Unit 9 marketing

• Marketing


  Identifying and understanding the needs and wants of current and future customers, and providing products and services that meet these needs and make a profit for the business
• Importance of marketing to businesses

  • Build their image and reputation
  • Develop the right products to meet customer needs
  • Develop customer loyalty
  • Launch a new product/business and boost sales
  • Gain/increase market share
  • Develop brand recognition
• Marketing is NOT just selling or advertising
• Selling


  Exchanging goods or services for money
• Advertising


  One way of making customers aware of a product or service
• Customers


  People who purchase for themselves or for others
• Market share


  The percentage of the total sales of a product accounted for by one company
• Market-orientated businesses


  Identify the needs of their prospective customer, then make or sell the product (or provide the service) to meet these needs
• Product-orientated businesses


  Focus on their areas of expertise to produce innovative items
• Branding


  Makes a business distinctive and memorable, enabling it to stand out from its competitors
• Brand dimensions


  • Logo
  • Symbol
  • Colours
  • Celebrity endorsements
  • Images
• All the brand components should reflect the main activity, values and style of the business
• Benefits of branding


  • Gives a unique image that potential customers recognise
  • Customers are more willing to try new branded products
  • Customers trust brands, leading to repeat purchases
  • Brands can often charge higher prices
  • Makes a business stand out from its competitors, resulting in increased sales and market share
  • Helps a business to expand its range and increase its profits
• Brand personality


  People see a brand as having certain characteristics (e.g. daring and fun, safe and reliable, young and clever)
• Brand value


  The brand has a monetary value that anyone who wanted to own that brand would have to pay for the name
• Example: Angry Birds


  • When Angry Birds joined together with Star Wars for a new game, two famous brands were brought together to increase sales
• Brand extension


  Launching a related or adapted product, such as the iPad mini which followed the iPad, or dishwasher tablets which followed Fairy washing-up liquid
• Primary data


  Original data obtained from customers or consumers, such as interviews, questionnaires, analysing sales records, consumer panels and focus groups
• Quantitative data


  Data in the form of numbers, such as sales figures, government statistics and figures produced by research firms
• Secondary data


  Data that already exists elsewhere, such as information in electoral rolls, newspaper reports, trade journals and information stored online
• Qualitative data


  Data in the form of opinions, such as interviews, focus groups and customer surveys asking for views
• Understanding trends and making predictions


  Analysing trends can enable a prediction to be made about the future
• Marketing activity


  May involve changing or adapting products or services, offering new or different products, or offering products in new markets
• Areas of interest


  Products and services customers want to buy or are enquiring about
• Gaps in the market


  Customer needs that are not yet fully met by other businesses
• Target markets


  The market the business aims to supply by finding a gap in what is currently offered
• Market segment


  A group of customers in a market who have similar characteristics and needs
• Competitor activity


  Checking their websites, visiting their premises, reading press reports and talking to customers to summarise the key points - location, price, quality, range, service - and identify their strengths and weaknesses from a customer's point of view
• Consumer behaviour


  Knowing why consumers make a purchase means the business knows how to appeal to them
• Market trends


  Key factors include market size and value of sales revenue, market growth rate, level of competition, and number of products already in the market
• PESTLE analysis


  Researching data about the wider environment to identify issues that might affect the business, including political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors
• Marketing mix


  All the factors a business must consider to sell its products successfully to its target customer, including product, price, place and promotion
• Core product


  The basic item offered, such as a TV
• Augmented product


  Has extras that make it more desirable, such as a 3D TV sold with a guarantee
• Unique selling point (USP)

  The key aspect of the product that makes it different or special, setting it apart from its competitors
• Extra benefits


  • Free delivery
  • Order tracking
  • Excellent customer service
  • Gift wrapping
  • Price matching
  • A 'no-quibble' returns policy
• Businesses need to differentiate their product or service to avoid the risk of failure, attract customers, demonstrate their product meets customer needs, and stand out from their competitors
• Product life cycle


  Each product has a life cycle. This can be long (a children's book) or short (fashion shoes)
• Products at the end of their life cycle need rejuvenating or replacing
• Businesses should know where each of their products or services is positioned within the life cycle