MKB1700 Fundamentals of Marketing
The Complete Exam Bible · S1 2026MKB1700 Overview
- Monash University
- S1 2026
- 9 chapters
- Marketing
Fundamentals of Marketing teaches marketing as a way of running a business — creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging value a customer will pay for.
- Assessed by Interactive oral exam 40% · “What is Marketing” essay 20% · Weekly reflections 15% + 2 more — Interactive oral exam is a hurdle
- Key terms The marketing concept, Customer value, PESTEL, STP
- How to prepare Treat the concept map and oral as the grade-decider from Week 1, not Week 11. As you meet each framework — the value equation, PESTEL…
- Most asked What is the MKB1700 oral exam?
How MKB1700 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive oral exam · hurdle | 40% | Exam period · in person, 1-on-1 · hurdle — must pass to pass the subject |
| “What is Marketing” essay | 20% | Written task, around Week 4 |
| Weekly reflections | 15% | Written, weekly (best 9) — on Moodle the essay + reflections show as one 35% banner |
| Marketing concept map | 15% | The artefact (around Week 11) you defend in the oral |
| Weekly quizzes | 10% | Weekly (best 9) — confirm the exact split in your unit guide |
What MKB1700 covers
Nine teaching topics → one exam-ready map. Each links to its free chapter guide.
Marketing Foundations
The marketing concept · five orientations · the value equation · needs, wants & demandsMarketing is not selling or advertising — it is the whole set of activities a business uses to create, communicate, deliver and exchange things of value.
- 1.1 Marketing as a philosophy, not a department
- 1.2 The five orientations (production → societal)
- 1.3 Exchange — restricted, generalised, complex
- 1.4 The Triple Bottom Line (people, planet, profit)
- Customer value — the four types (Smith & Colgate)
- 1.5 Needs → wants → demands, and satisfaction
The Marketing Environment
Three rings of control · the micro actors · PESTEL · scanning to SWOTValue is always created in context: an offer that works in one environment fails in another.
- 2.1 Three layers, three levels of control
- The internal environment (directly controllable)
- The six micro actors (the industry)
- 2.2 Reading competitors & market structures
- 2.3 The macro environment — PESTEL
- Disposable vs discretionary income
Buyer Behaviour
The 5-stage decision process · the four influences · involvement · B2B buyingBuying is a process, not a moment.
- 3.1 The five-stage consumer decision process
- The four information source types
- Cognitive dissonance (post-purchase doubt)
- The four influence families (cultural/social/personal/psychological)
- Roles in the buying group (initiator → payer)
- 3.2 Involvement & perceived risk
Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
Segmentation bases · the target-marketing process · positioning & perceptual mapsSTP is where the subject pivots from understanding the market to acting on it.
- 5.1 Why segment? Levitt's Marketing Myopia
- 5.2 The Target Marketing Process (3 fixed stages)
- Segmentation bases — geo, demo, psycho, behavioural, benefit
- 5.4 Effective segmentation — S-M-A-P
- 5.5 Targeting: attractiveness × company fit
- Coverage strategies (undifferentiated / differentiated / concentrated)
Product & Branding
The total-product concept · the product life cycle · new-product development · brandsProduct is the first P, designed after STP because the position you chose dictates what the product must be.
- 6.1 The goods–services continuum & the 7 Ps
- Product item / line / mix (the 'contains' hierarchy)
- 6.2 The Total Product Concept (four layers)
- 6.3 Consumer product classes & the mix they imply
- Branding — brand, mark, trademark, strategies
- The Product Life Cycle & its strategies
Pricing
Pricing objectives · cost-plus & break-even · value-based pricing · skimming vs penetrationPrice is the one P that brings revenue in — everything else spends it — and it is the visible expression of the value being exchanged, reconnecting to the cost/sacrifice side of customer value.
- Pricing objectives & the four price influences
- Fixed, variable & total costs
- 7.3 Cost-plus pricing (mark-up)
- Break-even analysis
- 7.6 Value-based pricing (ceiling & floor)
- Price skimming vs penetration
Place & Distribution
Channels & levels · channel intensity · vertical systems · retailing & logisticsPlace answers a deceptively simple question: how does the product get from where it is made to where the buyer can buy it — at the right time and place?
