The Role of Marketing
Marketing Orientation and Objectives · Marketing Ethics and Social Marketing
IB Business Management HL topic guide
Marketing
Marketing is a core part of IB Business Management HL. This guide connects the syllabus ideas behind The Role of Marketing, Marketing Planning, Sales Forecasting, Market Research, The Four Ps and 3 more units, shows how they appear in worked problems, and points you to the formulas and full lessons needed for exam revision.
What you will learn
Marketing syllabus outline
The units below follow the structure used in the full Study to Learn course. Use the outline to identify exactly which idea needs attention, then work through the public example before continuing to the complete lesson path.
Marketing Planning
The Marketing Plan and an Introduction to the Marketing Mix · SWOT Analysis and the Marketing Audit — Tools That Feed the Plan
Sales Forecasting
Time Series Analysis and Moving Averages · Limitations of Sales Forecasting and Exam Pitfalls
Market Research
Primary, Secondary Research and Sampling · Primary Research Design — Practical Considerations for the IA
The Four Ps
Product and Price · Promotion and Place
The Extended Marketing Mix of Seven Ps
People, Process and Physical Evidence · Service Quality Models — The Gap Between Expectation and Experience
International Marketing
Global vs Multi-Domestic Marketing Strategies · Ethical Issues in International Marketing
E-commerce
The Growth of E-commerce and Digital Marketing · Digital Marketing Analytics and Metrics
Free worked preview
People, Process and Physical Evidence
This complete preview comes from the The Extended Marketing Mix of Seven Ps unit. It introduces the core language, shows the method in context, and gives you a real example of the lesson quality before you create an account.
The Extended Marketing Mix for Services
Services are intangible, often produced and consumed simultaneously, and cannot be stored — characteristics that create marketing challenges the traditional 4 Ps alone cannot address. This HL subtopic introduces People, Process, and Physical Evidence. After this lesson, you will be able to define each of the three additional Ps, explain why they matter for service businesses, and clarify that most product-based businesses also have a service element where these Ps apply.
Because services are intangible and often produced and consumed simultaneously, marketing a service typically needs three additional elements beyond the standard 4 Ps.
People
Staff who deliver the service directly shape the customer's experience and perception of quality — their training, attitude, and skill are part of the product itself.
Process
The systems and procedures used to deliver the service — e.g. how quickly and smoothly a customer is served, from booking through to delivery.
Physical Evidence
Tangible cues that support an intangible service — a clean, well-designed store, a professional website, branded uniforms — helping customers judge quality they can't directly inspect beforehand.
Common ErrorDon't treat the extended 7 Ps as only relevant to pure service businesses — most businesses selling physical products also provide some service element (e.g. customer support, in-store experience), where People, Process, and Physical Evidence still matter.
Scenario
An airline's marketing mix includes not just its ticket price and routes (Price, Place) but also cabin crew training and friendliness (People), the smoothness of check-in and boarding (Process), and the cleanliness and design of its aircraft (Physical evidence) — all shaping the customer's overall perception of the service.
Practice QuestionExplain why "physical evidence" matters in marketing a service, using an example.
Reviewed by the Study to Learn editorial team · Updated 2026-07-24