Study Guide
Marketing
Test Design and Framework
The test design below describes general assessment information. The framework that follows is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this test measures.
Test Design
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) and online-proctored test |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions |
| Time* | 2 hours |
| Passing Score | 220 |
*Does not include 15-minute tutorial
Test Framework
| Content Domain | Range of Competencies | Approximate Percentage of Test Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | Core Marketing Principles | 0001–0005 | 36% |
| II. | Marketing Functions | 0006–0010 | 36% |
| III. | Global Marketing and Research | 0011–0014 | 28% |
Domain I–Core Marketing Principles
Competency 0001–Understand marketing communication.
For example:
- Analyze business and marketing communications by citing specific textual evidence to support analysis and determine central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source.
- Demonstrate knowledge of techniques for producing clear, coherent writing, including persuasive writing, in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to the given marketing contexts.
- Demonstrate knowledge of effective oral and nonverbal communication skills used in business and marketing settings.
- Demonstrate knowledge of methods and etiquette in communicating with customers and maintaining customer relationships.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies and technologies for preparing and delivering presentations to diverse audiences.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the use of technology in marketing communication.
Competency 0002–Understand marketing concepts.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of principles of marketing, including the role of marketing and the marketing concept.
- Apply knowledge of customer behavior and factors affecting attitudes, perception, and purchasing decisions.
- Apply knowledge of types of markets, market planning, market segmentation, and the marketing mix.
- Demonstrate knowledge of business and marketing trends and the importance of marketing in the global economy.
- Demonstrate knowledge of social responsibility and legal and ethical issues in marketing.
Competency 0003–Understand economic principles.
For example:
- Apply concepts related to economics, including opportunity costs, supply and demand, and the law of diminishing returns.
- Analyze the free market system and compare and contrast different economic and political systems.
- Analyze factors that influence economic growth and the business cycle.
- Apply economic indicators (e.g., gross domestic product [GDP], consumer price index [CPI], inflation) to assess the state of the economy.
- Analyze monetary and fiscal policies and how these policies affect the U.S. and global economy.
Competency 0004–Understand core concepts of business and entrepreneurship.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the types and forms of business ownership.
- Apply knowledge of business organization and management functions (e.g., planning, organizing, directing, controlling).
- Demonstrate knowledge of principles of finance and financial management (e.g., interpreting financial statements, cash-flow planning).
- Demonstrate knowledge of purpose and importance of business plans and the characteristics and skills of entrepreneurs.
Competency 0005–Understand techniques of computation and quantitative analysis in marketing.
For example:
- Apply basic computational skills involving integers, fractions, percents, and proportions to solve problems in marketing contexts.
- Interpret charts, tables, and graphs in various marketing contexts.
- Apply basic principles of measurement and expressions and equations to model and solve marketing problems.
Domain II–Marketing Functions
Competency 0006–Understand product/service management.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the nature and scope of the product/service management function.
- Apply knowledge of product/service mix strategies, including product development, product line expansion, and product deletion.
- Apply knowledge of marketing management strategies throughout the product/service life cycle.
- Apply strategies of product/service positioning and knowledge of branding, packaging, and labeling, including legal and ethical issues.
- Demonstrate knowledge of extended product/service features, including types of warranties and guarantees and consumer protection laws and agencies.
Competency 0007–Understand the role of pricing in marketing.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the nature and scope of the pricing function, including factors that affect pricing decisions.
- Apply pricing concepts (e.g., cost-oriented pricing, demand-oriented pricing) in a variety of situations.
- Model and solve problems involving strategies for setting prices, including return on investment (ROI), break-even analysis, profit maximization, and discounts.
- Apply knowledge of various pricing objectives, strategies, policies, and models.
Competency 0008–Understand the role of channel management in marketing.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of types of distribution channels and channel intermediaries for various types of products and services.
- Apply knowledge of the nature and scope of purchasing, physical distribution systems, and warehousing and storing.
- Demonstrate knowledge of inventory control systems and related concepts (e.g., stock turnover, gross margin return on inventory [GMROI]).
- Apply concepts of supply chain and logistic management and emerging trends in the channel management function.
Competency 0009–Understand the role of promotion in marketing.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of types of promotion and elements of the promotional mix.
- Apply knowledge of the types of advertising (e.g., public relations, word of mouth, trade shows).
- Apply knowledge of direct marketing, including digital strategies (e.g., e-mail, mobile devices).
- Demonstrate knowledge of advertising design strategies, including the creation of copy and the use of graphic design elements and storyboards.
- Apply knowledge of public relations (e.g., analyzing trends, developing press kits, participating in community activities).
- Apply knowledge of specialty promotions, visual promotions, cross merchandising, and types of display arrangements.
Competency 0010–Understand techniques of selling.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the nature of the selling function and strategies for creating positive customer relations.
- Apply knowledge of the selling process (e.g., determining customer needs, communicating product benefits, creating sales presentations, closing the sale).
- Compare and contrast the selling process in consumer sales and organizational sales.
- Apply knowledge of sales responsibilities, including developing clientele, using marketing research, creating sales reports, and developing and implementing sales plans.
- Apply methods and procedures of sales management, including sales quotas, incentive programs, and customer service controls.
Domain III–Global Marketing and Research
Competency 0011–Understand principles of integrated marketing communications.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of systems and tools needed to gather, access, synthesize, and disseminate information used for making marketing decisions.
- Analyze marketing information to make informed decisions in marketing.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the goals and techniques of integrated marketing communications (e.g., target marketing, communication integration, brand development).
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for using digital tools (e.g., search engines, social media) for presenting a unified marketing message to a target audience.
Competency 0012–Understand the role of global marketing in the business environment.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of global marketing strategies, including market segmentation and techniques for identifying target markets.
- Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics of global marketing plans (e.g., identifying risks, performing marketing research, analyzing global trends, SWOT analysis).
- Analyze organizational structures and forms of international businesses and how cultural, sociopolitical, and other factors affect global business and marketing.
- Examine the roles of trade agreements, international agencies, and international financial institutions in global commerce.
Competency 0013–Understand marketing information management.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the nature and scope of marketing information management, including the role of ethics in marketing research.
- Demonstrate knowledge of marketing research (e.g., primary and secondary, qualitative and quantitative research).
- Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of research techniques and approaches (e.g., observation, survey, focus group, experiment).
- Demonstrate knowledge of the use of technology in marketing information management.
Competency 0014–Understand career development and marketing careers in the business environment.
For example:
- Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of marketing careers (e.g., retailing and merchandising, advertising, marketing research) and career trends.
- Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for matching personal interests, education, needs, and experience to marketing careers.
- Demonstrate knowledge of personal characteristics necessary for a job in marketing and strategies for finding and applying for a job in marketing (e.g., creating résumés, networking, interviewing).
- Demonstrate knowledge of goals and purposes of work-based learning programs, including student leadership programs.