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Introduction to Marketing
Opening Comments
Welcome to Marketing 396: Introduction to Marketing.
describe a range of common strategies for the different marketing mix elements:
product, pricing, distribution, and promotion.
The course is divided into 14 lessons. Each lesson contains learning objectives, assigned
readings, lesson notes, review questions, and learning activities. As you work through each
lesson, follow the directions in this online Study Guide . Complete the assigned activities in
the textbook and on the MyMarketingLab website, a multimedia website that enriches your
learning experience. Before moving to a new lesson, ensure that you have achieved the
lessons learning objectives and are familiar with the key terms.
Some activities on the MyMarketingLab website are designated as recommended but not
mandatory. By completing these recommended activities, you can evaluate your
understanding of the material covered in the lessons. Note: The activities you complete on
MyMarketingLab are not part of the formal evaluation in this course. However, you are
encouraged to complete them for your own assessment. A good performance there is a
good indication of your readiness for the course examinations.
Some lessons require that you work through a case study. Cases illustrate specific topics
and real-world situations. Read the case as many times as you need to in order to feel
comfortable with it. Then answer the assigned questions. Finally, compare your answers to
the solutions provided in this online Study Guide (Appendix: Practice Case Notes).
I am sure you will enjoy the topics covered in MKTG 396. Your best strategy for successful
completion of this course is a continuous, systematic, and steady effort of studying. Try as
much as possible to ask yourself how the concepts covered in a lesson could be useful to
you in a business setting and how they relate to your own experience as a consumer.
If you have any questions or points you do not fully understand, contact the Student
Support Centre and we will be glad to help out. We also welcome your comments about
what you like or do not like about this course.
Simon P. Sigu, Professor, Marketing
Learning Materials
This course uses electronic materials as resources for learning.
Textbook
Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Trifts, V., & Cunningham, P. H. (2014). Principles of marketing.
You will be asked for the Course ID. For MKTG 396, the ID is sigue57079.
You will also be asked for the course Access Code. This code will be sent to you in an
email from AU Materials Management. If you don't receive it, contact AU Materials
Management as soon as possible at 1-800-788-9041 ext. 6366 or send an email to
cmat@athabascau.ca.
Your final mark in MKTG 396: Introduction to Marketing will be based on your performance
on two assignments and two examinations. To receive credit for this course, you must
achieve a minimum overall grade of D (50%), and your grade on the final examination
must be 50% or better. Any assignments that are not submitted will receive a grade of 0.
You must complete both examinations.
Activity
Assignment 1
Credit weight
20% of final grade
When to complete
after Lesson 6
Assignment 2
Midterm Examination
Final Examination
Total
after Lesson 12
after Lesson 7
after Lesson 14
MKTG 396v7
Introduction to Marketing
Read Chapter 1 of Principles of Marketing (9th Canadian ed.) by Philip Kotler, Gary
Armstrong, Valerie Trifts, & Peggy H. Cunningham (hereinafter referred to as the
textbook ).
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define marketing, and describe the five-step model of the marketing process.
(textbook, pp. 56)
2. explain the importance of understanding the marketplace and consumer needs, and
define the core concepts critical to the understanding of the marketplace. (textbook, pp.
69)
3. identify the two key questions to answer in the design of a marketing strategy, and
explain the five marketing management orientations that guide marketing strategy.
(textbook, pp. 913)
4. discuss strategies for building lasting and fruitful relationships with customers and
partners. (textbook, pp. 1321)
5. identify the outcomes of developing and maintaining lasting relationships with
customers. (textbook, pp. 2124)
6. describe the major challenges facing marketers. (textbook, pp. 2432)
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Introduction to Marketing
Pay special attention to Figure 2.4 on page 54 of the textbook, which illustrates the
factors that influence marketing strategy. This chart is an excellent visual representation
of the marketing process within the microenvironment.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define strategic planning,
(textbook, p. 42)
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Introduction to Marketing
Ethics
Overview
Lesson 2 offered a general framework that should be followed to prepare a marketing plan.
An important step in this framework is the threats and opportunities analysis that helps
marketers anticipate important positive or negative developments that might affect their
businesss performance.
