business

• Market


  Where a business sells its products or services
• Types of markets


  • Business to business (B2B)
  • Business to consumer (B2C)
• B2B market


  • Businesses sell to other businesses (e.g. auto manufacturer buying parts from suppliers)
• B2C market

  • Businesses sell directly to consumers (e.g. Nike selling shoes to customers)
• Advantages of B2B and B2C markets

  • B2B sales are more process driven and involve more steps, but tend to be more valuable with higher repeat business
  • B2C markets offer potentially higher profits due to larger customer base, but are highly competitive
• Types of markets


  • Niche market
  • Mass market
• Niche market

  • Focuses on a specific segment with unique needs (e.g. herbal teas within the tea market)
• Mass market

  • Targets a large undifferentiated group of consumers (e.g. paper towels, electricity providers)
• Target market


  The specific group of customers a business wants to sell its products to
• Identifying your target market is crucial for your business as it allows you to target the right customers, develop effective marketing strategies, increase profits, reduce wasted resources, and stay ahead of the competition
• To successfully identify your target market, you need to understand market segmentation
• Market segmentation


  Divides the market into groups based on key differentiators like demographics, geographic location, psychographics or behavioral factors
• Market segmentation


  • Helps businesses target specific groups of customers based on various characteristics
• Demographic segmentation


  Categorizes customers by factors such as age, gender, marital status, race and ethnicity, religion, family size, income, occupation, education level and socio-economic group
• Geographic segmentation


  Focuses on customers' physical locations and considers factors such as time zones, urban or rural environments and local languages
• Geographic segmentation


  • Adapting customer support for a target audience based in Australia
  • Recognizing that people in hot countries may have a higher interest in ice cream products than those in colder regions
  • Understanding cultural differences like how red is considered lucky in China but a sign of danger in the UK
• Psychographic segmentation


  Examines customers' personal qualities including social class, attitudes, lifestyles and personalities
• Behavioral segmentation


  Delves into customers' purchasing habits, reasons for buying and desired product benefits
• Behavioral segmentation

  • Segmenting customers based on factors like spending and consumption habits, rate of usage, loyalty status or their desired benefits
  • A coffee shop might segment its customers into groups for daily, weekly and occasional customers or into espresso, drip coffee and non-coffee drinkers
• Marketing


  Creating interest in your goods or services and encouraging people to buy them
• Marketing mix


  A framework that a company uses to market its goods and/or services
• The four Ps of the marketing mix

  • Product
  • Price
  • Place
  • Promotion
• The four Ps of the marketing mix are interconnected and should be considered together when developing a marketing strategy
• Balancing the four Ps of the marketing mix will help effectively reach the target audience and drive business growth
• Multi-channel marketing


  Using various promotional channels to reach the target audience
• Traditional marketing methods


  • Broadcast
  • Print
  • Direct Mail
• Digital marketing methods


  • Social media
  • Email
  • Affiliate
  • SEO
  • Content marketing
• Multi-channel marketing


  • Combines the best of traditional and digital marketing
  • Allows connecting with a wider variety of customers
  • Allows connecting with customers more often
  • Provides an advantage over competitors using limited channels
  • Develops a better understanding of customers
• The marketing mix refers to the set of four Ps: product, price, promotion, and place
• Traditional promotional methods are any promotional method that is not online
• Digital promotional methods are any promotional method that is online
• Product portfolio


  All of the goods and services an enterprise offers
• Product line


  Groups of products closely linked by their characteristics or customer benefits
• Samsung product lines


  • Televisions
  • Smartphones
  • Home Appliances
• Product life cycle


  The stages a product goes through from conception to discontinuation
• Product life cycle stages

  1. Development

  2. Introduction

  3. Growth

  4. Maturity

  5. Decline
• Unique selling point (USP)

  A feature that distinguishes a product from competitors
• Branding


  The process of establishing a brand
• Brand identity


  How customers recognize the business, typically through logo, tagline, packaging, or color scheme
• Brand image


  Customers' perceptions of the business, such as quality, professionalism, support, and value