Introduction to Marketing
(MM2711)
Consultation Session
for accessing exam scripts
Part 1
Discuss the answers and common mistakes of the
exam paper (9:00 ~ 9:30)
Part 2
View the exam scripts (9:30 ~ 10:30)
1
Part 1
Discuss the answers and common
mistakes of the exam paper
2
Q1
Almost every time a new-to-the-market
electronic device (iPods, iPhone, plasmascreen TVs, digital cameras, PlayStation,
etc.) has been introduced, the marketer has
used a price skimming strategy. Why?
3
Suggested answer to Q1
• to signal high quality, communicate prestige,
exclusivity
• to limit demand – give the firm time to build
production capacity
• to earn back R&D expenditures
• to test consumers' sensitivity to price because it is
difficult to raise prices once a product has been
introduced. Easier to lower prices later
• do not know what the demand would be like, to
avoid having to try to raise prices later
4
Common mistakes of Q1
• Discuss conditions of using the skimming
strategy, instead of the reasons of selecting
this strategy.
• Discuss the penetration strategy that is not
required by the question.
5
Q2
a) There is an old advertising adage, "I know I am
wasting half of my advertising budget. I just do
not know which half." What is the lagged effect?
How does it contribute to this dilemma?
b) Despite the problem in (a), why is it still
important to try to measure the success of a
communications effort?
6
Suggested answer to Q2a
• The lagged effect is the delayed response to
an IMC campaign. Marketers want to see
results from their IMC efforts but, often
consumers may need multiple exposures.
They do not immediately act in response to
marketing communications messages. They
may progress slowly from attentioninterest-desire-action (AIDA).
7
Suggested answer to Q2b
• Answers should anticipate issues
– about allocations to more effective areas, concern for
scarce resources,
– about improving effectiveness and efficiency,
– about determining which areas should be considered for
additional investments.
• Without some way to compare the expenditures
and results, it would be impossible to compare the
efforts and outcomes.
8
Common mistake of Q2
• Discuss all the steps in the advertising plan
that are not required by the question.
• Discuss different budgeting methods that
are not required by the question.
9
Q3
Grewal and Levy (2010) said that perhaps
no other aspect of globalization has posed
more difficulties to marketers than culture.
With reference to the video clip “Kraft:
Marketing Oreos Globally” shown in the
class, describe in detail how a marketer
working for an instant noodle manufacturer
can determine if its marketing strategy
needs to be adjusted in another country.
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Suggested answer to Q3
• Conduct market research to determine local
consumer preferences and make adjustments if
necessary, e.g.
– taste tests, how locals eat noodles (with fork or
chopsticks? – determine length of noodles),
– when they eat it (breakfast, snack, main meal? –
determine size of packaging),
– how they cook it (on a stove, microwave, hot water in a
cup? – determine type of packaging),
– where they buy it (convenience store, supermarket? –
determine where to sell and how many to bundle in a
pack)
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Suggested answer to Q3
(continued)
• Get feedback from local partners on how
fellow citizens will respond to the specific
product and marketing campaign. This is to
ensure that local cultures can relate to and
will not be offended by the message e.g.
may be inappropriate to promote beef
noodles in India.
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Common mistakes of Q3
• Do not provide relevant example of
determining local consumer preferences.
These examples should be related to the
instant noodle.
• Discuss issues (e.g. marketing 4P’s) that are
not relevant to culture.
13
Q4
The consumer decision process can be influenced
by situational factors. Assume that you are
opening a new, small restaurant near the campus,
and the restaurant targets at the PolyU students
and staff. What factors in the shopping situation
can influence consumer decision making? What
will you do to generate a nice dining environment
to attract and maintain your customers?
14
Suggested answer to Q4
Shopping situation is a particular act of buying
behaviour occurring at a specific point in space
and time.
Factors in the shopping situation of a restaurant
include:
•
•
•
•
store atmosphere
sales people and other personnel
crowding
in-store demonstrations (e.g. chef cooking in front of
guests)
• promotions (e.g. free dessert), and
• packaging (e.g. of mooncakes, new year carrot cake, rice
dumplings)
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Common mistakes of Q4
• Do not know what shopping situation
means.
• Discuss issues (e.g. food quality and price)
not relevant to shopping situation.
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Q5
a) How does market segmentation help companies
in achieving higher customer satisfaction? After
all, what are the reasons for segmentation?
b) Assuming you are the marketing manager of a
local leading supermarket chain, discuss who are
your target customers and what
dimensions/variables you would use to segment
the grocery market?
