Self-Learning Module for Senior High School

Marketing
Introduction
How do you convince a customer to try your product or service? How do you build loyalty, so they
prefer your brand over others? How do you grow your brand’s reputation, so people can recognize it,
or remember it when they need something?

That is the role and purpose of marketing.

In this course, you will learn basic marketing principles, and the process and tools that marketers use to
create a marketing plan. You will also have exercises that will help you develop a simple marketing plan,
which you will present to your class.

To help you with this self-learning module, you will find:

TRY THIS!
Activities that will you help you apply what you have learned

REMEMBER THIS!
Important terms and definitions

LET’S REVIEW!
Check what you remember and understand

LEARN MORE!
Additional information or resources to deepen your knowledge

This module will explain key concepts, but the best way to understand them is to see how it applies to
products, services and businesses around you. After you read about these concepts, and discuss them
in class, use them to analyze the ads you see or the brands you buy. Marketing is all around you, and the
more you see it and practice, the easier it will be to understand.

table of contents
3 Lesson 1 Introduction to Marketing
7 Lesson 2 Strategic Planning and Marketing Plan
14 Lesson 3 External Environment: Factors that Affect our Business
18 Lesson 4 Marketing Research and Insights
21 Lesson 5 Consumer and Business Buying Behavior
24 Lesson 6 Marketing Strategy
30 Lesson 7 Marketing Mix
lesson 1:
INTRODUCTION TO
MARKETING
Think of the last pair of shoes that you bought. Why did you pick that pair, among all the other shoes in
the mall?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Your answer to that question may be, “It was comfortable. I

can wear it every day.” Or, “It looked nice, and the style is very
trendy right now.”
Marketing is the process
Value is what is important to a customer. It is the source of by which companies create
motivation for choosing a product or service. It answers the
question, “Why am I buying this? I am buying this because value for customers, and
_________.” build strong relationships to
According to Philip Kotler, marketing is the process by which capture value in return.
companies create value for customers. It tries to understand Philip Kotler
what is important to them, and gives it.

If the product or service consistently meets the customer’s needs, then the customer starts to prefer it
over brands. He may even recommend it to other people, or leave positive reviews. That’s why marketing
also aims to build strong relationships. Aside from getting people to buy the product, it also wants to
build customer loyalty and reputation.

Value means different things for different people. For some, it is getting a good bargain or low price. For
others, it fulfills a physical, psychological or social need. Let’s look at two people buying coffee:

Paolo likes to buy coffee from a café. Even if it is more expensive, he gets the free Internet connection
and a comfortable place to study. Sometimes he and his
friends will hang out there and talk.

Miguel likes to buy coffee at a convenience store. It is

Ano ang mahalaga sa customer?
cheaper, faster, and he can quickly Ano ang hinahanap nila sa
drink it on the way to school. ganitong produkto?
The two coffee products offer
different benefits that meet
different needs. Marketing asks,
“What is valuable to my customer,
and how do give it to them?”
To answer that question, it goes
through this marketing process.
We will discuss each step in detail.

3
THE MARKETING PROCESS
Create an
Research on Design a
integrated Build customer Capture value
customer needs marketing
marketing relationships from the customer
and wants strategy
program

STEP 1
RESEARCH ON CUSTOMER NEEDS AND WANTS
Marketers need to research on what a customer needs, so they know what kind of products and services
that they will look for.

Aside from knowing what customers need, the marketer also has to check the demand for it. Demand is
customer needs that are backed up by buying power. They want your product or service, and they have
the ability to buy it.

Physical Social Individual

What it meets Needs of the body Need for belonging, affir- Unique, specific needs
mation, acceptance of a culture, society or
personality

Example Commuters are hungry Students can’t meet up Muslims have special
by the time they leave with friends because of dietary guidelines
the office COVID-19 quarantine
restrictions

Products Takeout stalls near the Facebook Messenger, Halal products

bus and jeepney terminal Discord

Give your own example: Physical Need: Social Need: Individual Need:

Product: Product: Product:

STEP 2
DESIGN A MARKETING STRATEGY
As we said in our previous lesson, value is the motivation to buy a product, and people have different
definitions of value. It’s impossible to create a product that will make everyone happy.

