Section B - Using Information To Develop The Rationale For A Marketing Campaign

Question 1

What is a market

Answer 1

A market is where buyers and sellers meet to exchange good and services. Each market grows because there is a want or need to be fulfilled

Question 2

What are the needs and wants of a market

Answer 2

• needs are good and services that we require eg. Food, shelter, health
• wants are good and services that are not necessary but we have a desire or wish for eg. Phone

marketing is all about turning a want into a need

Question 3

What is market intelligence

Answer 3

Gathering data from different sources which is analysed and evaluated to identify trends
One way to gather market intelligence is through market research

Question 4

What are the purposes of researching information

Answer 4

• to identify target markets
• to identify the competition
• to identify size, structure and trends in the market
  (Size will help determine whether it’s a mass or niche market,structure helps you decide which language/tone to use and where to advertise for your demographic, trends so that you know how when and why customers buy)

Question 5

Marketing campaigns can fail without reliable research done in…

Answer 5

• past business performance
• current business performance
• competition

Question 6

Define validity

Answer 6

The process of ensuring data is valid by using original sources or tracing sources back to their original point

Question 7

Define subjective

Answer 7

Based on personal opinions and interpretations. Analyses are not possible to validate

Question 8

Define objective (judgement)

Answer 8

A judgement which is not influenced by personal opinions or point of view, nether biased or prejudiced, and can be validated

Question 9

What is primary research

Answer 9

Primary research involves gathering data that has not been collected before

Question 10

Give examples of internal primary research data sources

Answer 10

• sales figures for the business’ own products
• customer data held on a central database

Question 11

Give examples of external primary research methods

Answer 11

• questionnaires and surveys
• interviews and focus groups
• observation and trials

Question 12

methods of primary research

Give pros and cons to a questionnaire

Answer 12

Advantages:
- Free to do
- Reach people quickly
- Respondent anonymity
- Data accuracy
- Help understand the customer
- Fast results
- Easy to do and set up
- Can make specific questions for the business
- Closed questions
Disadvantages:
- may give dishonest answers
- may be reluctant to answer sensitive questions.
- may not understand the questions or may interpret them differently
- Questionnaires may neglect emotions and other important aspects of the research topic.
- Questionnaires may not be accessible to all respondents

Question 13

methods of primary research

Give pros and cons to postal surveys

Answer 13

Advantages:
- People can share their thoughts and opinions in the comfort of their homes
- There is no pressure on respondents.
- There is complete privacy.

Disadvantages:
- Can be costly regarding stamp prices
- Respondent needs incentive to return questionnaire
- Low response rate
Cannot control who completed questionnaire

Question 14

methods of primary research

Give pros and cons to telephone interviews

Answer 14

Advantages:
- Cost effectiveness and ease of conducting
- Convenience and time saving
- Respondents remain more anonymous than in a personal interview
- Can be done anywhere
- Detailed answers
Disadvantages:
- No body language shown
- Respondents can hang up at any time or not answer the call
- Interviews tend to be shorter
- Distractions and background noise can affect the quality of the interview

Question 15

methods of primary research

Give pros and cons to personal interviews

Answer 15

Advantages:
- can adapt the questions, probe for more details, and clarify any doubts.
- can observe and interpret the body language and facial expressions of the interviewee.
- can choose a suitable place and time for the interview and avoid distractions.
- can ensure that all the questions are answered and avoid missing data.
Disadvantages:
- Interviewer bias
- Reluctance of interviewee to provide confidential information
- Personal biases on the part of the interviewer can impact the evaluation process, leading to a less objective assessment of candidates
- Time-consuming

Question 16

methods of primary research

Give pros and cons to focus groups/consumer groups

Answer 16

Advantages:
- They allow participants to interact and express their views in detail
- They help businesses understand customer preferences and improve products and services
- They provide diverse and rich data that can confirm or complement other methods
Disadvantages:
- They may not be representative of the larger population or other groups.
- Opinions may be influenced by facilitator or moderator bias, or by dominant or dishonest participants.
- They may be time consuming and costly to organize and analyze.

Question 17

methods of primary research

Give pros and cons to observation

Answer 17

Advantages:
- Simplest method
- Obtains more accurate, reliable and objective data
- Useful to know the current behaviour
Disadvantages:

• Could overestimate or underestimate or miss some important aspects.
• Observation has little control over factors that may affect the data
• Observation is a costly and time-consuming
• requires specific instruments or devices
• Observation does not provide any opportunity to learn past or future behavior

Question 18

methods of primary research

Give pros and cons to trials

Answer 18

Advantages:
- gathering reliable evidence more quickly
- Get feedback directly from the consumer and insights on strengths and insights
- Prior to product launch

Disadvantages:
- Opinions could be dishonest or influenced by others
- Costly as there is the cost of making the product and giving it away

Question 19

What is competitive advantage

Answer 19

It is what sets the business apart from its competitors eg USP

Question 20

Give pros and cons to primary research

Answer 20

Pros:
- more specific to your needs
- up to date
- flexible

Cons:
- long time to do
- expensive
- biased

Question 21

Define secondary research

Answer 21

Research that has already been conducted

Question 22

What are the internal secondary research data sources

Answer 22

• loyalty cards
• previous sales figures
• business data on customer

Question 23

What are the external secondary research methods

Answer 23

• internet research
• reports
• government statistics
• trade journals
• media sources

Question 24

What are the limitations of secondary research

Answer 24

• info may be old
• info may be biased to promote a cause
• collection methods may have been unreliable

Question 25

What are trade journals

Answer 25

A trade magazine that targets a specific industry or trade group

Question 26

internal secondary research data sources

Give advantages and disadvantages to loyalty cards

Answer 26

Advantages:
- boosts brand awareness
- increase in loyal customers
- more money coming in

