2.Give the summary of the text the universal marketing functions1

The videodisc story, however the final chapter may be written, points up the problems marketers face. Even with a good to sell, they must connect that good to an identifiable market. Making this connection is much more complicated than it appears. Producers and consumers have different views of the marketing process. Bringing them together in a happy marriage produces occasionally astounding² successes, but in almost all cases the marketer operates in an area of considerable unpredictability.

We can gain a clearer picture of the complicated process of modern mar­keting if we consider some of the ordinary problems that confront today's buyer and seller:

Spatial Separation Producers and consumers are often geographically separated due to the clustering³ of producers—around Detroit for automobiles, for example— whereas consumers are widely dispersed.

Separation in Time Consumers may not want goods when they are produced. For example, few people would buy an air conditioner in the winter, yet level year-round production is more efficient than seasonal up and down production.

Separation of Information Producers do not know who needs what, where, when, at what price. Consumers don't know what is available where, when, at what price. For example, consumers shop a number of furniture stores before selecting a living room sofa; manufacturers depend on store owners to stay abreas⁴t of consumer prefer­ences.

Discrepancies⁵ of Quantity Producers prefer mass production to obtain economies of scale. Consumers prefer to buy in small quantities. Goodyear Tire Company pro­duction runs consist of thousands of tires; the individual car owner may need just two winter tires.

Discrepancies of Assortment Manufacturers prefer to produce specialized product lines. Consumers prefer to choose from a wide assortment of products of many pro­ducers. For example, Wilson, Slazenger, and Davis all make tennis rackets. Converse and Adidas make tennis shoes. Many manufacturers produce and sell a variety of tennis clothes. But the consumer interested in outfitting himself for the tennis season wants to be able to choose from all of these products (and more) at a retail store which stocks this wide assortment of tennis products.

Given these discrepancies and separations between the producer and con­sumer, it is apparent that "directing the flow of goods" is no easy task. Having the right goods and services at the right place at the right time, with adequate pricing, credit, delivery, and service abilities to attract consumers is in fact the most important managerial activity of every enterprise. If a company can't sell the goods, all other managerial activity becomes irrelevant

To overcome the growing separation between producers and consumers and to facilitate the How of goods, certain universal marketing functions must be performed. These functions must be carried out to some extent in any society in which the individual is no longer completely self-sufficient, whether it be a cap­italist system such as our own, or a planned, centrally managed economy. Similarly, these universal marketing functions apply to both consumer goods (products and services purchased by individuals for their own use) and industrial goods (products and seruices purchased for use in the production of other goods). In general, the universal marketing functions may be divided into three general categories: the exchange activities of buying and selling, the physical distribution activities of transporting and storing mer­chandise, and the facilitating activities of standardization and grading, financ­ing, risk taking, and providing market information.