A marketing strategy focuses on a specific group of people, so they can understand their needs and
meet these in a concrete and specific way. It has two components:

Market segmentation
Marketers will divide customers into smaller, more defined groups that share similar characteristics, including:

• Demographics (age, gender, income level). Ex: high school students, males aged 20 to 30
• Interests. Ex: pet owners, athletes
• Needs. Ex: people with sensitive skin, allergies or asthma who need hypo-allergenic products
• Location. Ex: Metro Manila residents

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Value Proposition
A value proposition is something that differentiates a brand from its competitors. It must meet the
following criteria:

• Easy to read and understand

• Gives a concrete, specific result
• Addresses a customer’s need

For example, a restaurant offers unli-rice, while another offers Buy 1, Take
1 burgers. These are good value propositions because they are short
and easy to promote, give a concrete benefit to customers. They also REMEMBER THIS
differentiate themselves from other restaurant chains.
Good value propositions
differentiate you from
Companies that don’t have clear value propositions are unable to grow competitors.
or sustain their business. This is true for “copycat” restaurants that try to
ride on a food trend, like the shawarma or bubble tea stalls. They may get Bad value propositions
do not have a clear, unique
occasional customers if they have a good location, but they do not have benefit or reason to buy.
loyalty. In the customers’ mind, they are all the same. When the food trend
loses popularity, these restaurants are likely to close down or enter a price
war, which will result in poor quality

STEP 3
CONSTRUCT AN INTEGRATED MARKETING PROGRAM
After designing a marketing strategy, the next step is to create an integrated marketing program. An
integrated marketing program is a set of communications activities that clearly and coherently convey
the company’s message to its market. It will include:

• The product, price, and the place where people can buy it. Will it be sold only at the physical store,
or can customers order online?
• The communications program to inform people about the product. This can include advertising,
features in newspapers, radio or TV, events, brochures and flyers, billboards. In the digital age,
there are also new marketing methods, such as social media posts, Tiktok and Youtube videos, and
Google ads.

STEP 4
BUILD CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS
Marketing aims to create a deeper relationship with customers. This may be done through different
ways, such as loyalty programs, replying quickly to questions sent on social media, or checking in on
customers through phone calls or emails.

Doing this ensures that customers are satisfied, which is key to building profitable relationships.

STEP 5
CAPTURE VALUE FROM THE CUSTOMER
The first 4 steps of the marketing process all lead to developing customer loyalty and retention. You
want customers to become so loyal to your brand that they will keep coming back. This is called
customer lifetime value – or being their suki forever.

Toothpaste is such a case. A person who builds a habit of using a toothpaste brand is more likely to use
it for the rest of their lives.

5
LET’S REVIEW
In this lesson, we talked about what marketing is, and the steps of the marketing process. Can you explain the following
concepts in your own words?

Marketing gives value to customers.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Market segmentation helps you serve the customer needs better.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

A good value proposition differentiates you from competitors.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Marketing does not just sell a product, but builds relationships with the customer.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

TRY THIS
Think of one product or service that you are very loyal to, e.g.: restaurant or food, clothing brand, shampoo brand.
Answer the following questions in the space provided. If you need more space, you may use another sheet of paper.

How did you discover the product? What promotions or activities did they do?

___________________________________________________________________________

What impression do you have of this product? What do you think is its value proposition?

___________________________________________________________________________

Why are you loyal to it? What experiences do you have with it, and how did it influence your perception of it?

___________________________________________________________________________

Go to the brand’s social media page or website. Look for examples of its advertising or promotions. Analyze the ad.
What market segment are they trying to target?
What words do they use to convey the product benefits?

6
 Look up the meaning of
these words to help with
your reading:

lesson 2: Strategy
Sustainability
Forecast

STRATEGIC PLANNING
AND MARKETING PLANNING
In our last lesson, we learned about how marketing aims to create value for customers, using the
following marketing process:

Create an
Research on Design a
integrated Build customer Capture value
customer needs marketing
marketing relationships from the customer
and wants strategy
program

However, the customer is just one part of the picture. A marketer also has to consider the company’s
goals, needs and resources. What happens when you do marketing without looking at the complete
business picture?

