Principles of Marketing Practice

Unit purpose and aim(s)

The focus of this unit is on the fundamental principles of marketing. You will consider how marketing is applied in different contexts. Marketing has the task of connecting a business to its customers and plays a vital role in assuring the long-term viability of the organisation. You will learn how to form strategies and plans that recognise the impact the of changing environments in which organisations exist. 

Understanding customer behaviour and the influences on it is vital to ensuring organisational success. You will explore the different buying processes and the key influences of both consumer buyers and organisational buyers.  You will also examine the segmentation, targeting and positioning process which plays an important role in ensuring that marketing activities are relevant to the intended customer.

To be able to understand customers, competitors and the organisation’s environments you must be able to gather a range of marketing information. You will consider the main elements of a marketing information system, the key types of data used by marketers and the methods of gathering this data.

To customers, the most visible and tangible marketing outputs are through the organisation’s application of the marketing mix. You will examine the key elements of this (4Ps – product, price, place and promotion) and the extended marketing mix most commonly associated with services organisations (7Ps – also includes people, process and physical evidence). You will consider how an appropriate marketing mix can be developed and deployed and how to apply the marketing mix in different organisational contexts. 

This unit is assessed by traditional timed exam - read more.

Qualifications for this unit:

ABE Level 4 Diploma in Business Management and Marketing