Theme 1

• mass market: a market that is aimed at the general population
• niche market: a market that addresses the needs of a specific set of people
• market size: measured by volume of sales or value of sales
• market share: the percentage of a market that a business owns
• innovation: when a new invention is brought into the market
• risk: the possibility that a business will make a loss or less profit than expected
• uncertainty : when a business is unable to predict external shocks or future events
• quantitative data: data gathered that is numerical
• qualitative data: non-numerical data, such as text, pictures, and interviews
• market orientation: the focus on the needs and wants of customers and the marketplace
• product orientation: focus on the product and its features, not the customer
• primary research: data which is collected first hand
• secondary research: data that already exists
• market segmentation: dividing a market into smaller groups of people who have similar needs and wants
• market segment: a group of consumers that share one or more characteristics or needs
• market mapping: the process of finding the variables which differentiate brands in a market and plotting them on a map
• competitive advantage: an advantage a business has over its competitors
• differentiation: where a product is different from the competition in some way
• added value: the amount by which the monetary value of a product/service is increased at each stage of its production
• substitute goods: where one type of product could be replaced with another
• complementary goods: where one product is used at the same time with another product
• demographics: structure of the population
• external shocks: an event which causes significant change
• seasonality: any predictable change or pattern in a time series that repeats over a one-year period
• productivity: the rate at which goods or services are produced
• shock: an event which causes a change within an economy
• automation: method of operating by automatic means (using devices) rather than by human control
• mechanisation: method of operating or controlling processes using machinery
• indirect tax: taxes put on products/services before they reach the consumer
• government subsidy: a grant from the government to encourage supply of certain goods
• supply: the amount of product/service that a business is willing and able to provide at a given price
• demand: the amount of product/service that customers are willing to buy at a given price
• supply curve: a line to plot the relationship between price and quantity supplied
• demand curve: a line to plot relationship between price and quantity demanded
• normal goods: products where an increase in consumers income means an increase in demand
• inferior good: products where an increase in consumers income means a decrease in demand
• substitute good: an alternative product used to satisfy a want
• complementary good: products that may be used together
• PED: price elasticity of demand
• PED: measures the responsiveness of demand to a change in price