Theme 1: 1, 1.2, 1.5 Flashcards
What is a market?
Any place where buyers and sellers will come together to exchange goods or services.
What is marketing?
The department tasked with targeting the right product for the right target market using the right combination of price, promotion + place
- it’s about understanding and meeting the needs and wants of customers
What is a marketing strategy and marketing objectives?
A Marketing strategy is the actions or plan needed to achieve a corporate objective
A Marketing objective clarifies the goals that the marketing strategy aims to achieve for a business.
What is a mass market and what examples are there?
A mass market refers to a large, undifferentiated market of consumers with widely varied backgrounds.
Mass marketing is where products are targeted at the whole market.
e.g. HandM, Zara, Adidas
Why may a mass market producer struggle to make profits?
- competition is fierce so the battle may have to be on the basis of price meaning its hard to make satisfactory profits
What is a niche market and what examples are there?
A niche market refers to a small, specialised market where consumers have particular backgrounds and needs.
Niche marketing is where products and services are targeted towards a specific segment of a market.
e.g. Rolex, Fendi, Versace
What are the differences between niche and mass markets?
- product quality is higher in a niche market as it is expensive to make and there is a lower quantity produced
- mass markets usually have lower prices due to large competition whereas niche markets have higher unit costs but can charge higher prices due to distinctiveness - therefore have a more premium price
- mass markets may use flow production (assembly line/factory) whereas niche markets may use bespoke job or batch production
- mass markets can take advantage of E.O.S
- mass markets use retailers who sell the products to the end customer whereas niche markets may sell more directly as they want to protect their brand + relationship they have with their customers
(they may use retailers however to access a larger no. of people and decrease costs)
How is marketing different for mass and niche markets?
- promotion for mass markets takes place on mass media e.g. popular videos, Tv programmes, billboards e.g. Mars at the Olympics
- whereas promotion for niche markets takes place on niche media more tailored to the needs of the consumer e.g. at Rolex at horse racing
What are the advantages of mass markets?
> gain from E.O.S
> lots of potential customers so higher potential for revenue
What are the disadvantages of mass markets?
> high levels of competition so hard for start-ups
volatile sales
lower loyalty so have to spend more money to ensure this
higher PED, products need to be differentiated
higher marketing costs as a result
What are the advantages of niche markets?
> fewer competitors
strong brand
USP + differentiated so can charge higher prices
low PED (lower marketing costs)
small scale production can be flexible + follow trends easily
What are the disadvantages of niche markets?
> higher cpu and production costs
lower E.O.S
risky as demand may not be constant
less access to people/smaller market so lower potential for revenue
What is Market Size and how is it calculated?
Total value or volume of sales in the market in monetary terms or by amount sold.
- Number of units sold x Price
What is Market Share and how is it calculated?
The proportion of total market sales that a firm has.
- (Sales of one firm/total market sales) x100
What is a monopoly market?
This is when there is only one sole business trading in a market so they face no competition and can charge high prices.
How can you increase your market share?
It is very difficult……
> grow your market: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
> diversity and enter and new/different market - MARKET DEVELOPMENT
> eliminate competiton
What is a Dynamic Market?
A market that is constantly changing.
Sellers respond to the changing needs of buyers by improving existing products or service or introducing new ones.
4 reasons the environment is dynamic
> social trends e.g. hairstyles
changes in technology e.g. smartphones
competitive environment e.g. fashion
consumer tastes e.g. fashions
What is Innovation?
It is about putting a new idea or approach into action
e.g. Apple have innovated with their face recognition to get rid of passwords making access easier + quicker
What can innovation do?
- spur market growth
2. can help a business gain market share
What is the difference between innovation and invention?
invention is the formulation of new ideas
but innovation is the practical application of these ideas/inventions into marketable products or services
What are the two types of innovation?
- Product innovation = launching new or improved products or services
- Process innovation = finding better or more efficient ways of producing existing products or delivering existing services
Benefits of product innovation?
> competitive advantage
first mover advantage
improve brand image
increased market share due to differentiation
demand will be more inelastic as you are the first mover - monopoly so higher prices
positive PR
opportunity to build early customers loyalty
Benefits of process innovation? e.g. MINI, AMAZON, MCDONALDS
> more efficient so unit costs decrease so prices are lower: PRICE COMPETITION so can compete
more convenient and accessible so appeals to a wider range/different range of people: NON PRICE COMPETITION
improved quality
greater flexibility
What are the factors to consider when adapting to change?
