Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions. Q.1 Discuss the different marketing concepts with its merits and drawbacks. [10 marks]
1. Needs and Wants The marketers task lies in satisfying human needs and wants through the exchange process. It is alleged that marketing creates needs and makes people buy things they do not actually need. In reality, marketing or marketers do not create needs, but they create wants. Some needs are the basic human requirements of food, clothing, shelter, water and air. There are other needs such as social needs, esteem needs etc. When we desire certain specific objects or items to fulfill these needs, they are called wants. This difference between wants and needs is not the same as understood in the subject matter of economics. The marketer identifies the need which may lie unexpressed by the customer.
2. Demand Human wants are unlimited, but their resources are limited. When a want for an object is backed or supported by buying ability, willingness to spend and desire to acquire a product / service, it becomes a potential demand. The task of assessing or estimating demand is very crucial for a marketer. He should understand the relationship of the demand for his product with its price. Demand forecasting is essential for allocation of resources in a company. This is the reason why marketers segment consumers on the basis of their earning capacity. The income of the consumer indicates the potential to buy. 3. Product and Services Product is a generic term used to describe what is being offered by a seller or marketer. It may be a good, a service or idea, which can be marketed by offering a set of benefits it offers to customers to satisfy their needs. A product can be defined as anything that can be offered to market to satisfy a need or want. Today, many types of entities such as goods, services, experiences, events, persons, places and ideas are being marketed. 4. Target Market Very few products can satisfy everyone in the market. Therefore, marketers divide the market into distinct groups of buyers who have similar preferences. These groups are called segments with their own specific demographic, psychographic and behavioral characteristics. The marketer decides as to which of these segment or segments offer highest opportunity for his company. For each of these target markets, the firm develops a product / service suited to their needs. TATA group has recently designed an economy car called NANO which is priced around Rs. 1 Lakh. The target market for this car is all aspirants who dream of owning a car but cannot afford cars, which are currently available for minimum Rs. 2.5 Lakh. A Target Market is the group of people at whom a marketer targets his marketing efforts to sell his goods and services. 5. Marketing Management
Q.2 a) What are the features and objectives of marketing research? [5 marks] b) Give a note on psychoanalytic model of consumer behaviour. [5 marks]
Answer :- Features of Marketing Research 1. It is a systematic process It has to be carried out in a stepwise and systematic manner and the whole process needs to be planned with a clear objective. 2. It should be objective It is important that the methods employed and interpretations are objective. The research should not be carried out to establish an opinion nor should it be intentionally suited towards predetermined results. 3. It is multi-disciplinary Marketing Research draws concepts from other disciplines such as Statistics for obtaining reliable data and from Economics, Psychology and sociology for better understanding of buyers. Objectives of Marketing Research Marketing Research may be conducted for different purposes. Based on how organizations use Marketing Research, objectives of Marketing Research can be summarized as follows: 1. To understand why customers buy a product 2. To forecast the probable volume of future sales or expected market share 3. To assess competitive strengths and strategies 4. To evaluate the effectiveness of marketing action already taken 5. To assess customer satisfaction of companys products/services The Psychoanalytical Model: The psychoanalytical model draws from Freudian Psychology. According to this model, the individual consumer has a complex set of deep-seated motives which drive him towards certain buying decisions. The buyer has a private world with all his hidden fears, suppressed desires and totally subjective longings. His buying action can be influenced by appealing to these desires and longings. The psychoanalytical theory is attributed to the work of eminent psychologist Sigmund Freud. Freud introduced personality as a motivating force in human behavior. According to this theory, the mental framework of a human being is composed of three elements, namely,
Q. 3 Silver Line Manufacturers produce several varieties of automobile components. They have 3 to 5 suppliers who supply materials regularly. Recently, procurement manager of Silver Line discussed in the meeting that they have to look out for new suppliers since they would be expanding their business operations to many places. How do you think Silver Line have to go about this situation? [10 marks]