A marketing strategy needs to work together with the company’s strategic plan. The strategic plan is the
company’s guide for business sustainability and growth.
Juana spent a lot of money to promote her home baking business. She
got a lot of orders, but because she only had a small oven and no helpers,
she could only make a few batches a day. When she rushed orders, the
quality of her products went down. What do you think is the impact on her When a business
business? is sustainable,
_____________________________________________________ it can operate
_____________________________________________________ without using up
____________________________________________________ its resources. Hindi
siya malulugi.
It is like a roadmap that defines and documents where you are going and how
you are going to get there.

It looks at:

• Opportunities in the market (such as possible customers)

• Strategies (such as offerings or activities that are different from your competitors)

The strategic plan affects the roles and tasks of the four major business functions:
marketing, operations, human resources, and finance.

For Juana to grow her home baking business, she has to start with the strategic plan.
She may think about the following things:
• Opportunities and strategies. “Everyone is selling pandesal, ensaymada, or
brownies. What unique products can I sell?”
• Operations: Do I need a bigger oven so I can bake more pandesal in less time?
• Human resources: Do I hire someone to help me?
• Finance: What is my budget for buying new equipment? How many pandesal do I
need to sell a day to cover the cost of hiring a helper?
• Marketing: How will I promote my business, so I can sell enough pandesal a day to
earn a profit?
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THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
All businesses need a WHO, WHY, WHAT and HOW. “Who” is the company’s type of business. “Why” is
the purpose and mission. “What” is the products and services they offer, or the business portfolio. “How”
is the objectives and goals, and the strategies they use to achieve them.

The strategic planning process can help the business answer these questions.

Define the Create a

Set objectives Plan a business Create a
purpose and marketing
and goals portfolio marketing plan
mission strategy

STEP 1
DEFINE THE PURPOSE AND MISSION
The strategic plan begins by defining the company’s purpose and mission for getting into business. There
are two kinds of mission statements:

Type of Mission Example

Product-oriented: “Facebook’s mission is to create an online social network.”

Puts priority on the product

Market-oriented: “Facebook’s mission is to connect people globally and help them share important memories.”

Puts priority on the

customer’s needs

A good mission statement is market-oriented.

It explains what it does for its customers, and the value they provide to them.

TRY THIS
Look for three examples of different 1 . ____________________________________________________
companies’ mission statements. They
are usually found in their website, in ____________________________ _______
sections like “About Us” / “Our Mission”
/ “Our Values”. Write them down here.
Beside each, write P if it is product- 2. ____________________________________________________
oriented, and M if it is market-oriented.
____________________________ _______
Think of a mission statement for
Juana’s home baking business.
3. __________________________________________________

________________________________ ____________________________ _______

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STEP 2
SET OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
There are several marketing-oriented objectives. Some examples are profitability, increase in market
share or number of users, or having top-of-mind recall (this means that your brand is the first thing that
people think of in that category).

Goals are milestones that lead to bigger objectives. Goals should be SMART: specific, measurable,
attainable, relevant and time bound.

Here is an example of a SMART marketing goal: “Earn PhP 1 million in sales in one year, by earning Php
250,000 per quarter.”

• Specific: The objective can be clearly communicated and quantified as a sales target
• Measurable: The milestones of s PhP 250,000 in sales per quarter allow the company to track the
progress
• Attainable: The amount was forecast by looking at the capabilities of the sales and marketing team
• Relevant: It is aligned to the overall company strategy
• Timebound: There is a specific time frame and deadline

Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-Based

Answer the 5W’s: What metrics are The goal is meant to A goal needs to align Anyone can set goals,
you going to use to inspire motivation. with your company but if it lacks realistic
• Who’s involved? determing if you meet Think about how to objective. timing, chances are
• What do I want to the goal? accomplish the goal and you’re not going to
accomplish? if you have the tools/ • Does this seem succeed.
• When do I want to If it’s a project that’s skills needed. worthwile?
achieve this? going to take a few • Is this the right Ask specific questions
• Where does my months to complete, If you don’t currently time? about the goal
goal take place? then plan and set possess them consider • Does this goal deadline and what
• Why is the goal some milestones by what it would take to align with my other can be reached and
important? considering specific attain them. goals? accomplished within
tasks to accomplish. • Am I the right that time period.
person to be
working on this
project/task?

