OxfordAQA A-Level Business: Marketing (9625/9725)

This guide covers Topic 2 Marketing, the second of five International AS topics in OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Business (9625), first teaching September 2018. It follows directly from Topic 1’s introduction to business objectives and the external environment, applying that context to how a business identifies and reaches its customers.

A note on the two codes: this guide primarily follows 9625, the code current students are examined against. 9725 genuinely changes marketing content on several points — most importantly, the marketing mix shrinks from 7Ps to 4Ps — flagged inline below. Check which code applies to your own cohort before relying on the 7Ps content as exam scope.

Where this fits in 9625

Topic 1 establishes why a business exists and who it is accountable to. Topic 2 turns to how it competes for customers – researching markets, choosing who to target, and building a marketing mix around that target. It sits alongside Operations, Human Resources and Finance as one of the four functional AS topics, before the course moves into whole-business strategy at A2.

Syllabus coverage

OXFORDAQA INTERNATIONAL AS AND A-LEVEL BUSINESS (9625) — TOPIC 2 MARKETING

• 3.1.2.1 Marketing objectives and plans — the importance of marketing and how marketing decisions influence competitiveness; marketing objectives such as sales volume and value, market share, customer retention and repeat sales; the value of and influences on marketing plans and budgets (objectives, strategy, tactics, budget); and external and internal influences on marketing planning, including resources, technology (digital marketing, social media, dynamic pricing, e-commerce and m-commerce), ethics, and market conditions
• 3.1.2.2 Marketing data — the value of primary and secondary marketing research, including qualitative and quantitative data, market mapping, sales forecasts, and sampling methods (random, stratified, quota); influences on choosing a research method (cost, time, reliability); and the interpretation and use of marketing data, including correlation, confidence levels and intervals, and big data and data mining
• 3.1.2.3 Segmentation, targeting and positioning — the process and value of segmentation by demographic, geographic, income, behavioural and psychographic methods; influences on choosing a target market and positioning, including niche and mass marketing; and the benefits and potential difficulties of targeting international markets
• 3.1.2.4 The marketing mix — under 9625, the elements of the marketing mix are the 7Ps: product, price, promotion, place (distribution), plus people, process and physical environment, considered across goods and services, B2B and B2C contexts, national and international markets, and e-commerce; product (new product development, the product life cycle and extension strategies, the Boston Matrix, and branding); pricing (influences on price, pricing strategies including skimming, penetration and discrimination, and price elasticity of demand); the promotional mix, which under 9625 is advertising, sales promotions, the sales force, public relations and exhibitions (9725 revises this list, so use the 9725 specification’s own list if you follow 9725); distribution, including online and multi-channel distribution; and influences on people, process and physical environment. Under 9725, the mix is simplified to the classic 4Ps (product, price, promotion, place) — people/process/physical environment, and the Boston Matrix (which moves to A2 content), are dropped from this first-year section.

How to approach it

The marketing mix (3.1.2.4) is the largest single section and the one most exam questions draw on, so build genuine fluency in all 7Ps rather than only the classic 4Ps (product, price, promotion, place) – OxfordAQA’s own specification explicitly extends the mix and expects students to apply it in e-commerce and international contexts, not just a domestic high-street example. Price elasticity of demand (within pricing) is a common source of calculation questions, so practise interpreting PED data and linking it to a pricing decision, not just defining the term. Segmentation, targeting and positioning should be revised as a connected three-step process – segment the market, choose a target segment, then position the product for that segment – since exam questions often expect all three steps applied to a single scenario rather than treated as separate topics.

Common mistakes

Describing the marketing mix using only the 4Ps, missing the additional elements the specification includes for services and international markets. Confusing market segmentation (dividing the market into groups) with targeting (choosing which group to serve). Treating marketing research methods as interchangeable rather than matching a method to the situation described in the question, using cost, time and reliability as the deciding factors. Quoting a stage of the product life cycle without connecting it to an appropriate strategy, such as an extension strategy at maturity or decline.

