- Budgets are plans that outline how money will be spent.
- They normally cover a 12-month period.
- Each department of a firm will have its own budget.
- The departmental manager is responsible for ensuring
that the money spent is within the budget.
- Peter Drucker the management expert refers to budgeting as “management by self-control”. Managers should have clear targets, clear budgets, and the power to decide how to achieve them.
-
Fixed costs are those that are always there, regardless of how much or how little you sell, for example:
- rent
- salaries
- and business rates
- Can provide very quick results both by using calculation and computer.
- Can help investors decide if they are going to invest in a small business.
- Businesses can forecast what will happen if sales go down or costs go up.
Easy to apply with little training needed
- Can oversimplify pricing as most business give discount to some customers.
- Only useful for short period of time as costs and prices change quickly.
- Only as useful as data put in.
-
Does not take into account economies of scale.
- Difficult to use if business sells many products
- Needs to have relevant market research and economic predictions to be useful
Unit 3 – Introduction to Marketing
P1 – Describe the concept and principals of marketing
Activity 1
Using the internet and your textbook conduct a search on Marketing and answer the following questions.
Marketing is an ongoing process of planning and executing the marketing mix for products, services or ideas to create exchange between individuals and organizations
- What is the Marketing Mix?
Marketing mix is a selection of products by a company from which a customer can choose.
- Define what is meant by a market?
Market is a mechanism that allows people to buy and sell products
- Give five examples of different types of markets?
Consumer Markets
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Consumer Durables
Soft Goods
Industrial Markets
- What is the difference between each type of market?
Different products and goods are sold in different markets.
- Who or what is a consumer?
A customer is a person who pays for goods or services they buy.
-
What is the role of a consumer in a market?
a consumer is a person who uses a goods or services
A selection of products by a company from which a customer can choose. The advantage is that more customers will likely consider one of the options as opposed to purchasing from a competitor.
UNIT 3 – INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESEARCH
What a Focus Group is?
A focus group is a type of research in which a group of people are asked about their opinions on a product. This is normally like an interview so all members that are taking part can communicate effectively with others.
What a Panel is?
A panel is a reliable source of primary marketing research. It is a survey that is collected by people over time.
Who are a Customer/ Consumer?
A customer is a person who pays for goods and services and a consumer is a person who uses goods or services.
What is a Competitor?
A Competitor is a rival of a product or a business and is the contestant a business wishes to defeat.
Apple aloof?
As for Apple, analyst Kevorkian said that the company has been charging ahead, adding the low-end Shuffle, the ultra-thin Nano and its video-capable iPod models all in the past year.
Apple would not comment on the move by Microsoft and the consumer electronics group. However, Kevorkian said she doubted the iPod maker would be eager to join such an effort, given the success it has had with its own dock connector.
"It's unlikely that Apple would choose to adopt a standard if it is different than the one they are using," she said.
Kevorkian said that accessory makers first turned to the iPod market in an attempt to ride Apple's coattails, but in the end, they have helped Apple. Buyers who spent several hundred dollars on an iPod can now take that same music and use it in the home and the car through add-ons.
The car, Kevorkian said, is an area where the standards-based approach could find its most receptive audience, among automakers and consumers who want to protect against shifting fads.
"For a consumer buying a new car, considering the lifespan of a car, it's a risk for a consumer to buy a car that has a connector for a specific type of device," she said.
Although Apple has done well and held its own, a lot can change in the 10 years that someone might own a vehicle. "Consumers run the risk of having a dock in their car for a device that's obsolete," Kevorkian said. "Any kind of universal industry solution would be more palatable to consumers. It helps them future-proof their car purchase."
