MARKETING

Marketing may be defined as all the activities geared towards correcting identifying and anticipating
peoples wants and needs, including the group of people associated with these needs. The business
should then concentrate on satisfying these wants and needs in the most efficient and profitable manner
possible.

Or

Marketing is the process of identifying, creating, communicating and delivering value to consumers, so
that their needs and wants can be satisfied at a profit.

Market

The demand for a particular product or service often measures by sales during a specified period.

Or

An arena in which buyers and sellers exchange goods and services usually for money. It does not have to
be a physical location.

New Trends
Social Media Marketing (SMM) has become an important trend in marketing. Businesses create content
on social media online in order to market their product to existing and new customers. They post
updates on its products, photos or videos etc. The major advantages of SMM are that it builds brand
identity and awareness for the business. It also often increases traffic to the business’s website, which
can result in conversations to sales or interactions with surveys and promotions and improves
communication with the target market.

Integrated marketing - in this process, the business presents a seamless image across all customer facing
activities. It the customer interacts with the business in any way – such as through television
advertisements, radio jingles, print advertisements (newspapers, magazines), internet and staff – there is
a similar style in the presentation of each one. This is achieved through tone, colours, typeface and the
mood set.

Marketing activities

These aim to

1. Bring products to consumers at the right price.

2. Identify and satisfy consumers requirements.
3. Develop an efficient and profitable system of sales
These include:

1. Market research to investigate the existing market and market trends, to help increase sales,
develop new products and improve existing ones. It is done to identify consumers
taste/preference, competition, and consumer behaviour.
2. Pricing the product at the right level to increase profits and encourage sales.
3. Packaging designed to protect the product, present it attractively and give clear information.
4. Branding by developing a name and product identify which are recognized by customers and
convey a favourable impression.
5. Sales promotion through advertising, public relations, point-of-sale display and other activities
(most sales promotion are designed to give a short term boost to sales) e.g. contest,
sweepstakes, money off and samples
6. Advertising is designed to promote awareness of a product, it improves its image or persuade
people to buy it. Advertising is carried on radio, television, newspapers, billboards or other
media.
7. Distribution of products from businesses to consumers. (Most products have a channel of
distribution from manufacturer to wholesaler, retailers and then consumers.

Marketing Mix
This is the blend of different activities undertaken by the marketing department to market a good or
service successfully. They are referred to as the Four P’s of marketing.

1. Product - This refers to the good or service that is needed by the targeted group. A product may
be an idea, person, organization, or tourism destination.
2. Promotion - This involves developing the market for the product, through advertising, public
relations activities or creating an attractive display at the point-of-sale.
3. Price - This must be high enough for the business to make a satisfactory profit and low enough
to encourage consumers to buy.

Pricing strategies a business can use are as follows:

 Cost plus pricing - the business adds a mark-up to the cost of producing the product.
 Penetration pricing – this involves setting the price low initially, to encourage
consumers to try a new product, in order to build sales and product loyalty. (once the
product is established and sales are increasing, the business may increase its prices).
 Price skimming – the business sets a high price initially, to earn as much profit as
possible before competitors enter the market. Eventually, the price may be reduced.
(this strategy can be used for new innovative or high-quality products).
 Psychological pricing – Consumers often use the price of a product as an indicator of its
value and quality or price ending numbers for low-cost purchases e.g. $19.99.
 Loss leader pricing – a’ loss leader’ is a popular product that is priced below its cost of
production in order to encourage consumers into shops or other retail outlets to view
and hopefully buy other more profitable products.
  Competition-based pricing – this can deter new competition and defend market shares.
This strategy usually involves setting prices at or below the prices of rival products.
 Going rate pricing – this involves setting a price equal to the prevailing market price or
‘going rate’ for very similar or identical products.
 Price discrimination - the business charges different prices to different groups of people
for the same product e.g. charging lower prices for children tickets than for adult
tickets.

4. Place - This is where the product is sold. This includes physical locations such as stores and
shopping malls and could include telephone and internet sales etc.

Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behavior involves the study of how consumers 9individually or in a group) make decisions
about what they buy, when they buy, how much, how frequently and who they buy from. Consumer
behavior is influenced by:

1. Income and affordability – when incomes are rising consumers spend more and buy more
luxury goods and services.
2. Spending patterns - consumers have different preferences - for some health and education,
others spend on cars, clothes or travel, others spend as little as possible and save instead.
3. Price – consumers generally buy more of a product the lower the price and less the higher the
price. Some persons, however, are attracted to a high price because they feel it indicates a high
quality product.
4. Price of substitutes – if good substitutes (a good or service that may be used or consumed in
place of another, to satisfy the same or a similar need or want) cost less some consumers will
switch e.g. between brands or products.
5. Quality – some persons prefer a high quality product (last longer, easier to use, safer or has high
performance engineering.
6. Tradition – some traditions are influence by religion e.g. not using pork, shrimp etc., cultural
customs that are passed from one generation to the next and to individual habits.
7. Brand loyalty – many consumers prefer well established brands e.g. Coco Cola, Levi, Colgate etc.

Product Packaging and Presentation

Packaging refers to the materials used on the outer part of a physical product which have the
dual purpose of protecting the product and attracting the customer.

Packaging facilities

 Instant brand recognition

  Easy distribution – the shape of the package can allow the business to create bulk
portion sizes to be used in the distribution and packaging.
 Information to the customer – some information is required by law, but other
information is provided by the business, for example business name, address, contact
information, ingredients, expiry date, calories etc.
 Protection and preservation of the product –
 Protection of the end user – business try to ensure that packaging offers a level of child-
proofing to prevent children from easily opening unsafe items, and tamper-resistant
packaging (seal) to prevent people from interfering with the product.

Types of packaging

1. Plastics – used for drinks, paints, medicine etc.

2. Metal/aluminum - used for drinks, canned foods, paints etc.

3. Brick carton (Tetra Pak) – drinks (box)

4. Cardboard – used as outer packaging for bulk quantity es

5. Glass – drinks, perfumes, food, medicine etc.

Packaging Regulation

Businesses are required by law to include certain information on product packaging. They
include:

 The name of the company that made the products

 Th ingredients
 Health and safety guidelines about using the product
 A bar code
 Country of origin

Branding
A brand is any name, term, design or symbol or other features that a business uses to distinguish itself or
its products from its competitors
A brand is a trade name, term, sign, symbol or a combination of all of these which is used to identify a
specific product, manufacturer or distributor.

Branding creates a connection in the consumer’s mind between the brand, the product and the business
that makes it:

1. Provides legal protection to the business, especially for unique formulae and features that may be

copied by competitors.

2. Increases the level of customer identification of the product, so it is not confused with competitors

Products (brand awareness)

3. Allows the business to break the market into different groups of customers called segments and add

special features to meet their needs.

4. Allows the business to build a brand image, with special features and the values it stands lot on the

packaging and advertising

5. Allows the business to be seen better where the product is sold.

6. Allows the business to build brand loyalty where the customers become loyal to the product and are

repeat purchasers of the product

Methods of Promoting Sales

1. Advertising
Advertising is any paid form of communication about goods and services by a business. It can be made
through various forms of media to either inform or persuade customers about a product. (Media refers
to the communication channels through which promotional messages are communicated to the public
e.g. television, newspapers, radio, billboards, telephone, the internet etc.

There are two main types of advertising:

 Informative Advertising - provides technical and other information about a product to a

consumer e.g. contact details, bus and boat timetables, food ingredients etc.
Informative advertising can help to increase the credibility and reputation of a product and an
organisation.

 Persuasive Advertising – is designed to make a consumer want a particular product. It is

designed to boost the sales of new and existing products, often at the expense of rival products.
 It tries to entice the consumer to purchase the product by using emotional and psychological
appeals.

‘Hidden persuaders’: Subliminal Advertising

Subliminal advertising is when hidden messages such as images, smells and sounds are used to
influence consumers’ responses without them being consciously aware of it.

