Marketing

• Marketing


  Identifying a consumer's needs/wants and researching how to supply these needs/wants at a profit. It is finding out what a customer wants and making a product/service to satisfy these needs, whilst making a profit.
• Marketing


  • It is done by the business/organisation, who can hire an external marketing company or have their own marketing department
  • It takes place in stages from when the product is planned to when it is brought to market and beyond
• Marketing process


  1. Identify the needs of the target market

  2. Organise a marketing plan

  3. Design the product

  4. Decide where to advertise

  5. Record the cost of advertising in the accounts as an expense
• Market research


  The gathering and analysing of information related to your product/service and then using this to make up-to-date business decisions
• The key to any successful business is understanding their customers wants/needs
• Before you start your business, you have to do some market research
• Importance of market research

  • It gives the business valuable information about potential customers so that the business can make informed decisions about their products/services
  • It helps the business understand the market size, structure and needs/trends
  • It helps the business identify the target market
  • It helps the business identify competitors and their competitive advantage
  • It helps the business identify other needs such as distribution channels, advertising, price, reactions
• Desk research


  Also known as secondary research, it involves finding information that has already been published from sources such as social media, Google, magazines, trade journals, reports, newspapers, government agencies
• Field research


  Also known as primary research, it involves going out into the prospective customers and using methods such as questionnaires, observation, personal interviews, telephone/online interviews, consumer panels, retail audits, postal surveys
• Field research is generally more expensive to carry out than desk research, but desk research may be out of date and not relevant to your business
• Questionnaire


  A list of questions that can be written or asked person to person, either face to face, by telephone interview, or more recently online. They can be closed-ended (yes, no, maybe) or open-ended (reactions).
• Before designing a questionnaire, the business must brainstorm what information they are looking for about their target market
• Types of questions in a questionnaire

  • Closed-ended: Would you buy this product? (Answer is 'yes' or 'no')
  • Open-ended: Would you pay for this product and, if so, why? (Answers allow the person to voice their opinion)
• Closed-ended questions are easier to analyse and present using graphs and tables, while open-ended questions are more difficult to represent visually as they are a collection of opinions
• Digital marketing


  The promotion of goods and services using digital media such as Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok
• Influencer marketing


  Using people who share their 'life' on social media and promote goods/services online to influence consumers to buy products
• Influencers now need to say or include the hashtags #ad (advertisement), #spon (sponsored post) or #collab (collaboration) to ensure transparency and that the consumer is not being misled
• Online tools can gather market information with the help of a few mouse clicks, such as web searches, online questionnaires, and customer feedback forms
• Social media is transforming market research in new ways and requires a new skill set
• Businesses can check out their competitors, prices, discounts, stocks, etc. in just a few seconds using online search engines
• Observation


  Businesses may observe and listen to what consumers do as they browse in a shop, and then evaluate these comments and brainstorm solutions
• Product testing


  Examining the product through different stages, e.g. testing a new electric car in different conditions to assess the battery life and usability
• Psychological profiling


  Businesses may look at consumer lifestyles, income, etc. and link such types to consumption patterns, e.g. mountain climbers prefer waterproof and durable shoes
• Consumer satisfaction research


  Involves calling/emailing/texting/direct messaging to see if the consumer is happy with the service
• Market segmentation


  Dividing consumers into categories based on socio-economic class, religion, geographic location, age, gender, etc.
• Niche market


  Finding a 'gap' in the market for a new product/service
• Networking


  A marketing method by which business opportunities are created
• Networking


  A marketing method by which business opportunities are created through talking to people, striking up conversations, and volunteering
• Marketing plan


  Includes a mission statement, the benefits of the business, details of the product, and when the business will be established
• Unique selling point (USP)


  Something that makes the product different from competitors
• Marketing mix


  Recognising, anticipating and satisfying customer's needs, whilst making a profit. Also known as the 4 or 5 Ps.
• Product


  • Must satisfy customer needs, research competitors' products to have a competitive advantage, consider unique selling point, safety standards, new invention, patent
• Price


  • Cost pricing, premium pricing, competitive pricing, penetrating price, discount pricing
• Place


  • Channels of distribution: manufacturer -> wholesaler -> retailer -> consumer, manufacturer -> retailer -> consumer, manufacturer -> consumer
• Promotion


  • Advertising, sponsorship, sales promotion, product placement, personal selling, merchandising, public relations, direct marketing
• Coca-Cola is one of the two leading brands in the soda industry and the largest brand of non-alcoholic beverages in the world
• Coca-Cola is known for its strong brand image and high customer loyalty
• Pepsi and Coca-Cola price their products competitively
• Due to a shift towards healthy things, the demand for soda products has decreased and therefore, price competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi has intensified
• Coca-Cola has an extensive beverage distribution system and sells an average of 1.9 billion servings each day