this area can be monitored by setting goals to increase sales that outpace the rate of development of the main sales platforms on which the organization builds its business.

3. Work with customers.

Maintaining active communication with customers is a priority for the marketing department at any enterprise. Such a specialist needs to speak the same language with clients, understand their values, needs, reasons for refusing or purchasing a product, and perception of the main megabrands in the industry. Having this information, it is easier to segment the market, establish the company's target audience, develop effective advertising and launch it in popular communication channels. To increase the volume and frequency of purchases, you need to work not only with existing, but also with potential consumers.

If you define the goal of customer growth and increase their trustworthy attitude towards you, then you can constantly monitor actions in this direction.

4. Construction of strategies and principles of competition.

The Marketing Department is actively involved in planning. Due to good knowledge of the market, the competitive environment and the specifics of consumption, it has the ability to formulate an acceptable program for increasing sales and competitiveness of goods, establish the main sales sites, and also recommend an effective plan for promoting the company’s products. According to his information, an annual project of measures for the tactical activities of the company is emerging.

5. Assortment control.

Managing the volume of the composition, determining the price of products and the profitability of any SKU of the organization are the most important tasks of the production mission of the marketing department. He constantly monitors the demand for all manufactured goods, works to introduce the latest products to the market, identifies leading ones and recommends removing poorly selling ones. The result of control makes it possible to reduce the enterprise’s costs for storing products, increase the profitability of sales and establish a constant increase in sales of any group of company products.

6. Analysis of the effectiveness of work performance.

The most important tasks of the marketing department are management, control and organizational functions. He regularly monitors various projects to create new products, promote products, search for new sales opportunities, and also checks the dynamics of brand performance indicators, annually analyzes his activities and evaluates the results of completed projects.

Composition of the Internet Marketing Department

Find out which specialists to include in the department, how to distribute responsibilities and monitor their effectiveness in the article in the electronic magazine “Commercial Director”.

The main functions of the marketing department in an enterprise

The main function of marketers- This is undoubtedly advertising. The service promotes the product among its clients, enters into contracts with PR agencies, etc. There are many types of advertising, and the task of specialists is to determine the most effective and cost-effective.

Functions departments may be as follows:

  1. unified market research:
  • demand growth forecast (short- and long-term);
  • study and analysis of the most important market indicators, such as the competitor environment, volume, market conditions;
  • customer research, namely their recognition of the enterprise and products, motives for action, consumer preferences;
  • formation of strategies and plans, analysis and control of target markets;
  • working with competitors, establishing their product promotion policies, strengths and weaknesses;
  • establishing the main criteria for success and forming a set of various forms of marketing;
  • segmentation of trading platforms and consideration of key quantities of parts, positioning;
  1. development of a product policy, which implies:
  • formation of a line and assortment of products;
  • creation of a brand policy, development of service and packaging;
  • assessing the situation and increasing the level of competitiveness;
  • developing proposals for the creation of new products, etc.;
  1. establishing a pricing policy means:
  • creating incentive pricing methods;
  • setting a price target for the company’s expenses, the state of demand, and competitors;
  1. organizing distribution routes and choosing methods for selling goods includes:
  • selection of dealer intermediaries;
  • formation of distribution routes;
  • creation of specific forms and methods of selling products, such as individual and direct sales, as well as sales using information technological processes, etc.;
  • analysis and forecast of trade volume and structure;
  1. the formation of communication links with the market consists of:
  • participation in publicity (elite non-profit events);
  • customer rewards;
  • organizing marketing evidence of advertising activities, i.e. PR campaigns;
  • holding presentations, exhibitions, demonstrations, etc.;
  • motivating sales employees and sales managers;
  • establishing a certain trustworthy image of the company.

Expert opinion

The main task of the marketing department is sales support

Alexey Markov,

Head of Marketing Service of the company "AquaDrive" (Moscow)

We created such a division to increase business efficiency. Today, its most important task is to maintain sales, that is, the ability to retain old and attract new customers, to reorient consumers who use competitors' products. Most likely, in other organizations, the responsibilities of product promotion specialists are developed differently and they are assigned completely different tasks. According to the definition of the term “marketing,” it follows that the most important goal of the relevant department is to increase sales. The responsibilities of marketers include solving the following settings:

  • market analysis and positioning;
  • establishing the product range and pricing strategy of the enterprise;
  • segmentation of the customer base;
  • providing support to the dealer network;
  • feedback from consumers;
  • marketing communication systems (advertising campaigns, PR, etc.).

