MBAR Marketing Management

Internal Assignment No. 1-

Paper Code:               MBA– 203            Paper Title:         Marketing Management

Q. 1.    Answer all the questions:

(i)         What is Product life cycle?

ANS- A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. This sequence is known as the product life cycle and is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix.

Introduction Stage

Growth Stage

Maturity Stage

Decline Stage

(ii)        Name two features of marketing.

ANS-  Creating a Market Offering:- The second feature of marketing is creating market offering. It refers to providing complete information about the product and services, e.g., providing information about the name of the product and service, type, price, size, centre of availability, etc. A good market offer is always prepared keeping in mind the needs and priorities of the customers.

Customer Value:- A buyer analyses the cost and the satisfaction that a product provides before buying it. When he/she finds that the satisfaction that it provides outweighs the cost factors, only then he/she buys it. The seller should manufacture the product keeping in view this tendency of the customer. A seller who does not pay attention to the importance that a buyer pays to a product is sure to lag behind in the race of competition.

(iii)       What is MIS?

ANS- Management Information Systems (MIS) is the study of people, technology, organizations and the relationships among them. MIS professionals help firms realize maximum benefit from investment in personnel, equipment, and business processes. MIS is a people-oriented field with an emphasis on service through technology. If you have an interest in technology and have the desire to use technology to improve people’s lives, a degree in MIS may be for you. MIS professionals create information systems for data management (i.e., storing, searching and analyzing data). In addition, they manage various information systems to meet the needs of managers, staff and customers.

(iv)       Why is scanning of environment a crucial task?

ANS- Environmental scanning is crucial for the development of Strategic Plans. It helps you identify the trends that are most likely to directly affect your association and its members. Then you can craft a strategy that will help take advantage of inevitable changes down the road. Environmental scanning is a systematic and continuous effort to search for important cues in the on-going changes and transformations affecting the world and trying to determine how these will affect your organization.

(v)        What is Marketing Audit?

ANS- “Marketing audit is a systematic, critical and impartial review and appraisal of the total marketing operation: of the basic objectives and polices and the assumptions which underlie them as well as the methods, procedures, personnel and organization employed to implement the policies and achieve the objectives.”         

Note: Answer any two questions. Each question carries 5 marks (Word limits 500)

Q. 2.    Explain the various types of promotion techniques used in marketing.

ANS- Promotions is the part of marketing that specifically involves communicating company or product information to targeted customers. This is a key component of the broader marketing system, because it is what usually makes customers aware of you, attracted to your brand, interested in buying and ultimately, loyal customers. Advertising, public relations and personal selling are three staple methods of promotion, though some new techniques have emerged in the early 21st century.

Advertising:- Advertising takes up a significant portion of a company's budget allocated toward marketing and promotion. It includes the development and paid delivery of brand or product messages through media. Companies usually have internal advertising departments that design and develop ads, or they work with advertising firms who specialize in the advertising process. Since you pay for ad placement in media such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines, you generally have more control over the message than you do through some other promotional methods.

Public Relations:- Maintaining goodwill with the public is an important long-term strategy for both small and large companies. A variety of public relations tactics are used to reach out to customers through unpaid-for media messages. Press releases are one of the most common and routine PR tactics. This is when a company sends an overview of a major change or event, product launch or other news to various media outlets. Press conferences, features news reports and newsletters are other common PR tools. A general objective of PR is to keep your brand in front of people even beyond paid ads. The challenge is you can't always control the way your PR messages are delivered or received.

Q. 3.    Explain the role challenges of using internet in marketing.

ANS- Internet marketing can have some disadvantages to the way a business operates. Below shows some examples of challenges that businesses may face;

-   Technical and Design skills – It is important to have technical skills when setting up an online business, this is because online businesses websites regularly need updating and need a lot of attention so it is important that the person maintaining the website has good ICT skills and also good designing skills to attract customers.

-   Making the website easy to use for customers – it is important that the website is easy and simple to use for customers. If customers find it easier to navigate around the site there is more of a chance for the customer purchasing from them again as they are familiar with the website. Adding additional features such as; being able to zoom in and out and seeing a 3D image of the product also helps to gain customers and is also providing a better customer service.

 -   Making sure the website is secure for customers – There is always a chance for a businesses website to be hacked or have a virus on it. It is important that a business has security measures to prevent these things from happening. They also need to make sure that all customer details are secure and no one has access to them.

 -   Carrying out research – a business needs to make sure that they carry out market research before they start an online business. By doing this they can find out exactly what their target customers want.

 -   Updating website regularly – for an online business it is important that they update their websites regularly with all their latest prices and products. This will keep customers interested and purchasing from them in future.

 -   Keeping ahead of competition – operating an online business has become more popular over the years. A business needs find ways to keep ahead of their competition. They could do this by offering cheaper prices and wider ranges of products.

-   Advertising – another challenge faced by businesses is advertising and the costs of it. Businesses need to consider if they want to advertise and how much they are willing to pay to make their website well known.

-   An online business also needs to be able to build trust between them and their customers. They can do this by providing the best customer service they can.

Internal Assignment No. 2

Q. 1.    Answer all the questions:

(i)         What are the types of communication system?

ANS-  The communication system enables the successful transmission of idea or any other important information among individuals. The person from whom the thought originates carefully encodes his ideas into a sensible content which is now ready to be shared with everyone. He is commonly referred to as the sender and the other party who receives the information from him is called the receiver or the recipient. The free flow of information between the sender and the receiver takes place because of the communication system.

• Optical Communication System0

·         Radio Communication System

·         Duplex communications system

·         Half Duplex Communication System

·         Tactical Communication System

(ii)        What do you understand Channel of distribution?

