What is startup?

A startup is a young company established by one or more entrepreneurs to create

unique and irreplaceable products or services. It aims at bringing innovation and
building ideas quickly.

In our modern world, where everyone strives to bring innovation, a good idea isn’t
enough to create a startup. To understand the features of different startups better, the
knowledge of different types of startups should be needed .Startups can be classified
as:

 Scalable startups

 Small business startups

 Lifestyle startups

 Buyable startups

 Big business startups

 Social startups

 Scalable startups
Companies in a tech niche often belong to this group. Since technology companies
often have great potential, they can easily access the global market. Tech
businesses can receive financial support from investors and grow into
international companies. Examples of such startups include Google, Uber,
Facebook, and Twitter. These startups hire the best workers and search for
investors to boost the development of their ideas and scale.

 Small business startups

These businesses are created by regular people and are self-funded. They grow at
their own pace and usually have a good site but don’t have an app. Grocery stores,
hairdressers, bakers, and travel agents are the perfect examples.
  Lifestyle startups
People who have hobbies and are eager to work on their passion can create a
lifestyle startup. They can make a living by doing what they love. We can see a lot
of examples of lifestyle startups. Let’s take dancers, for instance. They actively
open online dance schools to teach children and adults to dance and earn money
this way.
 Buyable startups
In the technology and software industry, some people design a startup from
scratch to sell it to a bigger company later. Giants like Amazon and Uber buy
small startups to develop them over time and receive benefits.

 Big business startups.

Large companies have a finite lifespan since customers’ preferences,
technologies, and competitors change over time. That’s why businesses should be
ready to adapt to new conditions. As a result, they design innovative products that
can satisfy the needs of modern customers.

 Social startups. These startups exist despite the general belief that the main aim
of all startups is to earn money. There are still companies designed to do good for
other people, and they are called social startups. Examples include charities and
non-profit organizations that exist thanks to donations. For instance, Code.org, a
non-profit organization, encourages school students in the US to learn computer
science.

Startups and Unicorns have been the buzz words for a couple of years now and needless to
say, this decade has clearly been the decade for startups. All around the globe, the rise as well
as the fall of various startups can be seen. Same is the story for India as well. 

For every Oyo, Zomato, and Flipkart, there are countless other startups that were not able to
survive and had to shut shop. However, India has been doing quite well and has really grown
and built an ecosystem of startups for itself. This growth was not achieved in a day, and you
can continue reading to know more about how this was achieved.

Startups in India
The word startup is often related to Silicon Valley in the U.S., which saw the rise of so many
great startups like Facebook, Google, etc. However, now the dynamics around the world are
changing and that too very rapidly. Startups are now even related to Shanghai in China and
Bangalore in India. 

In fact, India ranks third in the global list of countries with the largest startup ecosystems,
right after the U.S. and U.K., and it seems like there is no stopping this growth. India
recorded additions of approximately 1300 new startups in the year 2019, with the figure for
the number of tech startups reaching to around 8900-9300. 
Business and trading is something that has been in the blood of Indians throughout. This is
something that can be seen in the history textbooks as well. However, there are certain
touchpoints in history that really helped in accelerating the startup growth.

There was a major turning point in the 1980s.This was the time when Rajiv Gandhi, the
current Prime Minister, introduced the Liberalisation of the Computer Industry, and it was
during the 1980s that N.A.S.S.C.O.M. was also launched. This really led to a growth of the
digital industry in India.

Another touchpoint to notice would be the year 2008, that is after The Great Recession. This
brought many economies to their knees, and companies all over the world started laying off
their employees. There was a constant fear among employees all over the world of losing
their jobs. 

This had a major impact on I.T. professionals in India. Many started looking for newer
alternatives, and many who were fired from their jobs decided to take a step forward in the
startup direction. Many famous startups in India like PolicyBazaar, Zomato, etc. were
founded during this period.

After this, there has been no stopping for startups in India. It has continued to grow at a large
rate. However, it is also important to know the reason why these startups have been growing
at such a rapid pace in our country. 

Reasons for Startup growth in India

The startup growth in India was something that was gradual in nature, and there are quite a
few reasons why India became such a sustainable environment for startups to thrive in. Some
of the major reasons are:

The pool of Talent - India has a pool of talent. India has a population that has a majority of
the younger generation. This shows the amount of potential that India has in terms of talent.
There are millions of students graduating from colleges and b-schools every day. Many of
these students use their knowledge and skills to begin their own ventures, and that has
contributed to the startup growth in India. In the past, much of this talent was attracted to
only the big companies, but now that is slowly changing. 