Answer : Silver line manufacturers expanding their business operation to many places and they looking for new suppliers. Following are given below the criteria for new supplier: Supplier Selection Strategies and Criteria Supplier selection criteria for a product or service category should be defined by a crossfunctional team of representatives from different sectors of your organization. In a manufacturing company, members of the team typically would include representatives from purchasing, quality, engineering and production. Team members should include personnel with technical/applications knowledge of the product or service to be purchased, as well as members of the department that uses the purchased item. Supplier selection criteria: Previous experience and past performance with the product/service to be purchased. Relative level of sophistication of the quality system, including meeting regulatory requirements or mandated quality system registration (for example, ISO 9001, QS-9000). Ability to meet current and potential capacity requirements, and do so on the desired delivery schedule. Financial stability. Technical support availability and willingness to participate as a partner in developing and optimizing design and a long-term relationship. Total cost of dealing with the supplier (including material cost, communications methods, inventory requirements and incoming verification required). The suppliers track record for business-performance improvement. Total cost assessment. Methods for determining how well a potential supplier fits the criteria: Obtaining a Dun & Bradstreet or other publicly available financial report. Requesting a formal quote, which includes providing the supplier with specifications and other requirements (for example, testing). Visits to the supplier by management and/or the selection team. Confirmation of quality system status either by on-site assessment, a written survey or request for a certificate of quality system registration. Discussions with other customers served by the supplier.
Q.4 Briefly explain the bases for segmenting consumer markets along with examples. Do you think these bases are required for market segmentation? Why? [10 marks]
Answer :The bases for segmenting consumer markets:
Geographic bases allow us to segment a market that is spread over a large geographic area into sub-markets that cover smaller geographic areas. Geographic segmentation usually involves dividing up geographic markets by using existing political boundaries, natural climatic zones, or population boundaries. For example, Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd divided markets according to geographical units for their tabloids. In Bangalore, the tabloid is known as Bangalore Mirror where as it is Mumbai Mirror in Mumbai. Demographic segmentation occurs when one or more demographic traits are employed to divide a market. Typical demographic traits that are used include age, gender, race, ethnicity, marital status, family size and stage of the family life cycle. a) Age and Life-Cycle Stage: Consumers wants and abilities change with age. On the basis of age, a market can be divided into four parts viz., children, young, adults and old. For the consumers belonging to the different age groups, different types of products are produced. For instance, different types of ready-made garments are produced for consumers of different age groups. A successful marketing manager should understand the age group for which the product would be most suited and determine a suitable marketing policy, pricing policy, advertising policy etc
For example, HUL launched Pepsodent kids toothpaste for small children. b) Gender: Gender segmentation has long been applied in clothing, hairstyling, cosmetics and magazines. For example, Emami segmented its personal care products on the basis of gender i.e. Emami Naturally Fair for women and Fair and Handsome for men. c) Income: Segmentation based on Income is a traditional practice followed in product categories such as automobiles, clothing, cosmetics and travel. However, income does not always determine the best customers for a given product. For example, Baja Auto limited, a leading automobile company, manufactures different bikes for different commuters on the basis of the Income levels. For entry level (income less than Rs 35000) it is Bajaj CT 100, for mid segment (income greater than Rs 35000 but less than Rs. 60000) it is Pulsar and for the upper segment (income greater than Rs 60000) Avenger and Eliminator are positioned respectively.
Social class segmentation employs a combination of demographic traits that are commonly believed to reflect membership in different social class strata. Occupation, education, and income are the primary demographic traits that reflect social class membership. Psychographic segmentation bases divide markets based on differences in
4
lifestyles or differences in personality traits. Lifestyle segmentation is one of the most popular and effective ways to create segments for consumer products.b) Personality: When Marketers use personality variables to segment the markets, they endow their products with brand personality that corresponds to consumer personalities. For example, Raymond advertises its fabrics with the tag The Complete Man.
c) Social Class: It has a strong influence on the consumer preferences and the products they buy or consume. For example, when buying cars, clothing, home furnishings, leisure activities, reading habits etc., Social class becomes the key factor. Many companies design products and services for specific social classes. For example, TATA Nano was introduced in the market as a One-Lakh Car that could be affordable by middle and lower income groups.