TRY THIS
Turn this GOAL (“I want to get higher grades this year”) into a SMART GOAL:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why is it specific?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

How will I measure it?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

How is it attainable?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why is it relevant?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

What milestones make it time-bound?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

9
STEP 3
PLAN A BUSINESS PORTFOLIO
Simply put, a portfolio is the products or brands that a company decides to sell based on its mission and
objectives.

Some companies, from the small sari-sari store to multi-national companies like Nestlé, have several
brands in its portfolio.

Planning a portfolio involves two steps: analyze current portfolio to know which should receive
investment, and choose which ones to continue or take out.

During analysis, the marketer needs to look at:

• Which products are making money

• How much money they make
• How big is their market share against the competitor
• How much it will cost to keep each brand or product alive

Let’s go back to our earlier example of Juana, who runs a home baking business.

Juana has to decide what kind of baked goods to sell. She will look at past sales: which products
sold out quickly? Which ones help her earn more money per sale? She may realize that the
pandesal sells well, but many bakeries offer the same product.

She can make put fillings in the pandesal – like corned beef and tuna—to make them unique, but
she will need a bigger refrigerator to store the ingredients. Or she can make other pastries like
cinnamon rolls, but she has to research if her customers are willing to pay more for a premium
product. Can you think of other things that Juana can do?

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

This is the typical thought process that companies will go through as they develop their portfolio.

STEP 4
CREATE A MARKETING STRATEGY
The marketing strategy provides the logic on how to provide value for the customers and achieve
profitable relationships.

As you can recall from the previous lesson, a marketing strategy identifies the customer they want to
serve through segmentation and how to provide value by creating a position and differentiation.

With the guidance of the overall strategic plan, the marketing strategy also identifies the product, price,
place and promo. We will discuss marketing strategy further in Lesson 7.

STEP 5
CREATE A MARKETING PLAN
The marketing plan is developed after the strategic plan, and complements it. For example, an airline’s
strategic plan is to be the “cost leader” or the airline that offers the cheapest tickets.

The marketing plan will do a study of the current market situation, look at internal and external forces to
see if this strategy is achievable, and look for ways to achieve the strategic plan.
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A marketing plan will include these sections. We will use the airline example to show the information that
each section will have.

• Executive summary. Gives a “bird’s eye view” of the report, and what the reader can expect to find.

• Market situation. Describes the company’s position in the market versus the competitors, and
analyzes how it is doing against industry practices

Airline A wants to compete with Airline B, which has been the market leader for years. The weakness
of Airline B is that its tickets are expensive. There is a potential new market, the middle class, which
now reaches 10% of the population.

• Target market. Gives information on the different market segments

Example: The target market is young middle-class families or working couples. They aspire to go to
Hong Kong or Disneyland. Their combined household income is PhP150,000 and they are willing to
spend their 13th month bonus for travel.

• Strengths, Weakness, Threats & Opportunities Analysis. Assesses major and emerging threats and
opportunities from the environment that may affect the business, and the internal capabilities of
companies for strengths and weaknesses

Example:
• Opportunities: People now are earning more and willing to spend on travel.
• Threats: Other airlines are positioning their brand in the Philippines
• Strengths: the airline owns their own airport
• Weaknesses: perceived “newness’ of the brand

• Objectives. These are the objectives from the overall strategic plan

Example:
• Financial objective: to reach PhP 10 million in sales per month in ticket sales
• Customer objective: to reach 80% of the middle class in 5 years

• Marketing Strategy. Explains how the company will make customers, build relationships, and
differentiate from competitors, and outlines the marketing mix: product, place, price, and promo

Example:
• Strategy: to be the cost leader in travel
• Product: airline seats
• Place: Online website purchase only
• Price: 1 peso, fuel and tax
• Promo: TV, Radio and Print

• Action programs. Activities that will achieve objectives

Example: To control costs, park the planes in budget airport, and make in-flight meals optional

• Budget. Details on the amount of money needed for a successful campaign

• Controls. Gives the standards and measurements needed to monitor progress, and helps
management to know which areas are successful, and which needs to be improved.