ANS- A distribution channel is a chain of businesses or intermediaries through which a good or service passes until it reaches the end consumer. It can include wholesalers, retailers, distributors and even the internet itself. Channels are broken into direct and indirect forms, with a "direct" channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from the manufacturer, and an "indirect" channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from a wholesaler or retailer.

(iii)       Define Market research?

ANS- Market research consists of systematically gathering data about people or companies – a market – and then analysing it to better understand what that group of people needs. The results of market research, which are usually summarized in a report, are then used to help business owners make more informed decisions about the company’s strategies, operations, and potential customer base.

Understanding industry shifts, changing consumer needs and preferences, and legislative trends, among other things, can shape where a business chooses to focus its efforts and resources. That’s the value of market research.

(iv)       How marketing is a “Pull approach” explains.

ANS- Pull marketing is an approach designed to draw customers to a brand through search engine optimization (SEO) and other non-intrusive methods. The ultimate goal is to strengthen consumer awareness of a brand and products and foster demand. Examples of pull marketing include product placement, social media marketing, corporate sponsorship,content marketing and native advertising. 

The pull marketing model contrasts with push advertising, the traditional marketing approach, in which promotional material is presented to large groups of people through channels including flyers, magazines, television, radio and billboards as well as online ads of various types.

 (v)       What is Demographic environment?

ANS- The demographic factors like gender or ethnicity of the market are useful to segment the target population for impactful marketing. The focus lies mostly on the people who are most likely to buy the product. This ensures that the company does not waste money in people who have no interest in buying the product.

Demographic approach provides very specific information about different populations. Based on the data, the company can develop well defined strategies helpful to reach more population. For example if the demographic environment tends to be busy, young workers, then the company might intend to promote the quick use and convenience available with the product.

Note: Answer any two questions. Each question carries 5 marks (Word limits 500)

Q. 2.    What is marketing management? What is role and scope of marketing management?

ANS- Marketing is enveloping trend in modern competitive world as it contributes greatly for the productivity of firms. The term 'marketing management' consists of two different words, 'marketing' and 'management'. Marketing is an economic process by which the commodities and services are acquired in exchange of money. In management literature, the meaning of 'marketing' denotes to the procedure of distribution of goods or products from the producers to the final consumers. Marketing includes advertising, promotions, public relations, and sales. It is the procedure of introducing and promoting the product or service into the market and enhancing sales from the buying public. Management is meant the coordinating of efforts of other people intended for the fulfilment of the predetermined objectives. Stanley Vance has articulated that the 'management' is normally the decision taking and control upon human activities method by which major objectives could be accomplished.

Role of Marketing:

Marketing innovations and technical changes now occur at an ever increasing rate in the field of FMCGs and electronics. Industrial products, however, in the industrial field are often a case of changing technology. The needs of consumers undergo a change.

New competition is coming from all directions—from global competitors eager to grow sales in new markets; from online competitors seeking cost-efficient ways to expand distribution; from private label and store-brands designed to low price alternatives, and brand extensions from strong megabrands leveraging their strengths to move into new categories. The global market pattern is made possible by the development of international transportation and communication system and liberalisation policies adopted by different countries at present.

Modem marketing has much deviated from the past and undergone radical changes in recent years. Marketing is a managerial function, primarily economic, consisting of activities like research into markets, demand forecasting, product planning, pricing, distribution and advertising, organised into a system of interdependencies and directed at yielding profits to the enterprises, providing satisfaction to the consumers and indirectly benefiting society at large.

Marketing has to play an important role. It is the most important multiplier and an effective engine of economic development. It mobilises latent economic energy and thus is the creator of small business. Marketing is the developer of the standard of product and services.

Besides, economic integration is made possible through proper distribution of the product. Distribution is the key area in modem marketing. The importance of distribution will become clearer when it is realised that most of the marketing failures are in fact distribution failures.

Shortage of raw materials, escalating cost of energy, high level of pollution, changing role of government in environmental protection are some of the dangers that the present world is facing on environmental forces. Advances in technology are an important uncontrollable environment for marketers. Technological progress creates new avenues of opportunity and also poses threat for individual companies.

Certain types of technological developments by competitors may result in loss of markets.

Markets are efficient when the price of a good or service attracts exactly as much demand as the market can currently supply. The chief function of the market is to adjust prices to accommodate fluctuations in supply and demand in order to achieve allocative efficiency. An economic system in which goods and services are exchanged by market functions is called a market economy

Q. 3. Define market segmentation? Explain the various basis of market segmentation.

ANS- Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a market into different homogeneous groups of consumers.

Market consists of buyers and buyers vary from each other in different ways. Variation depends upon different factors like wants, resources, buying attitude, locations, and buying practices. By segmentation, large heterogeneous markets are divided into smaller segments that can be managed more efficiently and effectively with products and services that match to their unique needs. So, market segmentation is beneficial for the companies serving larger markets.

Bases for Business Market Segmentation

Business market can be segmented on the bases consumer market variables but because of many inherent differences like

§  Businesses are few but purchase in bulk

§  Evaluate in depth

§  Joint decisions are made

Business market might be segmented on the bases of following variables:

§  Company Size: what company sizes should we serve?

§  Industry: Which industry to serve?

§  Purchasing approaches: Purchasing-function organization, Nature of existing relationships, purchase policies and criteria.

§  Product usage

§  Situational factors: seasonal trend, urgency: should serve companies needing quick order deliver, Order: focus on large orders or small.

§  Geographic: Regional industrial growth rate, Customer concentration, and international macroeconomic factors.