Unit 3: Marketing Flashcards
what is the role of marketing?
identifying customer needs, satisfying customer needs, maintaining customer loyalty, building customer relationships, gaining information about customers
market share
the percentage of total market sales held by one brand or business
why may consumer spending patterns change?
consumer tastes change, changes in technology, changes in income, aging populations
why have some markets become more competitive?
internet / e-commerce, transportation improvements (facilitate product transportation), globalisation
how can businesses respond to changing patterns and increased competition?
maintain good customer relationships, constantly improve its existing product, bring out new products to maintain their customer’s interest, keep costs low to maintain competitiveness
mass market
a product sold and designed to appeal to the general population
advantages of a mass market
large sales
can benefit from economies of scale
if the business sells several variations of products, the failure of one product will most likely not affect the sales of the other products
large sales create more opportunities for business growth
disadvantages of a mass market
high levels of competition between firms
high advertising costs
loss of sales due to the product not meeting the specific needs of the customers
niche market
a small, specialized segment of a larger market
advantages of a niche market
allows for smaller businesses to succeed without the threat of competition from larger businesses
the product will be targeted on the specific needs of the customers
disadvantages of a niche market
limited number of sales
businesses will often specialize in only one product - if the product fails, the business fails
market segmentation
when a market is broken down into sub-groups that share similar characteristics
how does segmenting a market help a business
makes marketing expenditure more cost-effective by creating and advertising a product that caters to the specific needs of each segment
by identifying a segment that doesn’t yet have a product that fulfills its needs can open opportunities fro a business without any competition
what are the most common ways of segmenting a market?
socio-economic group, age, region / location, gender, lifestyle, use of product, occupation, etc.
product-orientated business
a business that produces a product first and then tries to find a market for it
market-orientated business
a business that first carries out market research to find out what the consumer wants and then produces a product to fulfill those wants/needs
market research
the process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information about a market
primary research
first-hand data collected by the business getting in contact with potential or existing customers
secondary research
information that has already been collected and is available for the use of others
benefits of primary research
data is relevant and up to date
competitors don’t have access to your data - ‘competitive edge’
limitations of primary research
it can be expensive
is time consuming
it can be challenging to find participants
benefits of secondary research
low cost
fast and easy to find
limitations of secondary research
data can be outdated
data can be too broad and not specific enough for the target market
there might be a variable that changes the data that you are not aware of
what factors influence the accuracy of market research data?
How carefully the sample was drawn up, its size, the types of people selected etc.
How questions were phrased in questionnaires and surveys
Who carried out the research: secondary research is likely to be less reliable since it was drawn up by others for a different purpose at an earlier time.
Bias: newspaper articles are often biased and may leave out crucial information deliberately.
Age of information: researched data shouldn’t be too outdated. Customer tastes, fashions, economic conditions, technology all move fast and the old data will be of no use now.
what are the 4P’s?
product, price, place, promotion
product
the good or service being produced and sold in the market