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4.1 Introduction to marketing

Unit 4.1 Introduction to marketing

Learning outcomes

“People rarely buy what they need. They buy what they want.”
- Seth Godin (b.1960), American entrepreneur and best-selling author

Marketing is often described as a management process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements in a profitable way. It is also about managing customer relationships, which benefits numerous key stakeholder groups such as customers themselves, employees, managers, suppliers, and the government.

There are many aspects to marketing, and this section of the syllabus discusses the role that marketing plays as a key function in any business organization, irrespective of their legal status or organizational objectives.

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

  • Market orientation versus product orientation (AO2)
  • Market share (AO2, AO4)
  • Market growth (AO2, AO4)
  • The importance of market share and market leadership (AO3) (HL only)
Teacher only box

Note to teachers

The contents of Unit 4.1 have been significantly reduced for the new syllabus; this was a relatively large and broad unit in terms of content  in the previous syllabus (final exams N23). In particular, note the following changes in the new guide:

  • Marketing and its relationship with other business functions (AO1) has been removed in the new guide.
  • The differences between marketing of goods and marketing of services (AO2) has been removed. In the new guide, all (SL and HL) candidates need to learn the 7Ps of the marketing mix.
  • The difference between commercial marketing and social marketing (AO2) has been removed. However, this topic may still prove useful when discussing social enterprises for Paper 3 (HL only).
  • Characteristics of the market in which an organization operates (AO1) has been removed.
  • The marketing objectives of for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations (AO3) have been removed. However, this topic could still be applicable for students who focus on aspects of marketing for their Internal Assessment.
  • How marketing strategies evolve as a response to changes in customer preferences (AO3) has been removed. However, this could also provide an opportunity for inquiry-based learning through the key concept of change.
  • How innovation, ethical considerations and cultural differences may influence marketing practices and strategies in an organization (AO3) has been removed. However, this also creates opportunities for inquiry through the lens of ethics as a key concept, as well as application of Hosftede's cultural dimensions as part of the Business Management Toolkit (BMT).
  • "The importance of market share and market leadership (AO3)" remains in the syllabus, but is now taught to HL candidates only.

Therefore, teachers will need to plan the learning outcomes very carefully for this unit of the syllabus. Be cautious not to use past exam papers that cover content which no longer applies to Business Management students.

Given the strategic nature of marketing, it is also important that students are able to link the contents of Unit 4.1 not only with the rest of the marketing module but also the other business functions studied in this course (namely human resource management, finance and accounts, and operations management).

Try to create more opportunities for students to make connections between these four functional areas of an organization. Using your school as an example, and how its marketing strategies work in practice, often helps students to apply theory to practice.

InThinking Business Management resources

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Irish poet and playwright

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

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