The nature of marketing
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| marketing | 市场营销 | shì chǎng yíng xiāo |
| anticipate | 预见 | yù jiàn |
| customer needs | 客户需求 | kè hù xū qiú |
| demand | 需求 | xū qiú |
| market share | 市场份额 | shì chǎng fèn é |
| loyal | 忠诚 | zhōng chéng |
| market-oriented | 市场导向 | shì chǎng dǎo xiàng |
| product-oriented | 产品导向 | chǎn pǐn dǎo xiàng |
| innovations | 创新 | chuàng xīn |
| mass market | 大众市场 | dà zhòng shì chǎng |
| niche market | 利基市场 | lì jī shì chǎng |
| segment | 细分市场 | xì fēn shì chǎng |
More than just advertising
- People think "marketing 市场营销" means adverts. It's far bigger: it's working out what customers want and making sure the business provides it profitably.
- Get marketing right and the product almost sells itself.
Marketing mix lab
See which part of the marketing mix changes in each real decision.
Marketing is best described as:
Marketing is about meeting customer needs at a profit, not just adverts.
What marketing is
- Marketing identifies, anticipates 预见 and satisfies customer needs 客户需求 — profitably.
- Its goals: build demand 需求, grow market share 市场份额, and keep customers loyal 忠诚.

Marketing is more than advertising — it also builds a brand that customers recognise
A market-oriented business starts by:
Market orientation puts customer needs first, lowering risk.
A business that designs a product first and then seeks buyers is ______-oriented.
Product orientation is riskier than market orientation.
Market vs product orientation
- Market-oriented 市场导向: start from what customers want, then make it. Lower risk.
- Product-oriented 产品导向: start from the product, then find buyers. Higher risk, but right for true innovations 创新.

The marketing mix combines the four Ps
A niche market is:
A niche serves a small, well-defined segment.
A firm sells 15m in a total market of 60m. What is its market share (%)?
15 / 60 × 100 = 25%.
Niche vs mass markets 大众市场
- Mass market: sell to a large, broad market (everyday products). High volume, much competition.
- Niche market 利基市场: serve a small, specific segment 细分市场. Less competition, often higher margins.
Worked example. Market share = a firm's sales ÷ total market sales × 100. If a firm sells 20m in a 100m market, its market share is 20% — a key measure of marketing success.

Splitting a market into segments by age, income and lifestyle
You've got it
- marketing identifies and satisfies customer needs profitably
- market-oriented (customer-first) is lower-risk than product-oriented
- mass markets = large & competitive; niche = small, specific, higher-margin