Consumer shopping behavior patterns include such things as the type of store shopped in, timing of purchases (i.e. time of day, week, or year), how much of a product is purchased on a given visit to the store, and how often the individual frequents a particular type of retail establishment or shopping mall. Product consumption behaviors include product consumption or usage rates base (as discussed earlier). Other segmentation bases included in this category are product usage occasion, product use versus non-use, and loyalties to specific brands.a) Occasions: According to the occasions, buyers develop a need, purchase a product or use a product. It can help firms expand product usage. A company can consider critical life events to see whether they are accompanied by certain needs. For example, Tanishq a TATA enterprise offers gold schemes and promotions for Akshaya Thrutiya (auspicious day to purchase jewellery)
b) Benefits: Buyers can be classified according to the benefits they seek from the products. For example, Peter England, a Madhura garment brand positioned its wrinkle free trousers on the basis of benefits. c) User Status: Markets can be segmented into non-users, potential users, first time users and regular users of a product. Each market segment requires a different marketing strategy. The companys market position will also influence its focus. Market leaders will focus on attracting potential users, whereas smaller firms will try to attract current users away from the market leader. For example, Kishkinda resort near Hampi classifies its customers according to this characteristic. Resort believes that locals falls into non- user category, affluent class come to Hampi as potential users, foreigners as first time users, rich people near Hampi who frequently come there as regular users. d) Usage Rate: Markets can be segmented into light, medium and heavy product users. Heavy users are often a small percentage of the market but account for a high percentage of total consumption. Marketers prefer to attract one heavy user rather than several light users and so, they vary their promotional efforts accordingly. For example, Alan Paine textile brand, offered 4 cotton trousers for Rs. 999. Here, the Company is interested in getting profits from sales volume rather than its selling price. e) Loyal Status: Consumers have varying degrees of loyalty to specific brands, stores and other entities. Buyers can be divided into four groups according to brand loyalty status. a) Hard-core Loyals: Consumers who buy one brand all the time. For example, customer may be using only BSNL cellular services though there are different options available.
Segmenting markets according to consumer predispositions essentially entails creating segments based on differences in consumers wants, needs, and attitudes. We talked at length about creating market segments based on differences in consumers wants and needs (i.e. creating benefit segments). Sometimes it is useful to segment markets based on how knowledgeable people are of a particular product category, or whether theyve experienced problems with specific products or brands. And, finally, we also include consumers media viewing habits in this category. When segmenting markets using this latter base, we are looking for differences in the types of media consumers prefer i.e. preferences for specific television shows, radio stations, magazines, newspapers, and the like.
Q.5 Mention the forces in micro and macro environment that are likely to influence an organisations working and functions. Is environmental scanning necessary for all organisations? [10 marks]
The Company: Safe Express, a leader in the supply chain management solution wants to hold its number one position in the US $ 90 billion Indian logistics market. The company plans to expand its service areas in the coming months. To meet the targets of the marketing plan, other departments of safe express also expanding their horizon. The above example shows that the companys marketing plan should be supported by the other functional departments also. Intermediaries: Marketing intermediaries: These are firms which distribute and sell the goods of the company to the consumer. Marketing intermediaries play an important role in the distribution, selling and promoting the goods and services. Retailers, wholesalers, agents, brokers, jobbers and carry forward agents are few of the intermediaries. Retailers are final link between the company and the customers. Publics: These are microenvironment groups, which help a company to generate the financial resources, creating the image, examining the companies policy and developing the attitude towards the product. We can identify six types of publics Financial publics Media publics General publics Internal publics Advertisement regulation agencies, TRAI, & IRDA of the government Citizen action groups Competitors A company should monitor its immediate competitors as its sale will be affected by the nature and intensity of the competitors. The sale of Coca cola will be affected by Pepsi cola, or Britannia cheese by Amul cheese.
