DR. SHAHID AMIN

Marketing is one of the popular and oldest specializations of business and management studies. The scope and future of MBA in Marketing has always shown a rich promise in the market. It is very important to first know the concept of marketing. The concept of marketing has been defined differently by experts but the focus has been the customer satisfaction.
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Marketing is “the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the profit potential. It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services”(Dr. Philip Kotler). The definitions of marketing generally refer to identifying and meeting customer needs profitably and to maintain a relationship beyond the purchase.
Marketing has significantly changed over the time with technological evolution in the business world. The aspirants must know that the marketing is the heart of any business organization. Marketing is important because it helps marketers sell their products or services. The bottom line of any business is to make money and marketing is an essential tool to achieve that goal. While current customers should always be the main priority with any business organization, marketing efforts can help expand this base. Marketing solves the issue of how to keep a conversation going once a customer has walked out the door. Customers today want to form a relationship with the brand, and marketing can be used to do just that. Marketing is useful for customer education. In the current era marketing is turning into less expensive than ever before.
Digital Marketing has changed the way of business. Today most of the businesses are following the digital strategy for promoting their products and services. They are offering their products through online medium. They have increased their sales with the help of effective digital marketing channels. Digital media especially social media marketing options and email campaigns are proving effective and less costly in targeting the customers. Even small businesses today can use good strategies and can compete with their leading competitors. Marketing is something that we see every day from business organizations to maintain a healthy relationship with their consumers. Today it’s very tough to make any business successful without improving the quality of products, without adding new features in the products and not marketing product qualities/features/benefits online/offline with creative and attractive ways regularly.
Marketing is the one sector which is growing very fast. In order to seek an admission in MBA, aspirants should have a graduate degree in any discipline. Generally, an MBA in Marketing Management is a two years full time degree. The core topics, aspects that are broadly taught in this area may include Consumer Behavior, Advertising Management, Service Marketing, Sales Promotion Management, Competitive Marketing, Business Marketing, Sales Force Management, Product and Brand Management, Internet Marketing, Retailing, Marketing Channels, Analytical Marketing, Research Techniques in Marketing, Marketing Communications, and Customer Relationship Marketing etc. Students in this field will also learn the high communication skills, analytical skills, ability to integrate ideas, business ethics and leadership during the course. This course is available in B-schools (Universities and colleges- private, autonomous and government ones) situated in India as well as in abroad. Students also have an option to go for MBA in marketing through a distance mode learning programme but it is always better to go for a regular MBA programme. Students will also need to appear for some national tests like CAT, GMAT and similar examinations and secure the necessary percentile to qualify for the GD/ PI rounds of the universities and colleges. There is a programme namely Executive MBA in Marketing which is meant for professionals who want to improve their skills and strategies. This programme may require the candidate to have a relevant work experience.
In this tough time, marketing has an important role to play in the success or failure of a business. Marketers are highly needed to monitor changing client and consumer behavior, identify new opportunities and threats and offer strategic inputs to achieve the goals. Marketing has so much to offer to the aspirants if they are looking for a lasting and rewarding career. They can work in a diverse nature of industries, including the public, private sector and not-for-profit sectors. A candidate can take any good job from the lower level manager to even the level of CEO of any small or giant business organization. MBA in marketing students can work in organizations like FMCG Company or an IT industry. Job opportunities are heavily available in Retail, Tourism, Banking, Automobile, Hospitality, Media, Advertising, Consultancy, Market Research, etc. Students can also be a part of direct marketing or digital marketing. The candidate having the MBA in marketing degree can earn handsome wages. The salary structure may solely depend on the student credentials and on the position and reputation of the employer firm. One can play the role of Marketing Manager, Brand manager, Sales Manager, Media Planner, Product Manager, Head of Digital Marketing, Corporate sales manager, Market Research Analyst etc. Aspirants can also work as lecturers and professors in universities and colleges. There are top rated B-schools in India which provides handsome wages to the faculties in marketing. Those interested in higher studies, can also go for research in marketing. The higher options available are to pursue Ph.D and Post Doc programmes in this field.
The marketing aspirants must ensure that they have relevant knowledge in this field and gain experience as much as possible. They must develop some of the critical skills to prove as successful marketers. They must develop strong communication and interpersonal skills which are more essential for marketers. Creativity and analytical skills are also vital. Marketers must have also excellent organizational and planning skills. They must be able to offer a comprehensive marketing strategy that requires marketers to be good in time management skills and have an ability to prioritize their workload effectively. Digital marketing nowadays has become more and more important in business world, those aspirants who have sound technical skills in IT and web skills are highly preferred by the employers.

—The author is an Assistant Professor, ITM University Gwalior. He can be reached at: [email protected]

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