- Implications of change on workforce planning: 0 hour contracts, flexible working, you can quickly scale up and down
- React to change or ‘be the change’ : first mover advantage
- How do you know if change is permanent?
- How does a big business stay nimble: delayering, leadership styles
- Role of market research: understand competitors, understand customers needs + wants, understand technology
How does competition affect businesses in the market?
> competition is pressurising for businesses so it keeps them from getting careless + complacent
competition makes it hard to charge high prices unless the customers perceive the business as offering outstanding products/services
competitions therefore encourages companies to be innovative and creative
What are the 5 causes of uncertainty?
- The economy
- Dynamic markets
- The government
- Actions of competitors
- Geopolitics
What is market orientation?
When businesses react to what the customers within the market want and decisions made are based around information about a customer’s needs and wants rather than the business’s thoughts
- > (the most successful businesses use this approach)
e. g. AUDI
What is product orientation?
When businesses develop products based on what it is good at making and doing, rather than what customers want.
- > (usually criticised because it leads to unsuccessful products in well established markets)
e. g. APPLE
What is market orientation informed by?
- market research
- reduces risk of product failure but does not eliminate it
What is product orientation informed by?
- scientific research and technical development: R&D
- Businesses will concentrate on producing high quality products and then find markets for them
- most common with technologically advanced products
What are the benefits of market orientation?
> encourages customer loyalty
reduces risk and increases chance of success
gives the business a competitive advantage and a USP
may be able to charge a higher price due to inelastic demand
What are the benefits of product orientation?
> cheaper and quicker due to less market research spending
first mover advantage
harder for rivals to copy due to high innovation levels
What are the drawbacks of market orientation?
> market research is expensive
costs associated with training and adapting production techniques
costs of developing and launching products
What are the drawbacks of product orientation?
> high risk - demand may not be there
high R&D costs
unsuccessful products
Why would a business collect data?
1) to assess potential demand to see if a product or service will sell
2) assess pricing options and see which promotions would best suit the launch of the product/service e.g. introductory price
3) to build a customer profile
4) to assess the competition and understand substitute and complimentary goods
5) to find out about the market and its behaviours
Benefits of collecting data?
+ competitive advantage
+ can become market orientated - higher chance of success
+ they can develop a marketing strategy based on 4 P’s
+ reduces risk of product failure
+ means they can more easily adapt to change (dynamic market, reduce uncertainty)
What is primary research?
It is original and brand new data gathered by the researcher/business that does not already exist - cannot be found online or anywhere else
They use this data to make specific decisions about the business.
What are the 7 methods of primary research?
- Questionnaires / surveys
- Observations
- Interviews
- Loyalty cards
- Focus groups
- Consumer panels
- Test marketing
Benefits of Primary research?
> directly focused on research adjectives = fit for purpose and questions can be tailored
up to date/latest info from the marketplace
gives more detailed insights, particularly into customer views - can assess the psychology of the consumer
Drawbacks of Primary research?
> expensive and time consuming e.g. focus groups
risk of survey bias - questionnaire + interviewer bias
research findings may only be useful if comparable back data exists
risk that your sample size may not be representative of the whole population
What is Secondary research?
It is research data that has been previously gathered and already exists as it has been collected for a different purpose.
Benefits of Secondary research?
> often obtained without cost and is easy to find + access
often provides a good overview and insight into a market - shows the key trends
usually based on actual sales figures or research on large samples
Drawbacks of Secondary research?
> data may not be updated regularly - quickly out of date
it can be expensive to buy specialist reports, especially for many market places
not always tailored to specific research needs (you may have to perform primary research to obtain more details)
What are the 7 methods of secondary research?
- Annual reports
- Internal data
- Government sources
- News
- Trade journals/press
- Market research reports
- EU and international sources
What is Trade press?
What is Market research reports?
- Trade press is industry specific magazines and news papers, with news specific to the industry, give info on competitor activity like promotions
e. g. The Grocer - Market research reports are specialist market research companies who collect data
e. g. MINTEL who have. global team of trend analysts assessing changes in society, culture, economy - reports are expensive
What are Annual reports?
- Annual reports contains financial data, provided for investors and are a legal requirement for firms with shareholders
- gives investors a good idea about the financial health of a business
What is internal data?
- Internal data is data from inside the business that has been collected from years of trading
- sales figures are useful for forecasting future sales
- can identify trends and seasonal changes
What are government sources?
What are EU + international sources?
