This document outlines two approaches to studying marketing: the institutional approach and the commodity approach. The institutional approach examines the activities of business organizations and people involved in marketing by identifying various marketing institutions like merchants, agents, and facilitators and analyzing how well they perform marketing functions. The commodity approach focuses analysis on the movement of a product or class of products from production to ultimate consumers as the commodity undergoes changes to meet consumer tastes and preferences. Both approaches are needed to systematically analyze marketing issues, present important aspects of marketing, provide detailed problem analysis, and understand marketing institutions and their performance of functions.

1. Different approaches to the
study of marketing

2. Institutional approach

3. It examines the activities of business
organizations or people involved in
marketing.
This study involves the identification of
various marketing institutions and analyse
how and how well they perform or carry
out the various marketing functions.

4. It mainly considers
o Merchant middlemen
o Agent middlemen
o Speculative middlemen
o Facilitative organizations
o Processors

5. Merchant middlemen
include retailors(purchase products for resale to
consumers) and wholesalers(purchase from
processors and sell to industrial users or retailors)

6. Agent middlemen engage in negotiations that
transfer the title of the products from seller to
buyer. They must have special knowledge of the
product and the market they serve. They include
brokers and commissionmen.

7. Speculative middlemen take ownership of the
commodity and attempt to make a profit from
uncertain price movements. They assume the risk
of loss due to unfavourable price fluctuations.

8. Facilitative organizations such as trade
associations, are istitutions that provide general
industry data, or that provide physical facilities
for marketing such as auction yards.

9. Processors transform raw material into different
final products.

10. Commodity approach

11. Defined as the approach to marketing
phenomena where a product or class of
products is the major focus of the analysis.

12. Involves monitoring the movement of the
commodity from the point of production to the
ultimate consumers.

13. When the commodity is in the move , it
undergoes various changes in form by the time it
reaches the final user. These changes are in
accordane with the tastes and preferences of the
consumer. Commodity Approach in effect study
the cost and benefits following such changes.

14. Need for the study of
marketing

15. • For analysing the marketing issues in a
systematic manner.
• For presenting effectively a number of
important aspects of marketing.
• For providing realistic and detailed analysis of
marketing problems.
• For identifying various marketing instituitons
and to know how and how well they perform
various marketing functions.