Marketing, Competition and the Customer

Marketing, Competition and the Customer

Marketing Concepts

• Marketing mix: often known as the 4 Ps – product, price, promotion, place.
• Market research: includes primary and secondary types, used to understand customer’s wants and needs; guides business decisions.
• Marketing strategy: an overall plan for marketing a product which includes setting marketing objectives.

Understanding Customers

• Consumer behaviour: understanding why customers make the decisions they do, influenced by personal, psychological and social factors.
• Customer needs and wants: businesses aim to supply products or services that meet these in order to gain customer satisfaction and loyalty.
• Market segmentation: dividing customers into specific groups based on certain variables like age, income, location; allows for targeted advertising.

Competition

• Direct competition: businesses that offer the exact same or very similar products.
• Indirect competition: businesses that offer different, but still substitutable or comparable, products or services which could meet the same customer need.
• USP (Unique Selling Proposition): the unique attribute or trait a product has which sets it apart from competitors.

Marketing Strategies

• Product differentiation: a marketing strategy where a business tries to differentiate its product from those of competitors.
• Market positioning: where the product stands in comparison to the competition in the eyes of the consumer, usually represented by a positioning map.
• Relationship marketing: strategy to foster customer loyalty, interaction and long-term engagement.

Marketing Ethics

• Ethical marketing: involves making marketing decisions that are morally right or ethical.
• False advertising: deliberately misleading customers about a product or service; legally and ethically wrong.
• Greenwashing: deceptive practice of a company advertising products, aims or policies as being environmentally friendly when they are not.