Disadvantages:
- costs of production

Question 27

internal secondary research data sources

Give advantages and disadvantages to previous sales figures

Answer 27

Advantages:
- can compare sales and see if you need more money
- can help predict future sales

Disadvantages:
- may not be accurate
- doesn’t take in unexpected events
- outdated

Question 28

internal secondary research data sources

Give advantages and disadvantages to business data on customer

Answer 28

Advantages:
- helps a business tailor their target market
- can see what is popular

Disadvantages:
- customers may be lost due to data collection

Question 29

external secondary research methods

Give advantages and disadvantages to internet research

Answer 29

Advantages:
- save money on research
- easy to access
- faster research process
- high accessibility

Disadvantages:
- may not be accurate
- Could be outdated

Question 30

external secondary research methods

Give advantages and disadvantages to reports

Answer 30

Advantages:
- useful insight to helps with growth and management

Disadvantages:
- time consuming to make
- expensive to research
- difficult to understand
- may be biased

Question 31

external secondary research methods

Give advantages and disadvantages to government statistics

Answer 31

Advantages:
- covers a large population
- reliable
- updated regularly
- easy and quick access

Disadvantages:
- it’s biased as the government is political

Question 32

external secondary research methods

Give advantages and disadvantages to trade journals

Answer 32

Advantages:
- can help you improve the business
- helps you track and monitor progress
- trusted source of info

Disadvantages:
- time consuming
- quite complicated

Question 33

external secondary research methods

Give advantages and disadvantages to media sources

Answer 33

Advantages:
- clear structure and easy to use
- good customer engagement
- free

Disadvantages:
- could be inaccurate info
- could be time consuming
- could be biased

Question 34

research

What is the importance of validity

Answer 34

information collected must be valid so needs to be checked by using original sources or tracing sources back to their original point.
To check validity results can be tested to check if similar results would be obtained if another group containing different respondents or a different set of data points were used.
For example, would similar results be obtained if the study was done again with 50 different people?

Question 35

research

What is the importance of reliability

Answer 35

Makes sure the method of data gathering leads to consistent results.

Question 36

research

What is the importance of appropriateness

Answer 36

the question to ask of a research project is whether the collection of data and methods are appropriate.

Researchers would need to be certain their research activities are ethical and there is no risk of harm to anyone involved. Permission may sometimes be needed eg observation of children.

Question 37

research

What is the importance of currency (think of this as current/up-to date, not money)

Answer 37

the data needs to be up to date and current to ensure that results are both valid and reliable. Past data is important, especially when looking at trends, but the “age’ of the data needs to be noted.

Question 38

research

What is the importance of cost

Answer 38

Any form of research carries a cost regardless of whether any materials are required. The time it takes and any travel involved attracts a cost. For a business, the cost is not only people’s time but also the potential loss of any revenue while the research is undertaken.

Question 39

types of data

What is quantitative data

Answer 39

this data concerns numbers which can be analysed mathematically and/or presented graphically. This data can include sales figures, market values etc.
Ways of collecting this type of data is by questionnaire and surveys. Gathering and interpreting quantitative data is a quick process.
The analysis of quantitative data can be validated and therefore produce objective results.

Question 40

types of data

What is qualitative data

Answer 40

this data is subjective and often open-ended. It can involve interviews with customers or focus groups or invite respondents to add reasons or comments to surveys. Results usually provide a wide range of answers based on personal experience, feelings and expectations. A qualitative question might ask you why you bought a specific product and allow you to provide an open answer.

This kind of research can be used to:
> Find out how customers perceive an organisation or brand
> Understand how changes in price, or other variables, might affect consumer spending decisions
> Investigate customer preferences, interests, aspirations, tastes and other variables.

Question 41

What is a “rationale”

Answer 41

The basic reason or explanation for doing something

Question 42

What should the rationale include

Answer 42

Should include the focus, methods, and means for conducting the study and the outcome being sought.

Question 43

What forms can data come in

Answer 43

• images
• observations
• audio and video recordings
• reports
• case studies

Question 44

What does data type analysis involve

Answer 44

Involves breaking down the data into smaller and smaller particles to explore meaning and find patterns and trends to establish the headline information

Question 45

What further sources may you need to satisfy the reliability or sufficiency of the data gathered in order to support the marker research and validate its results

Answer 45

• Government statistics
• national economic statistics
• global statistics
• academic research articles and journals

Question 46

A thorough evaluation aims to…

Answer 46

Find holes in the research by rigorously testing the robustness of the entire study.

Question 47

What methods can be used to ensure a thorough evaluation is done

Answer 47

• involving others and asking them to evaluate the findings
• questioning its sufficiency and accuracy
• assessing what works well and what needs improving
• questioning what the information does not tell you
• identifying improvements

Question 48

What is an Extension strategy

Answer 48

A way in which a firm can prolong its product life cycle. They involve changing the product slightly so it has a fresh appeal to the target market or appeals to a new market.
Eg. BOGOF, new flavours, different sizes

Question 49

What are the stages of the product life cycle? Draw it out and explain what happens in each stage

Answer 49

(Search for image)
Stages:
1. Introduction - when a new product enters the market and becomes known to consumers
2. Growth - it continues to gain popularity and generate revenue. It’s becomes more well known and trending
3. Maturity - it becomes well established in the market and there is no need for promotion due to high popularity
4. Saturation - the product reaches its max market share and experiences a slow down in sales
5. Decline - a product dissolves as a result of decreased growth and lower demand and therefore is removed from the market

Question 50

What are 2 ways of extending the life cycle of a product

Answer 50

1. Extension strategies
2. Selling in a new market