12. What is marketing?

1. What is marketing? Why is it important?

2. “The four Ps” form the basis of the marketing mix. If you want to market a product successfully, you need to get this mix right. Match “Ps” (1-4) to the definitions (a-d).

1 Product a) the cost to the buyer of goods or services

2 Price b) informing customers about the products and persuading to buy them

3 Promotion c) where goods or services are available

4 Place d) goods or services that are sold

Think of some products you have bought recently. Why did you buy them?Which “Ps” did influence your decision?

Tell about the marketing campaign that impressed you.

3. Read this article about marketing. Match the questions (1-16) with the paragraphs (a-f).

1 How do I meet my objectives?

2 What do I what to achieve?

3 What is marketing?

4 How do I communicate my message?

5 How do I find out this information?

6 What do I need to know?

a Marketing is finding out about your customers and competitors so that you can provide the right product at the right price.

b Think about the people you want to sell to: your target market. Different products have different target market, for example, Swatch and Rolex watches. Questions to ask are:

• Who are my customers – age, sex, income?

• What is the size of the market?

• Is it possible for the market to get bigger?

• What about product awareness – do people know about my company's products?

c You find out this information through market research. Market research uses interviews to find out about people's attitudes and questionnaires to find out about their shopping habits.

d When you know who your customers are and how big your market is, the next step is to set your objectives. Do you want to increase sales? To increase market share? Or to make your product different from the competition?

e Next, think about your strategy for meeting your objectives. If your objective is to increase market share, you could:

• find new customers by making your products more attractive

• take customers from your competitors

• persuade your customers to use more of your product.

f How will you make your strategy work? What message do you want to send? There are many types of promotion and it's important to choose the right one, e.g.

• advertising on TV, in newspapers, etc.

• direct marketing by post (mailshots)

• telesales – selling to customers on the phone

• point-of-sale material in shops – free samples or special offers.

Now you are ready to launch your product in the market. Good luck!

4. Match the highlighted words and phrases in the text with the definitions (1-8)

1 ways of telling people about your products ________________________

2 the part of the total market that buys your products __________________

3 knowledge of your company's products ___________________________

4 other companies that sell similar products _________________________

5 finding out about the market ____________________________________

6 to introduce a new product to the market ___________________________

7 the kind of people you are interested in selling to ____________________

8 a plan you use in order to achieve something ________________________

5. Look at the text again. Find and underline:

1 two market research methods

2 three marketing objectives

6. For each group of words 1 to 5:

1 fill in the missing vowels

2 match the words to the definitions (a-c)

r_s__rch 1 market s_gm_nt sh_r_	a) the percentage of sales a company has b) information about what customers want and need c) a group of customers of similar age, income level and social group
b_h_v_ _ _r 2 consumer pr_f_l_ g_ _ds	a) description of a typical customer b) where and how people buy things c) things people buy for their own use
l_ _nch 3 product l_f_cycl_ r_ng_	a) introduction of a product to the market b) length of time people continue to buy a product c) set of products made by a company
f_r_c_st 4 sales f_g_r_s t_rg_t	a) how much a company wants to sell in a period b) how much a company thinks it will sell in a period c) how much a company has sold in a period
c_mp_ _gn 5 advertising b_dg_t _g_ncy	a) a business which advises companies on advertising and makes ads b) an amount of money available for advertising during a particular period c) a programme of advertising activities over a period, with particular aims