3.1.1 The role of marketing and its relationship with other business activities
Definition Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.
Marketing is far more than advertising. It starts by finding out what customers want (market research), then shapes what the business makes, what price it charges, where it sells and how it communicates — the marketing mix (Topic 3.3). Because every one of these decisions affects the rest of the business, marketing cannot work alone:
| Department | How marketing depends on it | How it depends on marketing |
|---|
| Operations | Must produce the quantity and quality marketing has promised | Needs accurate sales forecasts to plan capacity and inventory |
| Finance | Provides the budget for research, promotion and launches | Needs sales and price forecasts to build cash-flow forecasts and budgets |
| Human resources | Recruits and trains the sales and service staff | Needs to know the skills a new market or product will require |
Marketing objectives
Definition Marketing objectives are the goals set for the marketing department to help the business achieve its overall (corporate) objectives.
- increase market share (e.g. from 12% to 15% within two years)
- increase sales revenue or volume in a given market
- enter a new market — a new region, country or customer segment
- launch new products or extend the life of existing ones
- build brand awareness or loyalty (e.g. raise repeat purchase rate to 60%)
- reposition a product to appeal to a different segment
The link between marketing objectives and corporate objectives
Marketing objectives must be derived from corporate objectives, not set in isolation. A corporate objective of growth might become a marketing objective of entering two new states; a corporate objective of higher profit margins might become one of repositioning the brand upmarket to support higher prices. When the two are misaligned — marketing chasing volume through discounts while the corporate goal is margin — departments work against one another.
Example Tata Motors' corporate objective of leadership in electric vehicles in India translates into marketing objectives for the Nexon EV — market share in the EV segment, building charging-network partnerships, and awareness among first-time EV buyers. Apple's corporate focus on premium margins explains why its marketing objectives target brand loyalty, not the biggest unit volume.
🔒 Also in the full notes
- 3.1.2 Demand and supply
- 3.1.3 Markets
- 3.1.4 Consumer and industrial marketing
- 3.1.5 Mass marketing and niche marketing
- 3.1.6 Market segmentation
- 3.1.7 Customer relationship marketing (CRM)
- Exam practice: 5 practice questions
- 2 exemplar answers with full model answers and mark breakdowns
- Where students commonly lose marks
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