The AquaDrive marketing department has only two employees: a manager and a supervisor. We solve some problems through outsourcing. The division is assisted by dealers and directly by company employees.

  • A positive image of the organization is a competitive advantage and a sales stimulator

What does the organizational structure of the marketing department look like?

The foundation of the division is the product-functional principle, presented in the form of groups:

  • marketing research, analysis and creation of a work plan;
  • promoting products and bringing them to customers.

In addition to actively participating in the conduct of their policies, they also carry out certain types of research activities at the request of the heads of product groups and provide assistance in maintaining an information base for all products. Those responsible for the promotion of certain categories of products, together with specialists of the first and second groups, produce and carry out individual batches of goods, as well as products that are their component parts.

Group No. 1 includes four employees:

  • manager (its leader);
  • Leading Research Analyst;
  • research analyst;
  • economist-analyst.

Group No. 2 includes three employees:

  • manager;
  • product promotion analyst;
  • sales analyst.

Since certain research functions at the request of superiors are performed by specialists from both groups, it is initially better to form only managers in their composition.

Functional responsibilities, i.e. job descriptions of marketing service employees

Department head:

  • establishes a unified course of functioning within the boundaries of corporate tasks, which are defined in the Regulations “On the Marketing Department”, orders of the general director of the organization and his deputy for commercial issues;
  • is responsible for the efficiency of the unit;
  • is engaged in building the structure of the department and, as necessary, makes additions and changes to it; takes timely measures to restructure the service to resolve certain problematic situations;
  • resolves personnel issues, has the right to dismiss and hire employees;
  • determines the level of remuneration for temporary specialists, rewards based on work results, and is responsible for discipline;
  • manages market research activities, looks for methods and ways to study it, demand forecasts, and sales of goods;
  • leads the process of studying the life cycle of specific products, develops instructions for their improvement, for selecting new points of sale or removing a product from production;
  • carries out testing of new products;
  • identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise’s trade policy, analyzes the effectiveness of decisions made in the field of marketing;
  • develops tactics for promoting products and selling them; bears responsibility for the quality of promotional events, including their timely preparation;
  • participates in building the company's strategy and improving its organizational structure;
  • organizes public relations, i.e. PR;
  • represents the company in relations with other organizations, actively participates in correspondence on behalf of the company within the limits of its powers;
  • at the request of the general director or his deputy for commercial issues, provides information on the work of the division every year;
  • once a quarter or as necessary, draws up and approves with the director an action plan, structure and volume of the department’s budget; is the responsible person for its implementation and the results of consumption of budget funds;
  • regularly improves their qualifications and specialists;
  • in agreement with the chief or his deputy for commercial matters, involves other specialists of the company in events;
  • actively participates in the discussion of research results at the company’s technical council;
  • forms temporary groups of experts on specific marketing issues, and then manages and controls their activities;
  • prepares the necessary recommendations for improving the sales network; looking for new ways to promote products.

Team Leader No. 1:

  • actively participates in and conducts research on the state and conditions of markets, as well as their growth trends both in the regional and industry spheres;
  • actively takes part in and organizes sociological research into needs, analyzes the attitude of buyers and dealers to the company’s products;
  • organizes and actively participates in the division of trading platforms, studies the parameters of segments: competition, pricing, volume of needs in each, etc.;
  • recommends the choice of ways to improve manufactured goods and develop new products;
  • makes every effort to obtain information on product markets and information about scientific and technological development in a certain area;
  • makes forecasts on sales volumes determined by the external environment and the company’s capabilities;
  • studies the work of competitors in the profile of the first group, but, taking into account the effectiveness of studying their work in the line of the second group, which is carried out by its specialists and heads of product associations, it also establishes the position of the enterprise among rivals;
  • gives recommendations on choosing the most appropriate retail outlets, according to the situation and resource capabilities of the company;
  • explores the life cycle of certain products together with colleagues from product groups;
  • organizes the receipt of information about the company’s products from end consumers;
  • replaces the head of the department in case of his temporary absence;
  • advises specialists of the first group on the direction of their work;
  • plans activities,, together with the economic department, conducts financial analysis and evaluation of the plan, develops recommendations for its improvement;
  • identifies contacts and organizes the receipt of information from organizations and specific employees that is needed for his group;
  • carries out certain instructions of the General Director, his deputy for commercial issues, as well as the head of the marketing department within the boundaries of the already designated work.

