Marketing Strategies British English Teacher

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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS VOCABULARY · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
MARKETING
STRATEGIES
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1 Warm up
In pairs, match the images below to the correct definitions.
a) cold calling b) word of mouth

c) billboard advertising d) pay-per-click advertising
e) email marketing f) viral marketing
g) search engine optimisation (SEO) h) social media marketing
1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
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INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
MARKETING STRATEGIES
2 Pre-listening task: vocabulary focus

Part A: Match words with the correct definitions.
1. Pay-per-click advertising is a low-cost method of targeting potential customers. (v)
2. Email marketing allows us to build customer loyalty. (collocation)
3. Our company blog helps us connect with people in our niche. (n)
4. The biggest advantage of billboard ads is their visibility. (n)
5. SEO is a great way of driving traffic to our website and generating leads. (collocation)
6. Cold calling is a waste of time. We no longer use it to contact prospects. (n)
7. Social media marketing helps us gain more exposure through word of mouth. (collocation)
8. Viral marketing gives us the best ROI. Considering the low cost of producing a short video clip, it’s
really worth it. (n)
a. attract potential customers to your business
b. create an emotional relationship between you and your customer
c. get public attention for your business through marketing, advertising, etc.
d. a potential customer for a company
e. the fact of attracting attention or being easy to see
f. try to have an effect on a particular group of people or a particular thing
g. a small section of the market for a particular kind of product or service
h. the amount of profit directly related to an expense or group of expenses
Part B: Complete the text below with the words and phrases from the above exercise. You may need
to change the tense of the word or phrase.
1
At work, my responsibility is to contact . As an organised person, I have created
2
my own computer program in order to . All I need to do is enter some
instructions, such as the age range and area, and the software does the rest. My boss was a bit
3
annoyed when he first found out that I was using a computer to potential
4
customers, but we started seeing good results, and I think he’s happy with the ,
considering that it’s cheaper to use my program than to hire more employees.
A friend of mine, who also works in marketing, has had less success with a similar method. He
5
tried to make his own phone application to for his business. After
6
spending quite a lot of money on the app, he discovered that his company’s
hadn’t increased at all. Apparently, there was a similar piece of software that was much more
7
effective. In the end, he decided to try something new. As his business was a
8
idea (a virtual friend for lonely dogs), he decided to focus on
rather than trying to attract huge numbers of clients.
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Discuss these questions in pairs.
1. How can a new business gain more exposure and increase its visibility?
2. Is it more important for a small business to target new prospects or focus on building customer
loyalty?
3. Do you think that some new businesses don’t consider ROI when planning a marketing strategy?
What other mistakes might a new business owner make?
4. Is it easier or more difficult for niche businesses to generate leads?
3 Listening for specific information

Listen to the report. Complete the gaps with the items mentioned in the recording next to the things
they relate to.
1. the number of years of experience Sarah Lewis has in marketing
2. the thing that most people want for their business
3. the best way to attract someone’s attention in the past
4. the number of spam emails that Adam has received this morning
5. Sarah’s first business

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4 Listening for comprehension
Listen to the report again. Answer the questions true, false or not given.
1. According to the host of the podcast, Sarah Lewis is a successful business owner.
2. Sarah’s first piece of advice is for business owners to do their research before spending money on
advertising.
3. According to Sarah, a new business has a choice between searching for customers, or attracting
customers.
4. Sarah gives two examples of items that can help to attract customers.
5. Sarah thinks that sending out emails is the best way to find new customers.
6. According to Sarah, most businesses are looking for the best way to gain more exposure.
7. Sarah’s second business was more successful than her first one.
8. Sarah’s second business offered products, rather than services.
5 Reading: general vocabulary
Part A: Match words with the correct definitions.
Group 1
1. display (v) a. put something in a place where people can see it easily
2. campaign (n) b. something that encourages you to do something
3. incentive (n) c. a series of planned activities that are intended to achieve a

particular social, commercial or political aim
4. crucial (adj.) d. extremely important, because it will affect other things
5. counterproductive (adj.) e. having the opposite effect to the one that was intended

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Group 2
1. investigate (v) a. without being aware
2. feature (n) b. a judgement that you make without having the exact details or
figures about the size, amount, cost, etc. of something
3. estimate (n) c. find out information and facts about a subject or problem by
study or research
4. expose (v) d. let somebody find out about something by giving them
experience of it or showing them what it is like
5. unconsciously (adv.) e. a special article or programme about somebody/something in
the media
Part B: Look at the sentences below. In pairs, discuss what you think the underlined phrases in each
sentence could mean. Can you think of a time in which you made a decision because of a fear of
missing out? In which ways could a new company draw customers in?
• I bought the jacket when it was on sale because of a fear of missing out.
• In order to draw customers in, we paid a man to stand outside the shop in a bee costume.
6 Pre-reading task: reading for general understanding
You are going to read a text about four different types of marketing. Scan the text quickly and match
the headings to the correct paragraphs. One heading cannot be matched to any of the paragraphs in
the text and should be marked ‘Not given’.

