Unit 18 The Marketing mix Product

Question 1

What is the marketing mix?

Answer 1

It involves the four key decisions that must be taken in the effective marketing of a product.

Question 2

What are the 4 p’s?

Answer 2

Product
Price
Promotion
Place

Question 3

What are the 4c’s?

Answer 3

Customer solution
Cost to the customer
Communication with the customer
Convenience to the customer

Question 4

What is customer relationship management?

Answer 4

It involves using marketing activities to establish successful customer relationships so that existing customer loyalty can be maintained.

Question 5

What is at the root of CRM?

Answer 5

We must gain as much information as possible about customers, income, product preferences, buying habits and so on.

Question 6

What makes long term relationships with customers effective?

Answer 6

Targeted marketing- Giving products and services they have indicated most from their past purchases.
Improving customer service and support.
Providing as much information as possible to customers
using social media to establish close relationships

Question 7

What must we focus on when developing a product?

Answer 7

Quality
Durability
Performance
Appearance

Question 8

Why is new product development crucial for the success of a business?

Answer 8

It is important with the rapidly changing world.

Question 9

What is a unique selling point?

Answer 9

It is a feature that makes a product special or different from it’s competitors.

Question 10

What are the benefits of having a USP?

Answer 10

Effective promotion that focuses on the distinct feature of the product.
Opportunities to charge higher prices due to exclusive design/ service.
Higher sales
customers more willing to be identified with the brand because it is different.

Question 11

What are intangible attributes of a product?

Answer 11

Subjective opinions of customers about a product that cannot be measured or compared easily.
Such as quality, reliability, aesthetics

Question 12

What are tangible attributes of a product ?

Answer 12

measurable features of a product that can be easily compared with other products. Such as Size, color, touch, packaging, weight, volume, taste, quantity, and material composition .

Question 13

What is the difference between a product and a brand?

Answer 13

A product is the general term used to describe the nature of what is being sold. The brand is the distinguishing name or symbol that is used to differentiate one manufacturer’s products from another.

Question 14

What is product positioning?

Answer 14

Product positioning is the process of deciding and communicating how you want your market to think and feel about your product as compared to it’s competitors. It is done by identifying key features of the product considered to be important to consumers.

Question 15

What is a product lifecycle?

Answer 15

It is the pattern of sales recorded by a product from launch to withdrawal from the market and is one of the main forms of product portfolio analysis.

Question 16

What are the stages of a product lifecycle?

Answer 16

Introduction
Growth
Maturity /Saturation
Decline

Question 17

What are examples of extension strategies?

Answer 17

• Selling in new markets
  -repackaging
  -relaunching
  -finding new uses for the products

Question 18

What are the uses of a product life cycle?

Answer 18

• It can assist in planning marketing mix decisions, such as new product launches and price or promotion changes.
• Identifying how cash flow might depend on the cycle.
• Recognising the need for a balanced product portfolio

Question 19

How does the product lifecycle assist in making marketing mix decisions at the introduction stage?

Answer 19

Product- A basic model
Price- At this stage prices may be high compared to competitors ( skimming) or low ( penetration )
Promotion - high levels of informative advetising to make consumers aware of the product
Place - restricted outlets - probably high class outlets if price skimming has been used.

Question 20

How does the product life cycle assist in making marketing mix decisions at the growth stage?

Answer 20

Product- Planning of product improvements and developments to maintain consumer appeal.
Price - if successful, an initial penetration pricing strategy could now lead to rising prices.
Promotion- consumers need to make repeat purchases, and brand identification will help to establish consumer loyalty.
Place- growing numbers of outlets in areas indicated to be oh high consumer demand

Question 21

How does the product life cycle assist in making marketing mix decisions at the maturity stage?

Answer 21

Product- New models, colors, accessories
Price- Competitors are likely to be entering the market, prices will be kept at competitive levels
Promotion - brand imaging must continue, growing need to stress the positive differences with competitors’ products
Place - highest geographical range of outlets

Question 22

How does the product life cycle assist in making marketing mix decisions at the decline stage?

Answer 22

Product- prepare to replace with other products, slowly withdraw from certain markets.
Price - lower prices to sell off stock
promotion - advertising likely to be very limited, may just be used to inform lower prices
place - eliminate unprofitable outlets for the product.

Question 23

What is product portfolio analysis?

Answer 23

This involves analyzing the range of existing products of a business to help allocate resources effectively between them.