Entrepreneurship · Lesson Plan

Basic Principles of Marketing

Marketing is how a business plans, prices, promotes, and distributes its products to the customers who want them. This lesson introduces the four P’s — product, price, promotion, and place — and the marketing mix, then shows how a marketing plan grows out of research into customers, competitors, and the market. Students analyze a real business they both use with a partner worksheet.

Grades 8–12 Lesson Plan 45–60 minutes Free Lesson Plan Lesson & Worksheet: Full Membership

Basic principles of marketing lesson illustration

For Teachers

Lesson at a glance

Topic: Entrepreneurship
Grade Level: Grades 8–12
Resource Type: Lesson + Worksheet
Estimated Time: 45–60 minutes
Format: Lesson + worksheet
Materials: Printable lesson, activity sheet, whiteboard

What Students Learn

Learning objectives

Define marketing as a business function
Name and explain the four P’s
Describe the marketing mix
Explain why research drives a marketing plan
Analyze the marketing of a real business

Materials

What you’ll need

Printed lesson and worksheet (one per student or pair)
A business both partners use (for the analysis)
Pencils
Whiteboard

Key Terms

Vocabulary

Marketing: Planning, pricing, promoting, and distributing products to customers.
Product: The good or service a business offers.
Price: How much a product or service sells for.
Promotion: Communicating information about a product to potential customers.
Place: Where the business operates and distributes to customers.
Marketing mix: The combination of the four P’s in a marketing plan.

For Teachers

Lesson plan

Estimated time: one 45–60 minute class period.

Lesson sequence

What is marketing? (10 min). Define marketing and why people buy (need or perceived benefit).
The four P’s (15 min). Product, price, promotion, place, and how they form the marketing mix.
Research & the plan (12 min). How customer, competitor, and market research shape a marketing plan.
Worksheet (15 min). Partners analyze the marketing of a business they both use.

Assessment

Assess the partner worksheet for correct use of the four P’s and sound observations.

Discussion

Discussion questions

What is marketing, and why do people buy products?
What are the four P’s?
What is the marketing mix?
Why must a marketing plan start with research?
How would you market a product to a saturated market?

Printable Lesson & Activity