Pearson LCCI Level 2 Certificate in Copywriting and Content for Marketing Sample Michelle Hannon Harlow, England • London • New York • Boston • San Francisco • Toronto • Sydney • Dubai • Singapore • Hong Kong Tokyo • Seoul • Taipei • New Dehli • Cape Town • São Paulo • Mexico City • Madrid • Amsterdam • Munich • Paris • Milan Pearson KAO Two KAO Park Harlow Essex CM17 9NA And associated companies throughout the world Visit us on the World Wide Web at: www.pearson.com/uk © Pearson Education Limited 2019 Some Rights Reserved. This publication may be copied and distributed only by Pearson approved LCCI centres or students studying an LCCI course, as long as the Pearson logo remains, that Pearson is acknowledged as the originator of this work and that no alteration is made to the original material. Selling and making a profit on this publication is strictly prohibited. All other rights are reserved and will need the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Barnard’s Inn, 86 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1EN. Author: Michelle Hannon Edited and Reviewed by Joel Cable ISBN 978-1-78764-401-4 Sample CHAPTER 1 MARKETING PRINCIPLES Learning Objectives 1.1 The core marketing mix Knowledge of the 4Ps and 4Cs of the core marketing mix, the factors that are considered for each and their relevance when developing copy and content. 1.2 Core marketing activities Knowledge of the core marketing activities when developing effective copy and content. 1.3 Consumer groups Knowledge of the core consumer groups. Sample 2 LCCI LEVEL 2 CERTIFICATE IN COPYWRITING AND CONTENT FOR MARKETING 1.1 The core marketing mix A market is any place where customers interact with brands, products and/or services. A business or organisation can strengthen its marketing efforts by examining customer interaction with, and response to, its brands, products and/or services. The marketing mix is a tool that an organisation uses to determine how its products and/or services behave in a market. The core factors of the marketing mix, the 4Ps and the 4Cs, help organisations analyse each part of this behaviour. The 4Ps The 4Ps is a set of actions that an organisation uses to promote its brand products and/or services to the customer. The 4Ps are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Product represents the brand, products and/or services offered by an organisation. In order to successfully market these, an organisation should first identify and understand the key features and benefits that make them unique and stand out within the market. Price refers to the cost of products or services against the profit they generate. An organisation should consider price while being realistic about how much customers are willing to pay. If the price is too low, the organisation will not profit; yet if it gets too high, the customer will not buy. Both the organisation and the customer must be satisfied with the price. Place is about product distribution and customer access. The product or service needs to be in the right place for the target market to have access to it. The organisation should agree where the products or services will be made available geographically, how they will be delivered, and where marketing will be placed i.e. through traditional and/or digital channels. Promotion involves specific consideration ofhow and when an organisation will get marketing messages to their target market. An organisation should agree the marketing strategy and channels of promotion they will use to reach their customers most effectively. For example, messages may be communicated in print format for publication and distribution in national newspapers, or they may be communicated in digital format for direct publication and distribution via email. The 4Cs The 4Cs is a method of understanding the 4Ps from a customer’s point of view. The 4Cs are Customer value, Cost, Convenience, and Communication. Product-customer value When developing copy and content, it is important to understand the product or service range and offering through the eyes of the organisation and the customer. The customer’s perceived value of a product or service not only includes Sampleits price, but also factors such as its features and benefits. In order to effectively promote a product or service to the customer, an organisation should first determine the features and benefits of the product or service. Whereas features are the essential characteristics of a product or service and define what it can do, benefits describe how features can make a difference to the customer. In order to determine the benefits of a product or service to the customer, an organisation should identify customer requirements. Copy and content is used to highlight how a product or service meets or exceeds customer requirements and provides benefits, encouraging the customer to buy. MARKETING PRINCIPLES 3 It is important to bear in mind that an organisation’s selection of branding and packaging can also impact how the customer perceives a product’s value. Price-cost One of the key factors an organisation considers when deciding the price of a product or service is market position. Market position focuses on customers’ perceived value of a product or service in relation to its competition. An organisation should have a clear understanding of a product’s market position in order to determine prices that a customer will view as good value for money. Selecting price proposition and tactics will influence how cost is perceived and can motivate a customer to purchase a similar product from a different brand at a different price. For example, as a promotional pricing tactic, a mobile phone provider might launch an email marketing campaign informing potential customers of a discounted price on a top-of-the-range phone. The copy written for the email might aim to justify the time and effort the customer will spend switching provider, convincing them of the overall value they will get from buying a top-of-the-range phone at a discounted price. Place-convenience The right product at the right price should be found in the right place, and by the right customer. This means that an organisation should choose the right product distribution channels (traditional and digital) to make the product easily accessible and convenient to buy for the target customer. For example, if an organisation is selling baseball hats for very young children, they should consider customer preference and access when deciding whether to distribute traditionally in a store, or digitally through a website. Due to the parental controls often placed on children’s Internet access, a child might be less likely to see the hats online than in store. As they will also have an opportunity to try on the hats in store, they might be more likely to ask their parent to buy one. However, parents might still consider the convenience of buying online to be a benefit. It is equally important for an organisation to select appropriate geographical locations for the sale of their product or service – is the target market global, regional or national, or based in rural, suburban or urban areas? An organisation will define market coverage by agreeing how broad its geographic coverage should be, and by identifying which places customers should be able to buy the product within the area covered. If the product is physical, the organisation may need to plan transportation. Transportation can be by sea, rail, road or air, and can include product delivery from distributors to retail outlets and/or from online retailers direct to customers. Promotion-communication Traditionally, promotion has involved one-way communication from organisations to customers. By contrast, modern communication involves two-way engagement between the organisation and the customer. The Internet allows organisations to gather data and insight on their target market, and to create copy and content that specifically appeals to them. The result is more direct engagement between an organisation and their target market. The Internet also provides customers with faster and more effective ways of contacting organisations and giving feedback, facilitating a two-way conversation. Organisations will often consider this when agreeing communication strategy and tactics. For example, if a particular target market spends a large portion of time on social media, the copywriter may be asked to publish blog posts with links to products or services, encouraging customersSample to add comments. When developing copy and content, it will be necessary to select media channels. These will be print or digital, or a combination of both. In today’s digitally driven marketplace, a customer can be engaged through specific digital channels at a defined time, benefiting organisations trying to reach a very specific target market. An organisation may also try to reach customers who choose to access information more traditionally (due to their age, geographic location or interests) through print channels such as a newspaper or magazine. 4 LCCI LEVEL 2 CERTIFICATE IN COPYWRITING AND CONTENT FOR MARKETING Using the 4Ps together with the 4Cs allows an organisation to consider important questions, particularly in relation to how their target customers are likely to interact with their brand, products or services. provides Product Customer value represents Price Cost provides Place Convenience enables two-way Promotion Communication Figure 1.1 The ideal relationship between the 4Ps and the 4Cs Product (including brands, products and services) – Customer value • Does the customer need/want the product? • How will the customer use the product? • Does the copy and content highlight product features and, more importantly, benefits? • What is unique about the product? • Is the product’s branding and packaging appealing? Price – Cost • What is the cost to the customer? • What is the product’s perceived value? • What is the price proposition? Place – Convenience • Where can the customer find the product e.g.