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Marketing your business

If you want to promote your business and find new customers, there are a variety of methods you
can use. We look at four examples below.
1.
Perhaps the most obvious way to attract interest in your products or services is through advertising. Think of
an advert as a message from you to your potential customers. Adverts are designed to make people feel certain
emotions, and as such, emotive language is often employed. For example, an advert encouraging customers to
"buy our product before it’s too late" is creating a fear of missing out. Adverts can appear in many different types
of media, such as television, radio, newspapers or leaflets and flyers. Pop-up adverts are an example of internet
advertising. Selecting the correct media for your adverts is crucial: a feature in a local newspaper would be much
more beneficial to a small restaurant than broad internet marketing campaign.
2.
We’ve all seen special offers displayed in shop windows, or posted through our letterboxes. An example of a
sales promotion, a special offer creates an incentive for customers to make a purchase. Other forms include
competitions, free gifts, discount vouchers and loyalty cards. The idea is to draw the customer in with a lower-
than-usual price, with the hope that a sale will follow. Regular offers can generate brand loyalty. Promotions work
as a way of training your clients to want to return to you and make repeat purchases, but can, of course, involve
an up-front cost that might be too high for new businesses. There is also a danger of attracting discount-hunting
customers, who are unlikely to be loyal to your company in particular.
3.
For new business owners, the concept of direct marketing, in which a company approaches potential clients
directly in order to attempt to make a sale, may be particularly attractive. Approaches include sending bulk emails,
contacting individuals by phone or text message, or door-to-door efforts. While such methods may result in a
sale eventually, direct marketing is often counterproductive and can be expensive and time-consuming. Some
estimates put the total number of spam emails sent and received daily at almost 320 billion. We are so used to
receiving promotional emails that we often unconsciously block them out, and if they do make an impact, it is
usually a negative one.
4.
As an alternative to other methods of advertising, content marketing is, perhaps, the least direct. The focus here
is on creating material that attracts customers to a particular website. The prospect will then read or engage with
the content, which could be in video, audio, image or text form, before deciding to investigate your product or
service further, based on the information they have been exposed to. An example would be a website offering
reviews of products, with links to each item that the customer can follow. The writer of the review is usually paid
by the company responsible for the products, either directly or indirectly. While content marketing can feel more
natural, it can also appear less honest than more obvious approaches.
Sources: businessnewsdaily.com, entrepreneur.com, investopedia.com

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7 Reading comprehension
Read the article again. Complete the sentences with between one to three words from the article.
1. Advertising may well be the way to attract interest in your business.
2. As a business, it is crucial to choose the media for your adverts.
3. Special offers can encourage customers to .
4. The cost of offering may be a little too high for new businesses.
5. Approaching a potential client can be an alternative to other forms of advertising.
6. Customers often ignore emails, and any impact they may leave is usually a negative
one.
7. Content marketing focuses on the creation of material that prospects will with,
such as video, image, audio or text-based content.
8. Content marketing may seem less than other marketing methods.
8 Reading: marketing vocabulary
Part A: Using the text on page six for reference, complete the definitions of the marketing phrases
below by filling in the gaps with the correct phrases from the list.
customers deals effect items

money paper screen shop
1. discount voucher: a piece of that gives a customer the right to purchase a product
or service for a lower-than-usual price
2. pop-up advert: a type of advert that appears on a user’s computer even though
it has not been requested
3. loyalty card: a card given to customers by a to encourage them to shop there

regularly
4. brand loyalty: the fact of buying or services from the same brand
5. up-front cost: the that needs to be spent at the beginning of a new commercial
project, etc.
6. discount-hunting: trying to find cheap or special offers in many different shops
7. direct marketing: the business of selling products or services directly to by mail,

phone or the Internet
8. make an impact: the powerful that something has on somebody/something

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Part B: Complete the sentences with the correct word or phrase from Part A.
1. My shop is offering to encourage customers to try our products.
2. We’re hoping that our new advert will on customers.
3. My job involves . I have to make hundreds of phone calls a day!
4. I find really annoying. I use a special program to block them on

my computer.
5. If you want to create in your customers, you need to build a brand

that they will remember.
6. My parents used to go every week. My mother would never buy

an item if it wasn’t on sale.
7. If the of your advertising campaign is too much, you should consider

a different approach.
8. The local supermarket gave me a the other day. It actually made

me want to shop with them again so that I can get discounts in the future.
9 Talking Point
In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions.
1. What are some advantages and disadvantages of advertising?

