3.1 Marketing Objectives, Markets and Customers

What is marketing?

The process of identifying, anticipating (predicting), and satisfying customer needs profitably

Explain the marketing decisions process?

The process is iterative, meaning that managers will regularly be going backwards and forwards from one stage to another e.g. the market analysis may provide information that leads managers to change their objectives

What are some examples of marketing objectives?

• Sales volume

• Sales value

• Sales growth

• Market share

• Brand loyalty

What is sales volume?

The volume of sales that is measured in terms of the number of units sold on a product e.g. sales of 3 million cars

What is sales value?

The value of sales that is measured in terms of how much is spent on a product e.g. sales of £330,000. Alternatively, it is the total revenue that a product generates

What is sales growth?

The percentage change in sales over a given period of time for a specific brand

What is the formula for sales growth?

New sales - Original sales × 100

Original sales

What is the formula for market growth?

New market size - Original market size × 100

Original market size

What is market share?

The percentage of total sales in an industry generated by a particular company. It is calculated by taking a company’s total sales over a given time period before it by the total sales of the industry over the same time period

What is the formula for market share?

Total sales of a product or brand or business × 100

Total sales in the market

Explain the importance of brand loyalty for a business

Brand loyalty is important for a business because it encourages and incentivises customers to return to the business and consume their products again which is easier and cheaper than having to attract new ones

What are the examples of internal factors that influence marketing objectives?

• Staff

• Finances

• Management

• Factors of production

What are the examples of external factors that influence marketing objectives?

• Competition

• The state of the economy

• Politics

• Laws

What is primary market research or field research?

The new research that a business undertakes itself, meaning collecting new data and information that had not been collected before. It is more expensive and time consuming than desk research but it provides a first-mover advantage for a business and provides relevant and up-to-date data

What is secondary market research or desk research?

The research that has already been compiled and organised by an external agency. It is cheaper and less time consuming than field research but it may not provide relevant and up-to-date data

What are some examples of primary research?

• Census data

• Surveys

• Focus groups

• Interviews

What are some examples of secondary research?

• Google and other search engines

• Online reviews

• Books

What is sampling?

The gathering of data from a sample of respondents which should represent the targeted population as a whole

What is the importance of sampling?

Sampling is important because it provides a firm with insight into a market without having to interview all of the people that a manager might want to interview. It decreases the opportunity cost which makes data collection relatively cheaper and quicker

What are the different sampling techniques that firms can use to choose their sample?

• Random sampling

• Quota sampling

• Stratified sampling

What is random sampling?

A sampling technique that randomly selects individuals from a list of the population. Every individual has an equal chance

What is quota sampling?

A sampling technique that creates a sample involving individuals that represent a population. It is a non-probability method

What is stratified sampling?

A sampling technique that divides a population into smaller sub-groups known as strata e.g. if the target market of a product is 18-25 years old, then it would be appropiate to sample 80% of that age bracket to represent the target market as effectively as possible