- Marketing channels & channel levels
- 8.2 Channel intensity (intensive / selective / exclusive)
- The Product → Place link
- 8.4 Channel structures (vertical / horizontal / hybrid)
- Franchising, retailing & wholesaling
- Logistics & the supply chain
Promotion & IMC
Integrated marketing communications · the communication model · push vs pull · the 6-tool mixPromotion is the conversation between a brand and its market — and the job is not 'more ads' but one consistent message sent through the right mix of tools so the receiver actually decodes what you meant.
- Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
- The communication model (encode → decode, noise, feedback)
- P.3 The hierarchy of effects / buyer-readiness ladder
- The three response realms (cognitive / affective / behavioural)
- Push vs pull strategy
- The six-tool promotion mix
Marketing Planning & Research
The planning process · SWOT · SMART objectives · the MkIS · building the concept map you defendPlanning is where the environment scan, STP and the marketing mix stop being separate topics and become one coherent plan.
- Brooksbank's seven-stage planning process
- PL.3 Situation analysis (the four lenses)
- SWOT, SMART objectives & the control loop
- The MkIS & the five-step research process
- Exploratory / descriptive / causal research
- Secondary vs primary data; qual vs quant; ethics
The subject walks one arc: what marketing is, the environment it works in, the buyer, segmentation, targeting & positioning, the 7 Ps marketing mix, then planning & research.
What makes MKB1700 distinctive is the assessment: every week feeds a concept map (hierarchical nodes joined by labelled links) that you then defend in a 1-on-1 interactive oral exam — 40% of the subject and a hurdle you must pass to pass. So this guide teaches each framework plainly, then shows how the pieces connect, because the marks are in the connections, not the term count.
MKB1700 cheatsheet for exam revision
AskSia publishes a free MKB1700 cheatsheet for exam revision, an exam cheat sheet that follows the official permitted-materials rule for this assessment and condenses the topics in this guide. Open the MKB1700 cheatsheet.
Worked example · free
The concept map — turning two concepts into a marked, labelled link
- +1Set the levels. Put STP as a higher (organising) node and the 7 Ps as a node beneath it — the mix is built for a target chosen by STP, so the hierarchy reflects real dependence.
- +2Draw the link and label it. A bare line scores nothing; write a linking phrase on it: STP “defines the target and desired position, which the” → 7 Ps “are then designed to deliver.”
- +1Make it defendable. Be ready to say why the link runs this way — positioning sets the promise; Product, Price, Place and Promotion are the levers that keep it — not the reverse.
Key terms
- The marketing concept
- The philosophy that a business succeeds by starting with customer needs and delivering value better than rivals — marketing as a way of running the whole firm, not a department bolted on at the end.
- Customer value
- What a customer gets (functional, experiential and symbolic benefits) relative to what they give up (cost / sacrifice: price plus effort, time and risk). The spine of the subject — it reappears in Product, Price and buyer involvement.
- PESTEL
- The six macro-environment forces a firm can only respond to, not control: Political, Economic, Sociocultural, Technological, Environmental and Legal. Scanned alongside the micro and internal layers, then summarised as a SWOT.
- STP
- Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning — the bridge from understanding the market to acting on it: divide the market into segments, choose which to serve, and craft a position in the target's mind that the marketing mix then delivers.
- Concept map
- MKB1700's signature artefact: hierarchical nodes (concepts at big / middle / small levels) joined by labelled relationship links. Marked on the quality of the connections, then defended in the interactive oral exam.
MKB1700 FAQ
Is MKB1700 hard?
It is concept-heavy rather than calculation-heavy, so the difficulty is not memorising terms — it is being able to explain how they connect. The grade hinges on a concept map you defend live in a 1-on-1 oral, where a follow-up question quickly exposes shallow memorisation. Students who only list definitions struggle; students who practise the links do well.
How is MKB1700 assessed?
The interactive oral exam is 40% and a hurdle — you must pass it (in person, on campus) to pass the subject. The rest is a “What is Marketing” essay (about 20%) and weekly reflections (about 15%) — bundled on Moodle as one 35% written banner — plus the concept-map artefact (about 15%) and weekly quizzes (about 10%). Confirm this year's exact split in your unit guide.
What is the MKB1700 oral exam?
A 1-on-1 conversation in the exam period where you explain and defend the concept map you submitted — typically four questions, previewed in Week 12. The examiner probes why each node, level and labelled link is there. It assesses the whole semester, so you cannot cram it; you can only defend a map you genuinely built.
Do I need maths for MKB1700?
Very little. The only arithmetic is light pricing work — cost-plus and break-even — in the pricing topic. The subject is conceptual: frameworks, examples and the relationships between them, not calculation.
