1. The nature of marketing

This chapter discusses the nature and origins of marketing. Marketing covers a wide range of essential business activities which ensure that customers can obtain the products and services that they want and need, when and how they want them. The most common applications of marketing are consumer marketing, business-to-business marketing, service marketing, not-for-profit marketing, and international marketing. Since the 1960s, marketing has used the four Ps of Price, Place, Product, and Promotion to deliver its marketing objectives and this has now been expanded to include another three Ps of People, Physical Evidence, and Process. The chapter also includes an assessment of what is customer value.

4. Consumer and buyer behaviour and the value proposition

This chapter addresses the importance of understanding both consumer and buyer behaviours in order for marketers to create effective marketing campaigns. Consumer and buyer behaviours are those actions undertaken when obtaining goods and services. By understanding how consumers think and how they behave during buying decision-making and purchasing activities, the marketer is able to exert some influence over their actions. Likewise, marketers can influence business-to-business (B2B) purchasing patterns through their understanding of the behaviour of buyers. The chapter then goes on to look at the creation of a value proposition.

5. Promotions (marketing communications) and social media

This chapter explores promotions, which are made up of a range of marketing communication tools that are critical in supporting the organization’s offer and conveying their brand values. They are designed to reach, interest, and engage customers in conversations and to encourage them to purchase their products. Promotional tools include advertising, sales promotions, public relations, direct marketing (on- or offline), sponsorship, and personal selling. Today, communication activities are being totally reinvented by the growth of social media and digital marketing. Indeed, the development of different types of social media has created opportunities to develop digital marketing that has an immediacy of interaction and increased intimacy with potential customers.

2. Marketing research

This chapter examines marketing research, one of the most engaging parts of marketing, as it is the opportunity for organizations to evaluate marketing performance, uncover customer behaviours, and explore their preferences. Marketing research covers a range of activities which may be positioned as either problem-identification research or problem-solving research. Sources of data and information for marketing research include secondary or desk research; primary or field data; quantitative data; and qualitative data. Meanwhile, marketing research methods are reviewed including surveys and questionnaires; focus groups and interviews; experiments and observations; and neuromarketing. The chapter then considers how sampling is widely used in primary research. It also looks at customer insights and big data.

7. Product, new product development, and service marketing

This chapter highlights the product (goods or services) that the organization provides to their customers to generate money by satisfying their needs. Product characteristics can be configured or manipulated to meet the needs of various target customer groups. The concept of the product lifecycle helps marketers to decide how and when to market various products to different target groups, and to decide when the offer needs to be refreshed or repositioned in the marketplace. The chapter then explores new product development (NPD), which is how and when existing products are replaced with an improved offer. It also considers the product portfolio or product mix; market/product growth strategies; and service marketing.

6. Price and place (managing channels)

This chapter studies the elements of price and distribution, which are important parts of marketing strategy. Pricing is critical in that it directly relates to the revenues generated by the organization and consequently affects its profitability. Pricing also has a strategic impact as it can be used to create competitive advantage in the marketplace by either undercutting the competition or supporting premium positioning statements. Meanwhile, place decisions are about how the product reaches the customers and are therefore about forms of distribution. Distribution can be mass, selective, or exclusive, and can be achieved through direct or indirect channels to market.

3. Segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and the role of branding

This chapter assesses marketing segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and considers the role of branding. Marketing segmentation ensures that the organization’s resources are directed at the customer segments that are going to provide the best returns. The four generic segmentation methods that are commonly used to group customers by their overall characteristics are described as: geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioural. Positioning concerns the act of designing the organization’s offering so that it occupies a distinct position within its customers’ minds. Meanwhile, the four types of targeted marketing strategies of undifferentiated, differentiated, focused, and customized are explored. Lastly, the importance of brand (an intangible asset of the organization that embodies their values) to marketing efforts is discussed.

8. The changing nature of marketing

This chapter discusses how marketing is changing in response to external influences. Nothing has been more transforming to the function of marketing than the development of the internet, digitalization, and, more recently, artificial intelligence. The growth of social media has provided new opportunities for communicating and establishing relationships with customers and consumers, which are considerably more flexible than traditional media. The internet and other technological developments have also provided the perfect conditions for driving the rapid growth of tech start-up companies, media-based businesses, and e-commerce. The chapter then examines societal marketing, which has become important to organizations in response to changing perceptions of the market concerning ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable development.