17
Suggested answer to Q5a
A market comprises customers of different needs and
characteristics and no single company can serve the entire
market well or please everyone in the market.
Hence, there is a need to divide or segment the entire
market into a number of homogeneous groups and target
the group of customers which the company has advantages
to serve.
In doing so, the company can concentrate its resources and
direct its marketing efforts in addressing the particular
needs of target customers and satisfied them better than
competitors.
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Suggested answer to Q5a
(continued)
Reasons for segmentation
• enable the company in selecting a sub-group,
which it has advantages to serve (i.e., who to
serve),
• give company a focus and come up more specific
marketing objectives and plans (i.e., where to go),
and
• position the company relative to other competitors,
which facilitates the branding building (i.e., where
we are)
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Suggested answer to Q5b
• The target customers of a local leading
supermarket chain are people of main
responsibility in buying household products for
the family (e.g. housewives)
• Three major dimensions:
– 1) demographic (e.g., gender, income, social class etc.),
– 2) behavioral (e.g., benefit sought/price sensitivity,
purchase quantity in each shopping, shopping time and
regularity etc.), and
– 3) psychographic (e.g., attitudes, opinions, values,
lifestyle etc.)
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Common mistakes of Q5
• Discuss different ways of targeting (e.g.
undifferentiated, differentiated,
concentrated strategies) that are not required
by the question.
• Some funny (but incorrect) answers:
Target customers of a local supermarket are:
– local residents of Hong Kong
– people living around the supermarket
21
Q6
a) Describe the distribution intensity commonly
adopted for each of the following products as well as
the reasons for such choices:
i) Soap;
ii) Notebook computer and
iii) Luxury watch (e.g. Patek Philippe)
b)What is disintermediation? Explain, with an example,
why new communication technologies (e.g. internet
and mobile phone) can support disintermediation
22
Suggested answer to Q6a
i) Soap - intensive distribution
l
Coverage: as many intermediaries as possible
l
Maximum convenience for customers
l
Maximum brand exposure – customers will not spend effort in searching
l
Least selling support provided by the manufacturer
l
Least control from the manufacturer
ii) Notebook computer - selective distribution
l
Coverage: 1 < X < many (good market coverage)
l
Good control from the manufacturer
l
Expect better-than-average selling support provided by the manufacturer
l
Less costly to manage than intensive distribution
l
Customers are willing to search and spend time comparing alternatives
iii) Luxury watch - exclusive distribution
l
Coverage: 1 per territory
l
Prestige image
l
Maximum control from the manufacturer
l
Maximum selling support provided by the manufacturer
l
Protects intermediary – no competing intermediary who will cut price
l
Legal if not anti-competitive
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Suggested answer to Q6b
Disintermediation – product and service producers are
bypassing intermediaries and selling directly to final
buyers
Example 1: Amazon is an online bookstore. A customer
orders the book and completes the transaction online, and
Amazon sends the book to the customer without traditional
intermediaries such as distributor, wholesaler and retailer.
Example 2: Users of mobile phones may purchase and
download a ring tone from the Web. The product is an
electronic file that can be used immediately after
downloading. There is no intermediary including the
physical delivery of the product.
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Common mistakes of Q6
• Do not know what disintermediation means.
• Incorrect spelling of jargons:
– intermediary  intermediate
– Intensive  Extensive
– Selective  Selected
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Part 2
View the exam scripts
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Important Notes
• You have to return the exam script and
cannot take it away from this room.
• Because of security, privacy and limited
manpower (i.e. only me), I can only allow
about 10 students to access their exam
scripts in each time slot of 10 minutes.
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Time slots
for accessing exam scripts
•
•
•
•
•
•
Number: 00 - 00
Number: 00 - 00
Number: 00 - 00
Number: 00 - 00
Number: 00 - 00
Others coming late
Time: 9:30 ~ 9:40
Time: 9:40 ~ 9:50
Time: 9:50 ~ 10:00
Time: 10:00 ~ 10:10
Time: 10:10 ~ 10:20
Time: 10:20 ~ 10:30
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Important Notes (continued)
• When you are viewing your exam scripts,
– please sit at the first two rows of the room (i.e
the two rows closest to the screen).
– please do not hold or use any pen before
returning the exam script to me.
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Important Notes (continued)
• After viewing the exam script,
– if you have no question, please return the exam
script to me.
– if you have simple questions, please ask me in
your time slot and then return the exam script to
me.
– if you have complicated questions, please
return the exam script to me first, and then ask
me after 10:30. I have more time to process
your questions after all students have accessed
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the exam scripts.