Q.6 Consider the company, MaruthiUdyog Limited. Elaborate on the companys marketing mix and give examples related to the 4 Ps. [10 marks]
Answer : MUL was a joint venture created in February 1981 between Japans Suzuki Motor Company and the Indian Government when the latter decided to produce small, economical cars for the masses. The intention from the beginning was to produce a peoples car. To get the project off the ground MUL took over the assets of the erstwhile Maruti Ltd., which was set up in 1971 and closed in 1978. Market The Indian car market is one of Asias largest and most competitive. Over 1,030,068 passenger cars, multi and sports utility vehicles were sold during 2003/04, growing the market by 32% With models in every segment of the automobile market, Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), is well positioned to see how demand is shifting. Due to drop in prices and low interest rates there has been a sharp migration of car buyers to the compact car or B segmentfrom the entry-level A segment. This segment now accounts for 52% of the total passenger car market (excluding MUVs/SUVs). Compact car sales have raced ahead in January 2004 by 82% to touch 40,649 units. This is more than 22,297 units sold in December 2003. These segments are two of the success stories for the car industry. Maruti Udyog Limited Companys marketing mix Product MUL manufactures leading models in all segments of the car market. Maruti 800 rules the A1 segment. In the A2 segment, it has the Zen, WagonR and Alto, whose combined sales rose to 176,132 units in 2003/04, up 46% as compared to 2002/03. In the A3 segment, it offers the Esteem and Baleno, while Omni and Versa stake out MULs presence in the MUV market. The Gypsy King marks Maruti Suzukis presence in the rough-terrain sector, and up a couple of notches in the luxury SUV market is the Grand Vitara. Pricing The price of the Maruti car is between Rs. 210000 to Rs. 1500000. Maruti 800 is the lowest price car of this company. Alto, Omni, Wagonr, are also the low price car of the company. Zen and Esteem are the mid price car of the company. But Grand Vitrara is the high price model of the company. The price of car is decided according to its product Varity, quality, design etc. Place The place of the car is in the whole world. Maruti udyog Limited decides its distribution channels for selling car, like use some time on level or some time two level marketing channels. They decide areas in which they deal with customers. They show the permanent location for selling the car. They provide the many useful inventories. They define the transport facility of the company for company to market and market to consumers. Many showroom of Maruti Udyog limited is in our India. Promotion
Note: Each question carries 10 Marks. Answer all the questions. Q.1 Explain the following: a) Product mix dimensions b) Product line strategies [10 marks]
Answer: Product mix dimensions:The number of product lines and items offered by marketer to the consumers. A companys product mix has four different dimensions. They are product mix width, product mix length, and product mix depth and product mix consistency. Product mix width: The total number of product lines that company offers to the consumers. Product mix length: The total number of items that company carries within its product line. Product line depth: The number of versions offered of each product in the line. Product mix consistency: If companys product lines usage, production and marketing are related, then product mix is consistent, else it is unrelated. Product Line Strategies Product line: The group of related products which uses same marketing efforts to reach the consumer. The product line identifies profitable and unprofitable products and helps in allocation of resources according to that. The product line understanding helps the marketer to take line extension, line pruning and line filling strategies of the company. Pidilite Industries, the adhesives and chemical company, have the following group of related products (or product lines) in consumer and business markets. Consumer market. 1. Adhesives and sealants. 2. Art materials and stationeries. 3. Construction chemicals. 4. Automotive chemicals 5. Fabric care Business market 1. Industrial adhesives. 2. Textile chemicals. 3. Organic pigment powders. 4. Industrial resins and 5. Leather chemicals. Product Line Decisions: The major product line decisions are a. Product line length b. Product line stretching c. Product line filling d. Product line pruning a. Product line length: The number of items in the product line is called the product line length. Company should decide whether it requires longer chain or shorter length. The decision depends upon the objective of the company, competitive environment and profitability. If the chain is short company can add new products and if it is lengthy company can reduce the number of products.
1. 2. 3. 4.
