Business marketing

1. Role of Marketing - Strategic role

Strategic role of marketing goods and services to translate overall business goals into customer-oriented strategies that maximize sales, market share, and long-term profitability.

1. Role of Marketing - Interdependence (Operations)

Marketing determines customer needs and product design, which Operations must physically produce within quality and budget constraints.

1. Role of Marketing - Interdependence (Finance)

Marketing relies on Finance for promotional budgets and pricing strategies, while generating the revenue needed to sustain financial goals.

1. Role of Marketing - Interdependence (HR)

Human Resources recruits and trains skilled staff to deliver customer service and fulfill the marketing promises made to consumers.

1. Role of Marketing - Production approach

Focuses on mass production efficiency, high volume, and low costs under the belief that products sell themselves (1820s–1920s).

1. Role of Marketing - Selling approach

Focuses on aggressive sales techniques and persuasion to push existing products onto consumers (1920s–1960s).

1. Role of Marketing - Marketing approach (Stage 1)

Focuses on customer orientation—identifying consumer needs and wants prior to producing goods and services (1960s–1980s).

1. Role of Marketing - Marketing approach (Stage 2)

Modern focus combining customer orientation with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), environmental sustainability, and long-term customer relationships.

1. Role of Marketing - Resource market

Market consisting of individuals or groups engaged in primary production (e.g., agriculture, mining, forestry).

1. Role of Marketing - Industrial market

Market consisting of businesses that purchase products to use as raw materials or inputs in production (e.g., machinery, components).

1. Role of Marketing - Intermediate market

Market consisting of wholesalers and retailers who purchase finished products to resell them to others at a profit.

1. Role of Marketing - Consumer market

Market consisting of individuals and households who purchase goods and services for personal use.

1. Role of Marketing - Mass market

Market where sellers mass-produce, mass-distribute, and mass-promote one product to all buyers with standardized needs.

1. Role of Marketing - Niche market

A narrowly defined target market segment consisting of buyers with specific, specialized needs.

2. Influences on Marketing - Psychological factors (Perception)

The process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret information to create a meaningful picture of a product.

2. Influences on Marketing - Psychological factors (Motives)

The underlying reasons, drives, or needs that motivate an individual to purchase a good or service.

2. Influences on Marketing - Psychological factors (Attitudes)

An individual's overall feelings or evaluation toward a business, brand, or product.

2. Influences on Marketing - Sociocultural factors (Social class)

An individual's relative rank in society based on income, education, and occupation, which influences spending behavior.

2. Influences on Marketing - Sociocultural factors (Culture & Family)

Shared values, customs, beliefs, and family roles that shape consumer buying patterns and preferences.

2. Influences on Marketing - Economic factors (Boom)

High economic activity, employment, and income levels leading to increased consumer confidence and discretionary spending.

2. Influences on Marketing - Economic factors (Recession)

Low economic activity, rising unemployment, and falling incomes leading to reduced consumer spending on non-essential items.

2. Influences on Marketing - Government factors

Laws, regulations, monetary/fiscal policies, and taxes that directly affect consumer spending power and business operations.

2. Influences on Marketing - Deceptive and misleading advertising

Illegal practice under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) involving false statements, bait-and-switch pricing, or misleading claims.

2. Influences on Marketing - Price discrimination

Setting different prices for the same product in different markets to reduce competition, prohibited under consumer law if anti-competitive.

2. Influences on Marketing - Implied conditions

Unspoken statutory guarantees under ACL that goods are of acceptable quality, fit for intended purpose, and match their description.

2. Influences on Marketing - Warranties

Written promises by businesses to repair, replace, or refund faulty goods within a specified timeframe.

2. Influences on Marketing - Truth, accuracy, and good taste

Ethical standards requiring advertisements to avoid exaggeration (puffery), offensive content, or misleading claims.