2. Are sales promotions effective for all types of businesses? Why/why not?
3. How can new businesses benefit from direct marketing?
4. Why do you think that content marketing has become more popular in recent years?
5. How will marketing change in the future?
6. Can you think of any marketing strategies that haven’t been mentioned in the lesson?
7. Is word-of-mouth marketing still possible in the twenty-first century? Can you think of any types
of businesses for which this type of advertising would be suitable?

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10 Roleplay activity
Work in three groups. Each group will be given one business roleplay from the options below.
Groups should roleplay a marketing ideas session, taking on the role of the marketing team for a
company. Using information from the lesson, each group should identify the best way to market
their given product or service.
1) A tech business that has created a new

type of phone that can read thoughts. The
phone will be aimed at high-end markets
at first.
2) A food delivery service that works on a

subscription base. The service is currently
limited to one small city.
3) A business that takes photos customers

have sent and turns them into luxury 3D
printed sculptures, which can be delivered
all over the world.

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TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)
Transcripts
3. Listening for specific information
Host: Welcome to Business Moment! Today, we’re going to discuss marketing strategies for
your company. I’m joined in the studio by Sarah Lewis, a successful business owner and
marketing expert.
Host: Sarah, with ten years of experience in the world of marketing, what is your best tip for a
new company looking to stand out?
Sarah: Well, first of all, thank you for having me here today, Adam. When we’re talking about
marketing, I think that you need to set goals. Of course, the thing most of us want is
visibility. We want people to pay attention to us, to notice us, to buy our products.
Host: Of course.
Sarah: So, starting out, you have a choice. Do you want your customers to find you, or do you
want to find your customers? Let’s take traditional adverts as an example. In the past, the
best way to attract someone’s attention was to rent a billboard. That way, when someone
is driving home from work, they’re going to see your business, and maybe they’ll be curious
about it.
Host: That makes sense!
Sarah: Then television came along and people started using commercials. Well, all of this is about
the customer coming to you, but what if you want to target your clients?
Host: You mean, to find your clients yourself, instead of waiting for them to come to you?
Sarah: Yes, exactly. So that’s a completely different approach, and you can do things like calling
people at home or at work, or sending emails to prospects, and of course this is very
common, but it tends to annoy people. Just think about how many spam emails you get
every week.
Host: Oh, thousands. I’ve received twenty this morning, and it’s not even eleven!
Sarah: You probably just delete them, right, or you ignore them. So this approach isn’t always very
effective, and I think the main issue is that many new business owners are so concerned
with generating leads that they don’t stop to consider which type of marketing would
really benefit their business.
Sarah: If you have a niche, maybe you’re renting boats out to rich people, then you might need
to approach clients, but most businesses are just looking for the best way to gain more
exposure, and at the same time, you have to consider your ROI, your return on investment.
Host: Advertising can be expensive!
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Sarah: It can, and I think that there are just so many things to consider before you invest in
any particular type of marketing. What works for one business won’t necessarily work
for another. My first start-up was a web design company, and we wanted to find new
customers every week, but my second company was subscription-based, we offered
streaming services, and we were more interested in building customer loyalty.
Host: So, if you could offer one last piece of advice?
Sarah: Do your research before you spend money on marketing!
Host: Sarah, thank you.
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Key
1. Warm up
5 mins.
Tell the students they will be listening to a podcast in which a marketing expert offers advice on different strategies,
and reading an article focusing on four common marketing methods. The matching activity is suitable for pairs or
small groups.
1. c) billboard advertising 2. a) cold calling

3. e) email marketing 4. d) pay-per-click advertising
5. g) search engine optimisation (SEO) 6. h) social media marketing
7. f) viral marketing 8. b) word of mouth
2. Pre-listening task: vocabulary focus
10 mins.
Ask students to match the words and phrases in bold with the correct definitions. For the second part, students
should read the short text and fill in the gaps with the target vocabulary. Ensure students know how to pronounce
target vocabulary. The discussion activity is suitable for pairs.
Part A:
1. → f. 2. → b. 3. → g. 4. → e.
5. → a. 6. → d. 7. → c. 8. → h.
Part B:
1. prospects 2. generate leads

3. target 4. ROI
5. gain more exposure 6. visibility
7. niche 8. building customer loyalty
3. Listening for specific information
5 mins. Individually or in pairs, ask students to listen to the report and complete the gaps with the items they hear
mentioned based on the definitions.
1. 10 2. visibility 3. a billboard 4. 20 5. a web design

company
4. Listening for comprehension
5 mins. Students should answer the questions with true, false or not given.
1. True.
2. False. This is her closing statement – her first piece of advice is to set goals.
3. True.
4. True. She mentions billboards and television commercials.
5. False. She says that this approach isn’t always very effective, as people tend to delete the emails.
6. True.
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7. Not given. She doesn’t comment on the success of either business.

