A Level Business: The nature of marketing and Market research (Cambridge 9609) – Revision Notes

These notes condense sections 3.1 (The nature of marketing) and 3.2 (Market research) of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Both are AS Level content. For full explanations, read the study guide, then test yourself with the practice questions. The broader Marketing revision notes also cover the marketing mix, which is section 3.3 and not covered here. Links: course hub, checklist and free diagnostics.

3.1.1 Objectives

• Marketing objectives: targets for the marketing function (market share, brand awareness, a new segment).
• Corporate objectives: targets for the whole business (profit, growth, survival).
• Link: marketing objectives should be set so that reaching them helps achieve the corporate objective. If the corporate aim is growth in a new country, a marketing aim might be a set share of that country’s market.
• Marketing relies on other functions: operations (supply what is promised), finance (budget), human resources (skilled staff).

3.1.2 Demand and supply

	Demand	Supply
Meaning	Quantity buyers are willing and able to buy at a price	Quantity sellers offer at a price
Influences	Price, income, substitutes and complements, tastes, advertising, population	Costs, technology, number of firms, expected profit, disruptions

Method for any demand and supply question:

1. Name the factor that has changed.
2. Say whether it moves demand or supply, and in which direction.
3. State the effect on equilibrium price and quantity.
4. Link the result to the business in the question.

Shift summary: demand up gives higher price and higher quantity; demand down gives lower price and lower quantity; supply up gives lower price and higher quantity; supply down gives higher price and lower quantity.

Shortage (demand above supply) pushes price up. Surplus (supply above demand) pushes price down. Equilibrium is where they match.

3.1.3 Markets

Distinction	Points
Consumer vs industrial market	Final users vs organisations buying to produce or operate
Local, national, international	Scale changes competitors, costs, regulation and tastes
Product orientation	Start with what the firm can make
Customer (market) orientation	Start with what customers want; needs research

Standard-form formulas (the syllabus lists the measurements but does not print formulas):

Measure	Formula
Market share	(firm’s sales / total market sales) x 100
Market growth	(change in market sales / earlier market sales) x 100
Firm’s sales growth	(change in firm’s sales / earlier firm’s sales) x 100

Worked reminder. Tarrowgate Tea sells 12.8 in a market worth 80.0 (both in millions of dollars). A year later it sells 14.4 in a market worth 86.4.

• Share: 12.8 / 80.0 = 16.0%, then 14.4 / 86.4 = 16.7% (1 d.p.)
• Market growth: 6.4 / 80.0 = 8.0%
• Firm growth: 1.6 / 12.8 = 12.5%

Implication: the firm grew faster than the market, so it gained share. If a firm’s growth is below the market’s, its share falls even when its sales rise. Falling share signals weaker competitiveness; slowing market growth warns of saturation and may push firms towards new segments or products.

3.1.4 Product classification, B2C and B2B

• Consumer goods: durable (a bicycle) and non-durable (milk).
• Consumer services: a dental check-up.
• Industrial goods: machines, components. Industrial services: payroll support for a firm.
• This is the standard classification; use examples to show you can apply it.

	B2C	B2B
Buyers	Many individuals	Fewer, larger organisations
Promotion	Mass media, branding, social media	Sales teams, trade shows, direct contact
Price	Often fixed and public	Often negotiated, may be contract-based
Decision	Quick, personal, emotional	Slower, several people involved, technical
Relationship	Shorter, brand-led	Longer, service-led

3.1.5 Mass and niche

	Mass marketing	Niche marketing
Market	Large, broad	Small, specialised
For	Volume, economies of scale, wide reach	Less competition, loyalty, premium prices possible
Against	Strong rivals, thin margins, costly promotion	Limited size, dependence, entry by large firms

3.1.6 Segmentation

Method	Based on	Example
Geographic	Location, climate, urban or rural	Different menu in a coastal region
Demographic	Age, gender, income, occupation, family size	Student discount card
Psychographic	Lifestyle, values, attitudes, personality	Ethically sourced range for conscious buyers

• Advantages: better match to customers, less wasted promotion, gaps found, loyalty built.
• Disadvantages: higher research and promotion costs, shorter production runs, segments hard to measure, segment may be too small.
• Psychographic data is usually the hardest to collect and measure.

3.1.7 CRM

• Aims: keep customers, increase repeat purchases, learn about wants, encourage recommendations.
• Costs: systems and software, training, loyalty rewards, data protection risks.
• Benefits: retention, more sales per customer, targeted offers, cheaper than winning new customers.
• Cost-benefit check: if a scheme costs 9,000 a year and each retained customer is worth 60 of contribution, it breaks even at 9,000 / 60 = 150 retained customers.

