Section 3 - Decision making to improve marketing performance
Setting marketing objectives -
The marketing function of a business provides the link between the customer and the business.
Relationship marketing - attempts to build long-term partnerships with customers in order to
retain them and build connections.
Market analysis - involves meaning the particular characteristics of a market e.g. size / growth
The process of marketing decision making involves:
- Setting marketing objectives
- Understanding what customers want / need / can afford
- Understanding the conditions in the market
- Understanding your business strength in comparison to competitors
- Understanding how best to deliver the benefits that customers are willing to pay
- Implementing marketing decisions
- Reviewing
Marketing decision making should be ethical.
Examples of marketing objectives:
- Sales volume and sales value targets
- Sales growth target
- Market share (= sales of product / total market sales x 100)
- Brand loyalty
Why do businesses want high market share?
Businesses want high market share because it means they will have relatively high sales and so
higher profits. Through having a relatively high output, it can give the business power of its
suppliers and partners allowing them to negotiate better deals for the business. Having a relatively
high share in the market can raise the profile of the business, strengthening its brand image.
Internal influences on marketing objectives & decisions:
- The overall strategy of the business
- The ambitions of the managers
- The existing position of the business
- The amount the business can produce
- Finance of the business
- The employees of the business
External influences on marketing objectives & decisions:
- The political & legal environment
- Economic change (2008 recession in the UK meant incomes fell)
- Social change
- Technological change
- The competitive environment
PESTLE analysis - political / environmental / social / technological / legal / economic
, Section 3 - Decision making to improve marketing performance
Understanding markets & customers -
Market research can be used to:
- Analysis the existing position of the business
- Deciding on possible marketing objectives
- Identify possible actions that could be taken
- Deciding on the actions to take and how to implement them best
- Assessing how effective marketing decisions have been
Primary data - collected by those who need it Secondary data - collected by someone else
Advantages - Customised / specific data tailored to - Cost effective
the company’s needs - Less time-consuming / quick
- Up to date information / current and - There's potentially already large
relevant quantities of data available
- Can provide insights into competitors - Published results may already been
strategies and performance - verified
understanding them better - You have the ability to compare
- Convenient multiple sources of data
Disadvantages - Time consuming - Reliability is unknown
- Costly - Collection method is unknown
- Potential bias - Could be out of date
- Data won't be specific to the business
Examples - Online survey - News articles / published sources
- Focus groups - Internet
- In-person interviews - Research databases
Setting marketing objectives -
The marketing function of a business provides the link between the customer and the business.
Relationship marketing - attempts to build long-term partnerships with customers in order to
retain them and build connections.
Market analysis - involves meaning the particular characteristics of a market e.g. size / growth
The process of marketing decision making involves:
- Setting marketing objectives
- Understanding what customers want / need / can afford
- Understanding the conditions in the market
- Understanding your business strength in comparison to competitors
- Understanding how best to deliver the benefits that customers are willing to pay
- Implementing marketing decisions
- Reviewing
Marketing decision making should be ethical.
Examples of marketing objectives:
- Sales volume and sales value targets
- Sales growth target
- Market share (= sales of product / total market sales x 100)
- Brand loyalty
Why do businesses want high market share?
Businesses want high market share because it means they will have relatively high sales and so
higher profits. Through having a relatively high output, it can give the business power of its
suppliers and partners allowing them to negotiate better deals for the business. Having a relatively
high share in the market can raise the profile of the business, strengthening its brand image.
Internal influences on marketing objectives & decisions:
- The overall strategy of the business
- The ambitions of the managers
- The existing position of the business
- The amount the business can produce
- Finance of the business
- The employees of the business
External influences on marketing objectives & decisions:
- The political & legal environment
- Economic change (2008 recession in the UK meant incomes fell)
- Social change
- Technological change
- The competitive environment
PESTLE analysis - political / environmental / social / technological / legal / economic
, Section 3 - Decision making to improve marketing performance
Understanding markets & customers -
Market research can be used to:
- Analysis the existing position of the business
- Deciding on possible marketing objectives
- Identify possible actions that could be taken
- Deciding on the actions to take and how to implement them best
- Assessing how effective marketing decisions have been
Primary data - collected by those who need it Secondary data - collected by someone else
Advantages - Customised / specific data tailored to - Cost effective
the company’s needs - Less time-consuming / quick
- Up to date information / current and - There's potentially already large
relevant quantities of data available
- Can provide insights into competitors - Published results may already been
strategies and performance - verified
understanding them better - You have the ability to compare
- Convenient multiple sources of data
Disadvantages - Time consuming - Reliability is unknown
- Costly - Collection method is unknown
- Potential bias - Could be out of date
- Data won't be specific to the business
Examples - Online survey - News articles / published sources
- Focus groups - Internet
- In-person interviews - Research databases
