Page 223 - SST Class 07

Marketing is not about selling things alone. It
involves many other activities such as identifying
buyers, finding out their preferences, persuading
them to buy goods, negotiating the terms of sale,
made of delivery and terms of payment and
aftersales services.

Benefits of Marketing
g Marketing helps in improving people’s
standard of living by offering a wide variety
of goods and services.
A Retailer Selling Fruits
g It treats the customer as ‘king’, that is, as the
The producers employ salespersons to contact
most important person.
the potential buyers. You must have seen sales-
g It lets the producers concentrate on produc-
persons coming to your doorstep and persuading
tion activities.
your mother to buy products from them. In this
g It generates employment in the production
form of direct selling, the salespersons tell the
and distribution sectors. customers about the special features of the
g It explores the export market for goods. product and how to use it.

g It helps in developing economic resources of The producers themselves may also set up retail
the country. shops or showrooms in different localities and sell
g It attempts to satisfy customers’ needs by goods directly to consumers. You must have seen
designing products as per the demands of factory outlets or showrooms set up by compa-
the market. nies. Some examples are— Bata Shoes, Maruti
g It generates revenue in the process of Automobiles, McDonald’s, Raymond and so on.
buying and selling and brings in profits. Indirect Channels
g It makes large-scale production of goods When the producers sell their goods to consum-
possible, which is very cost-effective. ers through middlemen, it is called the indirect

CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION channel. There can be four types of indirect
channels—
There are many ways of distribution in the
marketing process. These channels of distribution Retailers : Those who are engaged in retail
can be grouped into two broad catego- trade are called retailers.
ries—direct channels and indirect channels.
Direct Channels
When the producers sell their goods directly to
the consumers, it is called the direct channel. No
middleman is present between the producer and
the consumer. There can be two types of direct
channels — through travelling salespersons and
through retail shops or showrooms.

A Factory Outlet

Social Science-7 223