Marketing Strategy, Research Methods, Product Life Cycle

Marketing Strategy and Market Research Concepts

Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy: A long-term plan established for achieving marketing objectives.

Marketing Objectives

Marketing objectives: The goals set by the marketing department to help the business achieve its overall objectives.

Market Research

Market research: The process of collecting, recording, and analyzing data about customers, competitors, and the market.

Secondary Research

Secondary research: The collection of data from second‑hand sources (academic journals, media articles, government publications).

• Advantages: Cheap and quick way to obtain information; allows comparison across different sources.
• Disadvantages: May be outdated frequently; not always entirely suitable for the firm's specific needs.

Primary Research

Primary research: The collection of first‑hand data that is directly related to a firm’s needs.

• Advantages: Up‑to‑date and confidential.
• Disadvantages: Costly and time consuming.

Research Types

Quantitative research: Research that leads to numerical results which can be presented and analyzed.

Qualitative research: Research into the in‑depth motivations behind consumer buying behavior or opinions.

Sampling

Sample: A group of people taking part in a market research survey selected to be representative of the overall target market.

Sampling errors: Errors in research caused by using a sample for data collection rather than the whole target population.

Product Concepts

Consumer durables: Manufactured products that can be re‑used and are expected to have a reasonably long life, such as cars and washing machines.

Product line: A set of related products sold by a business.

Product mix: The variety of product lines that a business produces or a retailer stocks.

Product range: All of the types of products made by a business.

Product Life Cycle

Product life cycle: The course that a product takes from its development to its decline in the market.

1. Development (NPD — more in detail in Operations)
2. Introduction
3. Growth
4. Maturity / Saturation (may be classified separately)
5. Decline

Pricing Strategies

Price skimming: Setting a high price when introducing a new product to the market.

Penetration pricing: Setting a low initial price for a product with the aim of attracting a large number of customers quickly and gaining a high market share (introductory price).