Marketing Principles and Customer Behaviour
Core concepts
Start with the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) and the exchange logic that underpins it: value is created when the offer meets a need better than alternatives. Segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) is the backbone of the syllabus - know the difference between demographic, psychographic, behavioural and geographic bases, and be able to say why behavioural segmentation often predicts response better than demographics. Consumer behaviour draws on the buying decision process (need recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase, post-purchase evaluation) and on influences: cultural, social (reference groups, family roles), personal and psychological (motivation, perception, learning, attitudes). Maslow's hierarchy and the concept of cognitive dissonance are frequently examined. On the business side, recognise the buying centre (initiator, influencer, decider, buyer, gatekeeper) and how organisational buying differs from consumer buying through formal processes, derived demand and fewer, larger transactions.
Traps
Questions often blur needs and wants, or present a segmentation base alongside a targeting strategy and ask which is which. Another common trap is confusing positioning (perceived place in the customer's mind) with differentiation (the actual basis of advantage). Watch for answers that describe a stage of the decision process when the question asks about an influence on it.
Worked example
A question describes a shopper who buys a premium coffee brand partly to signal belonging to a professional group. The strongest answer is social influence acting through reference groups, not personal income - income explains affordability, not the signalling motive. Rule of thumb: identify the reason for choice before selecting a behavioural category.