UNIT 1 - MARKETING

AQA GCSE Business Studies

CONDUCTING MARKET RESEARCH

REASON 2Enables businesses to identify what prices

customers are willing to pay for products.

REASON 3Makes businesses aware

of changes in consumer’s tastes and

requirements.

REASON 4Enables business to find

out about their rivals (competitors) and identify

the products they sell.

REASON 1Indicates to businesses

their target market (customers).

PRIMARY RESEARCH

DEFINITION

Collection of new data. Also known as field research

ADVANTAGESResearch is directly related to

the business.

Information gathered will be up-to-date.

DISADVANTAGES

Designing the research, gathering the information and then analysing it can be time

consuming.

Expensive if business employs specialist researchers.

PRIMARY RESEARCH METHODS

TELEPHONE SURVEY

Ringing up customers to obtain their

views.

ADVANTAGESCan call when it is convenient

to you.

A large number of interviews can be conducted in a short

period of time.

DISADVANTAGESCannot see peoples

responses.

Not everyone has a telephone or are willing to answer

questions.

FOCUS GROUP

Are small groups of people selected to

give their views on a particular business

issue, such as brand name, whether the

business is better or worse than

competitors, a proposed advert etc.

ADVANTAGESCan get in-depth

responses.

DISADVANTAGES

Small groups may not reflect all your target customers.

INTERNET RESEARCH

Many businesses have their own website and this

provides an additional route for customer

feedback. It is also possible to track the number of

visitors to a website, how they found the site, what search engine they used – and this sort of information

can provide a useful insight into potential

customers.

ADVANTAGES

Cheap.

Quick.

DISADVANTAGES

May not find the views of your target audience.

Not everyone has a telephone or are willing

to answer questions.

QUESTIONNAIRE

People are asked questions about

a certain product. Questionnaires

can be by telephone or by post as well as face-to-face.

ADVANTAGESInformation is taken directly from the people who are, or will be, the firms consumers.

Questionnaire can help the member of the public to

understand the questions.

DISADVANTAGESSlow and costly.

Some people resent being stopped and questioned.

DOOR-TO-DOOR SURVEY

Visiting people’s houses and asking them questions on

certain issues.

ADVANTAGES

Can see how people react and people

may be more likely to tell the truth.

DISADVANTAGES

Can be time-consuming.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

DEFINITION

Collection of data that already

exists.Also known as

desk research

ADVANTAGESThe information is cheap to

obtain.

The information is available immediately and there are lots of sources to choose

from.DISADVANTAGES

The information may be out-of-date.

Information available to every other firm in the market.

SECONDARY RESEARCH METHODS

MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT

The business must have a product that customers want, and for which they are

prepared to pay for. The business may want to emphasise that the product is of a high

quality, that it had particular design features, that it offers value for money, or perhaps that it will improve the consumers own image. Most importantly the business

must make a profit – selling price must cover the cost of producing the product.

PRICE

The business needs to know how much the customer is prepared to

pay for the product, and what competitors charge. The price

must also be one that enables the business to make a profit – will the

price charged cover costs?

PLACE

Place refers to the way in which products are distributed. Are they sold direct to customers (e.g. via

the internet) or via shops? Do they come direct from the factory to

the shop or are they bought by a wholesaler first? What are the

stores like where they are sold?

PROMOTION

The business needs to make sure that the customer knows about the new product and is encouraged to buy it. To inform customers about products, businesses use a range of methods,

from word of mouth, adverts. To encourage the customer to buy the

product, the business may offer a free gift, discount, or a BOGOF deal

THE RIGHT MIX WILL DEPEND ON

FACTOR 2Competitors products:

What do they offer and how does it compare with what

you have?

FACTOR 3Target customers: Who you are trying to sell to? How much

do they earn? Why are they likely to buy the product? What do they do with their

time?.

FACTOR 4Business approach: Are you trying to match what

your competitors do?

FACTOR 1The product: Is it

distinctive? Is it a product that needs a unique design? How long does a customer

expect it to last?