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Principles of Marketing

Free Principles of Marketing study guide: 10 units with summaries, key ideas, flashcards and 300 practice questions with step-by-step solutions.

Lines up with: College intro marketing; CLEP Principles of Marketing.

Units

1. UNIT 01

   What Marketing Is: Value, Needs and Exchange

   Marketing is the process of creating, communicating and delivering value to customers in exchange for something they value. This unit builds the vocabulary and core ideas that every later unit depends on.
2. UNIT 02

   Marketing Environment and Strategy (SWOT, Ansoff)

   Before choosing tactics, a firm needs a plan: a clear mission, an honest read of its environment, and a strategy for where to grow. This unit covers the tools marketers use to make those choices.
3. UNIT 03

   Consumer and Business Buying Behavior

   Marketers succeed when they understand why and how people and organizations buy. This unit covers the forces that shape consumer choices, the steps buyers go through, and how business buying differs.
4. UNIT 04

   Marketing Research and Data

   Good marketing decisions depend on good information. This unit explains how firms collect, analyze and use data about customers and markets, and how to judge whether research results can be trusted.
5. UNIT 05

   Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

   No firm can serve everyone well, so marketers divide markets into groups, choose which to serve, and decide how to stand out in those buyers' minds. This unit covers segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP), the heart of customer-driven strategy.
6. UNIT 06

   Product, Brands and the Product Life Cycle

   The product is the foundation of the marketing mix: if it does not deliver value, no price or ad can save it. This unit covers how marketers design products, build brands, develop new offerings and manage them over their life cycle.
7. UNIT 07

   Pricing Strategy

   Price is the only element of the marketing mix that produces revenue; the others create costs. This unit covers how firms set prices, the math behind markups and break-even, and the strategies firms use to adjust prices.
8. UNIT 08

   Distribution and Supply Chains

   A great product at a fair price fails if customers cannot get it when and where they want it. This unit covers how marketing channels and supply chains move products from producers to buyers.
9. UNIT 09

   Promotion and Integrated Marketing Communications

   Promotion is how a firm communicates customer value and persuades people to act. This unit covers the promotion tools, how to blend them into one consistent message, how to set budgets, and the math of media planning.
10. UNIT 10

    Digital, Social and Global Marketing; Ethics

    Today's marketing happens on screens, across borders and under public scrutiny. This unit covers digital and social marketing and its key metrics, how firms enter and adapt to foreign markets, and the ethical and legal standards marketers must meet.