- Government sources e.g. ONS (office of national statistics) containing info on employment, the economy
- can see how these factors will affect their business
e. g. info could be used to make decisions about expanding overseas - EU and International sources include World Bank, IMF, WTO
- Eurostat contains many useful statistics on Europe, could be used by a business looking to expand into the European market
- > infographics produced can help businesses to visualise large amounts of data
What is test marketing used for?
To launch a product that is in a restricted area to see if it is successful before spending money on a national launch
What is the difference between a focus group vs. consumer panel?
Focus group is a one off to find in depth opinions on a specific topic vs. consumer panels which happen multiple times, they regularly feedback on aspects of the marketing mix
What is Qualitative data?
What is Quantitive data?
- research that describes based on opinons, attitudes, beliefs, intentions, aims to understand why customers behave in certain ways or how they may respond to a new product/service
e. g. WHY,WOULD,HOW - research concerned with numerical data, often on large samples so provides statistically valid data
e. g. HOW OFTEN, WHERE, WHEN, HOW MANY, HOW MUCH
What are the methods of collecting qualitative research?
1) Focus groups = groups of people asked to discuss their perceptions, attitudes and opinions towards a product/service/concept/ad/packaging
- they reveal consumer psychology and may reveal a problem or opportunity the business had not thought of
2) Interviews = informal, in depth interviews with consumers. - avoid the risk that the group opinion will be swayed by one influential person
What are the methods of collecting quantitative research?
Various forms of survey
- telephone
- postal
- online
- face to face
Benefits and limitations of Qualitative research?
+ essential for important new product development and launches
+ focused on understanding customer needs + wants, expectations - v useful insights
+ can highlight issues that need addressing e.g. why customers don’t buy
+ can test elements of marketing mix
- based around opinion, subjective, not always representative
- expensive to collect and analyse, require specialist research skills
Benefits and limitations of Quantitative research?
+ easy to analyse
+ numerical data can show relevant trends
+ can be compared with data from other sources (e.g. competitors, history)
- focused on data rather than exploring why; hard to know how to change
- doesn’t explain reasoning behind numerical trends
- may lack reliability if sample size and method is not valid
3 limitations of market research?
1) BIAS: does the sampling method used represented the whole population you are interested in?
Was the data produced by someone with a vested interest in a particular result?
2) RELIABILITY: can you trust the data/original source? Is the sampling method clear + consistent
3) VALIDITY: does the data match what you were looking for? (could be an issue for secondary research esp.)
What are the 3 ICT uses for Market research?
> Social networking
Databases
Websites
Sources of big data?
1) social media
2) cookies
3) GPS
4) Delivery
5) Reviews
- help to understand your customer so you can tailor your promotional strategies to customers
How is social media used for MR?
+ Tracks what customers are saying about your brand
+ allows greater involvement with your customers, can interact w them and listen to consumer conversations
+ stronger relationship and social presence
+ tailor when you post to harness a wider reach of customers
e.g. sprout social gives you info on trends for a specific market and helps streamline social media
shows how to maximise social performance
How are data bases used for MR?
+ secondary research example
+ quick and automated
+ huge data sets can be analysed = reduced need for sampling
+ data can be linked (e.g. transactional data w customer profiles)
What is a market segment?
= a group of people with similar needs and wants
What are the 4 different ways of market segmenting?
1) Geographic: by region/country/climate
2) Demographic: by age/gender/income/occupation
3) Psychographic: by attitudes/personality/lifestyle and values (intrinsic traits)
4) Behaviour: by what benefit you seek from buying a product/when you buy it/usage rate (habits)
Why market segment?
- more effective advertising
- more sales
- higher demand
What is market positioning?
= an Effort to influence customer perception of a brand or product relative to the perceptions of competitors.
May stem from price, marketing and quality.
What is product differentiation?
When businesses make their products different from competing products. (degree to which consumers perceive your brand is different from others)
A highly differentiated product is one viewed as having unique features. They may have substitutes but it should be so strong that consumers don’t bother considering these when purchasing.
What do Market Maps do?
Use of a grid with two factors/variables on it in a specific market e.g. price and quality
Then individual brands or products are added to it.
> can show gaps and potential niches in the market
> A ‘gap’ is a business opportunity that is not yet being fulfilled by anyone where there is demand available (must be commercially viable)
Benefits of market maps?
> can see market gaps
> can help businesses to know who their competitions are and therefore differentiate products and market position
Drawbacks of market maps?
> maybe disagreements - subjective
can be hard to categorise the same products and services
identifying a gap does not mean there is need for a product ( need for more Market Research!)