product mix refers to the important decisions related to the product such as quality, design, packaging, branding, labelling, etc.
The features of a product are given below:
(i) A product is tangible. It is made of certain physical attributes such as shape, size, etc. It can be seen, touched and felt.
(ii) In addition to physical features, a product has certain attributes, which help customers to distinguish it from other products. Package, brand name, warranty, etc, are such associated activities.
(iii) A product has some value, which can be measured in terms of money.
(iv) Every product is meant to satisfy some needs and wants of human beings.

Marketing emphasises customer satisfaction as the key to survival and growth of an organisation. It helps to focus the activities of the organisation on fulfilling the needs and wants of consumers, by designing the product according to them.

This helps to develop brand loyalty and bring prosperity for the firm.

(i) Gathering and analysing market information To gather market information, the marketer makes a SWOT analysis, i.e., the analysis of strengths and weakness of the organisation and the available opportunities and threats.
Collection of market information is necessary to identify the views and opinions and needs of customers before taking decisions regarding what opportunity can be best pursued by the firm.
(ii) Customer support services An important function of marketing relates with developing customer support services, handling customer complaints, etc.
All these services aim at providing maximum satisfaction to the customers, which, in turn, helps in procuring repetitive sales from the customers and develop brand loyalty for the product.

(i) Market planning
Marketing develops appropriate marketing plans, so that the marketing objectives of the organisation can be achieved. e.g. a marketer of LED TV's having 10% of the current market share, aims at enhancing his market share to 20% in the next two years.
For this, they will have to develop a complete marketing plan covering various important aspects including the plan for increasing the level of production, promotion of products, etc.
(ii) Product designing and development
Marketing activity also relates with designing and developing the product in such a way that it attracts the target customers.
A good design can improve performance of a product and also give it a competitive advantage in the market. e.g. if we plan to buy a car, we will not only consider its features like price, mileage, etc, but its design, shape, also.

The marketing concept implies that the firm can achieve its goals by identifying the needs of customers in a chosen market and satisfying them better than the competitors. This essentially involves that the firm must develop products and services that customers require, and not what it can make. Customer satisfaction is the precondition for realising the firm's goals or objectives. A pre-requisite for the success of an organisation is to understand the castorner needs and develop product or services for satisfying them better than the competitors. Through the means of integrated marketing, the goal of profit maximisation through customer satisfication is achieved.

Production concept aims at producing the products on a large scale. thereby reducing the average cost of production. This concept believes that consumers prefer those products which are easily available and affordable. Therefore, this concept lays emphasis on improving production and distribution efficiency.
Product concept contradicts production concept. It lays emphasis that only easy availability and lower prices of product do not ensure increased profits but there is a need of increasing the quality of the product. Adding superior values in terms of quality, performance and featuresin- a product can help a firm to achieve its objective of marketing.

Marketing is relevant to non-profit organisations such as hospitals, schools, sports club, etc. It helps these organisations in spreading social messages such as family planning, improving literacy rates and providing medication to the sick.

In case of irregular demand, the marketer's job is to change the pattern of demand by providing short-term incentives to the buyers in the form of sales promotion techniques such as free samples, rebate, discount, quantity gifts, etc.

(i) Cruelty towards animals and no respect for law (Child labour)
(ii) Balanced regional development: By launching a new Factory in the tribal area.
(iii) Social responsibility
(iv) Women empowerment

i) Not in the interest of society, unnecessary increase in cost.
ii) Increasing extravagancy
iii) Increasing sales volume
iv) Achieving the objectives of the business.

i) Harming the environment
ii) Damaging the natural beauty
iii) Damaging the historical monuments
iv) Providing information to the people

i) optimum utilization of resources
ii) Environment protection
iii) Increasing the cost by using boxes/containers

1. Role of marketing in a firm : It help in identifying and analyzing the needs of customers and design the prodcing accordingly.
2. Role of Marketing is an economy : People are inspired to set up enterprises for producing goods to fulfill the needs of the customers due to marketing.

Marketing is consumer oriented, it helps a firm to build goodwill in the market over period of time. By selling quality goods at reasonable price, the firm tries to earn its name in the market. Only useful goods and services and produced and sold. Basically marketing aims to building the reputation of firm through various image-building activity i.e, advertising, reasonable price, better quality etc.