Marketing, Promotion and Entrepreneurship
The marketing mix
Understand the marketing mix for services: product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence (the 7Ps). Know the market segmentation bases: geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural: and the idea of a target market and a unique selling point (USP). Learn the product life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity, decline.
Promotion and distribution
Be able to compare promotional tools: advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, digital and social media, and familiarisation trips. Understand branding, positioning, and the role of reviews and word of mouth. Know distribution through direct channels and intermediaries, and the importance of a clear, accurate website.
Entrepreneurship
Candidates should explain the traits and skills of an entrepreneur: initiative, risk-taking, creativity, resilience, financial literacy and customer focus. Know the parts of a simple business plan: concept, market analysis, competition, marketing plan, operations plan, management, and financial projections. Understand start-up costs, break-even and sources of finance.
Traps in questions
- Treating price as the only competitive tool; service and differentiation matter.
- Confusing a USP with a slogan.
- Forgetting break-even means total revenue equals total costs, not profit.
Rule of thumb
Use STP: Segment, Target, Position. Worked example: a small guest house cannot target everyone, so it segments the market, targets business travellers needing reliable Wi-Fi and quiet rooms, and positions itself as the town's quietest business stay.
Evaluate a marketing choice
A fictional campaign produces forty bookings from eight hundred eligible website visits, giving a booking conversion rate of5%. Revenue, commission, cancellations and the cost of delivering the stays are still needed to assess profit. Reach counts the relevant people exposed; repeated views are not necessarily additional people. Check that a property's facilities and service processes support its positioning. If a small hotel has no children's club, promoting an invented club creates an expectation gap rather than a durable competitive advantage. Test a channel with a defined audience and review outcomes before spending the whole budget.