Marketing Marketing is a 15-credit mandatory module which sits within the suite of Level 4 modules. To gain the CIM Level 4 Certificate in Professional Marketing, a pass in both mandatory modules plus one elective module is required. However, each module can be taken as a standalone module to gain a module award. Aim of the module This module is about recognising the importance of marketing s role in driving success and delivering results. It provides the knowledge and understanding of the function of marketing within the organisation and demonstrates how an appreciation of customer behaviour can enable effective targeting. It outlines an understanding of how external environmental influences affect planning and how information enables decision making. It outlines the elements of the marketing mix and how these are applied to address market and customer needs. Module structure The module comprises three units with two learning outcomes each. Each learning outcome will be covered by the related assessment criteria and will be assessed by way of examination. The examination will comprise 50 multiple-choice questions to be completed in a two-hour controlled assessment. The learning outcomes and assessment criteria, along with the indicative content, are detailed in the Marketing module content which follows. Page 1 of 24
CIM Level 4 Certificate in Professional Marketing Qualification Specification Please refer to the CIM Level 4 Certificate in Professional Marketing Qualification Specification for all other information relating to the CIM Level 4 Certificate in Professional Marketing including: CIM Professional Marketing Standards The Level 4 qualification structure Who it s for Entry requirements The Modular Pathway Progression Credits and learning hours Modes of study How it s assessed assessment methodology How the assessments are delivered and when How it s graded When are results issued? Module specifications What we mean by command words Transition arrangements Page 2 of 24
MODULE CONTENT: MARKETING (mandatory) Level 4 Credit value: 15 Notional learning time: 130-150 hours Purpose statement Marketing is a key driver of success in today s dynamic organisations. This module will give you an insight into marketing concepts and tools and how these are applied to deliver results. Assessment A multiple-choice exam (a two-hour objective test) Module weighting LO 1 weighting 10% LO 2 weighting 15% LO 3 weighting 15% LO 4 weighting 15% LO 5 weighting 30% LO 6 weighting 15% Overarching learning outcomes By the end of this module, learners should be able to: The marketing concept Understand the role and function of marketing Understand what influences customer behaviour Analysis and insight Identify factors and trends in the marketing environment and how they affect marketing planning Identify options for gathering relevant marketing information Marketing mix Know the elements of the marketing mix Apply and adapt the marketing mix to satisfy customer needs Page 3 of 24
UNIT 1: THE MARKETING CONCEPT Learning outcomes The learner will: Assessment criteria The learner can: Indicative content 1. Understand the role and function of marketing 1.1 Define marketing Management process Business philosophy Exchange process Satisfaction of customer needs Catalyst for change 1.2 Explain marketing s role in business Create and maintain customer, brand and stakeholder value Identify market trends and inform business decision making Monitor and act to remain competitive 1.3 Explain the function of marketing Bridge between the customer and the organisation Impact on company performance link to strategic planning Cross functional working Collecting and analysing information Understanding and championing customers 1.4 Outline the marketing planning process Staged and cyclical approaches (eg MOST, SOSTAC, APIC) Page 4 of 24
Learning outcomes The learner will: Assessment criteria The learner can: Indicative content 2. Understand what influences customer behaviour 2.1 Discuss the importance of customer buying behaviour to marketers 2.2 Appraise the key influences on the consumer buying process 2.3 Appraise the key influences on the business to organisational buying process 2.4 Compare the different types of consumer and business to business buying behaviour 2.5 Explain the principle of market segmentation and how markets are segmented Design of more appropriate and relevant marketing programmes Impacts on effectiveness and customer satisfaction Building and managing relationships with customers Sequential process of consumer buying behaviour Psychological influences Social and cultural influences Personal factors Staged process of organisational purchasing Environmental factors Organisational factors Group factors Individual factors Routine response Limited decision making Extensive decision making Impulse buying Straight rebuy Modified rebuy New task Segmentation-targeting-positioning Effective segmentation criteria Subdividing consumer and business markets Page 5 of 24
