Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing June 2012 Examination Specimen Paper Discovering Marketing Essentials Date: ** ** **** Time: 1400 Hrs – 1700 Hrs Duration: Three (03) Hrs Total marks for this paper is 100 marks. There are three parts in this question paper. All questions in Part One and Part Two are compulsory. Part One includes 20 Compulsory multiple choice questions. Select the most appropriate answer from the given choices and mark it in the given space in the answer book. Part Two includes 06 Compulsory short answer questions. Part Three includes 02 Questions. Answer only 01 Question from this part. Instructions to candidates 1 State your Registration Number on the front cover of the answer book and on each and every additional paper attached to it. Your name must not appear anywhere in the answer book or answer scripts. 2. Always start answering a question on a new page. 3. You are reminded that answers should not be written in pencil or red pen except in drawing diagrams. 4. Answer the questions using: Effective arrangement and presentation Clarity of expression Logical and precise arguments Clear diagrams and examples where appropriate 5. Illegible hand writing and language errors will be penalised. PART ONE Read the question and select the most appropriate answer out of the four given choices. Tick your choice in the given space in the answer booklet. Question 01 Question 1.1 An organisation with a ______ orientation assumes that customers will resist purchasing products not deemed essential. The job of marketers is to overcome this resistance through personal selling and advertising. a) Production b) Marketing c) Relationship d) Sales Question 1.2 Moral philosophies/principles that define right or wrong behaviour in marketing is known as: a) b) c) d) Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Myopia Marketing ethics None of the above Question 1.3 Ethical environment refers to: a) The rules of conduct and moral principles governing the behaviour of marketing activities. b) Bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of share holders‟ threats of new substitutes, bargaining power of public and bargaining power of buyers. c) The rules of conduct and moral principles governing the behaviour of competitor activities. d) Issues related to the marketer interacts with and affects the natural environment or the ecology. Page 2 of 9 ©SLIM Question 1.4 Mr. Fernando who acts as an insurance agent visited ABC Ltd., with the hope of persuading a few members of the staff to purchase his product and was prevented by the secretary from meeting them. In the above instance the secretary acted as: a) b) c) d) a Buyer a Decider an Influencer a Gatekeeper Question 1.5 A student carries out a research which includes a detailed study of Consumer Trends, Lifestyles and Purchase Habits. How would you term this type of a research? a) b) c) d) Product Research Market Research Price Research Consumer Research Question 1.6 Target Marketing begins with a three-stage process;The first stage begins with: a) b) c) d) Choosing which segments to target Identifying possible positioning concepts Identifying segmentation variables and developing profiles of those segments Evaluating the attractiveness of each segment Question 1.7 A company marketing coffee has identified that coffee is most often consumed in the mornings. However, they would like to change this and make the drink acceptable during other time periods during the day. Which form of segmentation would they need to work with and establish a strategy reflective of their desires? a) b) c) d) Gender Segmentation Benefit Segmentation Occasion Segmentation Age and Life-cycle Segmentation Page 3 of 9 ©SLIM Question 1.8 In the diffusion of innovation process the second group of new product adopters, representing 13.5% of the total market, is called: a) Early Majority b) Innovators c) Laggards d) Early Adopters Question 1.9 ECB Ltd experiences the following with regard to one of its products: Sales begin to decline as the market becomes saturated, and the product becomes obsolete. Unit costs may increase and the product is a loss maker. Identify the correct stage of the product life cycle that can be attributed to the above mentioned product. a) b) c) d) Growth Stage Introduction Stage Maturity Stage Decline Stage Question 1.10 At which stage of the new product development process will the organisation assess the Target Market and all aspects of the marketing mix to be implemented: a) Idea Generation b) Idea Screening c) Marketing Strategy Development d) Test Marketing Page 4 of 9 ©SLIM Question 1.11 The key requirement of extending the traditional 4 P marketing mix to 7 P extended marketing mix is: a) The advent of e-commerce into the marketing equation creating issues for marketers to manage its marketing activities with the existing marketing mix b) The intensity of competition c) The advent of service into the marketing equation creating issues for marketers to mange service situations with the existing marketing mix. d) The environmental changes created issues for marketers to manage its marketing activities with the existing marketing mix Question 1.12 Breakeven point is