3.2.1 Purposes of research

• Market features: size, growth, competitors.
• Customers: characteristics, profiles, wants and needs.
• Result: lower risk when launching or changing a product.

3.2.2 Primary and secondary

	Primary	Secondary
Data	New, collected first-hand	Already exists
Methods	Surveys, interviews, focus groups, observation, trials	Government statistics, trade reports, competitors’ accounts, internal sales records
Strengths	Specific, current, confidential	Fast, cheap, wide coverage
Weaknesses	Slow, costly	May be dated, not designed for the question, available to rivals

Say which type a source is, then explain its usefulness for the decision in the question.

3.2.3 Sampling

• Need: whole population too costly or slow to question; testing may destroy products.
• Limitations: unrepresentative sample gives bias; small sample is less reliable; non-response; a better sample costs more.
• The syllabus names no sampling methods.

3.2.4 Data

• Reliability depends on sample size and representativeness, neutral questions, credible source and recency.
• Quantitative: numbers, easy to compare. Qualitative: opinions and reasons, explains why.
• Tables, charts and graphs: read the title and units, quote figures, calculate a percentage or change, state the trend, then qualify it.
• Worked reminder: sales rise from 45 to 54 in a year. Change = 9; 9 / 45 x 100 = 20%.

Must-know distinctions

• Market share is the firm’s slice; market growth is the whole market’s change. They answer different questions.
• Market growth is not the same as the firm’s growth. Compare the two.
• Demand is a willingness to buy at each price; quantity demanded is the figure at one price.
• Segmentation divides a market; niche marketing chooses to serve one small part of it.
• Primary and secondary describe where data comes from, not whether it is quantitative or qualitative. A survey can give both kinds.
• Reliability asks whether the findings can be trusted; usefulness asks whether they help this decision.

Building an evaluative answer

For a judgement question, give a point, develop it with the case data, then weigh it. Useful questions to ask: how big is the effect, how long will it last, what does the business want most, and what would change your view? Finish with a clear conclusion that answers the question set.

Quick self-test

1. State two factors that can increase demand for a product.
2. A market is worth 250 and then 225. Calculate market growth.
3. In that market a firm sells 20 both years. Calculate its share each year.
4. Name the three methods of segmentation in the syllabus.
5. Which orientation begins with customer wants?
6. State one limitation of sampling.
7. Is a firm’s own sales database primary or secondary research?
8. A loyalty scheme costs 9,000 and each retained customer yields 60 of contribution. How many customers are needed to break even?
9. In a survey of 240 people, 60 would buy. What percentage is this?
10. Give one reason a B2B product might be marketed through a direct sales team.

Answers

1. Any two, for example a rise in incomes, a successful advertising campaign, a rise in the price of a substitute, a change in fashion.
2. (225 - 250) / 250 x 100 = -10.0%, so the market fell by 10%.
3. 20 / 250 = 8.0%, then 20 / 225 = 8.9% (1 d.p.). Share rose even though sales were flat, because the market shrank.
4. Geographic, demographic and psychographic.
5. Customer (market) orientation.
6. Any one, for example the sample may not be representative, causing bias.
7. Secondary, because the data already exists, although it was collected for another purpose.
8. 9,000 / 60 = 150 customers.
9. 60 / 240 x 100 = 25%.
10. Buyers are few and large, orders are complex and negotiated, and relationships matter, so a direct team can explain, negotiate and support.

Where marks are usually lost

• Calculating share without using the total market figure.
• Reporting that sales rose without comparing with market growth.
• Listing the three segmentation methods but not applying them to the business given.
• Writing definitions only, with no link to the case.
• Saying primary research is “better” without a trade-off.
• Describing a sampling limitation in general terms but not tying it to the sample in the question.
• Quoting percentages without saying what they suggest.
• Confusing marketing objectives with corporate objectives.
• Forgetting that a CRM scheme has costs, so only giving benefits.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between market share and market growth? Market share is one firm’s sales as a percentage of total market sales. Market growth is the percentage change in the whole market’s sales. A firm’s share falls if its sales grow more slowly than the market.

What are the three methods of segmentation in Cambridge 9609? Geographic, demographic and psychographic. Psychographic data, about lifestyle, values and attitudes, is usually the hardest to collect and measure.

What is the difference between B2C and B2B marketing? B2C sells to many individuals, often through mass media and branding, with fixed public prices. B2B sells to fewer, larger organisations, often through sales teams and negotiated prices, with slower, more technical decisions.

Does the 9609 syllabus require specific sampling methods? No. Section 3.2.3 covers the need for sampling and its limitations, but the syllabus names no sampling methods.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International, Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, subject content sections 3.1 and 3.2.