Marketing management in the activity of agricultural enterprises

Abstract

The article studies the role of marketing management in the activity of agricultural enterprises. The agricultural sector is one of the key sectors of the Ukrainian economy, the core component of which is agricultural production. The findings of the article show the fact that a significant number of agricultural enterprises are unprofitable, with their share in the total number of enterprises accounting for 13.3%. Their performance largely depends on the impact of the extremely complex, dynamic and uncertain environment. The article suggests that only the businesses possessing the ability of adequate adjustment to the environment with taking precautions against negative effects timely and using opportunities the fullest ensure their competitiveness and profitability of their activity in the long run. The article determines marketing management tools to be relevant for ensuring successful operation of agricultural enterprises under modern conditions, for there is a need to find new approaches to managing enterprise activities. The article reveals the essence of marketing management; offers the interpretations of the concepts of "marketing management" and "management of marketing" given by the Ukrainian scientists and foreign researchers; and studies the difference between them. The article suggests that marketing management is a broader concept than management of marketing due to the fact that it is management of all general and individual functions of enterprise, as well as all divisions of enterprise on the basis of marketing. Marketing management considers marketing and management inseparably - they also mutually penetrate and complement each other. The main goal of marketing management is to increase profitability of enterprise by achieving maximum customer satisfaction. Based on the generalization of different views of scientists, the main stages of a marketing management process at agricultural enterprise are identified and characterized, including analysis of internal and external environment, selection of target market segments, marketing strategy formation, marketing complex development, organizational structure construction, marketing management program formation and marketing management control and analysis. The process of marketing management at agricultural enterprise contains a number of specific procedures aimed at research and formation of the demand of target consumers and comprehensive satisfaction of their needs. The findings of the research prove that the use of marketing management tools will help ensure the market orientation of agricultural enterprise, which provides a focus on success, timely adaptation to the environment, gaining a leading position in the market, providing competitive advantage.