10
Q.2 a) Assess the factors that are involved in setting up a distribution channel. [6 marks] b) Give a note on Retailing. [4 marks]
Answer: Assess the factors that are involved in setting up a distribution channel:Marketers should consider various factors before deciding the particular type of channel. It may be organizational or competitive factors. The type of goods to be transported and stored will decide the length and intensity of channel. To decide on the particular channels, marketer will have to take into account the following factors. 1. Understanding the customer profile: Purchasing habits differ from individual to individual. Individuals who face shortage of time would like to purchase on the net (direct channel) and those who have abundant time would like to go through the shopping experience. Some of them would like to have variety of goods, while others want unique or specialized products. Hence marketers should understand who are his customers? How do they purchase and how often they purchase? For example, customers dont like to travel half a kilometre to purchase a shampoo sachet, but they dont mind travelling two kilometres while purchasing durable goods. 2. Determine the objectives on which channel is to be developed. a. Reach: Company would like to make the goods available in most of the retail outlets. So it, will adopt intensive distribution channel. b. Profitability: Company wants to reduce the cost in the channels and enhance their profitability. It will restructure the channel to optimum level so that it can reduce the cost and increase the profit. c. Differentiation: Company positions their products differently. When most of the industry players follow conventional system, company goes with new format of channels. For example, all computer manufacturers were adopting dealer-retailer channel to sell their products, but Dell started selling its product on the internet.
11
Give a note on Retailing:- Retail sector has witnessed tremendous growth in the last few years. The major factors which drive the retail boom are change in consumer profile and demographics, increase in the number of international brands available in the Indian market, economic implications of the government, increasing urbanization, credit availability, improvement in the infrastructure, increasing investments in technology and real estate. The Indian retail market, which is the fifth largest retail destination globally, according to industry estimates is estimated to grow from US$ 330 billion in 2007 to US$ 427 billion by 2010 and US$ 637 billion by 2015. Simultaneously, organized retail which presently accounts for 4 per cent of the total market is likely to increase its share to 22 per cent by 2010. As per Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the overall retail market is expected to grow by 36%. The organized sector is expected to register growth
12
13
Summer 2011- May drive Q. 3 Geo Ad Agency has many corporates as their clients. Due to lack of resources, it is planning to cut down work and reject certain clients. Further, they want to establish a concrete system in communication development and ad structure. What would be your advice to Geo Ad agency in this aspect? [10 marks]
Answer: Geo Ad Agency can follow following points to establish a concrete system in communication development .These points also help Geo Ad agency to sustain their clients:Preparing target customer profile Effective communication starts with identifying the target customer to whom the communication is developed. In this stage company prepares target customer profile. Identifying promotion objectives Target customer profile provides inputs about his/her readiness to purchase the product. Customer may be in any of the six stages of hierarchy of effects. The six stages are awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction and purchase. Every company will like to bring their customers to the purchase stage from other five stages. Therefore it creates different promotion program at different stage. To make it clearer, Company first creates awareness about the product, educate them about the advantages, induce them to choose the brand, stimulates and monitors that customer purchases the product. Designing a message After deciding the communication objectives, Marketer turns to develop right message which should create attention, interest, desire or action (AIDA) by the customer. Before deciding what should be there in the message, we will have to understand AIDA model in detail. The main objective of any message is to meet the AIDA model although the message framed will be subject to product type/category, ad budget and creativity skills of individuals. I. AIDA model: Attention: The marketing communication should generate attention towards the product. In this stage customer is having the need; organization should provide solution from their communication. For example, when advertisers use a popular film star or a celebrity to promote a perfume brand or even a soap or a toothpaste, it will immediately catch the audiences attention. Interest: Once the customer provides enough attention towards the communication, organization should stimulate it to create interest. For example, if celebrities are used to endorse products, audience must be curious enough to know what they are saying about that particular product. Desire: The interest created should be forced in the customer mind so that he will develop desire towards the product. For example, when people have seen the ad and show interest, next thing would be to create a desire for that product. People should have the willingness to buy the product and unless they dont desire it, they will not be eager to buy the same. Action: Strong desires should be turned into action. Hence company should provide the advantages of purchasing of the product in their communication messages. For example, it is very difficult for the Insurance companies to grab the attention of people towards insurance products, create interest and desire as to make a person buy the same. So, its a challenge to the marketer to develop such a message that immediately gets the attention and make a person to go for it. For example, it is easy to catch peoples attention towards ice-creams so that they will have interest and desire to taste it and eventually buy it. II. Deciding the message content. Message content must have any one of the following appeals Emotional appeal: Positive emotional appeal or negative emotional appeals are strong tools used to intensify the purchasing activity of the customer. Positive emotions like love, pride, joy and humour are used in the message The negative emotions like fear guilt and shame are also used in the advertisement to attract the customer. Rational appeals highlight on the desired benefits about the products. They highlight quality, economy value or performance of the product. Moral appeal: These are concerned towards public health or environment or social responsibility. For example, Shell lubricants show its commitment towards environment in their advertisements.
