3.
Marketing Fundamentals
Study Guide • Research-Based Learning Material
Page 1 — Understanding Customers
Marketing
Marketing is the process of creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that provide value to customers
and other stakeholders.
Needs and wants
A need is a basic problem or requirement, while a want is a particular way a person prefers to satisfy that need. Marketing
research helps businesses understand both.
Segmentation
Market segmentation divides a broad market into groups with shared characteristics. Common bases include
demographics, geography, psychographics, and behaviour.
Target market
A target market is the specific customer group a company chooses to serve. Effective targeting focuses resources where
the company can create meaningful value.
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Page 2 — The Marketing Mix
Product
Product decisions include features, quality, design, packaging, branding, warranties, and supporting services.
Price
Price influences revenue, perceived value, demand, and competitive position. Pricing decisions consider costs,
customers' willingness to pay, competitors, and strategic objectives.
Place
Place refers to distribution: how and where an offering becomes available. Channels can include stores, wholesalers,
direct sales, websites, and marketplaces.
Promotion
Promotion communicates value through advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling, social media, and
other communication tools.
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Page 3 — Branding and Positioning
Brand
A brand is more than a logo. It represents the associations, expectations, experiences, and identity customers connect
with an offering.
Positioning
Positioning describes how a company wants customers to perceive its offering relative to alternatives. A positioning
statement should identify the target customer, category, key benefit, and reason to believe.
Differentiation
Companies can differentiate through product performance, design, service, convenience, expertise, customization,
reputation, or customer experience.
Consistency
Strong brands communicate a recognizable identity across relevant customer touchpoints while adapting appropriately to
different channels.
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Page 4 — Consumer Behaviour
Decision process
A simplified consumer decision process includes problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives,
purchase, and post-purchase evaluation.
Influences
• Personal factors: age, occupation, income, lifestyle, and experience.
• Psychological factors: motivation, perception, learning, and attitudes.
• Social factors: family, friends, communities, and reference groups.
• Situational factors: time, location, urgency, and purchase context.
Customer journey
The customer journey includes interactions before, during, and after purchase. Businesses can use feedback and
behavioural data to identify friction and improve the experience.
Loyalty
Customer satisfaction can support repeat purchases, positive word-of-mouth, and retention, although satisfaction alone
does not guarantee loyalty.
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Page 5 — Digital Marketing and Metrics
Digital channels
Digital marketing can use search, websites, email, social platforms, content, online communities, and digital advertising.
Each channel should serve a defined objective.
Key metrics
• Conversion rate measures the share of relevant visitors or prospects who complete a desired action.
• Customer acquisition cost estimates the cost of gaining customers.
• Retention rate measures how effectively customers are retained over time.
• Return on advertising spend compares attributable revenue with advertising cost.
Research questions
• Who is the target customer?
• What problem are we solving?
• Why should customers choose us?
• Which channel reaches them efficiently?
• How will success be measured?
Key takeaway
Effective marketing connects customer understanding to a clear value proposition, a coherent marketing mix, and
measurable outcomes.
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