UNIT 2: ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT Learning outcomes The learner will: Assessment criteria The learner can: Indicative content 3. Identify factors and trends in the marketing environment and how they affect marketing planning 3.1 Identify key factors in the macroenvironment 3.2 Identify key factors in the microenvironment 3.3 Identify key components of the internal environment 3.4 Explain the impact of macro, micro and internal factors on the marketing planning process Political Economic Social Technological Environmental Legal Ethics and CSR Customers Competitors Distributors Suppliers Interest groups/stakeholders Resources Competencies Organisational goals and objectives Corporate governance Risk management Environmental influences and the marketing plan Mission/Vision Objectives Strategy Tactics Page 6 of 24
Learning outcomes The learner will: Assessment criteria The learner can: Indicative content 4. Identify options for gathering relevant marketing information 4.1 Describe key information types Internal and external Primary and secondary Qualitative and quantitative 4.2 Explain the techniques that can be used Surveys to collect primary data Interviews Focus groups Panels Delphi Observation and participation Experiments Other techniques including mystery shopping, internet information sources, store audits, scanner data 4.3 Identify relevant sources of secondary Government sources information on markets, customers and Commercial market research reports competitors Trade and industry sources Competitor data Online information sources Media sources Social media feeds and blogs Financial, geographic and demographic databases Internal databases and records 4.4 Demonstrate the management and MKIS interpretation of information as insights Environmental scanning and forecasting Depth of understanding of consumer behaviour and attitudes Basis of competitive advantage Impact on planning and NPD Page 7 of 24
UNIT 3: MARKETING MIX Learning outcomes The learner will: Assessment criteria The learner can: Indicative content 5. Know the elements of the marketing mix 5.1 Describe the four key elements of the marketing mix 6. Apply and adapt the marketing mix to satisfy customer needs 5.2 Describe the three key elements in the extended marketing mix 5.3 Explain the importance of developing a co-ordinated approach to the marketing mix 6.1 Recommend a marketing mix for products and services 6.2 Recommend a marketing mix in different contexts 6.3 Explain how to adapt the marketing mix in changing environmental conditions ensuring the continuing satisfaction of customer needs 4 Ps Product Price Place Promotion 3 Ps Process People Physical evidence Impact on target markets and their needs Co-ordination and compatibility of the mix Impact on elements within the mix Impact on competitors/competitiveness 7 Ps Link to objectives and target market Co-ordinated approach Building and maintaining relationships B2C B2B NFP/3 rd sector Small and medium-sized businesses International markets Relationship marketing Changing macro and micro factors Changes in competition Customer trends Economic, social, political and technological factors Adaptation of the elements of the mix to meet changing conditions Page 8 of 24
6.4 Recommend how the effectiveness of the marketing mix can be measured and controlled Satisfy ongoing customer needs Product market share, sales, number of new products, repeat purchases Price margin, discount levels, comparisons Place costs, volume, growth, stock levels, customer satisfaction Promotion media coverage, cost per contact, sales/call ratios, awareness levels, enquiries generated Control mechanisms to ensure objectives are achieved Page 9 of 24
Sample assessment material The following sample assessment material for Marketing has been produced to provide a true reflection of the live assessments and should be used as a guide and study aid when preparing for the live assessment. Page 10 of 24
CIM Level 4 Certificate in Professional Marketing Marketing Sample assessment Please note: This sample assessment contains only 25 questions, the live assessment will comprise 50 questions) Examination The examination comprises 50 compulsory questions. Each question is worth 2 marks. The examination will be 2 hours in duration. Total marks available 100. Candidate guidance: Answer all questions The available marks for each question are shown alongside the question Read all questions carefully before attempting them Page 11 of 24
Answer all questions. Choose one answer from the options provided. 1 Marketing can best be defined as: Satisfying customers profitably Improving the quality of life for consumers Producing the right product and selling it Keeping the organisation competitive 2 The primary role of marketing is to: Find new markets and add to brand and shareholder value Sell as many products as possible Research and design new products Monitor the marketing environment 3 The primary function of a marketing department is to: Act as a bridge between the customer and organisation, understanding and championing customers Improve organisation performance by increasing sales, profits and market share Effectively segment and target the market, increasing competitiveness React to factors in the environment, ensuring the maintenance of sales and profits 4 Many marketing models are referred to by their acronyms. Which of the following would be most useful in preparing a complete marketing plan: STEEPLE SOSTAC STEP AIDA 5 An understanding of customer buying behaviour is important to marketers. Which of the following best describes its value to an organisation: It ensures better cross-functional working It bridges the gap between the organisation and its stakeholders It helps the organisation to design better marketing programmes It enables identification of market trends and competitiveness Page 12 of 24
