Effective marketing today requires the development of internal and external relationships among all employees and stakeholders. While advertising and promotion are the fun parts of the marketing strategy, these activities only a minor component of the marketing function. Marketing departments are data driven. Research and analysis is conducted on an ongoing basis to determine trends among consumers or likely users, as well as competitive information regarding other suppliers of similar products and services.

Marketing Departments participate at the corporate level in setting direction, at the business level in developing tactics, and at the functional level in developing the marketing component of business strategy.

Marketing Functions:

Today's marketing departments will generally. . .

• Develop the marketing strategy.
• Search for and identify new products and markets (market scope).
• Select and measure target markets.
• Design marketing mix strategies: product, price, distribution, promotion, relationships.
• Develop competitive strategies based on the marketing mix.
• Conduct internal and external research to solve marketing problems and aid decision making.
• Develop long and short term marketing objectives and communicate them throughout the organization.
• Develop and execute marketing plans with the help of all employees.

Marketing departments work to establish guides for ethical behavior in marketing.

• For example - Should we as a firm . . .
  • Advertise and sell a product that is unsafe or unhealthy.
  • Compete unfairly by offering kickbacks to purchasing agents.
  • Disguise terms of sale by use of misleading language or small print.
  • Make it difficult for customers to get money back on money-back guarantees.