Market growth based on number of IB Business Management candidates

The chart above shows the number of final year candidates that took the DP Business Management examinations from 2005 to 2021 (May and November centres). The numbers represent outstanding market growth of 752% during the period shown.

Market growth refers to an increase in the size of a market, usually measured by the rise in total sales revenue of the market or industry. Market growth is a common business objective. Growth is generally beneficial for a business (such as the IBO) as it gains from an increase in sales revenue and profits. However, an increase in the demand for a particular good or service also attracts new suppliers (such as publishers of IB textbooks and digital resources) due to the potential to earn a share of the higher sales revenue and profits.

An example of an industry with positive market growth is smartphones, as shown in the table below (sales expressed in trillions of USD).

Source: Statista

Although the smartphone market is dominated by Samsung and Apple, the positive market growth has attracted many more manufacturers to the industry, such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Huawei, LG, ZTE, and Lenovo. By contrast, some markets have seen a decline in the size of the market (negative market growth), such as the markets for CDs and digital cameras.

The most common way to calculate market growth, is to work out the percentage change in the market size in two different time periods (see worked example). The formula for calculating market growth is:

If the market growth rate is positive, it means the market size is growing. An example is the global market for electric cars. However, if the market growth rate is negative, it means the market size has shrunk. An example if the market for sugary carbonated drinks.

A key problem with calculating market size and therefore market growth is how to define a particular market. For example, what exactly is the meant by the "public transport market"? Does this include all forms of transportation taken by the general public, including private taxis and share rides? Does it include the market in the local area or a wider or even national market? It is not always easy to clearly define the market that a business operates in, especially for large multinational companies that have operations in multiple countries across the world.

 Key concept - Creativity

In the ever-globalized business world, the pace of creativity is demanding, but can create opportunities for organizations that embrace it. In particular, product oriented organizations spend a huge amount of money every year to develop new and updated products. This has shortened the product life cycle of many technological products, such as smartphones, tablet computers, laptops, and televisions.

Advances in information communication technology (ICT) and online technologies have influenced marketing practices and strategies. For example, marketers are increasingly reliant on the use on social media marketing (SMM). InThinking, for example, markets itself using platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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Social media platforms provide many opportunities for creative marketing

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Successful marketing often relies on the creativity skills and innovative mindset of marketers. One aspect of marketing that focuses on creativity is the use of guerrilla marketing. Guerrilla marketing is a promotional strategy used to raise maximum exposure of a brand, product or business by using minimal resources in a highly unconventional and original, or innovative, way. It aims to ambush or catch the attention of customers through unusual, innovative and/or shocking techniques. Advances in technology, such as the Internet, has made guerrilla marketing more accessible to many more small businesses. Guerrilla marketing techniques are far cheaper and can be more effective than traditional above the line promotional methods, as they grab the attention of the general public and help a firm to stand out in a world of advertising clutter.