Worked example

A product’s price elasticity of demand (PED) is calculated at -0.4. What does this tell a business about a proposed price increase?

PED = -0.4 means demand is PRICE INELASTIC (the coefficient's
      magnitude is less than 1) -- quantity demanded changes
      proportionally less than price.

IMPLICATION: a price increase will reduce quantity demanded by a
             smaller percentage than the price rise itself, so total
             revenue (price x quantity) will RISE.

CAUTION: PED is not fixed -- it can change over time as competitors
         respond, substitutes emerge, or the product becomes less of
         a necessity, so a business should not treat one PED figure
         as permanent when setting long-term pricing strategy.

Students commonly lose marks by stating whether demand is elastic or inelastic correctly, but failing to link that to what actually happens to revenue – the connection between PED and revenue is what most exam questions are really testing.

People, process and physical environment (9625 only)

Beyond product, price, promotion and place, 9625’s extended mix requires understanding of three further elements:

• People – staff who deliver a service directly affect the customer’s experience of it (training, attitude, appearance).
• Process – the systems and procedures through which a good or service is delivered (how quickly an order is fulfilled, how a complaint is handled).
• Physical environment – the tangible setting in which a service is delivered or a product is bought (store layout, website design, packaging), which shapes perceived quality even when it isn’t the product itself.

These three matter most for services, where the customer often can’t inspect the product in advance and instead judges quality from these surrounding cues. Under 9725, all three are dropped from this section of the specification – confirm your code before including them.

Worked example: marketing objective calculations

The specification requires calculations for named marketing objectives, not just definitions of them:

Market share      = (business's sales / total market sales) x 100
                     e.g. sales of $2.4m in a $12m market
                     = (2.4 / 12) x 100 = 20%

Customer retention rate = (customers at end of period - new customers
                            gained) / customers at start of period x 100
                     e.g. started with 800 customers, gained 150 new,
                     ended with 900
                     = (900 - 150) / 800 x 100 = 93.75%

Sales per employee = total sales revenue / number of employees
                     e.g. $1.5m revenue, 25 employees
                     = $1.5m / 25 = $60,000 per employee

Sales per store    = total sales revenue / number of stores
                     e.g. $3m revenue across 12 stores
                     = $3m / 12 = $250,000 per store

The same logic applies to sales per product or per region – divide total sales by the relevant count. Examiners commonly ask students not just to calculate the figure but to interpret it: a falling customer retention rate, for instance, signals a problem worth investigating even while overall sales volume is rising.

Quick revision checklist

• State the difference between marketing objectives and a marketing plan, and give one example of each.
• Compare primary and secondary marketing research, and state one factor that influences which a business would choose.
• Explain segmentation, targeting and positioning as three connected steps, not separate topics.
• List all 7Ps of the marketing mix under 9625 (product, price, promotion, place, people, process, physical environment), not just the classic 4Ps – and know that 9725 reduces the mix back to 4Ps.
• Interpret a price elasticity of demand figure and explain its effect on total revenue if price changes.
• Calculate and interpret market share, customer retention rate, and sales per employee/product/region/store.
• Apply the Boston Matrix categories (cash cows, stars, dogs, problem children) to a product portfolio scenario (9625 first-year; moves to A2 under 9725).

Specification transition note

9625 remains current for students already on the course. Its final AS exam series was June 2026, with a resit series in January 2027; its final A2 exam series is June 2027, with a resit series in January 2028 – after which there are no further 9625 exams. Students starting AS from September 2026 follow the revised 9725 specification for AS (first 9725 AS exams June 2027); students starting A2 from September 2027 (one year later than AS) follow 9725 for A2 (first 9725 A2 exams June 2028). The core marketing content described above is expected to carry over in substance, but students should always confirm which specification code applies to their own cohort before relying on any single syllabus document.

Related resources

• Marketing revision notes
• Marketing practice questions

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Business (9625) specification, version 3.1, section 3.1.2 Marketing — oxfordaqa.com. (The v1 PDF previously linked here is an archived, superseded version on the board’s former domain – always confirm you have the current version via oxfordaqa.com/business.)