6 You work for a B2C organisation. You have been asked by your boss to help him to build and manage the organisation s relationships with its customers. As a first step he has asked you to compile a list of the factors that could influence consumer buying behaviour. Which of the following options will be on your list? Psychological, social, cultural and personal factors Environmental, group, individual and organisational factors Segmental variables, economic, political and environmental factors Suppliers, interest groups, distributors and competitors 7 You work for an organisation that supplies parts to the automotive manufacturing industry. You have recently been joined in your office by a new member of staff who has come from a consumer marketing background. As part of their induction process you explain the key influences on organisational buying behaviour. Which of the following best describes the factors involved? Straight rebuy, group factors, social and cultural factors and organisational factors Environmental factors, family influences, group and organisational factors Environmental factors, organisational factors, individual and group factors Group factors, environmental and organisational factors, social class 8 You work for a small food manufacturer which sells its products online and through several chains of retailers. Your manager has asked you to identify the key differences between consumer and organisational buying behaviour to help improve the sales performance of the sales team. Which of the following factors best explains these differences? (1) Complexity (2) Time involved (3) People involved (4) Rationality (5) Information requirements All of the above 1, 2 and 4 only 2, 4 and 5 only 1, 4 and 5 only Page 13 of 24
9 Which of the following are elements of the economic environment? Disposable income, social media and interest rates Climate change, inflation and GDP Exchange rates, age distribution and taxation Inflation, unemployment and taxation 10 Which of the following best describes the external micro environment? Customers, competitors, CSR, suppliers and distributors Customers, competitors, stakeholders, suppliers and distributors Customers, competitors, suppliers, staff and distributors Competitors, CSR, suppliers, money and distributors 11 Which of the following best describes the internal marketing environment of an organisation? Customers, resources, competencies, goals and corporate governance Resources, goals, competencies, CSR and ethics Resources, competencies, corporate governance and goals Risk management, goals, resources, suppliers and corporate governance 12 Dev works for a large manufacturer producing small electric appliances such as toasters, kettles, and food processors. He is currently starting the annual marketing planning cycle. The results of his analysis of the marketing environment will have a major impact on which of the following: (1) The choice of strategy (2) The research undertaken (3) The setting of objectives (4) The choice of tactics 2, 3 and 4 only 1, 2 and 3 only 1, 2 and 4 only 1, 3 and 4 only Page 14 of 24
13 Quantitative research attempts to answer which one of the following? How often do you buy? Why do you think that? How does that make you feel? 14 Gilly has been asked to carry out some primary research to identify the shopping habits of customers. She has only been given a limited time and budget to complete the exercise. Which of the following methods will be most appropriate for Gilly to use? Experiments Delphi In-depth interviews Focus group What makes you say that? 15 Max needs some information urgently for a report he has to submit to his line manager in a couple of days time. Max has a very limited budget. If available, which one of the following will be the most appropriate for Max to use? Sampling Secondary research Primary data Likert scale Page 15 of 24
16 Lucy is a Marketing Executive for a global organisation which sells consumer products. The organisation s revenues have been falling, despite increased promotional expenditure. Lucy s boss, the Marketing Director, is concerned about the perception of the organisation s brand. Lucy has been tasked with ascertaining consumers opinions and feelings towards the organisation s brand and its relative positioning against competitors. Which of the following would be appropriate research methods for Lucy to use in order to gain the insight required so that she can report the findings back to the Marketing Director? (1) Focus group (2) Experimental research (3) Mystery shopping (4) Sales data analysis (5) In-depth interview All of the above 1, 2 and 3 only 1 and 5 only 2, 3 and 4 only 17 An organisation s tangible offering to the market is known as which of the following: A service A product The packaging The brand Page 16 of 24