Example: number of people reached by social media

11
TRY THIS
Form groups of 4 to 5 people. Pick one of the sections in the strategic plan. With your group, brainstorm on what kind of
questions Juana needs to ask to write that section (you do not need to know the answers).

For example: Market Situation

How many other bakeries are in the neighborhood?

Strategic Plan Section: ___________________________________________

Questions to ask:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

12
 LET’S REVIEW
The strategic plan is the overall plan for the company. It determines the direction of the company. Its production can be a
collaborative effort among all stakeholders.

The marketing strategy focuses on answering how the company provide value from the customers and create profit. This is the
responsibility of the marketing manager.

The marketing plan is a plan of action that considers the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; actual market situation
and competitors, and other factors that may affect the business.

13
 Look up the meaning of
these words to help with
your reading:

lesson 3: Strategy
Sustainability
Forecast

External
Environment: FaCtors
that Affect our Business
The following products used to be part of everyday life, and the companies that made them were
household names. Why do you think people stopped using them?

Answers: 1. Sony Walkman 2. Kodak film 3. Betamax video player

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

There are external factors in the environment that are beyond a company’s control, such as the
introduction of new technology. Today, you use their phone to listen to music, take pictures, and watch a
movie. So, products like cassette tapes, film and video tapes are obsolete.

Companies can’t control external factors, but they can (and should!) plan how they will respond to these
changes.

Kodak, a well-known film brand in the 1970’s, was the first to invent the digital camera, but they did
focus on this new technology because they thought it was hard to market. Their competitors (such as
Fuji) took advantage of the technology. By the 1990s, when Kodak wanted to enter the digital camera
industry, they had already been overtaken by other brands. By 2012, Kodak declared bankruptcy.

There is an anonymous saying: “There are 3 kinds of companies: those who make things happen, those
who watch things happen, and those who wonder what has happened.” In this lesson, we will look at how
companies can analyze and respond to factors in the external environment.

There are two kinds of external forces: the micro-environment and the macro-environment.

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MICRO ENVIRONMENT
The micro-environment forces affect the specific business or company.

1. Company
This is the employees and teams. Human factors are unpredictable and may lead to results that are
different from what is expected.

Example: Factory workers can go on strike.

2. Suppliers
These are organizations that provide services or raw materials to the business

Example: A supplier may increase prices, which will affect the company’s profit.

3. Competitors
Competitors try to attract your customers with new products or innovative marketing campaigns.

Example: A competitor can do a Buy 1 Take 1 promo, which will convince some of your customers to
shift.

4. Customers
They have changing wants and needs, and the company needs to change as they change.

Example: A company may improve a product formula based on customer surveys.

TRY THIS
Larry has a garment factory with 100 workers. His customers buy his products wholesale,
and then sell them in their own stores. What are some factors in the micro-environment
that can affect his business?

1.__________________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________________

15
MACRO ENVIRONMENT
The macro-environment forces affect not just the business but entire industries. For example, when
digital cameras became popular, it affected not just Kodak but all camera and film manufacturers, and
even small neighborhood businesses that sold and developed film.

1. Demographics or characteristics of a population

Example: changing family sizes, education levels, diversity

2. Economics that are driven by global supply and demand, and government policies

Example: dollar exchange rate

3. Natural calamities

Example: pandemic or typhoons, which can affect the availability of natural resources

4. Technological forces that change the way people do things

Example: Internet enables online shopping and banking

5. Political factors the dictate the direction of an industry or country

Example: taxes, government policies

6. Cultural forces that shape the way people think

Example: Spread of Korean culture through its shows creates interest in its products

TRY THIS
Joanna has an online store where she sells beauty products. She orders her products from
China and Korea, then has them shipped to the Philippines. What are some forces in the
macro-environment that can affect her business?