Is using AskSia for MKB1700 cheating?
No. AskSia is a study reference written in our own words — we host none of your lecturer's files, and Sia teaches you the method to earn the marks; it does not complete or sit your assessments, and it will not answer a live graded oral for you.
Questions students ask in each MKB1700 chapter
- What is the difference between a need, a want and a demand?
- A need is a state of felt deprivation that pre-exists (hunger, belonging) — marketers do not create needs. A want is the specific form a need takes, shaped by culture and the individual (a particular burrito brand). A demand is a want backed by buying power and willingness to pay. The exam and oral both test this chain, so keep one worked example ready. Chapter 01 · Marketing Foundations
- What is the difference between the internal, micro and macro environments?
- They are three rings of decreasing control. Internal is inside the firm and directly controllable (its staff, structure, orientation). Micro is the outside parties the firm deals with directly and can influence (suppliers, customers, competitors, publics). Macro is broad societal forces (PESTEL) the firm can only monitor and respond to. The test is whether the firm can order it changed, only negotiate it, or only react to it. Chapter 02 · The Marketing Environment
- What are the five stages of the consumer decision process?
- Need/want recognition (a felt gap), information search (experiential, personal, commercial and public sources), evaluation of alternatives (comparing a choice set on evaluative criteria), purchase decision (picking the most-preferred option, or nothing), and post-purchase behaviour (satisfaction, word of mouth and managing cognitive dissonance). Each stage is a chance for the marketer to act. Chapter 03 · Buyer Behaviour
- What does STP stand for and why is the order fixed?
- Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. The order is fixed because each stage depends on the previous one: you divide the market into segments first, then choose which to serve (you cannot target a segment you have not identified), then craft a position for the chosen target (you cannot position before you know who you serve). On a map it is a three-node chain with directional, labelled arrows — 'divides into', 'selects', 'designs mix for'. Chapter 04 · Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
- What are the four layers of the Total Product Concept?
- Core (the fundamental benefit or problem solved), expected/actual (the attributes that deliver it — features, design, quality, packaging, branding), augmented (extras beyond the basic offer like warranty, advice, service) and potential (everything the product could become). Customers buy the core, but firms compete on the outer augmented and potential layers, which is where differentiation and positioning live. Chapter 05 · Product & Branding
- What is the difference between cost-plus and value-based pricing?
- Cost-plus builds the price up from cost — work out unit cost, add a mark-up — so it runs cost → price → value. Value-based pricing flips the logic: it sets the price on the buyer's perceived value (value → price → cost). The unit favours value-based pricing because it is customer-led and ties back to STP and positioning; cost-plus ignores what the buyer will actually pay. Chapter 06 · Pricing
- What is the difference between intensive, selective and exclusive distribution?
- They are the three settings of channel intensity (how many outlets carry the product). Intensive means every available outlet (for convenience goods buyers will not search for, like soft drinks). Selective means a chosen subset of outlets (for shopping goods compared on price and quality). Exclusive means one or very few outlets per area (for specialty goods buyers will travel for, which also protects a premium image). Chapter 07 · Place & Distribution
- What is Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)?
- IMC is coordinating all promotional tools and touchpoints so they carry one consistent, on-positioning message. The job is not to produce more ads but to make sure advertising, PR, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and digital all say the same thing, so the receiver decodes the meaning you intended wherever they meet the brand — exactly what the Garnier at the Australian Open case demonstrates. Chapter 08 · Promotion & IMC
- What is Brooksbank's seven-stage planning process?
- The unit's marketing-planning framework: commit to the marketing philosophy, define the mission, analyse the situation (the situation analysis and SWOT), set objectives (SMART), formulate strategy, organise, and control. It is where the environment scan, STP and the marketing mix converge into one coherent plan, and the control stage closes the loop by comparing results to objectives and feeding corrections back in. Chapter 09 · Marketing Planning & Research
How to study for the exam
Treat the concept map and oral as the grade-decider from Week 1, not Week 11. As you meet each framework — the value equation, PESTEL, the buyer decision process, STP, the 7 Ps, the planning loop — immediately add it to your map and, more importantly, label the link to a concept you already placed.
The marks are in the named relationships, so practise saying each link out loud (“STP defines the target the mix delivers”; “the environment scan feeds the SWOT that drives the plan”). Because the oral is a 40% hurdle that probes why, a map you can defend in your own words is the safest mark in the subject — rote definitions are the riskiest.
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