Syllabus: AQA - AS and A Level Business
Module: 3.3 Marketing Management
Lesson: 3.3.1 Setting Marketing Objectives
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Introduction
This lesson aligns with the AQA AS and A Level Business specification (Section 3.3.1) and explores the strategic role of marketing objectives within business planning. Marketing objectives are critical because they give direction, inform decision-making, and offer measurable targets for success. Teaching this topic bridges core commercial awareness with practical business insight, preparing students for exams and future employment. For SLT and careers leads, this unit also offers rich links to Gatsby Benchmarks 4 and 5 by demonstrating how curriculum learning relates directly to careers in marketing, analytics, and strategy.
Key Concepts
From the AQA syllabus, students are expected to understand:
The value of setting marketing objectives: Why businesses use specific, measurable goals to guide marketing activity.
Types of marketing objectives:
Sales volume and sales value – targets for quantity and revenue.
Market size – overall size of the market the business operates in.
Market and sales growth – percentage increase in market size or sales over time.
Market share – the proportion of total market sales a company holds.
Brand loyalty – the extent to which customers repeatedly purchase from a brand.
Students should be able to define, explain, and evaluate these objectives in the context of wider business aims, linking them with operational, financial, and human resource objectives.
Real-World Relevance
Marketing objectives shape real business outcomes. For example:
Apple sets clear targets for market share growth with every product launch, ensuring objectives align with innovation strategy.
Greggs shifted its marketing objectives to health-conscious segments, helping grow its market share during changing consumer trends.
Netflix uses data analytics to drive personalised marketing, aiming to improve customer retention and boost brand loyalty.
These examples show that marketing objectives are not theoretical—they are essential tools that shape daily decisions and long-term strategy.
How It’s Assessed
In AQA Business, students encounter this topic primarily in Paper 1 and Paper 2 through both:
Short-answer questions (e.g., define or explain a specific objective)
Application questions (e.g., analyse data or objectives from a case study)
20-mark evaluative essays (e.g., “Assess the importance of setting marketing objectives when entering a new market”)
Key command words include:
Analyse: Break down objectives in context, show interrelationships.
Evaluate: Weigh advantages and disadvantages of different objectives.
Justify: Recommend the most suitable objective based on evidence.
Assessment often includes quantitative data, meaning students must interpret trends in market share, growth, or sales figures.
Enterprise Skills Integration
This topic strongly connects with Enterprise Skills’ core themes:
Commercial Awareness: Students learn how organisations define and measure value creation.
Decision-Making & Problem-Solving: Selecting the right marketing objective involves analysing data, predicting customer behaviour, and assessing risk.
Workplace Readiness: Understanding KPIs and marketing metrics mirrors real-world roles in product management, strategy, and sales operations.
Simulations and tools on the Skills Hub Business platform support this topic by letting students explore scenarios where they must prioritise different marketing objectives in changing environments—mirroring actual business pressures.
Careers Links
This lesson supports Gatsby Benchmarks 4 and 5:
Benchmark 4: Clear connections to careers in marketing, sales analytics, product development, and customer experience.
Benchmark 5: Employer-validated activities from Skills Hub include real case studies and video interviews with marketing professionals.
Relevant careers include:
Marketing Analyst
Brand Manager
Digital Marketing Executive
Sales Manager
Product Owner
These roles all involve setting, monitoring, and adapting marketing objectives to business realities.
Teaching Notes
Tips for delivery:
Begin with a real company’s mission and get students to reverse-engineer possible marketing objectives.
Use live data (e.g. market share of soft drinks) to create mini case studies.
Link marketing objectives with prior learning in financial and operational objectives for cross-topic understanding.
Common pitfalls:
Students confusing sales volume with market share.
Focusing on definitions without exploring implications or connections to overall strategy.
Lack of contextual analysis in extended responses.
Extension activities:
Use simulation tools like Enterprise Skills’ Marketing Message Creator or Business Report Builder to bring theory into application.
Assign roles in groups (e.g. Product Manager, Data Analyst) to evaluate and select objectives for a fictional product launch.
