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A LevelBusinessAQARevision Notes3. Marketing Management3.1 Marketing ObjectivesSetting Marketing Objectives

Setting Marketing Objectives (AQA A Level Business): Revision Note

Lisa Eades

Written by: Lisa Eades

Reviewed by: Steve Vorster

Updated on

Marketing decisions and their relationship to other business functions

  • The role of marketing is to discover what customers want and set the right product, price, place and promotion (the 4 Ps)

  • Every decision the marketing team makes has a knock‑on effect on other departments—and vice‑versa

    • Marketing is the voice of the customer—but it needs the muscle of production, the wallet of finance and the people power of HR to turn ideas into reality

The relationship between marketing and other business functions

Venn diagram with four overlapping circles labelled Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, and Finance, each in different colours.
Marketing decisions have an effect upon - and are affected by - other functional areas in a business

Examples of the impact of marketing decisions on other business functions

Marketing decision

Functional area impact

Launch a limited‑edition product

  • Operations must tweak machinery or source new materials

  • Potential for a high margin per unit, but finance will prepare sales forecasts to see if customers will pay more

  • Selling a new product may require HR to organise staff retraining

Big TV advertising campaign

  • Operations may need faster workflows and perhaps extra shifts to meet higher demand

  • Finance must budget for high upfront costs - cash flow planning is critical

  • HR may need to recruit extra sales staff

The value of setting marketing objectives

  • Marketing objectives are clear, measurable targets that guide a business's marketing efforts

  • Marketing objectives can help a business in several ways

    1. Give direction

      • Teams know exactly what to aim for, avoiding untargeted campaigns  that have little chance of success

    2. Allow measurement and learning

      • The results of marketing activities can be compared with the objective and improved next time

    3. Help win budget and support

      • Clear, data‑backed objectives can reassure senior managers and investors and motivate employees

Examples of marketing objectives

Focus

Definition

Example

Sales volume

  • The number of units sold by a business

  • Greggs sells about 140 million sausage rolls a year and has set an objective to increase that to 150 million next year

Sales value

  • The money earned from sale of units

  • Domino’s  Pizza  Group has set the objectives of increasing UK and Ireland sales from £1.57 billion in  2023 to £2  billion by 2028

Sales growth

  • The percentage rise in sales volume or value over time

  • One of Starbucks' objectives is to achieve 7–9 % yearly sales growth

Market growth

  • The increase in the size of a market as a whole

  • Vegan businesses Beyond  Meat  and Oatly are looking to grow the UK plant‑based market, to 9.6 % by 2027

Market share

  • The portion of a market controlled by a particular company, brand or product

  • Samsung's objective is to maintain its position as the No. 1 smartphone brand, with a 20 % global market share

Brand loyalty

  • The share of customers who rebuy and recommend a business, brand or product

  • Nike's objective to build brand loyalty relies on its NikePlus programme members who spend much more than non‑members 

Calculating sales volume, sales value and sales growth

  • Sales volume is the number of units sold by a business

    • E.g. the number of Harry Styles album download purchases

1. Calculating sales value

  • Sales value is the money earned from sale of units

    • E.g the money earned by Apple Music from sales of music downloads 

    • Sales value is also known as sales revenue

    • Sales revenue is a key business performance measure and must be calculated to identify profit

    • It is calculated using the formula

Sales space value space stretchy left parenthesis revenue stretchy right parenthesis equals space Selling space price space cross times space Number space of space units space sold 

  • When a firm sells one product, it is easy to calculate the sales value

    • Computer systems make it easier to track sales value when multiple products are sold by a business

Worked Example

Fotherhill Organics Limited sold 39,264 packs of its specialist compost to mail-order customers in 2024. The price per pack was £8.75. In addition, it sold 4,280 tonnes to gardening businesses for £123.95 per tonne.

Calculate the value of Fotherhill Organics sales for 2024.

(3)

Step 1 - Calculate the income from sales to mail-order customers

equals space 39 comma 264 space packs space cross times space £ 8.75 equals space £ 343 comma 560       (1 ) 

Step 2 - Calculate the income from sales to gardening businesses

equals space 4 comma 280 space packs space cross times space £ 123.95 equals £ 530 comma 506       (1 ) 
 

Step 3 - Add together the two figures

 equals space £ 343 comma 560 space plus space £ 530 comma 506 equals space £ 874 comma 066 space       (1 ) 

2. Calculating sales growth

  • Sales growth is the percentage rise in sales volume or value over time

    • E.g. In the twelve weeks ending March 23, 2025, Aldi's UK sales increased by 5.6% compared to the corresponding period a year earlier

    • It is calculated using the formula

Sales space growth space equals space fraction numerator open parentheses New space sales space minus space Old space sales close parentheses over denominator Old space sales end fraction space cross times space 100

Worked Example

Fotherhill Organics Limited's value of sales in 2023 was £844,965. By 2024 it had risen to £874,066.