2. Influences on Marketing - Products that may damage health

Ethical responsibility regarding marketing products like alcohol, fast food, or tobacco, especially toward vulnerable groups.

2. Influences on Marketing - Engaging in fair competition

Adherence to ethical guidelines that prevent anti-competitive behavior, predatory pricing, or unfair competitor bashing.

2. Influences on Marketing - Sugging

Selling Under the Guise of Research—an unethical practice where direct sales calls are disguised as market research surveys.

3. Marketing Process - Situational analysis (SWOT)

Tool identifying Internal Strengths and Weaknesses, alongside External Opportunities and Threats to guide strategic planning.

3. Marketing Process - Product life cycle (Introduction)

Initial stage featuring low sales, high promotional costs, negative profits, and a focus on establishing brand awareness.

3. Marketing Process - Product life cycle (Growth)

Stage characterized by rapid sales growth, increasing profits, growing market share, and rising competition.

3. Marketing Process - Product life cycle (Maturity)

Stage where sales peak, growth slows, market saturation occurs, and intense price competition emerges.

3. Marketing Process - Product life cycle (Post-maturity)

Stage resulting in either product Decline (falling sales/profits) or Renewal (rebranding, product updates, entering new markets).

3. Marketing Process - Market research (Information needs)

Defining the specific problem or decision to determine what data needs to be gathered.

3. Marketing Process - Market research (Data collection)

Gathering primary data (surveys, focus groups, observation) and secondary data (internal reports, government reports).

3. Marketing Process - Market research (Data analysis & interpretation)

Processing raw data into actionable insights to make informed marketing decisions.

3. Marketing Process - Establishing SMART objectives

Setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed marketing targets (e.g., increase market share by 5% in 12 months).

3. Marketing Process - Target markets (Mass)

Broad marketing approach targeting the entire market with a single, unsegmented strategy.

3. Marketing Process - Target markets (Segmented)

Dividing the total market into distinct groups with shared characteristics to tailor specific marketing mixes.

3. Marketing Process - Target markets (Niche)

Targeting a narrow, highly specific sub-segment of the market with custom products.

3. Marketing Process - Developing strategies

Formulating the marketing mix (4 Ps / 7 Ps) aligned with target market needs and business objectives.

3. Marketing Process - Financial forecast

Estimating expected revenues and forecasting planned expenditure/costs for the marketing campaign.

3. Marketing Process - Monitoring and controlling (Sales analysis)

Comparing actual sales volume against sales targets to evaluate performance across products or regions.

3. Marketing Process - Monitoring and controlling (Market share analysis)

Evaluating business sales relative to competitors to assess overall market competitiveness.

3. Marketing Process - Monitoring and controlling (Profitability analysis)

Assessing net financial returns generated by marketing activities relative to marketing costs spent.

3. Marketing Process - Revising the marketing strategy

Modifying the marketing mix, introducing new products, or deleting underperforming products based on performance evaluation.

4. Marketing Strategies - Market segmentation (Demographic)

Segmenting consumers based on measurable population traits like age, gender, income, and education.

4. Marketing Strategies - Market segmentation (Geographic)

Segmenting consumers based on physical location, climate, region, or population density.

4. Marketing Strategies - Market segmentation (Psychographic)

Segmenting consumers based on lifestyle, personality traits, values, and social attitudes.

4. Marketing Strategies - Market segmentation (Behavioral)

Segmenting consumers based on product usage rate, brand loyalty, benefits sought, and purchasing occasions.

4. Marketing Strategies - Product/service differentiation

Creating real or perceived differences in a product relative to competitors through quality, features, service, or branding.

4. Marketing Strategies - Market positioning

Creating a distinct image or identity for a brand/product in the mind of the target consumer relative to competitors.

4. Marketing Strategies - Branding

Using names, logos, symbols, and designs to identify a business's products and distinguish them from competitors.

4. Marketing Strategies - Packaging

Designing physical containers and wrapping for products to provide protection, functional utility, branding, and legal labeling.

