Note that each module in the Qualification - Certificate in Business Psychology is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
Sample Course Notes - Find Your Place in the Business World
Everyone who works in the world of business needs to recognise the scope and nature of business; and find a niche that is appropriate to their ambitions, skills, resources and personality.
You can't do everything -and if you try, you are likely to succeed at nothing!
John Mason, Principal, ACS Distance Education
The world of business is broken down into segments.
Marketing psychology talks about "market segmentation" as splitting the potential market up into specific target groups.
Not everyone is going to buy a product and so there is little sense targeting all your products to the entire market. Once a profile of potential customers has been reached through other forms of market research, the market can be segregated in order to isolate groups of people who the product may appeal to. These groups, or segments, can be targeted with messages that appeal to them directly.
Marketers can target their market segment and send personalised communications. This is known as a 'segment of one' and is a return to the producer-consumer relations that existed prior to mass production. Segmentation is the cornerstone of marketing. A distribution strategy considers where the target market is most likely to buy a product, whilst a promotional strategy considers the target market’s media habits. Promotional strategies should also take into account what messages would be most persuasive.
Segmentation is important because with a large market it can be tempting to try to be “all things to all people”. However, businesses that adopt this approach run the risk of losing their uniqueness and appeal. As we have already seen, different people have different needs and wants, and these are constantly changing.
When segmenting the market, members within a particular segment should be as similar as possible to each other on a specific characteristic. For example, the members of a segment may all value low cost over quality. In addition, each segment should be as different as possible to other segments. When segmentation is successfully done like this, the members of a specific segment will respond in similar ways to different treatments – high service, discounted prices, quality materials, and so on. In this way, campaigns can be aimed at members of a particular segment and these campaigns need to be specific to get a unique response behaviour.
Several conditions have to be met if segmentation is to work:
- Identity - the segment should be easily distinguishable from other segments, and easily identifiable.
- Access - the segment should be easily accessible.
- Size - the segment should be large enough with enough purchasing power to warrant production and marketing.
There are a number of ways in which a market can be segmented, for example: on the basis of: geographic (location), demographic (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.), and geo-demographic variables. Larger scale segmentations may be on the basis of countries. Markets can also be segmented according to psychographic factors such as how often they purchase a product (brand loyalty is included here), lifestyle, and interests.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs (theory) can be useful when segmenting the market because advertising campaigns can be directed at particular needs levels. There will always be shared needs from different segments.
Who is this course suitable for?
Anyone who would like to work within business psychology
helping businesses to improve their productivity and operations.
Or you
might own your own business or want to own your own business and want to
learn more about how to run a successful business using the principles
and theories of psychology.
Why Study This Course?
- Put yourself ahead of your competitors by gaining a detailed and in depth understanding of business psychology.
- Find out more about the theories behind business psychology and how you can apply them to the work and business world.
- Set up your own business or improve your existing career.
- Study online or by e-learning on this self-paced course.
Any Questions?
