APPROACHES OF MARKETING
In layman terms marketing is the process of selling something at a shop or market
place. To some it is the study of individual commodities and their movement in the market
place; to others it is the study of institutions and persons who move these product or study
of the economic contribution; to still others it is the study of the behavior of product
movements and the way the persons involved to move them. The study of marketing has,
thus, been approached in more than one ways. However, these different approaches have
immensely contributed to the evolution of the modern approach and the concept of
marketing. To facilitate the study, these defend approaches may be broadly classified as the
commodity approach, the institutional approach and the managerial approach. Besides
these well recognized and established approaches, the recently developed societal and
systems approaches have been attracting considerable attention. A brief description of
these different approaches is given below, reflecting their respective focus and
characteristics.
(i) Commodity Approach
In the commodity approach to the study of marketing, the focus of study is
a specific commodity, say, wheat, rice, sugar, tea, fabrics, automobiles, etc. In
this approach, the subject matter of discussion center around the specific
commodity selected for the study and includes the sources and conditions of
supply, nature and extent of demand, the distribution of channels used and the
functions, such as buying, selling, financing, advertising, storage, etc. performed
by the various agencies. By repeating such studies in case of different
commodities one gets a complete picture of the entire field of marketing.
(ii) Functional Approach
In the functional approach, the focus of marketing study is one of the
different kinds of functions which are recognized for their repetitive occurrences
and the necessarily performed to consummate market transactions. Though
there is no unanimity about the number and nature of functions that constitute
marketing, nevertheless, some functions often recognized are selling, storage,
transpiration, and financing. In this approach, marketing is regarded as the
“business of buying and selling and as including those business activities involved
in the flow of goods and services between producers and consumers”. These
functions are also studied in relation to given commodities and marketing
In layman terms marketing is the process of selling something at a shop or market
place. To some it is the study of individual commodities and their movement in the market
place; to others it is the study of institutions and persons who move these product or study
of the economic contribution; to still others it is the study of the behavior of product
movements and the way the persons involved to move them. The study of marketing has,
thus, been approached in more than one ways. However, these different approaches have
immensely contributed to the evolution of the modern approach and the concept of
marketing. To facilitate the study, these defend approaches may be broadly classified as the
commodity approach, the institutional approach and the managerial approach. Besides
these well recognized and established approaches, the recently developed societal and
systems approaches have been attracting considerable attention. A brief description of
these different approaches is given below, reflecting their respective focus and
characteristics.
(i) Commodity Approach
In the commodity approach to the study of marketing, the focus of study is
a specific commodity, say, wheat, rice, sugar, tea, fabrics, automobiles, etc. In
this approach, the subject matter of discussion center around the specific
commodity selected for the study and includes the sources and conditions of
supply, nature and extent of demand, the distribution of channels used and the
functions, such as buying, selling, financing, advertising, storage, etc. performed
by the various agencies. By repeating such studies in case of different
commodities one gets a complete picture of the entire field of marketing.
(ii) Functional Approach
In the functional approach, the focus of marketing study is one of the
different kinds of functions which are recognized for their repetitive occurrences
and the necessarily performed to consummate market transactions. Though
there is no unanimity about the number and nature of functions that constitute
marketing, nevertheless, some functions often recognized are selling, storage,
transpiration, and financing. In this approach, marketing is regarded as the
“business of buying and selling and as including those business activities involved
in the flow of goods and services between producers and consumers”. These
functions are also studied in relation to given commodities and marketing