Leading Research Analyst:

  • develops forecasts and models the market situation;
  • participates in research together with the research economist of this group; analyzes and plans its activities;
  • conducts an analysis of information flows and interdependence of departments that participate and influence the implementation of marketing functions;
  • together with colleagues, builds algorithms for all areas of service;
  • creates tasks and develops the structure of the software package;
  • accepts and controls ready-made software solutions that are developed by programmers and implemented outside the company;
  • organizes basic training for colleagues on working with PCs and using automated control systems in practice;
  • creates a temporary group of IT department specialists, system analysts, expert mathematicians, software developers. The formation of the group is carried out with the participation of the automated control system unit and must be agreed with the head of the department;
  • develops methods for optimization, analysis of the construction and position of the information base of marketing activities.

Economist-analyst:

  • carries out current economic analysis, namely, considers sales and their compliance with planned values; explores possible reasons that lead to deviations from the approved project; adjusts the sales plan;
  • conducts an analysis and makes a forecast of the development of the construction goods market based on economic statistical information, as well as on the basis of conducted research;
  • is obliged to provide the leading research analyst with economic data with the help of which he analyzes and forecasts the situation at points of sale;
  • explores the life cycle of certain enterprise products with the help of product group managers;
  • offers options for action in the field of price policy;
  • with the help of specialists from the second group, analyzes the results of product promotion, including the effectiveness of advertising campaigns; gives recommendations for improving the results of product promotion;
  • prepares a draft budget for the company’s marketing activities; by order of the boss, generates reports on budget execution; submits for discussion recommendations for improving the results of spending the pledged funds;
  • participates in planning, and has the authority to involve in this work not only specialists from other departments, but also third parties, i.e. external independent consultants.

Team Leader No. 2:

  • organizes and takes an active part in the selection and implementation of certain methods of product promotion;
  • offers the head of the department options for carrying out promotions, their volumes, timing, budget, etc.;
  • organizes and actively participates in searching for information about the work of counterparties in the field of promoting goods and their markets;
  • offers the boss options for printing materials and company souvenirs;
  • recommends versions of the formation of a corporate uniform style of product design (symbols, trademark, logo, corporate color shades, etc.);
  • advises the boss on ways to develop and improve product sales;
  • establishes contacts and organizes the receipt from enterprises and specific employees of information that is needed to conduct the activities of the second group;
  • carries out personal assignments of the director of the company, his deputy for commercial issues and the head of the department as part of the work of his group.

Product Promotion Manager:

  • with the help of leading specialists of product groups, participates in the development of advertising campaigns (photos, advertising texts, slogans, schematic drawings, etc.), as well as in writing business letters to promote products;
  • with the help of managers accompanying product groups and employees of other departments, edits advertising texts;
  • offers options for carrying out advertising campaigns, their volumes, timing, budget, etc.;
  • with the help of advertising agency specialists, develops a PR campaign plan and actively participates in its execution;
  • actively communicates with the media marketing and advertising department;
  • with the help of other divisions of the organization, selects and forms various methods of selling goods, for example, promotions, sales with coupons, exhibitions, fairs, transfer of a product sample for research, etc.;
  • together with the head of the product group, participates in the development and implementation of a project for testing a new product in a particular sales market;
  • evaluates the effectiveness of product promotion methods;
  • is engaged in the development of a corporate uniform design style (symbols, trademark, logo, corporate color shades, etc.);
  • participates in the production of printing materials and souvenirs.

Sales Analyst:

  • organizes, together with specialists from the sales and marketing department, the search and selection of information that is directly related to the sale of the enterprise’s products;
  • with the help of sales employees, analyzes the sales of goods in various regions and market segments;
  • analyzes the situation of the trading network, develops certain recommendations for its development and improvement, i.e., proposes the formation of sales branches, representative offices in other regions, increasing the trading network engaged in retail and wholesale sales of goods, etc.;
  • reviews statistics on concluding contracts with selling companies; develops options for their improvement.

