marketing objectives

3.1 The Nature of Marketing – Role of Marketing & Marketing Objectives

1. Business & Its Environment (Cambridge Business 9609 – Topic 1)

1.1 Enterprise and Business Activity

• Business is the organised activity of producing goods or services to satisfy human needs and wants.
• Key concepts: opportunity cost, factors of production (land, labour, capital, enterprise).

1.2 Business Structure & Size

Structure	Features	Examples
Simple (sole trader, partnership)	Owner‑directed, low bureaucracy	Local bakery
Functional	Departments by function (marketing, finance…)	Mid‑size manufacturing firm
Divisional	Separate divisions for products/regions	Multinational consumer electronics
Matrix	Dual reporting – functional & project	Large engineering consultancy

1.3 Measuring Business Size

• Turnover (sales revenue)
• Number of employees
• Market share (percentage of total market sales)
• Asset base/value of capital employed

1.4 Growth Strategies

• Organic growth – internal development (new products, market penetration).
• External growth – mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances.

1.5 Stakeholders & CSR

Stakeholder	Interest	Potential Influence
Owners/Shareholders	Profit, return on investment	Strategic direction
Employees	Job security, wages, conditions	Productivity, morale
Customers	Value, quality, service	Revenue, brand reputation
Suppliers	Stable orders, timely payment	Cost, supply reliability
Community & Government	Employment, tax, environmental impact	Regulation, licence to operate

CSR ensures that marketing messages, product positioning and business practices are ethical, sustainable and socially responsible.

1.6 Business Objectives & the SMART Framework

• Specific – clear and unambiguous.
• Measurable – quantifiable indicators.
• Achievable – realistic given resources.
• Relevant – aligned with overall mission.
• Time‑bound – set within a defined period.

2. Marketing – Role, Economic Concepts & Core Tools

2.1 The Role of Marketing in a Business

Marketing links the organisation with its customers, gathering market information, creating value‑adding offers and communicating them to the target market. It interacts with the other core functions as follows:

• Finance: revenue forecasts, pricing data, cost‑benefit analysis.
• Operations/Production: demand forecasts for output, inventory and capacity planning.
• Human Resources: skill‑needs for market research, sales and after‑sales service; training programmes.
• Research & Development: translating customer insights into product specifications.
• CSR: ensuring ethical, sustainable communication and positioning.

2.2 Basic Economic Concepts in Marketing

• Demand & Supply: Marketing creates demand (awareness, persuasion, value‑creation) while respecting supply constraints (capacity, resources).
• Market Types:
  • Consumer (B2C) vs. Business (B2B)
  • Local, regional, national, international
  • Mass market vs. niche market
• Business Orientation:
  • Product‑oriented: assumes a good product will sell itself.
  • Customer‑oriented: starts with market needs, then designs the product.

2.3 Market Segmentation & Targeting

Segmentation divides a heterogeneous market into homogeneous groups that can be served more effectively.

Segmentation Basis	Key Variables	Typical Advantages	Typical Disadvantages
Geographic	Region, climate, population density, urban/rural	Easy to identify; useful for location‑specific products	May ignore lifestyle differences within the same area
Demographic	Age, gender, income, occupation, education, family size	Simple; correlates with purchasing power	Assumes people with similar demographics behave alike
Psychographic	Personality, values, attitudes, interests, lifestyle	Deeper insight into motivations; supports positioning	Harder to measure; often requires primary research

2.4 Mass Marketing vs. Niche (Segment) Marketing

• Mass Marketing: one marketing mix for the whole market (e.g., a popular soft drink). Benefits – economies of scale; drawbacks – limited differentiation.
• Niche Marketing: tailored mix for a specific segment (e.g., high‑performance mountain bikes for serious cyclists). Benefits – stronger loyalty; drawbacks – higher per‑unit cost.

2.5 Customer‑Relationship Marketing (CRM)

• Collect & analyse customer data (purchase history, preferences).
• Personalise communication and offers.
• Implement loyalty programmes, after‑sales service and feedback loops.
• Use CRM software and databases to increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

2.6 Market Research

• Purpose: identify opportunities, understand behaviour, test concepts, monitor competition.
• Data types:
  • Primary: surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation.
  • Secondary: industry reports, government statistics, company records.
• Sampling methods: random, stratified, convenience.
• Reliability & Validity: ensure data is accurate and measures what it intends to.

2.7 The Marketing Mix – The 4 Ps

2.7.1 Product

• Core, actual and augmented product.
• Product development cycle – idea generation → screening → testing → commercialisation.
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – the differentiating feature.
• Product Life Cycle (PLC): introduction, growth, maturity, decline – with stage‑appropriate strategies.
• Portfolio analysis – Boston Matrix (Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, Dogs).

2.7.2 Price

• Pricing objectives – profit‑maximising, market‑share, status‑quo.
• Methods – cost‑plus, target‑return, competitive (price‑lead/follower), psychological, dynamic.
• Factors – cost structure, price elasticity, competitor prices, perceived value.

2.7.3 Promotion

• Promotion‑mix elements – advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, direct/online marketing.
• Choice depends on target audience, product stage, budget and objectives.
• Example: a new smartphone launch may combine TV ads, influencer endorsements, in‑store demos and a launch event.

2.7.4 Place (Distribution)

• Channels – direct (company website) vs. indirect (wholesalers, retailers).
• Design decisions – intensity (intensive, selective, exclusive), length (direct, one‑level, two‑level), control.
• Logistics – warehousing, inventory management, transportation.

