| ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF COMMERECE (AUTONOMOUS) | ||
| END SEMESTER EXAMINATION – MARCH/APRIL 2015 | ||
| m.com – ii semester | ||
| P111204: MARKETING STRATEGIES AND PLANNING | ||
| Duration: 3 Hours Max. Marks: 100 | ||
| SECTION – A | ||
| I) | Answer any SEVEN questions. Each carries 5 marks. (7×5=35) | |
| 1. | Discuss the buying system /procedure of government customers. | |
| 2. | Explain the scope of business marketing research. | |
| 3. | Business market demand depends on certain concepts. Elaborate with examples. | |
| 4. | Based on how products/services enter the production process and their relative costs, how are industrial products classified? | |
| 5. | What is supply chain management? How is it different from logistics management? | |
| 6. | Discuss e-Commerce and its classifications with examples. | |
| 7. | Explain the Growth Share Matrix and its use, using a diagram. | |
| 8. | Explain the purpose of negotiating with business customers and the styles of negotiation. | |
| 9. | What is PLC? Explain its purpose and the stages involved in it. | |
| 10. | Explain the important functions of business marketing intermediaries. | |
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SECTION – B |
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| II) | Answer any THREE questions. Each carries 15 marks. (3×15=45) | |
| 11. | New product development is considered as a growth strategy in B2B context. Explain. | |
| 12. | While generally it is true that the differences between business and consumer marketing are of degrees, the degrees of differences are substantial. Elucidate. | |
| 13. | Explain the Webster and Wind Model of organisational buying behaviour. | |
| 14. | A business marketing firm has to consider many factors in its pricing decision. Elaborate. | |
| 15. | One of the most important decisions an industrial organisation makes is to select its customers (or markets) which it can serve effectively. Explain the process. | |
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SECTION – C |
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| III) | Case Study (20 marks) | |
| 16. | Suresh Kulkarni, General Manager of MB Ltd, was wondering on how to meet the demand for special purpose machines (SPMs) manufactured and marketed by the company in India. The products included metal cutting machines, honing machines, lapping machines and so on.
The demand for these special purpose machines fluctuated due to changes in the external environmental factors like economic and technological. For example, the demand for these machines was less in 2009, 2010, and 2012 due to recession in the Indian economy. However, the demand went up substantially, much above the production capacity, from 2013 to 2014. In June 2014, Suresh increased the prices of these machines by about 25 per cent in order to reduce the orders from business customers like Bajaj Auto, Maruti Udyog, Ashok Leyland and others. In spite of increase in prices, the demand for these machines went up by more than 30 per cent, which was in excess of production capacity. Suresh wondered how to improve the accuracy of demand forecasting. The company had been using sales force composite method, which has an advantage of giving the break-down of the sales forecast by product, customer, territory and sales person. Suresh decided to call a meeting of sales and marketing persons to improve the accuracy of forecasting. He also thought of meeting all the functional managers to discuss and decide how to meet the fluctuating demand of the special purpose machines.
Questions: (5 marks each) a. What are the issues faced by Suresh in this context? b. How would you describe the nature of demand for special purpose machines? c. What guidelines should be followed to improve the accuracy of the sales forecast? d. What alternatives are available to the company to meet the fluctuating demand of the special purpose machines?
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ANSWER KEY – MARKETING STRATEGIES AND PLANNING. MCOM – II SEM
Section A
- Registration of suppliers. Competitive bidding – closed/sealed tenders, open tenders, reverse bidding, Govt contracts.
- Development of market potential, market share analysis, sales analysis, forecasting, competition analysis, bench marking, new product acceptance and potential, business trend studies, sales quota determination.
- Derived demand- fluctuating demand – joint demand – cross elasticity of demand – reverse elasticity of demand – Bull whip effect.
- Materials and parts, capital items, supplies and services. To explain each.
- SCM involves planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, finished products and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for conforming to customer requirements. It has broader scope. Logistics is part of SCM and refers to the design and management of all activities (mainly transportation, warehousing, and inventory control) necessary to make materials available for manufacturing and to make finished goods/products available to customers as needed and in condition required. Its scope: Inventory management and control, customer service, transportation, warehousing, plant and warehouse locations, order processing, logistics communications, packaging, and material handling.
- Modern business methodology that addresses needs of organisations and customers to cut costs, improve quality of goods and services, and increase the speed of service. Process of using digital technology for transmitting information between organisations. Buying and selling of products and services via computer networks. Classifications: B to B, B to C, C to C, Collaborative e Commerce, intra organisational commerce, mobile commerce,e-government, Govt to citizens, Govt to Govt, Govt to Business.
- BCG Matrix. Boston consulting group’s model. Products or businesses classified into one of four cells named stars, cash cows, question marks and dogs according to market growth and a products relative market share. To explain each. Diagram must.
- A process that tries to maximise benefits to both buyer and seller and takes a long term view of their relationship. Focuses on customer satisfaction through interactions. Styles: I win, you lose, Both of us win (win-win), you win I lose, both of us lose.
- Product life cycle is a concept to trace the sales and profit of a product through time. Purpose to understand in which stage a product is and evolve suitable marketing strategies. Stages: Introduction, growth, maturity, decline. Explain each.
- Buying, promotion and selling, assorting, financing, warehousing, grading, transportation, information, risk taking, technical service.
Section B
- Products become obsolete due to change in technology, change in customer preferences and choice, etc. If new products are not introduced, company will not grow. Process: Idea generation, idea screening, concept development and testing, business analysis, product development, market testing, commercialisation. To explain each.
- Differences based on: Market characteristics, product characteristics, service, buyer behaviour, channel, promotional and price characteristics. To explain each difference.
- Environmental variables, organisational variables, buying centre variables, individual variables. To explain each.
- Pricing objectives, demand analysis, cost analysis, competitive analysis, and Govt regulations. To explain each.
- The process of dividing a market into groups of customers who have similar requirements for a product or service offering. Consists of segmenting, deciding on target market and positioning. Bases: Macro variables – type of industry, company size, customer location, end use or application. Macro variables – buying situations, organisational capabilities, purchasing policies, personal characteristics. To explain each briefly.
Section C
Case study: Students to analyse the case and give relevant answers with justifications.
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