Unit 4 Marketing
Marketing is an essential business function: it creates a bridge between an organization and its customers. In our everyday speech, the word marketing is often associated with advertisements and finding innovative ways of getting people to buy a product or service. However, unit 4 shows students that marketing is much more than that. Effective marketing requires consideration of everything from product quality to consumer perceptions and increasingly, engagement with people’s everyday lives to uncover needs that customers may not even be aware of themselves.
Both SL and HL students learn the marketing mix of the four Ps—the essential ingredients of marketing planning: product, price, promotion and place (distribution). At HL, this model is expanded to the seven Ps: students also explore how people, processes and physical evidence can be applied to the marketing of services. HL students also examine international marketing in greater depth. This gives them an appreciation for how marketing strategies and practices are both a reflection of and an influence on the culture in which they are applied.
Given the strategic nature of marketing, unit 4 is closely linked to the other business functions students study in the business management course. For instance, market research may lead to new strategic objectives (unit 1) that impact on production (unit 5), human resource planning (unit 2) and profitability (unit 3).
Unit 4 provides an ideal opportunity for teachers and students to explore case studies and examples that are contemporary, relevant and of direct interest to students. Marketing also allows students to develop their conceptual understanding. The unit ties to all concepts underpinning the course: marketing decisions are strategic and have ethical and cultural implications. Here, the degree to which marketing is globalized can be examined. Innovating and being aware or even ahead of social changes are essential elements of effective marketing. Thus, students learn to discuss and evaluate marketing decisions from a range of perspectives, combining inquiry, critical thinking and cross-cultural understanding.
Both SL and HL students learn the marketing mix of the four Ps—the essential ingredients of marketing planning: product, price, promotion and place (distribution). At HL, this model is expanded to the seven Ps: students also explore how people, processes and physical evidence can be applied to the marketing of services. HL students also examine international marketing in greater depth. This gives them an appreciation for how marketing strategies and practices are both a reflection of and an influence on the culture in which they are applied.
Given the strategic nature of marketing, unit 4 is closely linked to the other business functions students study in the business management course. For instance, market research may lead to new strategic objectives (unit 1) that impact on production (unit 5), human resource planning (unit 2) and profitability (unit 3).
Unit 4 provides an ideal opportunity for teachers and students to explore case studies and examples that are contemporary, relevant and of direct interest to students. Marketing also allows students to develop their conceptual understanding. The unit ties to all concepts underpinning the course: marketing decisions are strategic and have ethical and cultural implications. Here, the degree to which marketing is globalized can be examined. Innovating and being aware or even ahead of social changes are essential elements of effective marketing. Thus, students learn to discuss and evaluate marketing decisions from a range of perspectives, combining inquiry, critical thinking and cross-cultural understanding.
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/09/5-pieces-of-marketing-magic-from-disneyland.html
Questions to consider:
- The four Ps and seven Ps frameworks suggest that marketing has four or seven aspects, all of which can be described with a word that starts with a P. How helpful are such analytical frameworks to you as a knowledge-seeker?
- Many ads use scientific language. What does this tell us about the hierarchy of different areas of knowledge?
- The observer effect is a common problem in the social sciences whereby knowledge of being researched influences how people answer questions and behave. What problems does the observer effect create for market research?
- In market research, how might the language used in polls and questionnaires influence consumers and businesses’ conclusions?
- Is it possible to measure brand loyalty?
- To what extent is consumer behaviour rational?
- Is the decision to develop CSR objectives solely a marketing strategy?
- To what extent are marketing practices a reflection of the values of a given time and culture?