3. Marketing

Close alignment prevents wasted resources and conflicting signals. If corporate strategy prioritises overseas growth but marketing targets only domestic awareness, or marketing cuts price while profit margin is the binding objective, functional activity can undermine total performance. Corporate objectives set direction; marketing objectives specify measurable customer/market contributions.

A higher price usually reduces quantity demanded but encourages more quantity supplied; a lower price does the reverse. Shortage creates upward price pressure and incentives to expand supply; surplus creates downward pressure and incentives to reduce supply. A non-price change shifts demand or supply at every price: healthier tastes may reduce sugary-drink demand, while cheaper inputs increase supply.

Business effects depend on both sides. Stronger demand can raise price, sales and planned output, but capacity may constrain supply. A tax or poor harvest can reduce supply, raising cost/price and potentially reducing demand. Identify the initial factor, direction and feedback before recommending price or production changes.

If a business sells $0.104m in a$12m market, share = 0.104 ÷ 12 × 100 = 0.87%. If the total market rises from $12m to$14.2m, growth = (14.2 − 12) ÷ 12 × 100 = 18.3%. State the sales measure, period and market boundary consistently.

Rising share means the business is growing faster than competitors/the market or losing less; it may strengthen scale, brand and bargaining power but can provoke competition or attract regulation. Rising market growth creates opportunity and may hide weak relative performance; falling growth intensifies rivalry, yet a firm can still gain share by outperforming others.

Marketing mix should follow buying risk, expertise, number of decision-makers and relationship length—not a stereotype. A hospital laptop purchase may require security specifications, procurement evidence and service contracts; a student purchase may emphasise price, design and retail convenience.

Mass marketing targets a broad market with a largely standardised offer; niche marketing focuses on a narrow group with distinct needs. The choice affects scale, differentiation, risk and marketing cost.

Mass reach can spread fixed costs but intensify competition. A niche can support loyalty and premium value but may be vulnerable if the segment is too small or changes.

A supermarket private label may use mass marketing, while a firm selling adaptive climbing equipment targets a niche with specialised requirements.

Segmentation can reveal gaps, improve customer fit, focus research/promotion/distribution, reduce wasted resources, support differentiation and price discrimination, and let a small business build a foothold. Better fit can raise response, satisfaction, loyalty, sales and margin.

It requires reliable research/data and can multiply product variants, campaigns, inventory and channel complexity. Small segments may be unprofitable; labels can stereotype customers; targeting may alienate existing buyers or fragment a consistent brand. Benefits depend on the group's size/value, reachability, distinct response and business capability.

Software, integration, training, staff time, service promises, data quality/privacy/security and culture change create cost and risk. Returns take time and are not guaranteed; excessive or irrelevant personalisation can annoy customers, and focusing on existing buyers may neglect acquisition. A small firm may use simple personal service instead of a complex system.

Suitability depends on customer contact frequency, repeat-purchase potential, data volume, margin/lifetime value, resources, staff capability and whether customers value a relationship. Compare expected retention/revenue and learning benefits with total implementation and operating cost.

Before developing a hotel service, management might combine guest complaints, competitor amenities, target-customer interviews and booking trends to decide whether faster check-in, reliable Wi-Fi or healthier food solves the binding problem.

Primary data is specific, current, controllable and confidential but costs time/money and may still be biased. Secondary data is often quicker, cheaper and broad, but can be outdated, not tailored, unavailable to competitors equally, or measured differently. Combine sources when they answer different parts and cross-check one another.

Define the target population, sampling frame, sample size and selection rule before collection. Random/systematic approaches can reduce researcher choice; quota/stratified approaches ensure relevant groups are covered; convenience or volunteer samples improve access but often increase selection bias.

Before trusting results, check research objective, source credibility/date, question wording/order, sampling frame/size/representation, response rate, collection consistency, human/data-entry error, missing values and whether categories/units are comparable. Reliability concerns whether evidence would be consistent and dependable; relevance/validity concerns whether it answers the intended decision.

Read title, population, period, units, axes, legend and denominator before comparing values. Tables preserve exact numbers; bar charts compare categories; pie charts show parts of one total; line graphs show change over time. Look for trend, magnitude, subgroup difference and anomalies, then state what the design cannot prove.

If 120 of 800 responses are positive, positive feedback = 120 ÷ 800 × 100 = 15%. If revenue rises from 50 to 150, percentage increase = (150 − 50) ÷ 50 × 100 = 200%. Preserve the original denominator; a 100-unit rise is not a 100% rise here.

The marketing mix is a coordinated set of decisions about product, price, promotion and place. A coherent mix makes the value proposition deliverable to a chosen segment.

Changing one element can alter the others: a premium product may need quality-controlled distribution and communication, while a low-cost offer may require efficient channels.

A new meal kit could alter portion size, subscription price, social promotion and delivery coverage together rather than optimise each decision separately.

Products often combine both. Tangible attributes can be touched/measured; intangible attributes include brand image, perceived quality, reputation, loyalty, style, reassurance and after-sales support. A feature matters only when the target customer perceives a useful benefit.

Product development creates new offers or improves existing ones to respond to needs/trends, technology, regulation and competition; enter markets, extend product life, spread risk and support growth. It requires research, finance, capability and time and may fail or cannibalise existing sales.

Product differentiation makes an offer meaningfully distinct through design, quality, service, brand, convenience, ethics or another valued basis. A unique selling point (USP) is the clear distinctive benefit communicated as a reason to choose it → attention/loyalty and lower price sensitivity → possible premium price, sales, share or margin.

Extension strategies delay decline or revive demand by modifying product/packaging, finding new uses/segments/geographies, changing price/promotion/place or relaunching/rebranding. They may create a short-run boost but cost money, can confuse positioning and cannot permanently reverse an obsolete need.

Portfolio analysis supports resource allocation, product development, withdrawal and changes to price/promotion/place; it reveals concentration and future gaps. Boston uses only relative market share and market growth: definitions/data may be weak, products can support one another, and profit/cash/brand fit are not guaranteed by a label.

Cost-based example: material/labour/overhead per unit totals $500; a 50$500 × 1.5 = $750. Covering estimated unit cost does not guarantee profit if sales volume is too low or actual costs rise.

Choose by objective, cost structure, cash flow, product life-cycle/USP, target willingness to pay, demand responsiveness, capacity, competitor reaction, channel margin, brand and legal/ethical context. Methods can change over time, e.g. penetration at entry then competitive pricing.

Promotion can inform, create awareness, persuade, stimulate trial/action, remind, differentiate, build/reposition a brand, support relationships or correct damaging information. Define the target audience and measurable objective before selecting reach, message and timing.

Packaging protects/contains and enables handling, but also promotes through colour, shape, logo, information and shelf/postal visibility; it can add value and reinforce brand. It raises design/material cost and sustainability/legal trade-offs, and online buyers may not see it until after purchase.

Branding creates a recognisable name, symbols, values, personality and promise → differentiation/trust/identification → loyalty, easier launches and possible premium pricing. Inconsistent delivery or inappropriate campaigns can damage the same accumulated reputation quickly.

Choose by product perishability/complexity, order size, target location/habits, desired coverage/control, service/installation, finance, intermediary capability and channel conflict. Businesses can combine channels, but prices, stock, service and brand promise must remain coherent.