8. False. Her business provided streaming services.
5. Reading: general vocabulary
5-10 mins.
Students should match the words in bold with the correct definitions. Ensure students know how to pronounce
the target vocabulary.
Part A:
Group 1
1. → a. 2. → c. 3. → b. 4. → d. 5. → e.
Group 2
1. → c. 2. → e. 3. → b. 4. → d. 5. → a.
Part B:
Students should work in pairs to identify the definitions of the underlined phrases. You may wish to elicit meaning
at the end of the activity.
fear of missing out: a feeling of worry that an interesting or exciting event is happening somewhere else, or that
you may no longer be able to buy something because it isn’t available for purchase anymore
draw (somebody) in: involve or make somebody take part in something, although they may not want to take part
at first
6. Pre-reading task: reading for general understanding
5 mins.
Ask students to skim through the text quickly and match the correct headings to each paragraph. You may want
to do this as a strictly-timed exercise.
Not given: c) Viral marketing
1. Advertising 2. Sales promotions 3. Direct marketing 4. Content marketing

Sources:
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15769-small-business-marketing-guide.html
https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/10-marketing-strategies-to-fuel-your-business-growth/299335
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing.asp
7. Reading comprehension
10 mins.
Students should complete the task individually or in pairs. Students should read the article again, and complete
the sentences with between one to three words from the text itself.
1. most obvious 2. correct 3. make a purchase 4. promotions

5. directly 6. spam 7. read or engage 8. honest
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8. Reading: marketing vocabulary
10 mins.
Ask students to complete the definitions of the target vocabulary items with the correct words from the list. For
Part B, they should complete the sentences with the key vocabulary items.
Part A:
1. paper 2. screen 3. shop 4. items

5. money 6. deals 7. customers 8. effect
Part B:
1. discount vouchers 2. make an impact 3. direct marketing 4. pop-up adverts

5. brand loyalty 6. discount-hunting 7. up-front cost 8. loyalty card
9. Talking Point
10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.
10. Roleplay activity
At least 20 mins.
Divide the class into three groups. Give each group one business roleplay from the options below. For younger
groups, you may wish to emphasise the creative aspect of this task and encourage students to produce a poster
or visual presentation of their ideas.
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS VOCABULARY · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

QrrkoD Scan to review worksheet

In pairs, match the images below to the correct deﬁnitions.

a) cold calling b) word of mouth

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 1/9

2 Pre-listening task: vocabulary focus

1. Pay-per-click advertising is a low-cost method of targeting potential customers. (v)

2. Email marketing allows us to build customer loyalty. (collocation)

4. The biggest advantage of billboard ads is their visibility. (n)

6. Cold calling is a waste of time. We no longer use it to contact prospects. (n)

a. attract potential customers to your business

b. create an emotional relationship between you and your customer

d. a potential customer for a company

e. the fact of attracting attention or being easy to see

f. try to have an eﬀect on a particular group of people or a particular thing

g. a small section of the market for a particular kind of product or service

h. the amount of proﬁt directly related to an expense or group of expenses

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 2/9

Discuss these questions in pairs.

4. Is it easier or more diﬃcult for niche businesses to generate leads?

3 Listening for specific information

1. the number of years of experience Sarah Lewis has in marketing

2. the thing that most people want for their business

3. the best way to attract someone’s attention in the past

5. Sarah’s ﬁrst business

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4 Listening for comprehension

8. Sarah’s second business oﬀered products, rather than services.

5 Reading: general vocabulary

Part A: Match words with the correct deﬁnitions.

2. campaign (n) b. something that encourages you to do something

3. incentive (n) c. a series of planned activities that are intended to achieve a

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1. investigate (v) a. without being aware

6 Pre-reading task: reading for general understanding

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Marketing your business

Sources: businessnewsdaily.com, entrepreneur.com, investopedia.com

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1. Advertising may well be the way to attract interest in your business.

2. As a business, it is crucial to choose the media for your adverts.

3. Special oﬀers can encourage customers to .

5. Approaching a potential client can be an alternative to other forms of advertising.

8. Content marketing may seem less than other marketing methods.

8 Reading: marketing vocabulary

customers deals eﬀect items

3. loyalty card: a card given to customers by a to encourage them to shop there

6. discount-hunting: trying to find cheap or special offers in many different shops

7. direct marketing: the business of selling products or services directly to by mail,

8. make an impact: the powerful that something has on somebody/something

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1. My shop is oﬀering to encourage customers to try our products.

2. We’re hoping that our new advert will on customers.

3. My job involves . I have to make hundreds of phone calls a day!

4. I ﬁnd really annoying. I use a special program to block them on

5. If you want to create in your customers, you need to build a brand

6. My parents used to go every week. My mother would never buy

7. If the of your advertising campaign is too much, you should consider

8. The local supermarket gave me a the other day. It actually made

In pairs or small groups, discuss the following questions.

1. What are some advantages and disadvantages of advertising?

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 8/9