Head of product group:

  • actively participates in studying the range of products, as well as their consumer characteristics;
  • identifies the main trends in the development of the organization’s production activities, i.e. its technical and technological level, the composition of production costs, etc.;
  • together with specialists from the sales and marketing department, develops a sequence of research, studies and forecasts demand, assesses customer needs for manufactured and developed products;
  • together with sales and promotion employees, collects and analyzes information about defects and complaints regarding the use of products by customers, participates in the consideration of complaints;
  • together with the employees of the first group, analyzes and determines the competitiveness of the product being manufactured, analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of marketing activities;
  • develops proposals and recommends making certain changes and additions to the design and technical parameters of products, as well as develops product design, suggests ways to improve its consumption, storage and transportation;
  • offers options for developing products that are designed to meet the needs of new customers;
  • together with the first group, forms an information base for the product group and puts it into operation;
  • formulates goals and strategy regarding certain markets, and also develops measures for their use; develops an action plan for a specific product group;
  • exercises control over the implementation of the promotion plan for each group of goods; offers options for its changes and additions;
  • engages in coordinating the activities of all departments of the company that can influence the promotion of certain products;
  • together with production employees, creates instructions for the use of products and other documents accompanying them;
  • studies customer needs together with the first group and, if necessary, with external marketing experts;
  • together with the second group and sales employees, analyzes sales, identifies reasons that can have a significant impact on the sale of goods;
  • takes part in the preparation of draft contracts with customers, as well as in their conclusion;
  • together with the sales department, workshops and economic departments of the enterprise, takes part in the development of production plans for the month, quarter, year and participates in the supply of goods;
  • suggests ways to improve the distribution network;
  • organizes and takes part in testing a new product in market conditions;
  • together with marketers, workshop and economic department specialists, participates in projects aimed at reducing production and sales costs;
  • develops and coordinates plans for advertising campaigns (goals, methods, content, timing and effectiveness of these events);
  • designs and coordinates the implementation of events for the sale of goods (tasks, methods, essence, date and sales results);
  • coordinates and controls research activities for each product group;
  • transmits to the boss instructions for the managers of the first and second groups related to studying markets, conducting advertising campaigns, etc.

Sections of the Regulations on the Marketing Department

The main document on the work of the marketing service determines its place and purpose in the company. It consists of several sections.

  1. General provisions:
  • ways to most effectively achieve the goal;
  • fundamental principles of product promotion;
  • subordination of the department and the degree of its independence;
  • the manager and his appointment to this position;
  • approval of the unit staff;
  • documents regulating activities, etc.
  1. Tasks:
  • uniform and aggregate market research;
  • ensuring implementation;
  • consumer benefits research;
  • logistics;
  • creation of marketing complexes.
  1. Functions.

This section of the Regulations is the largest, as it requires a thorough description of each function performed.

  1. Rights.

This paragraph includes actions that the department has the right to demand, provide, involve, etc. For example, it has the right to demand from other departments the provision of source documents that are needed to carry out the relevant activities. This part usually consists of nine to ten points.

  1. Responsibility.

About six to ten activities are listed here, the implementation of which is the responsibility of the marketing service. They also prescribe the level of responsibility of each of the department employees.

  1. Department structure.

The diagram clarifies the control system. This section formulates the most important responsibilities of specialists, including both the manager and the loader or warehouse worker.

  1. Relationships between marketers and other company specialists.

Interaction with other departments can be presented in the form of a table consisting of two columns:

  • department accepts;
  • department represents.

The table clearly outlines the formal communication links between the Department and other services. An appendix to the Regulations are job descriptions that specify the responsibilities of specialists. As an example, let’s take the official instructions of the head of a department, who is the most important official and also responsible for the commercial component of the company’s success.

The generally accepted traditional version of the duties associated with the position consists of five main sections.

Supervisor:

  1. is the main person responsible for the commercial success of the enterprise;
  2. reports to the director of the company;
  3. has a higher education (managerial, economic) in at least one of a number of specialties: “organizational management”, “marketing”, “economics and management in an organization”, etc., taking into account the specifics of production;
  4. must know:
  • legislation of the Russian Federation;
  • technical and economic standards of manufactured products;
  • methodological materials that help in studying the demand for goods and in researching sales markets;
  • organization of production;
  • basics of management;
  • industrial sanitation indicators;
  • safety precautions, labor protection, fire protection;
  • development opportunities for the company and the specific manufacturing industry as a whole;
  1. in its activities it relies on the current federal and local legislation, orders and regulations of the director, as well as on the Regulations on the department.

Possible schemes for organizing the marketing department

  1. Functional.

This model is the most popular. In this case, employees manage certain activities to promote goods. They are led by a vice president of marketing, who supervises and coordinates their activities.

An important advantage of this program is its ease of administration. But as the product range and its sales grow, this scheme becomes ineffective. Not only will it be more difficult to develop a special plan for a specific market or for a specific product, but also to coordinate and control the company's marketing activities.

  1. Based on geography.

When a joint-stock company is engaged in sales throughout the state, the subordination of employees takes the form of organizing a department on a geographical basis. Sales agents live in the same territory they serve, which allows them to get to know their customers as well as possible and sell products effectively.

