The nature of marketing: objectives, demand and markets

Learning objectives

Explain the role of marketing, how marketing objectives support corporate objectives and how marketing links with operations, finance and HR.

Analyse the factors that affect the demand for and supply of a firm's products and how their interaction sets the market price.

Distinguish consumer from industrial markets and local, national and international markets, and compare product orientation with customer (market) orientation.

Calculate market share and market growth and analyse what changes in each mean for a business.

Explain how products are classified and how marketing to consumers (B2C) differs from marketing to other businesses (B2B).