1.__________________________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________________________

16
LEARN MORE!
This activity combines what you learned in Lesson 1, 2 and 3. You can go back to the past lessons to review.

Do internet research on what companies did to survive in the pandemic. Use those case studies to answer the following questions.

Name of the company/companies mentioned in the case study:

________________________________________________________________________________

Products or services they provide

________________________________________________________________________________

1. What were the new customer needs that emerged during the pandemic?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

2. What did the company do to provide value?

a. What was their value proposition?

________________________________________________________________________________

b. Why was it relevant to the customer?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

3. What were the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

17
 Look up the meaning of
these words to help with
your reading:

lesson 4: Database
Statistics
Research sample

Marketing
Research and Insights
If you are sick and get a check-up, your doctor will ask questions and order tests in order to diagnose the
problem, and then prescribe the right medicine.

What do you think will happen if you take medicine without seeing a doctor? You won’t get well, or even
worse, the medicine may cause side-effects that make you feel worse.

In the same way, marketers conduct research to inform the marketing strategy and all its activities. There
are three ways to get this information:

• Internal data. A collection of information done by the company.

Example: When you sign up for products or services, you may be asked to fill up a form. This is stored
in a database.

• Marketing intelligence. Continuous monitoring ang gathering of data about their customers and
competitors.

Example: Marketing managers will read up on customer trends or industry forecasts. For example,
broadcasting stations will monitor the ratings and look at website searches to know which actors or
shows people are talking about.

• Market research. A deliberate gathering of information for a specific purpose determined by the
company. This is the focus of this lesson.

Example: Before launching a new product or changing a formula, businesses will do surveys to find
out what customers want.

MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

Implement the
Define the
Develop a research and
problem and
research plan interpet the
search objective
results

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STEP 1
DEFINE THE PROBLEM AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Business owners and marketers have to ask: “What is the problem, what information do we need to solve
it, and how will we gather it?”

Here are examples of business problems, and related research objectives.

• Business problem: Consumers prefer Brand X (competition) over Brand Y (our brand).
• Research objective: Interview users of Brand X, or compare users of Brand X and users of Brand
• Business problem: Bus company receives increasing customer complaints
• Research objective: Describe customer experience from buying ticket to arrival to determine reasons
for dissatisfaction

Another important factor in doing research is the number of survey respondents or sample size.
The sample size is the number of subjects in the study that represent the population to be studied.
Researchers use formulas to determine if the data that represents the majority.

STEP 2
DEVELOP A RESEARCH PLAN
At this point, researchers need to determine what information is needed and how it will be gathered.
Information may come from:

Primary data. The data collected for that specific purpose. It may be collected through observation,
surveys, or interviews.

Researchers will need to determine how many people they need to collect data from, and how the
participants are selected. They use formulas and other statistical methods so this sample can represent
the majority.

Secondary data. The data already exists and was collected for another purpose. It can be collected
from research agencies or the company’s database. When students use Google to find information for a
homework, that is collection of secondary data.

STEP 3
IMPLEMENT THE RESEARCH METHOD AND INTERPRET THE RESULTS
After the research plan is implemented, the marketers will look at the results to get:

• Information. This is the data you have gathered. It usually answers the questions who, what, when
where and how.
• Insight. This is the analysis of the data to understanding the reasons for a problem or behavior.
• Actionable strategy. This is the solution which can resolve the problem or change the behavior.

For example, a restaurant conducted research to find out why they don’t get many orders through
the delivery hotline. The information they gather is that most of the customers don’t know the hotline
number. The insight is they need to build awareness of the number, and the actionable strategy is to
create an ad campaign.

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TRY THIS!
1. Form groups of 6. Three people act as the Customer Team and role-play the frustrated customer who does not want to
buy a particular product our service. Three people act as the Marketing Team who is doing the research.