2. Sales Promotion

Sales Promotion are marketing communications designed to influences consumer behaviour and

spending decisions, they are time bound, (for a specific time period) including special offers or

gimmicks used to increase sales of a product.

Sales Promotion Tools Impact

Free samples The business gives out free samples (usually It is a good way to
in a smaller size introduce a new product
or remind customers of an
existing product.

Coupons The business provides coupons which allows It encourages customers to

the customers to receive a discount on the return to the store to
next purchase. purchase additional
quantities.

Premiums/gifts Free gift is given to customers, usually after

attached purchasing a set quantity of the product e.g.
a cookbook etc.

Contest and Competition where customers have to

sweepstakes purchase more of the products to enter
them, with the aim of winning a price.

Loyalty points Schemes which reward customers for

choosing the product.

BOGO – Buy One Customers receive price discounts for

Get One etc. purchasing an additional item.

Point of sale display Attractive display used in the stores. Very effective at bringing
attention to new products
or specials on products.
Very effective at promoting
 the brand.

Rebates Customers receives a part of the purchase

amount back from the seller.

Bundling Combining several products that are sold Provides value to the
together as one product. customers. The business is
able to move slower
products.

Loss leader Selling a product at a loss in order to

stimulate sale of another product.

3. Public Relations

Public Relations (PR) refers to the process and activities used by the business to build a positive image

in the minds of its customers. The press is invited to cover activities run by the business, and these

are then included in various newspapers, radio and television articles. Tools used in public relations

include:

1) sponsorship of activities at the community or national level, e.g. sports, cultural events

2) press releases that are aimed at attracting the public’s attention to a particular activity

3) scholarships for employees or their children; (these are reported in the media)

4) uniforms provided to members of staff, so that even before and after work they continue to

promote the business.

4. Personal Selling

Personal selling is the face-t-face selling of the business product by sales staff, with the aim of

gaining sales and building customers relationships. It involves high levels of interpersonal

interactions between sales staff and individuals or groups of customers. These interactions can take

the form of person-to-person sales, telephone sales, emails etc.

 Qualities of Successful Sales People

1. Empathy – be able to identify with customers and make them feel respected.

2. Focus

3. Responsibility

4. Persistence

5. Enthusiasm

6. Good communication skills

Techniques of selling
Merchandising

Merchandising is the process of promoting the sale of goods. Merchandising activities include display
techniques such as:

 point of sale displays

 shelf talkers and wobblers

 window displays

 free samples

 on the spot demonstrations

 pricing and special offers

 well-planned eye-level product placement

 well-stocked shelves and displays.

Methods of Retailing

Retailing is the distribution process which covers all the activities directly involved in selling merchandise
directly to the final consumer. There are a number of different types of retail outlets and methods of
retailing.
 Methods of retailing Description

Shops They allow personal interactions with the customers and with
products e.g. convenience stores, mini mart, supermarkets,
vegetable stalls.

Department stores Large city centre shops offering a wide variety of different
products.

Mail order Products are ordered from a catalogue.

e-Commerce The product is purchased from a website.

Tele-marketing The products are sold over the telephone.

Vending machine An automated machine dispenses stored products after payment

is made by the customer with cash or card – debit or credit.

Terms of Sale
The terms of sale of a product include the price and the quality agreed between the seller and the
customer and how payment will be made. Sellers often offer various incentive to buyers, so that they
will choose that seller over a competitor.

Terms of Sale

Cash The payment is in cash

Credit The cash price of the product is broken up into several payments usually over
a period of less than one year. The seller then makes monthly payments
until the cost is paid.

Hire Purchase This method is method is usually used for large and expensive items. The
buyer makes a down payment and the outstanding balance is paid for over a
longer period of time. An interest charge is included in the balance of the
payments. The time period can be from one year to five years.

Layaway The buyer makers a down payment on the purchase of the product, the
seller then removes the item from the shelf and holds it for the buyer, who
then makes monthly payments until the item has been paid for in full.

Consignment This is a trade arrangement made between businesses. The seller

(consignor) sells products to the purchaser (consignee), who pays only for
the items that they sell. After a certain time period, the seller takes back any
 items that remain unsold.