18 You are devising the promotion mix for a business selling diesel engines to vehicle manufacturers. Which of the following elements of the promotion mix would be the most effective use of your budget? (e) TV advertising, sales promotion and trade fairs Personal selling, trade fairs and trade magazine advertising Public relations, direct marketing and radio advertising Trade fairs, social media and TV advertising Personal selling, social media and sales promotion 19 Which of the following best describes the three additional elements of the services marketing mix? Profit, process, physical evidence Process, packaging, people People, physical evidence, process Personality, profit, process 20 You have been asked to prepare a talk to give to a group of students about the reasons for adopting the extended marketing mix when devising the marketing mix for a service. Which of the following describes the main reasons for using the additional THREE elements? The nature of the service product The type of promotion to be used The price to be charged The way in which the service is distributed 21 You are devising the marketing mix for a new chocolate bar. Why is it important to ensure that all the elements of your chosen mix integrate well together? (1) To ensure a coherent image (2) To ensure that the price matches your competitors (3) To ensure that the offering is competitive (4) To ensure that the product is correctly positioned (5) To ensure that it appears in as many retail outlets as possible 2, 4 and 5 only 3, 4 and 5 only 1, 3 and 4 only 2, 3 and 5 only Page 17 of 24
22 You are currently helping to devise a new marketing strategy for your university. Which three of the following are marketing mix decisions that will need to be made in the development of this strategy? (1) Where and how to promote the courses (2) The fees to be charged and how the students will apply (3) Researching the market and building a customer profile (4) Which courses to be offered and at what levels (5) What competing universities are offering 1, 2 and 3 only 1, 3 and 4 only 2, 4 and 5 only 1, 2 and 4 only 23 You work as a Marketing Assistant for a detergent manufacturer selling both branded and own branded products for supermarkets. The company objective for next year is to win more market share in the B2B market and your target is to gain at least two new supermarket chains as customers for own brand detergents. Which of the following best describes the marketing mix you would recommend to deliver this objective? (1) Personal selling and trade fairs (2) Premium prices and standardised products (3) Consumer advertising and promotions (4) Negotiable prices and customised products (5) Trade discounts and direct distribution 1, 2 and 3 only 2, 3 and 4 only 3, 4 and 5 only 1, 4 and 5 only 24 Ming Li works as a Marketing Assistant for a clothing manufacturer, currently based in China. Having successfully operated in China for a number of years the company now wishes to enter the European market for the first time. Ming Li has been asked by her manager to recommend the two best marketing mix options available to the company. The company has a limited budget and is risk averse. Which two of the following should she recommend? (1) Use the same products and promotion as they do in their current markets (2) Adapt both product and promotion to suit the new markets (3) Offer a totally new product mix (4) Offer the same products but change the promotion (5) Redesign the product to suit the new markets and keep the rest of the mix the same 2 and 4 only 1 and 5 only 2 and 3 only 4 and 5 only Page 18 of 24
25 Your organisation offers a range of confectionery and other snacks. As a result of lobbying by health groups, the government is introducing new legislation to reduce the amount of sugar your products are allowed to contain. A bill is currently going through parliament and is expected to become law early next year. You have been asked to assess the likely impact of this on your current marketing strategy and mix. Which of the following would you have to consider making changes to? (1) The formulation of your products (2) The price of your products (3) The labelling and packaging of your products (4) The outlets that sell your product (5) The media that you use for promotion (6) The messages used in your promotions 2, 4 and 6 only 1, 3 and 6 only 1, 3 and 5 only 3, 5 and 6 only Page 19 of 24
