Chapter 9A: Marketing objectives and strategy

Marketing objectives

Goals that business attempts to achieve ➡ through marketing activities

Examples of marketing objectives

• Increase market share

• Increase revenue

• Build a brand

Marketing strategy

Set of plans ➡ aim to achieve ➡ specific marketing objective

Marketing strategies for niche markets

• Product ➡ differentiated product ➡ products very specific to customer needs

• Price ➡ more flexibility in pricing ➡ ability to charge higher price

• Place ➡ selective distribution channels ➡ exclusive distributors

• Promotion ➡ targeted promotion ➡ adverts are placed in specialized publications

Marketing strategies for mass markets

• Product ➡ many products with close substitutes ➡ if business can develop USP, they will gain an advantage

• Price ➡ prices charged are similar to competitors ➡ businesses will fear a ‘price war’

• Place ➡ multiple channel distribution ➡ competition for prominent places in shops and supermarkets

• Promotion ➡ absence of price competition, focus is all on promotion➡ a lot of TV advertising

Outbound marketing strategies (adv + disadv)

Advantage ➡ direct marketing to potential customers

Disadvantage ➡ people ignore adverts + get annoyed with cold calls

Inbound marketing strategies (adv + disadv)

Advantage ➡ attracting potential customers to websites

Disadvantage ➡ costly to set up social media + employ marketing staff

How businesses develop customer loyalty

• Communication

• Customer service

• Customer incentives

• Personalization

• Preferential treatment

Product life cycle

Different stages ➡ that product passes through over time ➡ sales can be expected at each stage ➡ development, introduction, growth, maturity, saturation, decline

Product life cycle diagram