4. Marketing Strategies - Pricing methods (Cost-based)

Setting price by calculating total cost of production and adding a fixed markup percentage.

4. Marketing Strategies - Pricing methods (Market-based)

Setting price based on the level of market supply and demand.

4. Marketing Strategies - Pricing methods (Competition-based)

Setting price relative to the prices charged by major competitors (below, equal to, or above).

4. Marketing Strategies - Pricing strategies (Skimming)

Setting a high initial price to recover R&D costs quickly from early adopters before competitors enter the market.

4. Marketing Strategies - Pricing strategies (Penetration)

Setting a low initial price to rapidly gain market share, attract customers, and undercut competitors.

4. Marketing Strategies - Pricing strategies (Loss leaders)

Pricing selected products below cost to draw customers into a store, expecting them to purchase other profitable items.

4. Marketing Strategies - Pricing strategies (Price points)

Setting psychological price levels (e.g., $9.99 vs $10.00) to make products appear more affordable to consumers.

4. Marketing Strategies - Price and quality interaction

The consumer perception that higher price equates to superior quality and prestige, while lower price implies lower quality.

4. Marketing Strategies - Promotion mix (Advertising)

Paid, non-personal communication transmitted through mass media to reach broad audiences.

4. Marketing Strategies - Promotion mix (Personal selling)

Face-to-face interaction between a sales representative and a customer to make sales and build relationships.

4. Marketing Strategies - Promotion mix (Relationship marketing)

Building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with existing customers to foster loyalty and repeat business.

4. Marketing Strategies - Promotion mix (Sales promotions)

Short-term incentives (coupons, discounts, samples) designed to encourage immediate product purchase.

4. Marketing Strategies - Promotion mix (Publicity & PR)

Unpaid media coverage and planned communications designed to maintain a positive corporate reputation.

4. Marketing Strategies - Communication process (Opinion leaders)

Influential individuals whose opinions and endorsements sway the purchasing decisions of target audiences.

4. Marketing Strategies - Communication process (Word of mouth)

Informal communication between consumers regarding their personal experiences with a product or business.

4. Marketing Strategies - Distribution channels

Routes taken to get products from producer to final consumer, either direct (producer to consumer) or indirect (using intermediaries).

4. Marketing Strategies - Channel choice (Intensive)

Distributing products through as many outlets as possible to ensure maximum consumer availability.

4. Marketing Strategies - Channel choice (Selective)

Distributing products through a limited number of selected retail outlets.

4. Marketing Strategies - Channel choice (Exclusive)

Granting exclusive distribution rights to a single outlet or region for luxury/high-end goods.

4. Marketing Strategies - Physical distribution

Logistics management covering transport modes, warehousing locations, and inventory control systems (e.g., Just-In-Time).

4. Marketing Strategies - 3 Ps (People)

Training and managing staff to ensure positive customer interactions and consistent service delivery.

4. Marketing Strategies - 3 Ps (Processes)

Designing efficient operational systems and service flows to ensure smooth, positive customer experiences.

4. Marketing Strategies - 3 Ps (Physical evidence)

Creating the physical environment, layout, and tangible cues where the service is delivered to build trust.

4. Marketing Strategies - E-marketing

Utilizing websites, social media, online advertising, and email to market goods and services globally and digitally.

4. Global Marketing - Global branding

Applying a consistent worldwide brand name, symbol, and image across all international markets.

4. Global Marketing - Standardisation

Selling identical products worldwide using a uniform marketing mix across all international markets.

4. Global Marketing - Customisation

Modifying products and marketing strategies to suit local cultural, economic, and legal characteristics of specific international markets.

4. Global Marketing - Global pricing

Implementing uniform global pricing, customized pricing for local markets, or ethnocentric pricing across international territories.

4. Global Marketing - Competitive positioning

Evaluating how a business positions its products relative to global competitors to capture international market share.