Lesson 3 is the first in a series of three lessons that will help you understand how new
environmental developments influence marketing. Indeed, recent technological advances,
including the explosive growth of the Internet and social media, have had major impacts on
the way companies communicate and conduct their business. Changes are occurring in the
dynamics of competition within and between industries, as well as in customers
requirements of convenience, speed, information, and service. Companies have no choice
but to adapt their marketing strategies to these new developments in order to maintain or
improve their competitive advantage and offer greater value to their customers.
For example, travel agencies face the competition of airline companies that are now able to
sell effectively and directly to consumers through their websites. Traditional retailers such
as Canadian Tire now also practise ecommerce to create more value to customers and
remain competitive despite the emergence of alternative distribution channels.
At the same time, there is an increasing need for companies to respond positively to social
movements such as consumerism and environmentalism and to practice ethical and socially
responsible marketing. Canadian consumers are more and more sensitive to the
requirements of sustainable development, and they are willing to pay premium prices to
firms that commit to socially responsible practices and to punish those that do not.
Pay special attention to Table 4.1 on page 133 of the textbook, which highlights the
main ethical issues associated with marketing practice.
Take time to familiarize yourself with the content of Table 4.2 on pages 134 and 135 of
the textbook. This table summarizes the American Marketing Association Code of Ethics.
It is a useful reference for the practice of marketing.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
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Introduction to Marketing
Take time to go through Table 3.2 on page 91 of the textbook to learn how major
federal legislation affects marketing in Canada.
Pay particular attention to Figure 5.1 on page 146 of the textbook. This chart of the
marketing information system provides an excellent overview of this lesson.
Learning Objectives
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Introduction to Marketing
satisfy them, to create long and lasting relationships with them, and consequently, to
generate profits. This lesson offers you the tools to explore consumer and business
behaviour.
From the consumer market side, it is important to know how individuals who buy goods and
services for personal consumption make decisions and process information about products.
How do they use and dispose of products? How do people perceive, learn from, remember,
forget, and interact with information about products? Why do some people ride
Harley-Davidson motorcycles, while others prefer Volvo sedans?
The business market includes all the organizations that buy goods and services for use in
producing other products and services. Participants in the business market then sell, rent,
or supply these products to others. There are significant differences in the ways businesses
and consumers buy goods and services. This lesson will highlight these differences.
Many terms in this lesson come from the field of psychology. The field of consumer
behaviour is rich and complex. This material is challenging because there are few absolutes
when one is dealing with human beings. Nonetheless, learning how and why consumers act
the way they do is vital for those in the field of marketing.
If you are interested in this subject and want to learn more, you might consider taking
MKTG
406: Consumer Behaviour .
Take time to study Table 7.1 on page 219 of the textbook; this table summarizes the
characteristics of business markets.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define consumer market,
(textbook, pp. 184185)
2. describe the four factors that influence consumer behaviour. (textbook, pp. 185201)
3. discuss four types of buying behaviour. (textbook, pp. 201203)
4. describe the five steps of the buyer decision process. (textbook, pp. 203207)
5. outline the stages in the adoption process, and discuss the influence of individual
differences and product characteristics on new product adoption. (textbook, pp. 207
209)
6. define business market, and explain how these markets differ from consumer markets.
(textbook, pp. 218221)
7. describe three major types of buying situations. (textbook, pp. 223224)
8. list the participants in the business buying process. (textbook, pp. 224226)
9. discuss the four major influences on business buyers. (textbook, pp. 226229)
10. describe the eight stages of the business buying process. (textbook, pp. 229232)
11. discuss the growing trend of eprocurement. (textbook, pp. 232233)
12. compare institutional and government markets, and describe how buying decisions are
made in each. (textbook, pp. 233235)
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Although within a product category (such as soft drink) consumer needs, wants, and
tastes vary widely, it is possible to identify consumers with similar behavioural patterns.
While creating value is a basic requirement for all marketers, a business success is
possible only when a firms product delivers to its targeted customers superior value in
relation to its competitors products.
Pay attention to Table 8.1 on page 246 of the textbook; it summarizes the major
segmentation variables for consumer markets.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define market segmentation , market targeting , and market positioning , and describe
how they are related. (textbook, pp. 244245)
2. list the major segmentation variables for both consumer and business markets.