2. Choose one of the following scenarios:

a. Brand X used to sell 2 million bars of soap a year. In the last 5 years, there has been a steady decline in sales,
especially among teenagers and young adults. Why are teenagers not buying their soap?
b. A restaurant was doing very well, and opened a second location in another city. Despite advertising campaigns, the
second branch does not get a lot of customers.

3. (10 Minutes) Customer Team and the Marketing Team will break into separate groups. The Customer Team will agree on
a reason why they aren’t buying. The Marketing Team will think of questions that will help you understand them.

4. (15 Minutes) The Marketing Team interviews the Customer Team, who will not reveal information unless it is specifically
asked for.

Discuss together:

What information did you get? Was it accurate?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

If it was not accurate, discuss with the Customer Team about what information was missed. What questions would have
helped you get it?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Together, discuss a possible actionable strategy to get more customers to buy.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Compare how much easier it is to solve a problem when customers are part of the
conversation. That is the role of marketing research. Understanding “what a customer thinks
and needs” can help you create a stronger business. Not understanding them can lead to
inaccurate plans and results.

20
 Look up the meaning of these
words to help with your
reading:

lesson 5: Social norms

Life stage
Perception/Self-perception

Consumer and
Business Buying Behavior
Every day, people make purchase decisions, from something as simple as “What do I eat for lunch?” to
“Should I use my bonus to travel or buy a new laptop?”

Marketers are interested in the customers’ decision-making process. What questions do they ask,
and what do they do in response to those questions? It helps them create an effective strategy and
promotional activities.

However, a customer’s personal characteristics can influence how they respond to marketing.
Sometimes, they are not even aware of them. Let’s take a closer look.

CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Culture affects and influences all facets of life: language and symbols, religious beliefs and celebrations,
values, social norms and etiquette, food and more.

For example, Filipinos celebrate Christmas in a very unique way. Radios start playing holiday songs as
early as October. We also have a lot of family reunions, and traditional party or Noche Buena dishes.

Those will affect purchase behavior. For example, as Noche Buena nears, there is an increased demand
for certain ingredients such as all-purpose cream for buko salad, spaghetti sauce and pasta, and ham.

SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS
These include family, friends and social groups, and roles and status.

Many of our purchase decisions are actually influenced by the people around us. Your mother will
consider your family’s favorite dishes while buying ingredients for meals. You may watch a movie because
you hear your friends talk about it.

TRY THIS
On a scale of 1 to 10, how will the following people improve your interest in a product and
willingness to try it?
• My best friend tried it, and it worked for him/her
• A lot of people in my school use it
• It has over 300 good reviews on its online store
• The people I follow on social media have been talking about it
• My favorite celebrity endorsed it

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PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
These include the age and life stage (childhood, adolescence, adulthood), economic situation, lifestyle
and personality.
Clothes are a good example of how personal characteristics affect purchases.

• Age and life stage. College students will buy comfortable clothes for school, while adults will buy
clothes that follow their office dress code
• Economic situation. Personal income and budget will affect “price sensitivity” or what they consider
expensive, and how they respond to sales and promos
• Lifestyle and personality. Some people will want classic pieces they can wear for years, while others
will follow trends

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
These include motivation, perception, and beliefs. For example, consumers may perceive one brand as
trustworthy because of articles or reviews they have read. Or, they may be motivated to try a product
because it is endorsed by their favorite celebrity.
Another example is how one sees oneself. A person who sees himself as successful is attracted towards
more expensive experiences or “VIP” offers.

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 TRY THIS!
The purpose of the mind-mapping exercise is to help you see your purchase process at work. There are no right or wrong
answers. It is meant to help you understand the factors that motivate you to consider a product, do deeper research on it,
prefer it over other brands.

Imagine you are going to buy a new cellphone. What are some questions you will ask? What factors will influence your
decision?

Social
Which phone Personal
should I buy?

Psychological

What did you learn about yourself and your preferences and motivations as a customer? What is important to you?

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REMEMBER THIS
In the future, try to take
note of how you respond to
ads, store displays, reviews,
and other marketing efforts.
You’ll find out more about
yourself and how marketing
campaigns align

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