The cost of setting up businesses is low - India is a labor-intensive country rather than being
capital intensive. Also, the labour here can be hired at very cheap rates. So, compared to
some other countries, the cost of setting up a business here is comparatively low. In fact, this
is the reason why many multinational corporations as well, decide to set up their plants and
offices in India. This is one factor that was really capitalised by the startup owners as well.

Government Boost - This past decade has seen a massive startup growth in India and one of
the reasons for this could be attributed to the various schemes launched by the Government.
Some of the major schemes that were introduced to boost entrepreneurship were StartUp
India and StandUp India. The Government also tries to encourage ventures in new sectors or
in certain rural areas by providing subsidies to them. 

Increasing use of the Internet - India has the world’s second-highest population, and after
the introduction of affordable telecom services like Reliance Jio, the usage of internet has
really increased. It has even penetrated to the rural areas now. India has the second-largest
internet user base after China, and companies and startups can really leverage on this easy
access to the internet. Not only can it be used to spread the message about a new business, but
it can also be used to gather new information as well. So, communication has become much
easier. This is also one of the major reasons for the startup growth in India. 

The advent of Technology - The evolution of startups in India has also been due to the
advent of technology. This has led to businesses growing by leaps and bounds. Technology
has made the various processes of business very quick, simple and efficient. There have been
major developments in software and hardware systems due to which data storage and
recording has become a very easy task. Now because of the trend around artificial
intelligence and black-chain, many new startups are considering these options as well.

Variety of funding options available - Earlier there were only some very traditional
methods available for acquiring funds for a new business model, which included borrowing
from the bank or borrowing from family and friends. However, this concept has now
changed. There are numerous options and opportunities available. Startup owners can
approach angel investors, venture capitalists, seed funding, etc. This availability of options
and easy accessibility has also contributed to the growth of the startup ecosystem in India.

Startup Ecosystem in India

In 2014, there were approximately 29,000 startups in India. However, these numbers slowly
and gradually started rising. This number reached around 55,000 in 2020. Every day around
3-5 startups, new startups are born. In order to analyze the ecosystem that exists in India, we
can first look at the different industries in which these startups exist. 

Different sectors where startups exist

With the importance and encouragement given to digitalization and the Government’s
campaign of Digital India, the startup trend saw a  significant rise in the technology sector. In
2019, the number of tech startups in India grew to from 8900 to 9300 with around 1300
startups being added in the year 2019 itself. 

So, the startups sectors in India can be broadly divided into two segments- tech-based
startups and non-tech based startups. The tech-based segment includes sectors like Fintech,
E-Commerce, Edtech and Healthtech, whereas, the non-tech based segment includes Agri-
products, Construction, Textiles, etc. 

While sectors like e-commerce have become mature and seen a lot of growth, industries like
Fintech, Edtech and Healthtech have really been in the limelight recently. Let’s take a look at
some of these industries in detail.

Fintech Sector 

With the advent of technology, finance has grown from what it used to be traditional. Now,
technology is very much integrated in it, and it is growing rapidly. Robo Advisory, Insurtech
Digital Payments, etc. are all developing. 
This is definitely one of the up and coming sectors in the ecosystem of startups in India. It is
still in the beginning phase, but there is a lot of growth potential. With India moving towards
a cashless economy and digital payments gaining trend, Fintech is a booming industry. 

Also, India is one of the fastest-growing fintech markets in the world with its adoption rate
being ranked the highest, along with China. 

A good example of a company from this sector in India is,

Paytm, which was founded in 2010, by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The company started off as a
prepaid mobile platform and a recharge platform. It created the Paytm Wallet for enabling
digital payments and also started e-commerce services on its website and mobile application.
Recently, it also started stockbroking services. Paytm is also a Unicorn, currently valued at
about $10 billion. It also has a lot of investment from foreign investors which include Alibaba
Group, Softbank, etc. 

EdTech Sector

This sector is also growing very rapidly, especially now during the coronavirus. Schools and
colleges have not been able to function properly, and many had to go online and embrace the
world of tech with the virtual mode. Due to this, the demand for online modes of learning has
also grown tremendously. 

