Effective marketing is core to the success of all business organizations. Unit 4 of the IB Business Management syllabus examines a wide range of marketing tools, theories, techniques and concepts.

Marketing is far more than just about advertising or promotion, or even the traditional 4 Ps of marketing: product, price, promotion and place.

SL and HL students also need to be able to examine the Marketing topics through the CUEGIS concepts of change, culture, ethics, globalization, innovationand strategy.

• Marketing and its relationship with other business functions (AO1)
• The differences between marketing of goods and marketing of services (AO2)
• Market orientation versus product orientation (AO2)
• The difference between commercial marketing and social marketing (AO2)
• Characteristics of the market in whichan organization operates (AO1)
• Market share (AO4)
• The importance of market share and market leadership (AO3)
• The marketing objectives of for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (AO3)
• How marketing strategies evolve as a response to changes in customer preferences (AO3)
• How innovation, ethical considerations and cultural differences may influence marketing practices and strategies in an organization (AO3)

• The elements of a marketing plan (AO1)
• The role of marketing planning (AO2)
• The four Ps of the marketing mix (AO2)
• An appropriate marketing mix for a particular product or business (AO2 & AO4)
• The effectiveness of a marketing mix in achieving marketing objectives (AO3)
• The difference between target markets and market segments (AO2)
• Possible target markets and market segments in a given situation (AO4)
• The difference between niche market and mass market (AO2)
• How organizations target and segment their market and create consumer profiles (AO2)
• A product position map / perception map (AO2 & AO4)
• The importance of having a unique selling point / proposition (USP) (AO2)
• How organizations can differentiate themselves and their products from competitors (AO3)

• Up to four-part moving average, sales trends and forecast (including seasonal, cyclical and random variation) using given data (AO4) (HL Only)
• The benefits and limitations of sales forecasting (AO3) (HL Only)

• Why and how organizations carry out market research (AO2)
• The following methods / techniques of primary market research: surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observations (AO2)
• The following methods / techniques of secondary market research: market analyses, academic journals, government publications, and media articles (AO2)
• Ethical considerations of market research (AO3)
• The difference between qualitative and quantitative research (AO2)
• The following methods of sampling: quota, random, stratified, cluster, snowballing, and convenience (AO2)
• Results from data collection (AO2)

This section of the IB Business Management syllabus consists of 4 separate parts, each covering an aspect of the traditional marketing mix (the 4Ps: product, price, promotion and place).

Product

• The product life cycle (AO4)
• The relationship between the product life cycle and the marketing mix (AO2)
• Extension strategies (AO3)
• The relationship between the product life cycle, investment, profit and cash flow (AO2)
• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix on an organization’s products (AO3 & AO4)
• The following aspects of branding: awareness, development, loyalty, and value (AO2)
• The importance of branding (AO3)
• The importance of packaging (AO3)

Price

• The appropriateness of the following pricing strategies (AO3):

1. cost-plus (mark-up) pricing
2. penetration pricing
3. price skimming
4. psychological pricing
5. loss leader pricing
6. price discrimination
7. price leadership, and
8. predatory pricing

Promotion

• The following aspects of promotion (AO2):

1. above the line (ATL)promotion
2. below the line (BTL) promotion
3. promotional mix

• The impact of changing technology on promotional strategies (such as viral marketing, social media marketing and social networking) (AO3)
• Guerrilla marketing and its effectiveness as a promotional method (AO3)

Place

• The importance of place in the marketing mix (AO2)
• The effectiveness of different types of distribution channels (AO3)

• The seven Ps model in a service-based market (AO2) (HL Only)
• People: The importance of employee–customer relationships in marketing a service and cultural variation in these relationships (AO3) (HL Only)
• Processes: The importance of delivery processes in marketing mix a service and changes in these processes (AO3) (HL Only)
• Physical evidence: The importance of tangible physical evidence in marketing a service (AO3) (HL Only)

• Methods of entry into international markets (AO2)
• The opportunities and threats posed by entry into international markets (AO3)
• The strategic and operational implications of international marketing (AO3)
• The role of cultural differences in international marketing (AO3)
• The implications of globalization on international marketing (AO3)

• Features of e-commerce (AO1)
• The effects of changing technology and e-commerce on the marketing mix (AO2)
• The difference between the following types of e-commerce: business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), and consumer to consumer (C2C) (AO2)
• The costs and benefits of e-commerce to firms and consumers (AO3)