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2. 3. 4.
14
III. Message format: The Right Message Format for the Right Marketing Strategy should follow. Depending on message marketing is naturally going to have to change. Shorter messages require different types of advertisements than longer ones.
Selecting the channels of communications The communicator may use company sales people, reference groups, blogs, RSS, webinar, online communities and social networking sites to promote their products. These media are called as personal communication channels. The word of mouth campaigns buzz marketing and viral marketing are some examples of personal communication channels. Selecting the message source Messages communicated by the celebrities and proper sources have high credibility among the target consumers. Many companies use well known actors and actresses, cricket players, and even cartoon characters to promote their advertisements. Target Customer Feedback The communicator collects the feedback on the promotion campaign to assess how many of target customers are able to see, hear or read the message. This stage helps communicator to understand how many of target customers actually able to recall the message? And among them how many of them really purchased it. Some companies go further and ask the customer to provide suggestion to improve the promotion campaign.
Q.4 Discuss the objectives of training and training programme along with its significance. [10 marks]
Answer: Training Training is a continuation of selection. Having selected the salesmen, there are two options. They can be sent to the field directly with samples, order books etc., and/or they can be sent for training programme. Some people think that salesmanship is born, but there are no born salesmen like there are no born doctors, lawyer, engineers, teachers etc. However, all these people need training to call them qualified, and so also is the case with salespersons. A person may have interest in the profession. Thiess interest can be fully developed, through proper training. One attains perfection, self-development etc., through training. Training means the process of perfecting the salespersons for their work. Training programmes are organized procedures or methods through which knowledge as well as skill, for a definite purpose, is acquired. By training, one can increase knowledge in a particular field. The salesmanship is not born but can be made effective through training. Significance of Training: The present era of marketing world is full of stiff and cut-throat competition. The world is dynamic and not static. Customers are more benefit-oriented. Producers, in order to meet the ever-changing demands of the consumers, produce new products, new devices, and products with multiple uses and so on. Thus, training or repeated training is essential to keep the salesmen, with up-to-date knowledge, in respect of new or developed goods. Training gives scope for improvement. Objectives of Training: The objectives are summed up below: 1. To facilitate the salespersons to acquire the techniques and principles of salesmanship, process of sales, canvassing etc. 2. To bring down the labor turnover in the sales force. 3. To facilitate better sales performance. 4. To improve the relations with the customers. 5. To increase the efficiency of sales personnel.
15
Q.5 Management of Sai Systems Pvt. Ltd. has decided to enter international marketing scenario. What methods are applicable to the company to enter international markets and what should be the approach? [10 marks]
Answer: Sai Systems Pvt. Ltd. should follow an International Market Entry Strategies:To enter international marketing Sai Systems Pvt. Ltd. know the answers for some basic questions like a. In how many countries would the company like to operate? b. What are the types of countries it plans to enter? Thats why companies evaluate each country against the market size, market growth, and cost of doing business, competitive advantage and risk level. Once the market is found to be attractive, Sai Systems Pvt. Ltd. should decide how to enter this market. Sai Systems Pvt. Ltd. can enter the international market by adopting any one of the following strategies. They are a. Exporting b. Licensing c. Contract manufacturing d. Management contract e. Joint ownership f. Direct investment
16
Q.6 a) Give a note on Product mix pricing strategies. [5 marks] b) What is Brand development? How is it done? [5 marks]
Answer: Note on Product mix pricing strategies
17
18
19