Marketing

What Marketing covers

Marketing is examined in Paper 2, Influences of marketing and finance on business activity. It covers identifying and satisfying customer needs, market segmentation, purpose of market research and primary and secondary research, market research methods and interpreting findings, pricing methods and factors affecting price, new products, USP, brand image and the Boston Matrix, product life cycle and extension strategies, promotional methods and the promotional mix, channels of distribution, e-commerce and m-commerce and the integrated marketing mix.

The 10 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Identifying and satisfying customer needsCustomer needs and how identifying them raises sales and avoids costly mistakes, gathering feedback, changing needs over time, customer loyalty and why keeping customers costs less than winning them.Open →
• Market segmentationSegmentation and target markets, dividing a market by age, gender, location and income with examples from cars, toys and bakeries, its benefits and drawbacks, and niche against mass markets.Open →
• Purpose of market research and primary and secondary researchWhy businesses research gaps, demand, competitors and target markets, primary against secondary research, internet and press sources, and when a small or large business uses each.Open →
• Market research methods and interpreting findingsQuestionnaires, surveys, samples, interviews and focus groups, quantitative against qualitative data, market size, calculating market share, growth and survey results, and the dangers of misreading findings.Open →
• Pricing methods and factors affecting pricePrice skimming, penetration and competitive pricing, loss leaders, cost-plus pricing and mark-up calculations, the link between price and demand, and how costs, competition and the life cycle shape price.Open →
• New products, USP, brand image and the Boston MatrixThe benefits and risks of new products, design and image, product differentiation, USPs and brand image, product portfolios, and stars, cash cows, question marks and dogs in the Boston Matrix.Open →
• Product life cycle and extension strategiesResearch and development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline, a games console across its life, and extending a product's life through packaging, features, new markets, advertising or price cuts.Open →
• Promotional methods and the promotional mixAdvertising on television, in print, online and on billboards, public relations, point-of-sale displays, 2 for 1 offers, competitions, sponsorship, social media, and choosing a promotional mix.Open →
• Channels of distribution, e-commerce and m-commercePlace in the marketing mix, channels of distribution, retailers and wholesalers, telesales, selling online and by mobile, reaching buyers abroad, and the right channel for a farm or a chocolate maker.Open →
• The integrated marketing mixHow product, price, promotion and place must fit together, mixes for luxury perfume and a budget supermarket, changes across the life cycle, online shopping, and responding to a cheaper rival.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Marketing further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Price skimming vs Penetration pricing

  Price skimming: charging a high amount at launch and cutting it later. Penetration pricing: charging a low amount at launch to win customers quickly.

• Primary research vs Secondary research

  Primary research: new information collected first-hand for a specific purpose. Secondary research: existing information already gathered by someone else.

• Qualitative research vs Quantitative research

  Qualitative research: information about opinions, feelings and reasons. Quantitative research: numerical information that can be counted and measured.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What are customer needs in marketing?

   Model answer

   Customer needs are the things customers want from a product or service. Price, quality, choice, convenience and reliability are common examples.

2. 2

   Why is it important for a business to identify customer needs?

   Model answer

   A business that knows its customers' needs can provide products they will actually buy. Products that meet customer needs are likely to sell well.

3. 3

   How does satisfying customer needs help a business increase sales?

   Model answer

   Satisfied customers buy again and recommend the business to friends. Repeat purchases and word of mouth increase sales.

4. 4

   How does understanding customer needs help a business choose the right marketing mix?

   Model answer

   A business that understands its customers can set the right price and design the right product. The business can also choose suitable places to sell and ways to promote.

5. 5

   How can identifying customer needs help a business avoid costly mistakes?

   Model answer

   Research into customer needs shows whether a product will sell before money is spent on it. A business then avoids producing goods that nobody wants.

6. 6

   Why does satisfying customer needs help a business to be competitive?

   Model answer

   Customers choose the business that best meets their needs. A business that meets needs better than its rivals will win customers from them.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Marketing revision questions

What does Marketing cover in AQA GCSE Business?

10 subtopics: identifying and satisfying customer needs, market segmentation, purpose of market research and primary and secondary research, market research methods and interpreting findings, pricing methods and factors affecting price, new products, usp, brand image and the boston matrix, product life cycle and extension strategies, promotional methods and the promotional mix, channels of distribution, e-commerce and m-commerce and the integrated marketing mix. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Marketing organised?

By the AQA 8132 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.