Marketing

What Marketing covers

Marketing is examined in Component 01, Business 1: business activity, marketing and people. It covers the purpose of marketing, primary and secondary market research, market segmentation, product design and the product life cycle, pricing methods, point of sale promotion and advertising and place and the marketing mix.

The 7 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The purpose of marketingWhat marketing is, identifying customers and their needs and wants, informing customers, target markets and USPs, market and product orientation, and building customer loyalty.Open →
• Primary and secondary market researchQuestionnaires, interviews, focus groups and trialling, secondary sources such as the census and internal data, qualitative and quantitative data, and a worked survey percentage.Open →
• Market segmentationSegmenting by age, gender, income, location and lifestyle, niche and mass markets, customer profiles, the risks of one narrow segment, and using segments to set price and advertising.Open →
• Product design and the product life cycleInvention and innovation, patents, good product design balancing appearance, function and cost, the four stages of the product life cycle, and extension strategies for a mature product.Open →
• Pricing methodsPrice skimming, penetration, cost-plus, competitor and promotional pricing, when each suits, worked mark-up and discount calculations, and choosing a method for a new coffee shop.Open →
• Point of sale promotion and advertisingPoint of sale price cuts, loss leaders, competitions and free samples, advertising on social media, websites, print, television and radio, and promotion on a small budget.Open →
• Place and the marketing mixThe four Ps working together, physical and digital distribution channels, the mix across the life cycle, market share with worked calculations, and interpreting market data after a campaign.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.

• Primary research vs Secondary research

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

• Qualitative data vs Quantitative data

  Qualitative data: opinions, feelings and reasons that are not numerical. Quantitative data: numerical facts and figures that can be measured.

• Price skimming vs Penetration pricing

  Price skimming: charging a high amount at launch then lowering it over time. Penetration pricing: charging a low amount at launch to win customers quickly.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is marketing?

   Model answer

   Marketing is the process of identifying what customers want and making sure a business meets those wants profitably.

2. 2

   Why must a business identify who its customers are?

   Model answer

   A business needs to know who its customers are before it can design products they will buy. A clear picture of its customers allows the business to aim promotion at the right people.

3. 3

   Why is understanding customer needs important to a business?

   Model answer

   Customer needs change with fashion, technology and income. A business that understands these changes can adapt its products before rivals do.

4. 4

   What is the difference between a customer need and a customer want?

   Model answer

   A need is something a customer must have, such as food or shelter. A want is something a customer would like but can live without.

5. 5

   How does marketing inform customers?

   Model answer

   Marketing tells customers that a product exists, what it does and where to buy it. Clear information helps customers choose between products.

6. 6

   Why is informing customers especially important when a product is new?

   Model answer

   Customers cannot buy a product they have never heard of. A launch campaign builds awareness so that early sales can begin.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Marketing revision questions

What does Marketing cover in OCR GCSE Business?

7 subtopics: the purpose of marketing, primary and secondary market research, market segmentation, product design and the product life cycle, pricing methods, point of sale promotion and advertising and place and the marketing mix. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Marketing organised?

By the OCR J204 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.