Marketing Functions, Customer-Centric Businesses, and Tools

This report delves into the multifaceted nature of marketing, examining its functions within organizations and their external environments. It highlights the importance of internal marketing in fostering employee engagement and aligning employees' needs with corporate responsibility goals, emphasizing the role of marketing managers in motivating employees and balancing internal and external factors to achieve departmental objectives. The report then explores how companies can create customer-centric businesses by prioritizing positive customer experiences throughout the pre- and post-sale periods, recognizing the impact of such approaches on consumer decision-making. Finally, the report identifies and describes the tools used to make effective marketing decisions, focusing on the Marketing Decision Support Systems (MDSS) and normative and predictive models, along with the need for continuous improvement and integration of marketing research into strategic planning.

1. Describe how marketing functions within the larger organization (internally) and within its
environments (externally) including the goals and expected outcomes of this department.
Marketing functions both internally and externally. It must be noted that within the
organization and within its environment, marketing functions in such a way so that the
objective and goals of the organization can be met in a proper way. Consulting a wide range
of literature on the subject of internal marketing within an organization it must be said that
employee engagement does matter and internal marketing promotes employee engagement to
a large extent. Sometimes it is quite observable that there is the internal marketing umbrella
that includes the idea of responsibility through selling internally and this facilitates internal
communication in a clearer manner (Sanchez-Hernandez & Grayson, 2012). Such
phenomenon enhances corporate volunteering and it also has the potential to bring about the
possibility to become social intrapreneur (Sanchez-Hernandez & Grayson, 2012). A social
intrapreneur has the ability to align employees’ needs with corporate responsibility goals to a
large extent in a thorough manner. The external marketing functions should be poised in such
a manner that the growth factor of both the internal and external environment is balanced. In
this context it must be noted that there is a great responsibility of marketing managers to
motivate employees and ensure the balance. Marketing managers, in order to accomplish the
expected goals of the department appeasing the internal and external factors must try to be
more proactive and they must try to introduce the marketing function in all the related human
capital issues (Sanchez-Hernandez & Grayson, 2012). It must be taken into account that
marketing managers must understand employees’ wants and needs and they should be prompt
and efficient in selling internally responsibility goals because such selling would make
external efforts more appropriate in developing a responsible strategy that would pave the
way for success (Sanchez-Hernandez & Grayson, 2012).

2. Explain how companies create customer-centered businesses and describe what impacts
the consumer decision-making process.
Companies can create customer-centric business and such approach can impact positively on
the consumer decision-making process. Companies can initiate customer-centric business by
doing business in a way that paves for the way of the emergence of a positive customer
experience in pre- and post-sale period. Such approach would make it possible for the
company to drive repeat business and it would help the company in obtaining customer
loyalty which is one of the most importance components of the profit-earning mechanism. It
should be noted that a customer-centric company is always more impressing and effective
than a company that merely offers good services to the customer (MacDonald, 2017). The
consumer decision making process is positively impacted by a company’s customer-centric
approach and this can be argued by citing the fact that customer centricity is not about only
offering great customer service; rather, customer centrism is a way to offer customers great
experiences through the awareness of stage that can be recognized by the purchasing process
and finally through the process that takes place after toe purchase, i.e., the post-purchase
process (MacDonald, 2017). Putting your customer first is the primary principle of the
customer-centric approach and this can improve the core of the business which is reliant on
customers in a thorough manner. But it must be noted that there are some specific challenges
in emerging into a customer-centric business. One must take into account the fact that those
are the winning and successful companies that have succeeded in building a relationship with
the customers that exist for a long-term without any disruption.
3. Describe what tools are used to make effective marketing decisions.
There are several important tools that are used to make effective marketing decisions. A
marketing decision support systems (MDSS) is an essential tool in this regard. MDSS is a

system of interlinked marketing models focused on customers, on market and on corporate
research. A realistic market environment is embodied in the aforesaid model. The customer
segments related to the service or products monitored closely. A critical foundation for an
effective MDSS is detailed learning about customer segments that are assumed to have been
taking interest in the concerned product (Rao, 2014). Normative and predictive models can
also be used in the process of making marketing decisions. A reliable and wholesome rational
view of a market is often utilized in the process of accomplishing success in the marketing
process. Another important aspect that is needed to be infused in a proper marketing process
is the enhancement of the MDSS model through the process of ensuring proper output of the
science models that are available on a full time frame rather than being as a static estimate
that embodies a steady state. Moreover, a viable part of MDSS model is the process of
making proper strategic planning at the corporate departments with the ability and capability
of transforming outputs of marketing research and the science of marketing into proper
process of measuring the financial gains.
(780 words)

References
MacDonald, S. (2017). How to Create a Customer Centric Strategy For Your Business.
Retrieved December 21, 2017, from https://www.superoffice.com/blog/how-to-create-
a-customer-centric-strategy/
Rao, S.K. (2014). Effective Executive Decision Making with Marketing Decision Support
Systems. Retrieved December 22, 2017, from
http://www.insightsassociation.org/article/effective-executive-decision-making-
marketing-decision-support-systems
Sanchez-Hernandez, I. & Grayson, D. (2012). Internal marketing for engaging employees on
the corporate responsibility journey. Intangible Capital, 8(2), 275-307.