Further now, with the New Education Policy that has been introduced recently, more
emphasis will be given to technology-driven education systems, with an introduction to
coding as well. 

According to a report, India’s edTech market might reach a value of $3.5 billion by the year
2022. This includes the estimation that Class 1-12 will create a valuation of about $1.7
billion, and post-class 12 will create a valuation of about $1.8 billion.

In the Edtech sector, one startup that has been doing really well is,

BYJU’S, which has enjoyed a significant growth potential in the past few years. The
lockdown attracted a lot of new customers to their website. During April, the company earned
a revenue of around Rs. 350 crore. Recently, taking advantage of the New Education policy,
Byju’s also acquired another ed-tech company called WhiteHat Jr. which provides coding
classes to school students.

This clearly shows how there is so much scope for growth in the education sector and how
technology can play a key role in the coming years and how new startups can leverage it.

HealthTech Sector

After IndiaStack, the next goal is the National Health Stack, which aims to do the same job as
IndiaStack and transform the way data storage works. This might help build the infrastructure
in the health care sector. The APIs for the National Health Stack also recently began with its
testing phase. If it works out well, then it might be a step in the right direction, which will
help make the hopes of health tech a reality. However, for that, it must be safe and reliable
for its users. 
In the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic, India has been struggling in this war. However, in
order to fight this situation, Niti Aayog has even approached startups to come up with new
innovations that can boost the healthcare infrastructure of our country and also result in
solutions like telemedicine, conference solutions, etc.

Healthplix is a startup that provides software for clinical purposes to doctors. It provides the
service of Electronic Medical Record software (EMR) to doctors and also provides them with
the service of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) and enables the doctors to generate e-
prescriptions within seconds. Recently, the startup was able to raise funds to the tune of $6
million, which brings its total funding amount to around $10 million

Startup Geography

With India being a startup hub, it is also important to identify the major areas or cities, which
have seen tremendous growth in startups. Seeing the geography of India, it can be seen that
most of the startups operate in Tier-1 cities. The top 3 cities for startups in India are
Bangalore, Mumbai and NCR, which account for over 65% of the total startups that operate
in India. It is also important to know the reasons why these cities are so popular among
startup owners. 

The major hub for startups in India is Bangalore that holds around 27% of the total number of
startups in India. The reason for this is a large number of multinational corporations and IT
industries that have opened up in this city. This makes it a city which has a high corporate
culture, and for this reason, it is really conducive for the growth of startups as accessing
resources and raising funds becomes easier. 

Bangalore is ranked as one of the five fastest-growing startup cities of the world and was also
present in the list of the world’s 20 leading startup cities in the 2015 Startup Genome Project.

Delhi/NCR and Mumbai are also growing in terms of the number of startups. Delhi/NCR
accounts for 24% of the total startups in India, while Mumbai accounts for 17%. Mumbai is
also the finance capital of India, so it houses a lot of fintech startups, and Delhi/NCR also has
many startups. However, some believe that Delhi and the area around is not that safe for
women in general, and that is why the flexibility is less.

The ecosystem for startups is also developing in the Tier 2 cities. Cities like Pune,
Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad are considered to be the emerging cities for startups.
Even Kerala, Chandigarh and Jaipur are emerging as startup hubs.

Impact of covid-19 pandamic on Startups:

The future for startups has now become bleak due to the current coronavirus pandemic.
However, this is something that should not be worried about. We have seen in the past as
well, that it was the Great Recession that made many people think outside the box. 

This led to the emergence of some very great startups that have now transformed into huge
companies. Whatsapp, Instagram, Zomato, Uber, etc. all were founded during the period of
recession. So one good thing about this pandemic could also be that it may have given an
entrepreneur just the right idea to start the next big thing. 
Also, many Indians in the U.S. right now are fearing for their jobs because of the H-1B visa
situation introduced by the Donald Trump Government. This is especially the case with those
working in the I.T. Industry. This might encourage the talent abroad to move back to India,
and this could further lead to some growth in the Indian startup industry. 

With technology emerging at a very fast pace, it would further lead to the growth of more
startups in the country, and with the different government initiatives, many people might be
encouraged. So, for now, the road for startups seems to be heading in the right direction. 