  1. For commodity production.

Companies with a large range of products resort to such a program. It is one of the management levels, but cannot replace the functional one. It can only justify itself if the enterprise’s products are very different from each other and/or there are so many types of products that it is not possible to manage their nomenclature by the functional organization.

There are certain advantages to this principle of creating a unit:

  • the manager for a specific product is the coordinator of the full range of marketing activities;
  • a leading product specialist is able to respond faster to market problems than other employees;
  • there is a separate specialist even for minor branded goods;
  • Product control is a good school for novice managers, since they are involved in almost all production areas of the company.

But all of these benefits are directly related to costs:

  • the commodity production management system leads to a list of certain conflicts. Often product managers do not have sufficient rights to effectively perform their responsibilities;
  • The lead product specialist is an expert on a specific product, but, as a rule, he does not become a professional in a functional area of ​​activity;
  • a commodity production control program is very expensive due to employee labor costs.
  1. According to the market principle.

Manufacturing companies sell their products of various assortments at several sales sites. For example, the Smith-Corona company sells its products (typewriters) on three trading platforms - government agencies, business organizations and enterprises, and individual consumers.

Creating a department according to this principle should be resorted to when dissimilar markets have different consumer habits and product preferences. The main advantage of this system is that the company conducts its commercial activities in accordance with the needs of customers who make up certain segments of the trading platform.

  1. According to the commodity-market principle.

Companies that sell many different products face certain challenges. They must decide whether to use a product organization system, which requires deep knowledge of various trading platforms, or use a market principle, which requires knowledge of a large number of different products. A company can simultaneously have both a market and product manager, i.e., it can use a matrix organization of the marketing department.

Step-by-step creation of a marketing service in an enterprise

  • determination of improvements in the organizational structure of research management;
  • selection of qualified employees;
  • division of responsibilities, tasks and rights in the marketing management system;
  • creating the necessary conditions for the effective work of specialists, namely, providing mandatory information, appropriate office equipment, organizing workplaces, etc.;
  • organizing effective relationships between the service and other departments of the company.

Expert opinion

Marketing cannot be separated from sales under any circumstances!

Elina Zolotova,

Head of Corporate Communications, JSC National Computer Corporation (Moscow)

I am strongly against separating marketing from sales. A well-formed marketing department is responsible for increasing sales, expanding the market, and the profitability of the company in the same volumes as the commercial department.

The optimal solution, in my opinion, would be to introduce the position of one manager for both marketing and sales. She may sound like Deputy General Manager or Vice President. The marketing service and sales department will report to him.

How to evaluate a company's marketing department

As a rule, to assess its fruitfulness, it is necessary to calculate the profitability of the company, which it achieved through carrying out events in order to increase sales, the number of consumer requests, as well as the number of their repeat visits. Other basic evaluation criteria will depend on what kind of business the organization is engaged in. In any case, it is necessary to inquire about the extent to which the tasks and plan have been completed. It is impossible to consider the activities of the department without an approved marketing project.

Analysis of the marketing department at the enterprise

  1. Newsletters.

Goal: not to let the service specialists relax, to inform the head of the company, the sales department and other departments about current affairs and plans. It is better to submit a progress report once a week, on Fridays. It is advisable to format your newsletter in the form of visual images.

  1. Top 5.

This is what they call a five-day work plan. The program for the week is drawn up in duplicate on Monday, and it should consist of two to seven main tasks. One copy is in the marketing department, and the second is in the sales department. This method of analysis allows you to make the activities of the unit transparent to others.

Top 5 solves an important problem for all marketers – the lack of visible effect from the work performed during the day. It allows you to track completed tasks: if you completed one of the items, crossed it out, etc. Crossed out sections are a strong motivator for further work on the remaining days of the week. To enhance the effect, it is advisable to print the project on colored paper.

  1. 90 days.

This is a specific list of tasks for three months. Such a quarterly program should contain only the most important activities that bring immediate impact. Objectives must be formed into sections: PR, analytics, retaining and attracting customers, Internet, etc. It is advisable that it contains from 30 to 40 important goals included on one sheet of paper. The plan must be posted in a visible, publicly accessible place. Once a month, summarize your progress.

  1. Tree of tools.

This is the name given to a list of specific actions taken in various situations. If the company does not have a similar algorithm of actions, then it needs to be developed. Marketers and sales staff will help determine the circumstances in which the organization may find itself. Here are examples of such situations:

  • competitors began to behave actively;
  • dumping by rivals;
  • the outflow of customers has increased;
  • the average check amount decreased;
  • a major client refuses to work with you.