Cash and trade This refers to trade arrangements between businesses. It is a discount on
discounts the published price for the product. Trade discounts are based on customer
loyalty and trade relationships over time.

Consumer organisations
To protect consumers from exploitation, many governments have introduced consumer protection laws
to control marketing activities to ensure they are fair and accurate.

Some businesses are also protected from other businesses making cheaper and lower copies of their
product. Intellectual property rights (IPR) protect investments in new products. Intellectual property
rights (IPR) investments in new product designs and developments.

Consumer Protection

Consumer protection is needed to protect consumers and to also raise confidence in different
institutions in the country. Laws can protect the safety of consumers and also help guarantee quality. If
consumers have trust in the products that they buy form producers, it can help the economic growth of
businesses. Some reasons for consumer protection are

 There are many ‘copycat’ products on the market – branded products are imitated which may
fool the consumer into purchasing the item.
 They may use false advertising – to convince thee consumer to purchase the product by making
exaggerated claims about the product.
 They can work together to control the price of a product or its supply – it is used to create an -
artificially high price which consumers may be forced to pay it there are no close substitutes
they can switch to.
 Consumers can be treated unfairly
 Some consumers may be unable to read well therefore, may not be aware or understand laws
ad their own rights as a consumer. This can make them susceptible to exploitation by unethical
businesses and marketing activities.

Consumers are protected by:

 laws and regulations: put in place by governments to protect the rights of consumers
 consumer organizations: which serve to inform consumers about their own rights and
responsibilities
  government agencies: which are enacted by legislation to protect the rights of consumers. In
the Caribbean usually called the Bureau of Standards and the Ombudsman.

The rights of the consumer

Rights Definition

right to consumer to education the right to be educated about their own

right to safety protection against hazardous products

right to information right to information about price, quality,

ingredients, etc.

right to choice the right to have a choice and not be forced into a
decision

right to be heard the right for a customer’s complaints to be heard

right to redress consumers have the right to seek redress

The role of the government in consumer protection

The rights of consumers are recognised through consumer protection agencies. These fall under the
Ministry of Legal Affairs or the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in most countries. Agencies are supported by
the various laws or acts, enacted by the government to protect both consumers and business.

Some of the responsibilities of these agencies are:

 advising consumers of their rights and responsibilities

 monitoring commercial activities to deter adverse trade practices while identify issues affecting
consumers
 receiving (through hotlines a d websites) and investigating consumer complaints
 conducting continuous field research in consumer needs/preferences as they relate to goods,
services and prices
 advocating for consumers through attendance and participation at meetings of advisory bodies,
and by testing and rating consumer products.

Organisation Roles and functions

Private (not for profit) international

Green peace International Resisting degradation of the environment

Transparency International Ensuring that government operate fairly in
the reward of tenders and the overall
spending of state funds

Government

Parliament and judicial arm Making laws relating to the environment,

Road Safety Act, the Environment Protection
Acts

Also laws relating to the sale of goods: Sale

of Goods Act and the Food and Drug Act

Bureau of Standards Setting minimum standards to which

producers of goods must abide, for example,
proper labelling, description and safety
requirements

Verification and testing of products to ensure

that standards are maintained, for example,
goods are taken off the shelf to be tested to
ensure that they meet the standards

Ensuring that measurement apparatus are

properly calibrated

Educating the public about standards and

any suitable items on the market, for
example, giving the public information about
unsafe Christmas lights

Issuing warnings to producers who are not

adhering to standards

Ombudsman Investigating and adjudicating on complaints

A government appointed person who of loss/damages from the public
investigates malpractices, maladministration
or injustices suffered by individuals and the Making recommendations to correct
population at large in their dealing with wrongdoing of state agencies to members of
public officials, departments of state, the public
government agencies and government-own
 or controlled companies

Ministry of Consumer Affairs Ensuring that laws to protect the consumer

are followed

The Role of Customer Service

Customer service can be defined as any series of activities that takes care of the customer’s needs,
before, during and after the purchase of the product.