India is well on its way to achieving some great heights in the startup ecosystem. The
pandemic may impact the growth of startups, but this has also led to a huge demand for
various other services under different startup sectors in India, like ed tech and health tech. 

Other than that during the lockdown, many people had really started focusing on their health
and fitness, which has also led to the growth of some innovative startups relating to
mindfulness and fitness. Looking at these positive impacts, we can say that the growth of the
startup ecosystem in India will not be deterred.

Indian Startups- Swot Analysis

Strengths

 Boldness
 Agility
 Access To TalentFresh Culture

Weaknesses

 Fragility
 Cash Balance
 Hardship
 No Name

Opportunities

 Unlimited Upside
 Ride A Wave
 Greenfields
 Learning

Threats

 Brain Rape
 Legal
 Compliance
 No exit
Startups road ahead
India holds a unique position in the world for several reasons, and having one of the

youngest populations is perhaps the most pivotal. With 62 per cent of the population in

the working age group and 54 per cent below the age of 25, India have the advantage of

leveraging the skill and ability of our youth to drive the nation forward through

productive output and innovation.

While India has historically and culturally been an entrepreneurially-driven nation, the

last decade-and-a-half has witnessed a significant change in the landscape from the

founding of new startups, to global investor interest, to the advances made in

infrastructure and policies. In 2021 alone, Indian startups have so far raised upward of

$20 billion in funding, achieved unicorn statuses, and more.

The proliferation of this startup economy has brought with it new business opportunities,

innovation, tech-centric approaches and job creation across sectors. While the flow of

investments from traditional industries into tech-focused sectors has been instrumental for

entrepreneurs, India’s own growing tech prowess has had an inspirational journey in the

last few decades.

From 2011, when India’s first private company achieved unicorn status, to being on track

to have a 50-plus strong “Unicorn club” in 2021 according to Nasscom, the country now

finds itself at the epicentre of entrepreneurship.

A mature startup ecosystem, with seasoned entrepreneurs and technology-led solutions,

paves the way for innovation and expanding its global footprint. Since India’s

independence, the economy has rapidly diversified and grown beyond agriculture to

become a potential technology powerhouse, where entrepreneurs are creating world-class

products and services to solve real-time challenges.

While value creation lies at the centre of entrepreneurship, Indian startups are also taking

big strides in building synergies and partnerships with global entities, further
demonstrating the evolution of the startup ecosystem and its appetite for innovation,

collaboration and disruption.

Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Indian startups have rapidly innovated to provide

indigenous, tech-enabled solutions to combat challenges from testing kits and ventilators

to remote monitoring, and preventive technologies, as well as innovations in supply chain

management, logistics, and education. In fact, one of the paradigm shifts brought about

through technology during the pandemic has been systemic shift to online education and

remote learning at scale. Solutions built by Indian startups saw widespread adoption not

just domestically but also on a global scale, firmly establishing the country as a

cornerstone of tech and innovation in the world.

The steady rise of Indian IT companies in the 2000s, a large talent pool of a skilled

workforce, increased expendable income, and rising capital inflows have collectively

contributed in large part. Today, India is home to more than 40,000 startups and is

building a robust tech and internet infrastructure. Moreover, the ability of the young

generation to take risks, move fast, and disrupt things without fear, has become our

biggest asset today. The fact that Indian startups are becoming global entities by creating

products and solutions for world markets is a testament to this approach.

From industrial conglomerates, banks, automobile giants, software pioneers to tech

startups, India has been steadily scripting its growth story. Global investors too are

realising the potential upside in India’s huge, under-penetrated market as the country

steadily makes a place for itself as a leading R&D hub for many Silicon Valley

companies.

However, in order to transition beyond the current capabilities and achieve the

demographic dividend, education, and reskilling, and upskilling of our workforce is

crucial. We must also recognise and acknowledge that apart from the domestic policy

environment, the global environment and technological advances are also changing, and it
is imperative that India is prepared for this revolution. And so, apart from policy-level

decisions that promote entrepreneurship, the onus is also on India’s corporate sector to

foster entrepreneurialism, and create synergies to build impactful technology solutions,

sustainable and resource-efficient growth.