(textbook, pp. 245255)
3. discuss issues related to segmenting international markets. (textbook, pp. 255256)
4. identify the five critical requirements for effective segmentation. (textbook, pp. 256
257)
5. explain how organizations identify attractive market segments and determine a market
coverage strategy. (textbook, pp. 257263)
6. explain how organizations can differentiate and position their products to maximize
competitive advantage in the marketplace. (textbook, pp. 263273)
7. describe the three major steps in analyzing competition. (textbook, pp. 599606)
8. explain the fundamentals of competitive marketing strategies. (textbook, pp. 606617)
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Introduction to Marketing
Overview
For many organizations, developing a new product or revising the marketing mix for an
existing one is a hit-or-miss procedure. Decisions about branding, packaging, and even
product attributes are often made quickly without consulting all internal departments or
even confirming what customers want. This type of casual attitude to products results in a
high number of product failures in the market and can be detrimental to a companys
bottom line. There are some easy steps companies can follow to help increase a products
chances for success. Lesson 7 explores these steps in detail.
It is estimated that nearly 80 per cent of new consumer packaged goods fail. Companies
who want to thrive must become good at developing and maintaining new products. All
products go through a life cycle of introduction, growth, and decline. However, companies
can take steps to manage this life cycle, either to lengthen the life of the product or to
make changes to the product and so breathe new life into it. Lesson 7 describes ways to
manage the new-product development cycle. It also provides tips on how to get the most
out of the life of both new and existing products on the market.
Pay special attention to Table 9.1 on page 282 of the textbook; this table is a good
reference guide to consumer product categories and marketing considerations.
Take time to study Figure 9.3 on page 294 of the textbook, which illustrates four
characteristics of services.
Note Table 10.2 on page 343 of the textbook; it provides a good overview of product
life-cycle characteristics, objectives, and strategies.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define product, and describe the main classifications of products and services.
(textbook, pp. 279285)
2. describe the decisions firms make when developing product lines and mixes. (textbook,
pp. 285293)
3. identify the four characteristics that influence the marketing of a service. (textbook, pp.
293295)
4. outline the service-profit chain, and describe the three major marketing tasks of service
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Lesson 8: Pricing
Overview
Pricing is one of the tactical tools that a firm can use to construct marketing programs that
deliver superior value to consumers. From a seller perspective, pricing is the only element
of the marketing mix that generates revenue, while buyers consider a price as a cost that
may reduce the value of an offering. Normally, consumers will be better off when the prices
are set at the lowest possible levels, while marketers will prefer the highest possible prices
that offer them maximum profits without any other environmental consideration. To build
and maintain long and lasting, mutually profitable relationships with customers, marketers
need to find the right balance between customer expectations of low prices and the
marketers own desire to extract more value from customers through higher prices.
In Lesson 8, you will learn that finding this balance is not as easy as it might seem.
Marketers have to take into account internal factors such as the firms marketing
objectives, marketing mix strategy, costs, and organizational factors; external factors
including the nature of the market, demand, and competition; and other environmental
factors like the economy, the requirements of intermediaries, and government actions.
Setting prices may not be a hard science, but proven approaches and strategies, as well as
established guidelines, do exist to find the best prices that create value for both seller and
buyer and that comply with legal and ethical issues surrounding pricing.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define price . (textbook, p. 355)
2. discuss the importance of competition, costs, and consumer value perceptions in setting
prices. (textbook, pp. 355365)
3. describe internal and external factors that have an effect on a company's pricing
decisions. (textbook, pp. 365371)
4. outline new-product pricing strategies. (textbook, pp. 371372)
5. describe five product mix pricing situations. (textbook, pp. 372376)
6. describe seven price adjustment strategies. (textbook, pp. 376382)
7. discuss the key changes involved in initiating and reacting to price changes. (textbook,
pp. 383386)
8. discuss public policy and ethical considerations related to pricing. (textbook, pp. 386
389)
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To fully integrate the distribution system into the creation of consumer value, marketers
need to
assess customer channel-service needs and their channel objectives and constraints
identify the major channel alternatives that are available in terms of the types of
intermediaries, the number of intermediaries, and the channel responsibilities of each
assess the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of them. Channel
choice should be consistent with the positioning adopted by the firm, as discussed in
Lesson 6.
The responsibility of marketers with respect to distribution systems also involves building,
maintaining, and managing fruitful relationships with channel partners. With the growing
importance of ecommerce, marketers have to find effective logistics systems to minimize
the total cost of providing a desired level of customer services, while bringing those
services to the customer with the maximum amount of speed.
