Unit 3: Marketing Flashcards
Why do some markets become more competitive?
- Government intervention in markets: Deregulation, selling off public sector organisations to the public sector (privatisation).
- Transportation (the growth of free trade between countries) so businesses can send its products globally.
- Internet (the growth of e-commerce and social media networks). This has made customers more aware of the suppliers of products and increased consumer choice and competition within the workplace.
How do businesses respond to changing spending patterns and increased competition?
- Product development - market research identifies how the needs and wants of consumers are changing. This info can be used to increase the satisfaction of consumers.
- Improve efficiency - efficient use of resources help a business to reduce average costs.
- Increased promotion - Increasing advertisements, promotional techniques such as money off coupons, persuading consumers to buy a firms product instead of a competitors product.
Define niche marketing
Developing products for a small segment of the market. (High priced goods).
Advantages of a niche market
- Smaller firms are able to survive and earn profit.
- There is less competition in this market. Firms do not waste scarce resources responding to customer actions.
Disadvantages of a niche market
- Opportunity to earn high profits attracts competitors and this reduces prices and future profits.
- Small changes in consumer spending patterns can have a big impact on businesses operating in niche markets.
Define mass marketing
Selling the same product to the whole market, for example flour.
Advantages of mass marketing
- A much larger market has the potential for higher sales and profits.
- Requires large-scale production, so firms benefit from economies of scale which reduces unit costs.
Disadvantages of mass marketing
- Highly competitive in the market which reduces prices and profit margins.
- Not all markets are large enough to support a mass marketing approach.
Define market segment
A part of the whole market into which consumers have specific characteristics.
Define market segmentation
Dividing the whole market up into segments by consumer characteristics and then targeting each product to different segments.
Define geographic segmentation
Dividing consumers in the market based on their geographic area, due to cultural/religious reasons, different climates.
Define demographic segmentation
Dividing consumers in the market based on their ethnic background, income, gender, age and social class.
Define psychographic segmentation
Dividing consumers in the market based on their personalities, lifestyle and attitudes.
Benefits of market segmentation
- Goods and services designed to meet the the specific needs and wants of consumers.
- Marketing strategies are better targeted at each segment - reduces waste of scarce resources.
- Segmenting the whole market identifies a segment of consumers who have very specialised needs that aren’t being satisfied. This presents an opportunity for niche marketing.
Define market research
The process of collecting, analysing, recording data about customers, competitors and market for a product.
Info obtained from market research helps a business to:
- Find out what customers like or dislike about its products.
- Identify consumer tastes and preferences.
- Identify competitors and gauge their strengths & weaknesses.
- Know size of the market.
Define unique selling point
The special feature of a product that sets it apart from competitors products.
Define a market oriented business
Products are developed based on consumer demand or as identified by market research.
Define product oriented business
The firm decided what to produce and tries to find buyers for the product.
Benefits of the market oriented approach
- Risk of new products failing is reduced because they have been produced following market research which identifies the demand of consumers.
- Products that meet needs of consumers are likely to last longer - this leads to higher sales and profits.
Define primary research
The collection of first-hand data for the specific needs of the firm.
Define secondary data and identify its uses
It is the collection of second-hand data from other sources.
Mostly common uses include the internet, libraries, newspapers & magazines, government publications.
Advantages of primary research
- Data is up to date.
- Data is collected for a specific purpose which is directly relevant to the business.
Disadvantages of primary data
- Time-consuming
- Costly
- Risk of data being inaccurate/containing bias.
Advantages of secondary data
- Easier and quicker to collect.
- Cheap to obtain.
Disadvantages of secondary data
- May have been collected some time ago, not up to date.
- Data collected may not be relevant to the specific purpose of the business, not as reliable.
Define quantitative data
The collection of numerical data that can be analysed using statistical techniques.
Define qualitative data
The collection of information about consumers buying behaviour and their opinions about products.
Methods of primary research
- Focus groups
- Interviews
- Test markets
- Observation
- Consumer surveys
Define sampling
A representative sample of the target market used for market research.
Define marketing mix
Four marketing decisions needed for the effective marketing of a product.
Define Four P’s
The right product at the right price with the right promotion in the right place.
Define product
The goods and services produced to satisfy consumers needs/wants.
Costs and benefits of developing new products
Costs:
- Market research needs to be carried to identify needs of consumers, which is expensive.
- Requires large capital expenditure.
Benefits:
- Increase potential sales, revenue and profit.
Helps to achieve growth and benefit from economies of scale.