BM-UNIT 4: Marketing

UNIT 4: Marketing

Marketing is an essential business function: it creates a bridge between an organization and its customers. In our everyday speech, the word marketing is often associated with advertisements and finding innovative ways of getting people to buy a product or service. 

However, unit 4 shows students that marketing is much more than that. Effective marketing requires consideration of everything from product quality to consumer perceptions and increasingly, engagement with people’s everyday lives to uncover needs
that customers may not even be aware of themselves.

Conceptual understandings (by the IBO):

• Social, cultural and technological change can impact the language and medium of marketing

• Creative ways of informing stakeholders can lead to positive business outcomes

• Ethical marketing practices can enhance a business’ brand image

• Sustainable marketing practices can be effective for business success

Suggested business management tools to integrate (proposed by the IBO) :

Ansoff matrix, SWOT analysis, STEEPLE analysis, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix, descriptive statistics,  Gantt chart (HL only), simple linear regression (HL only), critical path analysis (HL only),contribution (HL only), Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (HL only)

Tip! At the beginning of each presentation there are links to the proposed business management tools. However, it is just a recommendation, it is up to each teacher to decide on that.

Suggested inquiry statements to explore (by the IBO)

• How marketing strategies may evolve in response to changeable customer preferences.

• Why effective market research may bring about creative business practice.

• How social media development could change an organization’s marketing strategies.

• Why globalization can bring many changes to business activity.

• Why successful marketing campaigns are increasingly being built around the ethical and sustainable practices of a business.

Suggested theory of knowledge questions (by the IBO)

• Can companies know us better than we know ourselves?

• How might a company protect against sample error and bias when designing primary market research?

• Are there different criteria for ethical standards for online services compared to physical products?

• Are consumers rational?

• Are predictions in the human sciences inevitably unreliable?

• How might the language used in focus groups influence the conclusions that are reached?

• Are consumers too unpredictable to study scientifically?

• Is it possible to eliminate the effect of researcher bias when conducting market research?

• What impact has social media had on how consumers acquire and share knowledge of products?