calculated as: a) b) c) d) Total Fixed cost/Contribution per unit Total Fixed cost/Variable cost per unit Variable cost per unit/Contribution per unit Profit/Contribution per unit Question 1.13 When a truly innovative product is introduced to the market which does not have any substitutes and which carries less price elasticity of demand, what will be the best pricing strategy a Marketer could use? a) b) c) d) Psychological Pricing Strategy Market Penetration Pricing Strategy Value based Pricing Strategy Market Skimming Pricing Strategy Page 5 of 9 ©SLIM Question 1.14 The key aspects of Physical Distribution Management are: a) Order Processing, Warehousing, Inventory Management, and Transportation b) Order Processing, Quality Control, and Transportation c) Inventory Management, Quality Control, Order Taking, and Transportation d) Manufacturing, Quality Control, Warehousing, and Transportation Question 1.15 The starting point for developing an advertising campaign is: a) b) c) d) Identifying the target market Defining advertising objectives Understanding the firm's marketing strategy Setting the advertising budget Question 1.16 The Public Relations department of XYZ group of companies communicates with a range of „Publics‟. Which of the following would not be included in their publics? a) b) c) d) The media Customers, suppliers, distributors The company employees All of the above would be included Question 1.17 There are many methods available for a marketer to decide on its communication budget. The method, where the organisation sets its budget on what it wants to accomplish with communications is known as: a) Affordable Method b) Objective and Task Method c) Competitive Parity Method d) Percentage of Sales Method Page 6 of 9 ©SLIM Question 1.18 The SWOT analysis allows the marketer to gain a competitive advantage over the competitors by the “Matching Principle”. The Matching Principle is about: a) b) c) d) Converting weakness to threats and converting strengths into opportunities Converting weakness to strengths and converting threats into opportunities Converting weakness to strengths and converting opportunities into threats None of the above Question 1.19 Ansoff‟s matrix is a strategic marketing tool used to plan for: a) b) c) d) New Product Development Product Life-cycle Changes Business Growth Product Positioning Question 1.20 A systematic examination of a firm‟s marketing g environment, objectives, strategies, and activities, with a view to identifying key strategic issues and opportunities, is called: a) b) c) d) Marketing Audit Control Process SWOT Analysis None of the above (20 Marks) Page 7 of 9 ©SLIM PART TWO Answer all questions Question 2 Question 2.1 What are the advantages for a company in building relationships with its customers? What are some ways in which the company can build customer relationships? (10 marks) Question 2.2 Reference groups with an individual desires to become associated are called aspirational groups. What is one of your aspirational groups? What type of products could marketers effectively sell using the aspirational group you selected? (10 marks) Question 2.3 Discuss how the services offered by Dry Cleaning Company are different from the products offered by a auto part store in terms of intangibility, inseparability, variability, and perishability (10 marks) Question 2.4 Describe the major internal and external sources of new product ideas. Which source do you think develop the best ideas? Which source delivers the most ideas? Explain your answer. (10 marks) Question 2.5 Given that higher-priced products are often perceived as being higher in quality, what implications does a low price have for marketers using promotional pricing strategies? (10 marks) Question 2.6 With which major functions would someone managing the logistics area of a company be concerned? Given an example of decisions this manager would make for each major function. (10 marks) (Total 60 marks) Page 8 of 9 ©SLIM PART THREE Answer a total of 1 (one) questions from this part Question 03 Organisations which follow the marketing concept are said to be marketing-oriented. Marketing orientation means being driven by customer needs. The philosophical idea underlining all marketing thought is that corporate success comes from satisfying customer needs. a) Explain what you understand by the term “marketing orientation” in the context of the above statement and discuss the steps involved in establishing a marketing orientation approach to an organisation. (10 marks) b) Discuss the anticipated benefits of implementing the marketing concept and identify some of the problems/difficulties marketers may face in implementing this concept. (10 marks) (Total 20 marks) Question 04 a) Explain the target marketing process and state why marketers tend to choose the target marketing process as against mass marketing and mass customization. (08 marks) b) Identify and briefly explain a suitable set of segmentation variables/bases for segmenting the education market in Sri Lanka and identify two potential segments that you would like to recommend to the government to encourage private sector participation. (12 marks) (Total 20 marks) -END- Page 9 of 9 ©SLIM