Task 5. Reported speech

Complete the gaps with the correct form of ask, say or tell and give the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

As part of our most recent consumer survey, we recently interviewed 50 car drivers about their experience of buying fuel. The first question that they were asked was how often they had visited (visit) a petrol station during the last month. The majority of the people interviewed _______ that they _______ (do) so at least three times to buy either petrol or diesel for their vehicles. We then _____ them if they ________ (can) give us their opinion about the quality of the services that they had found. While most of our sample group ________ that they ________ (be) satisfied with the services provided, several drivers ________ us that they _______ (like) to see improvements in certain areas in the future. When these respondents _______ to elaborate on this, several of them ________ that they _________ (feel) more relaxed if they did not have to do the work of refueling their cars by themselves. Two respondents also _________ us that they __________ (like) to see the introduction of systems which would make it possible for drivers to complete all transactions without leaving the car.

We also _________ everyone in the sample if they _________ (appreciate) some form of automated diagnosis of their vehicle. More than 50 % of those interviewed _________ that they __________ (welcome) this especially if it could provide automated tyre pressure and oil level checks.

In the final question they _________ if they _________(hear)about any of our latest innovations such as ‘the auto pump’ but only one person in the survey had any knowledge of this.

Read out the text again and answer the questions:

How many drivers were interviewed?

What was the purpose of the survey?

What did the consumers think of the quality of the services?

What were the respondents asked to elaborate on? Why?

What improvements did they want to be introduced?

How many of them knew about the latest innovations?

Speak about the marketing survey described in the text.

Task 6. Translate into English:

1. В ходе последнего опроса потребителей, автолюбителей спрашивали о том, как они покупают горючее.

2. Большинство людей посещают автозаправку по крайней мере трижды в неделю, чтобы купить либо бензин, либо дизельное топливо для своих машин.

3. Многие были вполне удовлетворены качеством предоставляемых услуг, хотя некоторые хотели бы видеть в будущем некоторые усовершенствования.

4. Двое респондентов ответили, что им хотелось бы проходить всю эту процедуру не выходя из автомобиля.

5. Большинство хотели бы, чтобы им самим не нужно было заправлять машину. Им очень понравилась идея автоматической диагностики их автомобилей, особенно если это касается проверки уровня масла и давления шин.

6. Только один человек слышал о последней технической новинке «автонасосе», остальные не имели понятия о том, что это такое.

Task 7. Read and translate the text «What is marketing?»

Answer the questions and retell the text.

A market can be defined as all the potential customers sharing a particular need or want. Marketing is the process of developing, pricing, distributing and promoting the goods or services that satisfy such needs. Marketing therefore combines market research, new product development, distribution, advertising, promotion, product improvement, and so on. According to this definition, marketing begins and ends with the customer. Truly successful marketing understands the customer so well that the product or service satisfies a need so perfectly that the customer is desperate to buy it. The product almost sells itself. Of course this will only happen if the product or service is better than those of competitors.

Companies are always looking for marketing opportunities – possibilities of filling unsatisfied needs in areas in which they are likely to enjoy a differential advantage, due to their particular competencies. Marketing opportunities are generally isolated by market segmentation – dividing a market into submarkets or segments according to customers` requirements or buying habits. Once a target market has been identified, a company has to decide what goods or services to offer, always remembering the existence of competitors.

Marketers do not only identify consumer needs; they can anticipate them by developing new products. They will then have to design marketing strategies and plan marketing programmes, and then organize, implement, and control the marketing effort. Once the basic offer, for example a product concept, has been established, the company has to think about the marketing mix – the set of all the various elements of a marketing programme, their integration, and the amount of effort that a company can expend on them in order to influence the target market. The best-known classification of these elements is the 4 P`s: Product, Price, Promotion and Place.

Aspects to be considered in marketing a product include its quality, its features, style, brand name, size, packaging, services and guarantee, while price includes consideration of things like the basic list price, discounts, the length of the payment period, and possible credit terms. Place in a marketing mix includes such factors as distribution channels, coverage of the market, locations of points of sale, inventory size, and so on. Promotion groups together advertising, publicity, sales promotion, and personal selling.

The next stage is to create long-term demand, perhaps by modifying particular features of the product to satisfy changes in consumer needs or market conditions.

Marketing can also involve the attempt to influence or change consumers` needs and wants. Companies try to do this in order to sell their products; governments and health authorities sometimes try to change people`s habits for their own good or for the general good. In other words, marketing also involves regulating the level, timing and character of demand.