Power of Marketing

Marketing is 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. It is an organizational philosophy and the act of “doing good”.
For any business anywhere in the world, it is of cardinal importance to have a marketing department in place as marketing is viewed as the heartbeat of any company.
 It is through marketing efforts that a company’s offerings are known or get known by customers and consumers or a final user, if you like.
Marketing and its functions in the Namibian context have not been fully recognized and have not taken its rightful place.
The lack of a platform for marketing organizations and professionals to engage and share ideas pertaining to marketing can be attributed to the lack of a representative body.

Yes, the marketing departments within establishments are there and are operational or functional, but is not yielding expected results as viewed by non-marketers.
Marketing is also viewed as that part that is wasting money that would have been utilized elsewhere.
That notion is not true at all and needs to be rejected.
I will rather argue that marketers must spend money on well-defined and crafted marketing strategies in order to make money and in the same vein to market the company, its service offerings or products.
I see the power of marketing as a paradigm shift in the way organizations look at marketing in general.
 Marketing is no longer a functional issue but is now viewed as a strategic issue that should be deliberated thoroughly in board rooms and strategic gatherings.
It is through employing various marketing tactics and moves that an organization can realize its strategic objectives.
Of course I am not insinuating that marketing alone can contribute to the success of an organization.
This is where the value chain comes into play, Human Resources, Finance, Procurement, IT, etc.
All these functions have to work hand in hand and add value throughout each and every process of the chain for the desired results at the end of the day.
Marketing departments are often allocated the budget from which all the marketing activities are covered.
Whoever is in charge of the marketing department should be held responsible and accountable for the way that budget is spent. Detailed monthly or quarterly reports should be submitted on how the funds were utilized.
Evaluation needs to be done of each activity or campaign to gauge whether it was successful or not.
This is meant to demystify the notion that marketing and its functions are put in place to merely waste money.
It is through marketing communication that product or service offerings are known and therefore it is vital that marketing departments are recognized and command their place in Namibian companies.
To put these issues into perspective, there are established bodies and agencies such as Team Namibia that push for consumption and promotion of local home grown products and services.
 The recently established Agriculture Marketing and Trade Agency (AMTA) manages fresh produce hubs the Namibia Manufacturers Association (NMA) advocates on behalf of local manufacturers.
All factors considered, it is quite a commendable initiative from the mentioned organizations that needs to be supported by every Namibian.
Next time
Marketing’s challenge to help attract more investment.