INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE BOCA DEL RIO

EXAMEN DE COMPRENSIÓN DE TEXTOS TÉCNICO-CIENTÍFICOS

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

NAME:___________________________________________DATE:_________________

I. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE

Marketing

Almost every marketing textbook has a different definition of the term “marketing.”
The better definitions are focused upon customer orientation and satisfaction of
customer needs.

In January 1991, Regis McKenna published an article in Harvard Business Review (HBR)
entitled “Marketing Is Everything.” In the article McKenna states, “Marketing today is
not a function; it is a way of doing business.” Indeed we now call this the top level of
Marketing – Marketing as a business philosophy. So yes, marketing is everything. In
essence it’s the process by which a company decided what it will sell, to whom, when
& how and then does it!

This brings us to the second level of marketing; Marketing as a Strategy. This entails
understanding the environment the business is operating in; customers, competitors,
laws, regulations, etc. and planning marketing strategy to make the business a success.
This second layer is about segmenting the market, deciding which customers to target
and deciding what messages you want the targets to associate with you: what is called
Positioning. The overall process is usually referred to as; segmentation-targeting-
positioning (STP).

STP however is not alone at this level; it is closely allied with the concept of Branding,
which is not just about logos and names. Brands are now about image – more
correctly its perception, branding is a link between the attributes customers associate
with a brand and how the brand owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand: the
brand identity. Over time, or through poorly executed marketing or through societal
changes in markets, a brand’s identity evolves gaining new attributes from the
consumer’s perspective. Not all of these will be beneficial from the brand owner’s
perspective and they (the owners) will seek to bridge the gap between the brand
image and the brand identity, by trying to change the customers perceptions – brand
image – to be closer to the wanted brand identity; sometimes this necessitates a brand
re-launch. A central aspect to brand is the choice of name. Effective brand names
build a connection between the brand’s personality as it is perceived by the target
audience and the actual product/service, by implication the brand name should be on
target with the brand demographic, i.e. based in correct segmentation and targeting.
Level two of Marketing can thus be summarized as STP + Branding.
The third level of marketing is about the day to day operational running of marketing,
it encompasses the control of the Marketing Mix and the processes within a business
that help create and deliver the company’s products and services to the customer.
This level spans all aspects of a business and across all customer contact points
including:
 A company’s web site;
 How they answer the phones;
 Their marketing and (Public Relations)PR campaigns;
 Their sales process;
 How customer contact staff present themselves (in person and on the phone);
 How a business delivers its services;
 How a business “manages” its clients
 How a business solicits feedback from its clients.
From the above we see that:
Marketing involves an ongoing process. The environment is “dynamic”. This means
that the market tends to change – what customers want today is not necessarily what
they want tomorrow.

II. CIRCLE THE MOST APPROPRIATE ANSWER (40 POINTS)

1. __________ is deciding which customers to target and deciding what messages you
want the targets to associate with you.
a) Branding
b) Positioning
c) STP
d) Logos

2. What’s a central aspect to the brand?

a) The website
b) The name
c) Personality
d) Targeting

3. What is the first level of marketing called?

a) Branding
b) The top level of marketing
c) Marketing as a business philosophy
d) Marketing as a strategy

4. STP + Branding are a summarization of __________.

a) Level two of marketing
b) Positioning
c) Image
d) Segmentation-targeting-positioning
III. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH. (20 POINTS)

5. What is the third level of marketing about?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

6. What does the second level of marketing entail?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

IV. WRITE A SUMMARY OF THE TEXT IN SPANISH. (40 POINTS)