Then give the task to develop an algorithm of actions in each of the given situations. For example, suddenly conditions A occur, then the company begins to implement points 4, 7, 15, 21, and when circumstances B occur, then 2, 5, 6, 17. When drawing up a “tool tree”, a responsible person must be appointed , which will monitor the relevance of a particular tool. The list is compiled in a certain order, from the most effective to the least effective.

  1. Sales funnel.

A significant part of enterprises in Russia (almost 80%) do not use the proposed concept. Its essence is that the implementation procedure can be divided into stages. The boundaries of the “funnel” are the opening and closing of a transaction. Let's consider these points:

  • making a “cold” call to the client;
  • sending a commercial proposal;
  • preparing for a meeting with the consumer;
  • meeting with the buyer;
  • additional “boost” of the counterparty;
  • conclusion of an agreement;
  • receiving payment according to the agreement.

By increasing the conversion of each stage, you will increase sales overall. Make it a rule to conduct a funnel analysis once a quarter.

  1. Checklist for sales managers.

The sales department will work in full, i.e. 100%, if it has three groups of tools, which:

  • used before meeting with the client;
  • needed during the conversation with the consumer;
  • applied after a meeting with the buyer.

Why is the Marketing Department Doing Unclear Work? Where is the Efficiency?

Marketing is no longer just a buzzword. Managers believe that marketing should be present in the structure and therefore hire a marketer. But after several months, they see no results, no improvement or deterioration. What's the matter?

There are many opinions on this matter. Many marketers argue that management does not know what marketing is, its tasks and functions. Therefore, they cannot set specific goals and form a department.

In part, this is true. Marketing is a new concept and few people fully understand it. Yes, business owners hire marketers and cannot set goals for them. But here’s the question: “Why don’t marketers themselves do anything, but wait for goals and objectives from management?” The answer is simple: in Russia there are very few truly qualified marketing specialists. Marketing is taught relatively recently, which means there are not many marketing specialists with experience. Most likely, these are not specialized specialists.

But today, marketing is taught in full force, and applicants believe that this is a fashionable field, like advertising, where a creative approach is needed. This is where all the ensuing problems come from. If a student graduated from an institute with a degree in marketing, then he is far from an expert, because he studied only theory (if he studied it at all). Moreover, an outdated theory that means nothing in practice.

Teachers sometimes themselves do not understand why marketing is needed and who a marketer is. The specialist can only say: “Segmentation… Positioning…. 4P…. SWOT analysis." This is where the problems with marketing in Russia arise. Students study theory (we will assume that they study hard), but due to lack of experience, they do not know what it really is. Experts in the field of marketing with experience are not specialized (I have met marketers with a philological education). So what should businessmen do in a situation where no one can really say what marketing is and what it is responsible for? Take everything into your own hands! How? This is what this digest is dedicated to.

Let's make some amendments to our general knowledge about marketing. What do we know about it and what do marketers say? As for theory (Kotler, Blis), the definitions of marketing are very unclear and complex. In general, these definitions are pure theory and are not applicable to a real company or business. But what do marketers themselves who have read these books do? As a result, we have a marketing department that talks a lot and does very little.

And in particular, the marketing department today is engaged in advertising, surveys, positioning, segmentation, meeting customer needs, and branding. Are you familiar with these words? Marketers love to say them, they are fashionable (no offense to marketers). Why is the department that deals with advertising and research called marketing? Why does management think that marketing is creative?

Nobody remembers that marketing is the science of the market. The science! And when we create a marketing department, we accordingly create a department that deals with market research. But for what? Is this why you are creating this department? Well, maybe he does a little advertising in our company...

Marketing is, first of all, the science of the market. And it appeared because many competitors began to appear in the markets. In the days of Henry Ford, marketing was not needed at all, because there was no competition as such. But for the time being, for the time being. The market becomes open and attracts other participants - competitors begin to divide the market. This is where marketing begins to emerge as a science, 80 years ago. In order to study the moves and activities of companies, in order to use them and improve them. This science tried to answer the question: “Why do some companies achieve success while others do not?”

And today, marketing is a science that studies the market activities of organizations (no matter which ones - commercial or non-commercial. For example, the actions of a deputy to attract votes are the same as marketing. Turkey, as a resort area, is also involved in marketing). Everything related to the organization outside (on the market) is marketing.