3. Human Resource Management (Cambridge Business 9609 – Topic 2)

• Recruitment & Selection: job analysis → advertising → shortlisting → interview → offer.
• Motivation Theories: Maslow’s hierarchy, Herzberg’s two‑factor, McClelland’s need theory, Vroom’s expectancy.
• Management Styles: autocratic, democratic, laissez‑faire; impact on employee involvement.
• Performance Management: setting SMART objectives, appraisals, feedback, reward systems.
• Trade Unions & Industrial Relations: collective bargaining, strikes, legal framework.
• Training & Development: induction, on‑the‑job, off‑the‑job, career planning.

4. Operations Management (Cambridge Business 9609 – Topic 4)

• Transformational Process: inputs → conversion process → outputs.
• Productivity: output per unit of input; techniques – lean production, mass production.
• Inventory Management: EOQ (Economic Order Quantity), safety stock, JIT (Just‑In‑Time).
• Capacity Planning: utilisation, bottlenecks, economies of scale.
• Outsourcing & Offshoring: reasons – cost reduction, focus on core activities; risks – quality control, loss of control.

5. Finance & Accounting (Cambridge Business 9609 – Topic 5)

• Need for Finance: start‑up, working capital, expansion, research.
• Sources of Finance:
  • Internal – retained earnings, sale of assets.
  • External – bank loans, overdrafts, equity (shares), leasing, venture capital.
• Cost Classifications: fixed vs. variable, direct vs. indirect, product vs. period costs.
• Break‑Even Analysis: Break‑Even Point (units) = Fixed Costs ÷ (Selling Price – Variable Cost per unit).
• Budgeting & Variance Analysis: preparing sales, production and cash‑flow budgets; comparing actuals with budgeted figures to identify favourable/unfavourable variances.
• Cash‑Flow Management: timing of receipts & payments, working‑capital cycle.

6. Marketing Objectives – From Business Aims to Measurable Targets

6.1 Characteristics of Effective Marketing Objectives (SMART)

• Specific: clearly defined (e.g., “increase sales of the X‑range in the UK”).
• Measurable: quantifiable (e.g., “by 15 %”).
• Achievable: realistic given resources and market conditions.
• Relevant: directly supports the overall business aim (e.g., profit growth).
• Time‑bound: set within a defined period (e.g., “by the end of FY 2027”).

6.2 Common Types of Marketing Objectives

Objective Type	Purpose	Typical Measures
Sales Volume	Increase the quantity of units sold.	Units sold, revenue growth (%), total sales value ($).
Market Share	Grow the company’s proportion of total market sales.	Percentage of market share, rank relative to competitors.
Profitability	Improve profit margins from marketing activities.	Gross profit, net profit, contribution margin.
Brand Awareness	Increase consumer recognition of the brand.	Unaided/aided recall, brand recall scores, survey percentages.
Customer Acquisition	Attract new customers to the business.	Number of new customers, acquisition cost per customer.
Customer Retention	Maintain or increase loyalty of existing customers.	Retention rate, churn rate, repeat‑purchase frequency.
Product Development	Launch new products or improve existing ones.	Number of new products launched, time‑to‑market, sales from new products.

6.3 Setting Marketing Objectives – Step‑by‑Step Process

1. Analyse the external environment (PESTEL, market trends, Porter’s Five Forces).
2. Analyse the internal environment (SWOT, resources, capabilities).
3. Identify the overall business objectives (e.g., profit growth, market expansion).
4. Derive marketing goals that directly support those business objectives.
5. Apply the SMART criteria to each marketing goal.
6. Agree on time frames and allocate resources (budget, personnel, technology).
7. Communicate the objectives to the marketing team and related departments.

6.4 Evaluating Marketing Objectives

• Compare actual performance against the set targets.
• Analyse reasons for any variance (market changes, execution issues, resource constraints).
• Adjust objectives, tactics or resource allocation as required.
• Report findings to senior management for strategic decision‑making.

7. A‑Level Extensions (Cambridge Business 9609 – Topics 6‑10)

7.1 External Influences on Business

• PESTEL: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal factors.
• Impact examples: Brexit (political), recession (economic), changing consumer lifestyles (social), AI and e‑commerce (technological), carbon‑reduction legislation (environmental), data‑protection laws (legal).

7.2 Strategic Tools & Decision‑Making

• SWOT analysis – internal strengths/weaknesses vs. external opportunities/threats.
• Porter’s Five Forces – competitive rivalry, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers & suppliers, threat of substitutes.
• Ansoff Matrix – market penetration, market development, product development, diversification.
• BCG Boston Matrix – resource allocation across product portfolio.

7.3 Organisational Structure & Leadership (Topic 6)

• Structures – functional, divisional, matrix, network, virtual.
• Leadership styles – transactional, transformational, situational; their effect on motivation and performance.
• Decision‑making – centralised vs. decentralised; impact on agility.

7.4 Advanced Marketing (Topic 7)

• Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) – coordinating advertising, PR, sales promotion, direct marketing and digital media.
• Digital marketing – SEO, SEM, social media, content marketing, data analytics.
• Brand‑extension strategies, co‑branding, private‑labeling.
• International marketing – standardisation vs. adaptation, entry modes (exporting, franchising, joint venture).

7.5 Operations Strategy (Topic 8)

• Process choice – job, batch, mass, continuous.
• Quality management – TQM, Six Sigma, ISO standards.
• Supply‑chain management – upstream & downstream integration, outsourcing, logistics optimisation.

7.6 Financial Analysis & Investment Appraisal (Topic 9)

• Ratio analysis – profitability (ROE, ROA), liquidity (current ratio), efficiency (inventory turnover), solvency (debt‑to‑equity).
• Investment appraisal techniques – Payback period, Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Accounting Rate of Return (ARR).
• Risk assessment – sensitivity analysis, scenario planning.

7.7 Strategic Review & Control (Topic 10)

• Strategic control models – balanced scorecard, benchmarking, variance analysis.
• Feedback loops – how performance information feeds into strategic review and future planning.