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4.2 Marketing planning

4.2 Marketing planning (including introduction to the four Ps)

Learning outcomes

Marketing planning refers to the structured process of formulating marketing objectives and appropriate marketing strategies to achieve these goals. For example, businesses will typically aim to increase their market share. Marketing planning is about formulating the various marketing strategies to achieve these marketing goals.

For those new to IB Business Management, please note that this unit is also relatively large and broad in content, so teaching and learning will need to be planned carefully to ensure all learning outcomes (see below) are covered in sufficient depth. Try to create more opportunities for students to make connections between the contents of this unit in the syllabus with other strategic aspects of the course. Again, using your school as an example often helps students to apply theory to practice, such as discussing the reasons why marketing planning is important for a school. For example:

  1. How do the four Ps of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place) apply to your school?

  2. What is your school's target market(s) and market segment(s)?

  3. Does the school have a unique selling point (USP)?

  4. How does your school differentiate itself and its products from other schools in the local area?

The learning outcomes (or assessment objectives) for this section of the IB Business Management syllabus are:

  • 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)
 InThinking Business Management resources

Click the hyperlinks below to access the InThinking resources for this particular section of the IB Business Management syllabus.

Other resources

Read this very interesting BBC article about some of the worst marketing mistakes in recent times, hence highlighting the importance of careful marketing planning.

Return to the Unit 4 - Marketing homepage

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