In recent years, marketing, as a science, has accumulated a lot of knowledge, developed many methods, techniques for organizations, absorbed several other sciences, such as economics, psychology, anthropology, sociology, and thereby formed a set of methods and stages of marketing. Therefore, in order to apply the knowledge of this science in practice, a marketing process is necessary. And it exists, logical, consistent and effective.

Today, marketing covers all market activities of any organization. There is much more to it than just research and advertising. Marketing, today, is the concept of managing an organization or business. Why so big? Let's make sure of this, read on.

It is impossible to explain in detail how marketing works in one article, but still, in brief, I will try to outline the theoretical foundations and their application in real business.

As a student, I was always touched by how logistics and advertising professors argued about what was more important in business. Advertising or logistics? Who would have thought that these are complementary marketing tools?

Not much theory...

Marketing studies the market activities of your company. Therefore, I suggest taking a schematic look at your company on the market. Any organization does not exist in a vacuum. The market is not just you and your customers. These include competitors, suppliers, possibly intermediaries, consumers, economic changes, political unrest, ecology, technological growth, culture. All of this has an impact on your organization. We won't go into great detail about how culture directly impacts your company, but we will look at how the major market players work with you.

Like any organism on this planet, an organization must adapt to environmental conditions. The world evolves along with changes in nature. A living organism uses sense organs to receive information about the external environment, such as eyes, lungs, skin, and smell. Our senses receive information and adapt the body to the environment. Also the organization. But the senses are completely different. Let's consider how and why an organization should adapt to the market (external environment).

In order to ensure success in the market, you need to find a place in it. Your organization must have regular customers and differentiate itself from competitors. Differentiating your competitors doesn't mean being flashier, or just having a great slogan or logo, or dressing your service staff in branded clothing. This is necessary, but we are talking about something else. Each company in your market should ideally be different from its competitors. That is, to target a certain segment of buyers.

That's why there are companies that offer expensive, medium and cheap products, beautiful, technologically advanced or simple. Depending on the selected (prospective) segment of consumers (buyers or intermediaries), preferences, tastes, needs, and requirements of buyers are different. So there are people who need a sports car, an inexpensive SUV, a compact car, a premium sedan, or a hybrid with an electric engine. All people are different and their preferences vary, but they can still be divided into groups according to preferences and requests.

By dividing buyers into groups, we can see segments. But this is not enough to adapt the organization. After all, there are competitors and suppliers. For example, if you have chosen the segment of the most inexpensive shoes for yourself (i.e., you have gathered or are already offering inexpensive shoes to the market), then there is probably a competitor in your segment, or maybe none. A competitor who also offers inexpensive shoes to the same customers as you. How does your organization compare to competitors in your segment?

To do this, it is necessary to study the buyer segment in more detail. Perhaps they are not satisfied with the design or reliability? As for suppliers, there are also many nuances to consider. After all, basically the basis of difference from competitors lies in the product - and your supplier, as we know, can very easily be found by your competitor and then again you will not be any different and buyers may not pay attention to your brand, unless, of course, you have an exclusive .

It is not necessary to enter one segment; there are many companies whose product line contains both expensive and cheap items. And it is market analysis that allows you to determine what place an organization should occupy in the market and how it should differ in order to ensure a prosperous future. Having identified the segment, the requirements of buyers in this segment, the offerings of competitors and the availability of various suppliers of products suitable for this type of buyer, marketing tools can be considered.

Let me remind you that we now consider marketing as a theory. More on the organization a little later.

Knowing the group of people who will buy products from you with certain characteristics (by the way, the better you know the buyer, the more likely you are to find the difference between your company). And also, knowing the competitors of other segments and your segment, suppliers and possibly intermediaries. It is necessary to understand how it can take its place in the market.

There are 5 marketing tools for this. These tools are the result of the preparatory work of the organization's marketing.

  • Products
  • Service
  • Promotion
  • Sales channels
  • It is for the selected market segment, taking into account competitive offers and suppliers, that marketing prepares: products, services, prices, advertising, points and methods of sales. These 5 tools are called the marketing mix. Mix, then, by managing, selecting, changing, replacing with these tools, your organization adapts to the conditions of the segment, while differing from its competitors.

    Global manufacturers are making the most of this. They not only take into account competitors, suppliers and customers, but also technological progress, thereby offering something that we could not even think about. It is a detailed and painstaking analysis of consumers that can provide information about them, prepare a new product, and create demand for a completely unique, new product.

