Unit 4.2 - Marketing Planning
What you need to know and understand:
- The role of marketing planning
- Segmentation, targeting (target market) and positioning (position maps)
- The difference between niche market and mass market
- The importance of having a unique selling point/proposition (USP)
- How organizations can differentiate themselves and their products from competitors
Conceptual Understandings:
- Social, cultural and technological change can impact the language and medium of marketing
- Creative ways of informing stakeholders can lead to positive business outcomes
- Ethical marketing practices can enhance a business’ brand image
- Sustainable marketing practices can be effective for business success
Questions to consider:
- Can companies know us better than we know ourselves?
- How might a company protect against sample error and bias when designing primary market research?
- Are there different criteria for ethical standards for online services compared to physical products?
- Are consumers rational?
- Are predictions in the human sciences inevitably unreliable?
- How might the language used in focus groups influence the conclusions that are reached?
- Are consumers too unpredictable to study scientifically?
- Is it possible to eliminate the effect of researcher bias when conducting market research?
- What impact has social media had on how consumers acquire and share knowledge of products?