business - marketing

• customers


  buy goods and services from a business
• market segmentation


  involves splitting consumers into different groups & then marketing a product/service directly to those groups
• consumers can be grouped by:

  • age
  • religion
  • income
  • gender
  • location
  • lifestyle
  • social class
• target marketing benefits:

  • high sales
  • increased profits
  • increased customer satisfaction
  • ensures customer loyalty
  • meet requirements
• target marketing costs:

  • increased business costs
  • complicated to manage
• desk research


  finding and reusing already existing information that has been collected by someone else for another purpose (secondary information)
• desk research pros:

  • easy to obtain
  • cheaper than field research
• desk research cons:

  • not as reliable
  • might be out of date
  • may be inaccurate
• field research


  involves gathering and analysing new information about a market for your own specific purpose (primary information)
• field research pros:

  • information gathered for a specific purpose
  • relevant
  • up to date
• field research cons:

  • can be costly
  • time consuming
  • information needs to be analysed
• field research examples:

  • interview
  • survey
  • focus group
  • hall test
  • sampling
• desk research examples:

  • sales figures
  • newspapers
  • websites
  • social trends
• product


  the actual item that is produced and sold by the business
• development (product life cycle)


  There are no sales at this stage. The product is being developed & costs are high
• introduction (product life cycle)


  The product is launched onto the market & introduced to the customers. Advertising & promotion costs are extremely high at this stage & sales, if any, are low
• growth (product life cycle)


  Sales are rising quickly & more customers are becoming aware of the product as a result of the advertising & promotion. competitors may begin to launch their own versions of the product
• maturity (product life cycle)


  Sales reach their peak making this the most profitable stage. Costs are far less as the product is now well established on the market
• decline (product life cycle)


  Sales of the product begin to fall. The product is no longer wanted or needed by the consumer, it may be that a better or new version of the product is now available. The product may be withdrawn from the market at this stage
• branding advantages:

  • recognisable
  • brand loyalty
  • high prices charged
  • new products can be introduced
• branding disadvantages:

  • may lead to bad reputation
  • easily copied
  • time consuming
  • expensive
• own brands


  goods made by a producer and sold to a well known retailer who repackage these and sell them at a lower, affordable cost under their own brand label. (asda smart price, tesco value, morrisons savers)
• own brand advantages:

  • attract customers
  • guaranteed sales
  • affordable
• own brand disadvantages:

  • customers believe they are low quality
• price


  the amount the customer will pay or is prepared to pay for a good or service
• penetration pricing


  A price lower than that of competitors is set to tempt customers away from competitors
• promotional pricing


  Prices are reduced for a short period of time
• high pricing


  High prices are charged & maintained for a certain product/service
• low pricing


  Setting prices lower than the competition
• Psychological pricing


  used to make customers perceive the price of a product is lower than it is  (charging £19.99 for a product instead of £20)
• road distribution pros:

  • cheapest method
  • quick and direct delivery
• road distribution cons:

  • can only travel so much
  • environmental impact
  • a lot of disruptions
• rail distribution pros:

  • can travel large loads
  • can transport large quantities
• rail distribution cons:

  • not direct
• sea distribution pros:

  • large loads can be transported
  • can transport worldwide
• sea distribution cons:

  • time consuming
• air distribution pros:

  • transport goods worldwide
  • fastest method
  • can transport large quantities
• factors affecting distribution:

  • availability of raw materials
  • distance to market
  • transport costs
  • competition
  • availability of labour
  • environmental impact
• TV advertising pros:

  • reaches large audiences
  • can be specifically targeted
  • product can be demonstrated
• TV advertising cons:

  • can be expensive
  • not much information
  • may be skipped