    We can imagine how much time and effort is required to prepare a new assortment, make purchases and organize a warehouse, determine future costs and set prices, train sellers and establish service, develop advertising campaigns and printed materials. And in order to prepare a marketing policy (advertising policy, pricing, product policy, sales policy), it is necessary to conduct an extensive market analysis and then prepare a marketing strategy.

    Can your marketer or marketing department do all this? And this is exactly what should be done, because this is how marketing works 100%. Sales can't work without promotion, promotion can't work without pricing, pricing can't work without sales. Everything is interconnected. Imagine that you are selling premium bags. The pricing specialist has set the price too low, the advertiser is promoting bags for schoolgirls, and the logistics buyer is purchasing plastic bags.

    Yes, this is a primitive example, but it clearly shows what happens when marketing management is missing.

    How does marketing work?

  • Developing a vision.
  • Market analysis.
  • Setting goals.
  • Positioning of products, companies.
  • Development of product policy (service is included here).
  • Development of pricing policy.
  • Development of sales policy.
  • Development of advertising policy.
  • Preparation of the budget and payback period of the plan.
  • This is a strategic marketing plan. In simple words, we answer the following questions:

  • Where do we go?
  • Where will we go?
  • How do we get there?
  • And now we can be convinced that one person cannot cope with this work. So who prepares this plan and how?

    Your organization should have people responsible for:

  • Marketing planning
  • Market research
  • Logistics/purchasing and/or product development
  • Pricing
  • Sales and service
  • Advertising
  • Budgeting
  • Depending on the size of the company, the marketing structure will be different. If the company is small, then one person may be responsible for several areas of activity. In large companies, there may be several people, for example in advertising, as the volume of work increases.

    What you need to do is hire a marketing planning manager (in large companies, this could be the CEO of the company itself, or the director of the marketing department). If you yourself, regardless of the size of the company, find it difficult to plan marketing on your own, then the ideal option is to hire a manager or director. By the way, in Russia a marketer is a commercial director.

    Don't rush to hire all the other marketing staff, try to find a planning manager with experience. It is important. And remember, such a person must have broad official powers - this is your right hand and more than a deputy. Further, with this person, you will definitely be able to determine the required amount of work and the marketing structure. In an average business, ideal marketing looks like this:

  • Marketing Director - responsible for planning and execution.
  • Marketing Research Specialist - responsible for market research.
  • Advertising Manager - responsible for promotion.
  • Director of Logistics and/or Production - responsible for purchasing, warehouse logistics, and production.
  • Pricing specialist (economist) - responsible for pricing.
  • Budgeting specialist (economist or financier) - responsible for finances.
  • Sales management manager (head of the sales department, director of the sales department) - is responsible for sales planning, customer service, and training of salespeople.
  • This is exactly what will be highly organized marketing, because, look: you have a person responsible for promotion, a person responsible for sales and service, a person responsible for prices, a person responsible for the range and production of products, a person responsible for market research for that would correctly direct the work of all these people in the right direction and the person who monitors and controls all this.

    Now with this structure in place, your marketing planner can move on to developing a strategic plan. A strategic plan is prepared for 1, 3, 5, 7 or more years, but we know what planning is in Russia, so the best option is to prepare a strategic plan every year.

    Where it all begins.

    And this is a good question). Because it all starts with developing a vision, which no one knows how to do today. Yes Yes. Have you ever heard of a mission? Nobody believes in it, and no one wants to do it. I won’t convince you of this, but there will definitely be a digest. If the hired marketing planning manager also doubts his ability to prepare a vision, then skip this moment. The negative aspects of lack of vision are also in the new digest.

    Next, the marketing research specialist must conduct a full-scale marketing research, both in-house and with the help of third-party companies. Next, the planning manager prepares the marketing strategy (segmentation and positioning). After which, goals in the area of ​​target sales volumes are formulated by the planning manager and all policies are prepared together with a specialist in advertising, logistics, production, sales (what products are needed to achieve the target sales volumes, what prices to form, what to train sellers, how many retail outlets discover how much to produce, how to advertise a new product or service). Then, the budget specialist must determine how much money is needed and when to implement the plan.

    After agreeing on the plan, it is implemented within a year and a new one is prepared in the new year. This is a complete and ongoing cycle of analysis, planning, implementation. Despite the fact that no article will show all the importance and all the specific work of marketing, I still decided to write why marketing does not work in many companies. This introduced you to marketing integration very briefly, but in reality everything is much more complex. But, all the same, I hope that I helped someone and showed them in what direction they need to move.

    If you have any questions, you can contact me by email, I am always happy to provide professional advice. I promise an individual approach.

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