With Indians set to make up one-fifth of the world’s working-age population in the next

five years and likely to have an estimated 850 million internet users by 2030, the country

stands at the cusp of unprecedented economic growth, and the opportunity to be a global

game-changer. Speed, inclusion, and sustainability are key elements in this mission, as is

the youth of the country. Coupled with the nation’s focus on strengthening digital

infrastructure in healthcare and education, and boosting employment in manufacturing,

there is little doubt that India will be a powerhouse of the global economy.

The collective future efforts of the public and private sectors to improve physical and

digital connectivity will also help unlock the untapped potential of rural and semi-urban

India to truly lead Industry 4.0 and beyond.

 What is Marketing?
Marketing is the process of getting potential clients or customers interested in your
products and services. The keyword in this definition is "process." Marketing involves
researching, promoting, selling, and distributing your products or services.

This discipline centers on the study of market and consumer behaviors and it analyzes
the commercial management of companies in order to attract, acquire, and retain
customers by satisfying their wants and needs and instilling brand loyalty.

Today, marketing is something that every company and organization must implement
in its growth strategy. Many companies use marketing techniques to achieve their
goals without even realizing it, as they work to promote themselves and increase sales
of their product or service. These days, marketing is one of the key aspects of
business. 

People often do not know exactly what marketing is and, when asked, they define it as
selling or advertising. While these answers are not wrong, they are only a part of
marketing. There are many other aspects to marketing like product distribution,
promotion, designing and creating materials like landing pages and social media
content, improving customer experience, doing market research, establishing  market
segments, and much more.

Marketing is very broad and encompasses all the strategies that help a company,
brand, or individual achieve their objectives.

Marketing Mix (The 4 Ps of Marketing)

According to E. J. McCarthy, the 4 Ps of Marketing are a simple formula for identifying

and working with the essential elements of your marketing strategy.

 Product. Having a product is key and is the root of all things marketing. A product

could be anything that a company offers consumers to satisfy a need. The best thing

to do is to decide on your product or service based both on the needs

and motivations of consumers and how the product would benefit the consumer,

rather than on the object’s physical characteristics or attributes.

 Place. Strategic merchandising locations can be anything from an online store to a

channel of physical stores across multiple towns or countries. The goal of the

distribution strategy is to enable potential clients to have easy access to your

products/services as well as offer a good experience throughout the purchasing

process.  

 Price. How you price your products and services is an extremely important part of

the marketing strategy. This factor affects other factors such as:

o The margin you hope to obtain.

o What target market do you want to appeal to and what purchasing power do your

consumers have? Do you want to enter the luxury market or the mass market?

o The company's financial goals.

o How does the competition price their products and what possible product

substitutes are there?

o Trends and fads.

o Increasing your price in order to give a better perception of quality.

 Promotion. This refers to all the marketing and communication that is done in order

to showcase the benefits of your product or service within the market. This is how

you increase sales.

History of Marketing

 1450, Gutenberg invents the printing press. The world of books and mass copies is

revolutionized.

 1730, the magazine emerges as a means of communication.

 1741, the first American magazine is published in Philadelphia.

 1839, posters become so popular that it becomes prohibited to put them in London

properties.

 1922, radio advertising begins.

 1933, more than half of the population in the United States (55.2%) has a radio in

their home. 

 1941, television advertising begins. The first advertisement was for Bulova

watches and reached 4,000 homes that had television.

 1946, more than 50% of the homes in the United States already had a telephone.

 1954, for the first time revenue from television advertising surpasses revenue from

radio and magazine ads. Telemarketing grows as a means of contacting buyers

directly. 

 1972, print media suffers an exhaustion of the outbound marketing formula.

 1973, Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher, makes the first call through a cell

phone.
 1981, IBM launches its first personal computer.

 1984, Apple introduces the new Macintosh. 

 1990-1994, major advances in 2G technology, which would lay the foundation for

the future explosion of mobile TV.

 1994, the first case of commercial spam through e-commerce is produced.

 1995, the Yahoo! and Altavista search engines are born. 

 1995-1997, the concept of SEO is born.

 1998, Google and MSN launch new search engines.

 1998, the concept of blogging arises. By mid-2006, there are already 50 million

blogs worldwide.

 2003-2012, the era of inbound marketing begins.

 2003-2004, three social networks are launched: LinkedIn, MySpace and Facebook.

 2005, the first video is posted on YouTube

 2006, Twitter is born.

 2009, Google launches real time searches.