Be sure you are familiar with the key terms and concepts before proceeding to the next
lesson.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define supply chain and value delivery network. (textbook, pp. 398399)
2. explain why organizations use distribution channels, and describe the functions these
channels serve. (textbook, pp. 399402)
3. describe how channel members interact and organize to carry out the work of the
channel. (textbook, pp. 402410)
4. discuss channel design decisions, identify the major channel alternatives available to an
organization, and describe how they are evaluated. (textbook, pp. 410415)
5. discuss channel management decisions. (textbook, pp. 415417)
6. outline public policy issues related to distribution decisions. (textbook, p. 417)
7. explain the nature and significance of supply chain management, and describe the goals
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Pay special attention to Tables 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 on pages 437, 443, and 459,
respectively, of the textbook, as they summarize most of the content of this lesson.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. define retailing and retailer . (textbook, p. 436)
2. describe the major types of retailers and retail organizations. (textbook, pp. 437444)
3. outline the marketing decisions faced by retailers. (textbook, pp. 444451)
4. identify the major trends in retailing. (textbook, pp. 452457)
5. define wholesaling, and identify the major marketing functions wholesalers perform.
(textbook, pp. 457458)
6. describe the major types of wholesalers. (textbook, p. 458)
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Pay particular attention to Figure 14.1 on page 475 in the textbook; this figure
illustrates how companies should blend the mix of promotion tools.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. list and define the five tools of the promotion mix. (textbook, pp. 470471)
2. describe the changing communications environment, and explain the trend toward
integrated marketing communications. (textbook, pp. 471476)
3. list the elements of the communications process. (textbook, pp. 476478)
4. describe the steps involved in developing effective marketing communications.
(textbook, pp. 478485)
5. outline methods for setting the promotion budget, and list factors that affect the design
of the promotion mix. (textbook, pp. 485491)
6. discuss legal and ethical issues involved in the design of marketing communications
programs. (textbook, pp. 491492)
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Pay particular attention to Figure 15.1 on page 501 of the textbook; it illustrates and
summarizes the factors involved in making major advertising decisions.
Take time to study Table 15.2 on page 512 of the textbook; this table summarizes the
relative advantages and disadvantages of the major types of media.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. discuss the four major decisions involved in developing an advertising program.
(textbook, pp. 500515)
2. explain how companies organize for advertising and how they deal with advertising in
international markets. (textbook, pp. 515519)
3. explain how organizations use public relations to communicate. (textbook, pp. 519522)
4. explain the increasing growth of sales promotion and identify sales promotion
objectives. (textbook, pp. 549551)
5. describe the main sales promotion tools. (textbook, pp. 551556)
6. discuss the development of a sales promotion program. (textbook, p. 556)
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Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. discuss the nature of personal selling and the role of a sales force in creating value for
customers. (textbook, pp. 530534)
2. explain how firms design their sales force structure and strategy. (textbook, pp. 534
539)
3. explain how businesses recruit, choose, and train their salespeople.
(textbook, pp. 539541)
4. describe how companies compensate and supervise salespeople and how they evaluate
the effectiveness of their sales force. (textbook, pp. 541545)
5. discuss the personal selling process. (textbook, pp. 545549)
6. explain the use of direct marketing and identify its benefits. (textbook, pp. 564568)
7. describe different forms of direct marketing. (textbook, pp. 568577)
8. explain how companies design marketing strategies to respond to the Internet and new
technologies. (textbook, pp. 577578)
9. describe the four major online marketing domains. (textbook, pp. 578581)
10. discuss how firms can set up their online presence and the challenges of online
marketing. (textbook, pp. 581587)
11. discuss public policy and ethical issues in direct marketing. (textbook, pp. 588590)
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Pay attention to Table 19.1 on page 637 of the textbook; it summarizes the indicators
to consider for the assessment of the market potential in an international context.
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. list the six major decisions firms face when going international. (textbook, p. 628)
2. describe how the international trade systemas well as global economic, cultural, and
other environmentsaffects an organizations international marketing decisions.
(textbook, pp. 629635)
3. identify critical issues to consider before going international and selecting an
international market. (textbook, pp. 635637)
4. outline the three main approaches to entering international markets.
(textbook, pp. 637640)
5. describe how firms adapt their marketing programs for international markets. (textbook,
pp. 641649)
6. identify how companies organize for global marketing. (textbook, pp. 649650)