Calculate Fotherhill Organics sales growth in 2024.

(2)

Step 1 - Subtract 2023 sales from 2024 to determine the increase

equals space £ 874 comma 066 space minus space £ 844 comma 965 equals space £ 29 comma 101 (1)

Step 2 - Divide the difference by 2023 sales

equals space £ 29 comma 101 space divided by space £ 844 comma 965 equals space 0.0344

Step 3 - Multiply the outcome by 100 to determine sales growth

equals space 0.0344 space cross times space 100 equals space 3.44 percent sign (1)

Market size, growth and share

  • Market size is the value or volume of sales of all businesses within a market

    • E.g. In 2024, the UK vinyl record market was worth £159 million, with 5.9 million units sold, the highest annual level since 1990

  • Market growth is the increase in the size of a market as a whole

    • E.g. In 2024, the UK vinyl record market grew by 10.5%

  • Market share is the portion of a market controlled by a particular company, brand or product

    • E.g. In 2024, HMV had a 51.2% market share of the UK vinyl record market

Worked Example

Supermarket sales data shows shoppers are putting more plant-based milk in their baskets. In the year to February 2025, market sales were up 2.1%. Oat milk sales have grown particularly strongly. Annual sales reached £275m in 2024, up from £155m in 2020.

Calculate the percentage increase in the size of the UK oat milk market since 2020.

(2)

Step 1 - Subtract 2020 sales from 2024 sales to determine the increase

equals space £ 275 straight m space minus space £ 155 straight m equals space £ 120 straight m (1)

Step 2 - Divide the difference by 2020 sales

equals space £ 120 straight m space divided by space £ 155 straight m equals space 0.7742

Step 3 - Multiply the outcome by 100 to determine market growth

equals space 0.7742 space cross times space 100 equals space 77.42 percent sign (1)

Brand loyalty

  • Brand loyalty is the share of customers who rebuy and recommend a business, brand or product

Why brand loyalty matters

Reason

Explanation

Example

Reliable repeat sales

  • Loyal customers come back again and again, giving a steady stream of income

  • Members of Costa Coffee’s Costa Club spend 2.7  times more than non‑members and 82 % are loyal to the chain

Lower marketing costs

  • When people already trust a brand, a business may spend less on advertising

  • It also gains free word‑of‑mouth recommendations

  • Amazon Prime keeps 93 % of members after their first year

  • These shoppers visit Amazon weekly and often tell friends, reducing the need for costly advertising campaigns

Ability to charge premium prices

  • Customers who feel attached to a brand are less price‑sensitive, so the business can achieve high profit margins

  • LEGO Insiders offers early access to new sets

  • Devoted builders happily pay full price and earn loyalty points, helping LEGO keep prices high

Protection against tough competition

  • In crowded markets, loyal customers stick with a brand, even when rivals discount or copy ideas

  • Despite many streaming alternatives, Spotify retains 84 % of its subscribers, so revenue stays strong while competitors battle for switchers

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    Author
    Reviewer
    Lisa Eades

    Author: Lisa Eades

    Expertise: Business Content Creator

    Lisa has taught A Level, GCSE, BTEC and IBDP Business for over 20 years and is a senior Examiner for Edexcel. Lisa has been a successful Head of Department in Kent and has offered private Business tuition to students across the UK. Lisa loves to create imaginative and accessible resources which engage learners and build their passion for the subject.

    Steve Vorster

    Reviewer: Steve Vorster

    Expertise: Economics & Business Subject Lead

    Steve has taught A Level, GCSE, IGCSE Business and Economics - as well as IBDP Economics and Business Management. He is an IBDP Examiner and IGCSE textbook author. His students regularly achieve 90-100% in their final exams. Steve has been the Assistant Head of Sixth Form for a school in Devon, and Head of Economics at the world's largest International school in Singapore. He loves to create resources which speed up student learning and are easily accessible by all.