ANSWERS Question 1 Justification This is the correct answer Not always the case This is the product orientation This is only part of the answer Question 2 Justification This is the correct answer This is the production orientation This is a marketing function This is a marketing function Question 3 Justification This is the correct answer This is only partially correct and omits the customer interface This again is only partially correct and are tactics used to achieve market share Marketing is about being proactive not reactive Question 4 Justification This is an acronym used to explain macro factors This is the correct answer This is another acronym used to describe macro factors This acronym is used to explain adverting objectives Question 5 Justification This is a function of marketing This is a function of marketing This is the correct answer This is a role of marketing Question 6 Justification This is the correct answer These are organisational buying influences These are a mixture of environmental factors These are micro environmental factors Question 7 Justification Contains at least one incorrect factor that either relates to consumer buying behaviour or the different types of buying situation that can trigger the process Contains at least one incorrect factor that either relates to consumer buying behaviour or the different types of buying situation that can trigger the process This is the correct answer Contains at least one incorrect factor that either relates to consumer buying behaviour or the different types of buying situation that can trigger the process Page 20 of 24
Question 8 Justification This is the correct answer these factors all differ between the different buying situations This is only partially correct This is only partially correct This is only partially correct Question 9 Justification This is incorrect as social media is not part of the economic environment This is incorrect as climate change is an environmental factor This is incorrect as age distribution is a social factor This is the correct answer Question 10 Justification This is incorrect as it contains a macro factor CSR This is the correct answer This is incorrect as it contains an internal factor staff This is incorrect as it contains a macro factor CSR Question 11 Justification This is incorrect as customers are a micro factor This is incorrect as CSR and ethics are macro factors This is the correct answer This is incorrect as suppliers are a micro factor Question 12 Justification This is incorrect as they will not impact on research This is incorrect as they will not impact on research This is incorrect as they will not impact on research This is the correct answer Question 13 Justification This is the correct answer This is a qualitative question This is a qualitative question This is a qualitative question Question 14 Justification This is a primary method but not suited to this task This is a primary method but not suited to this task This is a primary method but not suited to this task This is the correct answers Page 21 of 24
Question 15 Justification This is a technique of identifying suitable respondents to participate in market research This is the correct answer This would take too long and will cost money to gather This is psychometric scale commonly use in research questions Question 16 Justification 2, 3 and 4 not appropriate 2 and 3 not appropriate This is the correct answer 2, 3 and 4 not appropriate Question 17 Justification This is incorrect intangible This is the correct answer This is incorrect this is part of the product This is incorrect this is part of the product Question 18 Justification This is incorrect as TV advertising is not effective use of budge This is the correct answer This is incorrect as this is not the most effective use of budget This is incorrect as TV advertising is not effective use of budget (e) This is incorrect as this is not the most effective use of budget Question 19 Justification This is incorrect as profit is not part of the mix This is incorrect as packaging is not part of the mix This is the correct answer This is incorrect as personality and profit are not part of the mix Question 20 Justification This is the correct answer This is incorrect This is incorrect This is incorrect Question 21 Justification 2 is incorrect you would not necessarily want to match competitors pricing 5 is incorrect you might want it to be seen as exclusive This is the correct answer 5 is incorrect you might want it to be seen as exclusive Page 22 of 24
Question 22 Justification This is incorrect contains an option that is not part of the marketing mix This is incorrect contains an option that is not part of the marketing mix This is incorrect contains an option that is not part of the marketing mix This is the correct answer Question 23 Justification This is incorrect has at least one element that is more suited to the consumer market This is incorrect has at least one element that is more suited to the consumer market This is incorrect has at least one element that is more suited to the consumer market This is the correct answer Question 24 Justification This is the correct answer offers the best, least risky options This option is high risk and may not be feasible if the product is considerably different from that already offered as promotion may well have to be changed to accommodate this This option is too expensive This option may not be feasible if the product is considerably different from that already offered as promotion may well have to be changed to accommodate this Question 25 Justification This option contains at least one factor that is incorrect This is the correct answer This option contains at least one factor that is incorrect This option contains at least one factor that is incorrect Page 23 of 24
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