Marketing: a complete overview for WJEC GCSE Business

What this covers

Marketing is one of the key business functions in WJEC GCSE Business. This overview ties the dot points together: the role of marketing, market research and segmentation, the marketing mix and the four Ps, and digital marketing and e-commerce. Marketing is how a business connects its product to the customer, so it puts into practice the idea of adding value and drives the firm's aims of sales, market share and growth.

The role of marketing

Marketing is the process of identifying customer needs and satisfying them profitably. Its aims include increasing sales, building awareness and loyalty, winning market share and launching products successfully. To market well a business must understand its market (who its customers are and what they want) and its competitors (what they offer). Markets can be targeted as a mass market (large, wide appeal, heavy competition) or a niche market (small, specialised, less competition, often a higher price).

Market research

Market research is how a business finds out what customers want. Primary research is new and collected by the firm itself (questionnaires, interviews, observation); secondary research already exists (statistics, reports). Research produces quantitative data (numbers) and qualitative data (opinions and reasons). Because a firm cannot ask everyone, it uses a sample, and the larger and fairer the sample, the more reliable the results. Market segmentation splits the market into groups (by age, gender, income, location or lifestyle) so the business can target the right customers.

The marketing mix and digital marketing

The marketing mix is the four Ps: product (and its life cycle and extension strategies), price (set by cost-plus, competitive, penetration or skimming), place (the channels that get the product to the customer) and promotion (advertising, offers, social media). The key idea is that the four Ps must work together and be balanced. Digital marketing (social media, websites, online adverts) and e-commerce (selling online) have transformed the promotion and place elements, giving even small firms a cheap way to reach customers anywhere, though they bring drawbacks such as fast-spreading bad reviews and strong online competition.

Check your knowledge

1. What is the main role of marketing? (2 marks)
2. State the difference between a mass and a niche market. (2 marks)
3. Give one method of primary research and one of secondary research. (2 marks)
4. What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative data? (2 marks)
5. Name the four Ps of the marketing mix. (2 marks)
6. List the stages of the product life cycle in order. (2 marks)
7. Explain one pricing method. (2 marks)
8. State the difference between digital marketing and e-commerce. (2 marks)