 2010, 90% of all American households have a cell phone. Instagram is created in

October 10. Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 spend 13.7 hours on the

Internet, compared to 13.6 hours watching television.

  2011, Snapchat is created, driving even more young users to their phones and

fueling the social media app craze.

 2012, there are already 54.8 million tablet users.

 2014, the rise of influencer marketing begins. Users and brands alike begin to

realize the power of social media users with large followings. Marketing tools for

Instagram and other platforms abound

 2014, for the first time ever mobile usage outweighs desktop usage. More users are

checking social media, reading emails, and making purchases on their phones. 

 2015-2016, big data and marketing automation are explored and used more

robustly to advertise to users. 

 2018, video marketing continues to grow, especially with Instagram’s launch of

IGTV. Video content is no longer just limited to YouTube and Facebook. 

 2019-2020,Focus on new generation leads to the invention of apps like tik-tok and

reels feature on social media(Instagram,Facebook,etc).

Different Marketing Strategies  

Marketing Plan: Discover what a marketing plan is, why you need to design one,

and the keys to creating a strong plan. Without a marketing plan, a company or brand

can’t reach its goals.

Digital Marketing: Digital marketing is the discipline of marketing which focuses

on developing a strategy solely within the digital environment.

Direct Marketing: Direct marketing is a type of campaign based on direct, two-way

communication that seeks to trigger a result from a specific audience.

Email Marketing: Email Marketing is one of the most profitable and effective

techniques in terms of return. Naturally, it consists of sending emails to your

audience, but make sure to define your segments well in order to be effective.

Mobile Marketing: Mobile Marketing is a broad concept which brings together all

marketing campaigns and actions focused exclusively on mobile platforms and

applications (i.e. smartphones and tablets).

Viral Marketing: Having something go viral is every company’s dream. Viral

Marketing spreads from one person to the next and is capable of going incredibly far

incredibly fast.

Performance Marketing: Performance Marketing is a methodology which applies

various marketing methods and techniques and guarantees advertisers that they only

have to pay for achieved results.

Inbound Marketing: This methodology focuses on creating valuable content to

attract qualified web traffic and work towards the final sale. 

Content Marketing: Content marketing is a technique of creating and

distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly

defined audience—with the objective of driving profitable customer action. content

marketing involves various methods to tell the brand story. More and more marketers

are evolving their advertising to content marketing/storytelling to create more stickiness

and emotional bonding with the consumer. 

The Role of Marketing

The Marketing Department plays a vital role in promoting the business and mission of an
organization. It serves as the face of your company, coordinating and producing all materials
representing the business. It is the Marketing Department's job to reach out to prospects,
customers, investors and/or the community, while creating an overarching image that
represents your company in a positive light.
 
Depending on your company, the duties of the Marketing Department may include one or
more of the following:
 

 Defining and managing your brand. This involves defining who you are, what you
stand for, what you say about yourself, what you do and how your company acts.
This, in turn, defines the experience you want your customers and partners to have
when they interact with you.
 Conducting campaign management for marketing initiatives. Marketing proactively
identifies the products and services to focus on over the course of your sales cycle,
and then produces materials and communications that get the word out.
 Producing marketing and promotional materials. Your marketing department should
create the materials that describe and promote your core products and/or services.
They should be kept up-to-date as those products and services evolve.
 Creating content providing search engine optimization for your website. Your website
is often the first (and possibly the only) place people go for information about you.
Your marketing department will be responsible for keeping Web content current,
while also working to ensure your site comes up quickly when someone searches
for your type of business.
 Monitoring and managing social media. Marketing should contribute to, manage and
maintain your social media pages. It should also manage accounts and carefully
watch what’s being posted about you online.
 Producing internal communications. Your employees need to understand your
company, its values, its goals and its priorities. Marketing is often responsible for
employee communications through a newsletter and/or intranet.
 Serving as media liaison. When your company is cited in the media, a member of the
marketing department often acts as spokesperson for your company, or guides
executives in how to respond to media queries.
 Conducting customer and market research. Research helps you define target markets
and opportunities and helps you understand how your products and services are
perceived.
 Overseeing outside vendors and agencies. Marketing is typically responsible for
selecting and managing the agencies and vendors who produce marketing materials
and or/provide marketing support. These may include ad agencies, print vendors,
PR agencies or specialists, Web providers, etc.