Characteristics of customer service include:

1. Personalisation: customers feel special when they are identified by name and the staff member is

attentive in meeting their needs.

2. Politeness: staff members must always be polite when dealing with customers, always
demonstrating good manners to every customer.

3. Prompt responses to customers: staff should respond in a timely fashion when orders are placed for

delivery or pickups; there should be standard time frames set up for returning customers queries and

responding to customer complaints.

4. Professionalism: customers should be treated with courtesy, honesty and demonstrating that the

staff member is knowledgeable about the product being sold.

5. Special needs aware: all members of staff should be trained to recognize and meet the needs
of customers with special needs; these may include deaf, blind, or foreign visitors with different language
requirements and people with small children.

Staff should adhere to the following guidelines:

 be courteous
 treat people as people
 acknowledge the person
 be patient
 be flexible
 be aware of assistance animals
 face the person
 respect personal space.

Good customer service directly affects retention of customers. Customers who receive good customer
service will become repeat customers. It can also attract new customers to the business. A bad
customer service experience can be extremely difficult for a business to recover from. (Social media
makes it very easy to rant online about an experience, which might negatively affect current customers
as well as deter new customers). If quality support is provided by the business, it can also justify higher
prices for the product sold (happy customers will spend more in the business which would affect the
bottom line).

Forms of Customer Service Description

Warranty A written document given to the purchaser of a product

promising to repair the item or replace it if it ceases to work
within a stipulated time period.

After sales service All the assistance and information given to a customer after
they have purchased a product which can include handling
returns from customers, refunds for customers and servicing of
items under warranty.

Feedback This takes place when aa representative of the business calls

the customer after their purchase to get feedback (hear from
them) on their experience in the store or on their interaction
with he business as a whole (such as getting a product
replaced, buying a part etc.)

Online chat Businesses offer help to their customers via websites by having
a list of FAQs (frequently asked questions).

An email address where customers can ask for help and live
online chats where they can speak to customer service
representative in real time.

Toll free numbers/call centres Free telephone numbers that customers can call to receive
assistance.

Suggestion box Boxes strategically located in a business location, where

customers can leave suggestions based on their experience
and interaction at the business.

Surveys Customer satisfaction surveys, which are short questionnaires

asking the customer to rate their experience with the business.

Benefits of Excellent Customer Service

1. Repeat customers - customers who are satisfied will return to the business for

Future purchases.

2. Positive business image - the business’s image will be upheld in the eyes of the public.

3. Less legal action - there will be less likelihood of unwanted lawsuits from dissatisfied customers.

4. Stands out from competition - good service separates the business from competitors.

5. High staff morale and motivation - staff are positive and motivated to work harder.

Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property refers to any creations of the mind, such as drawings, sayings or phrases that are
coined, songs, inventions, symbols and images.

Intellectual property rights (IPR) refer to the rights of the business or a person to use its own ideas that it
created, without being worried about competitors stealing these ideas. They can be in the form of
copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. These rights can be protected by lawsuit.

Patents and Copyrights

A patent is a right granted by the government to the owner of an invention. It prevents others from
making, using, or selling the invention without permission. A time period, usually 20 years, is given as a
level of protection to the patent holder.

Patents protect inventions, such as a new machines, processes and chemicals.

Copyrights protects the expression of an idea. Copyright protection gives a legal right o the creator of an
original work that allows them control over how they grant permission to use and distribute it.

Trademark is a unique symbol used to distinguish a business’s idea from another; it cannot be used by
others.

Industrial design is an area covered by intellectual property rights (which protect creations of the mind),
it is concerned with the design of products. It looks at the appearance of the product, how it works, how
it is manufactured, and the value it gives the end user. An industrial design right protects the visual
design of a product.

Balliram, Riana; Budd, Peter; Emmanuel, Edith; Guiness, Marsha; McCloskey, James; and Bitu, Rachel
Raghoo. (2019). Principles of Business for CSEC Examinations. Second Edition, United Kingdom.
Macmillan Education.