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1. What is logistics management? Ans - Marketing logistics involve planning, delivering, and controlling the flow of physical goods, marketing materials and information from the producer to a market as necessary to meet customer demands while still making a satisfactory profit. 2. What is Supply chain Management? Give an example. Ans - Supply chain management related to the flow of goods, information and fund from the supplier to consumer. Basically it is the way in which the goods pass on from the factory to the intermediaries and then to the ultimate consumer.Eg. Bharti Airtel’s supply chain management has a central core team comprising of supply chain subject matter experts as well as execution teams which operate under different business divisions nationwide. Bharti Airtel realized the importance of having competent partners for its better business prospects due to which its supply chain function enabled maximization of mutual growth opportunities . 3. What is the difference between a marketing mix and a promotional mix? Ans - The marketing mix is a planned mix of activities. The ingredients in the marketing mix are the seven P's product, place, price,promotion,packaging,positioning,people. The promotional mix is the coordination of marketing communication activities which includes publicity, sales promotion, advertising, direct marketing and personal selling. 

Marketing FAQs

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1. What is logistics management?

Ans - Marketing logistics involve planning, delivering, and controlling the

flow of physical goods, marketing materials and information from the

producer to a market as necessary to meet customer demands while still

making a satisfactory profit.

2. What is Supply chain Management? Give an example.

Ans - Supply chain management related to the flow of goods,

information and fund from the supplier to consumer. Basically it is the

way in which the goods pass on from the factory to the intermediariesand then to the ultimate consumer.Eg. Bharti Airtel’s supply chain

management has a central core team comprising of supply chain

subject matter experts as well as execution teams which operate

under different business divisions nationwide. Bharti Airtel realized the

importance of having competent partners for its better business

prospects due to which its supply chain function enabled maximization

of mutual growth opportunities .

3. What is the difference between a marketing mix and a promotional

mix?

Ans - The marketing mix is a planned mix of activities.

The ingredients in the marketing mix are the seven P's product, place,

price,promotion,packaging,positioning,people.

The promotional mix is the coordination of marketing communication

activities which includes publicity, sales promotion, advertising, direct

marketing and personal selling. 

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4. Does logistics management and supply chain management mean the

same thing?

Ans - Logistics is that part of the supply chain process that plans,

implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of

goods, services, and related information from the point-of-origin to

the point of- consumption in order to meet customers' requirements.

Supply chain management is the integration of key business processes

from end user through original suppliers that provide products,

services, and information that add value for customers and other

stakeholders.

5. BCG Matrix?

Ans - BCG matrix (or growth-share matrix) is a corporate planning

tool, which is used to portray firm’s brand portfolio or SBUs on a

quadrant along relative market share axis (horizontal axis) and speed

of market growth (vertical axis) axis.

BCG matrix is a framework created by Boston Consulting Group to

evaluate the strategic position of the business brand portfolio and its

potential. It classifies business portfolio into four categories based on

industry attractiveness (growth rate of that industry) and competitive

position (relative market share).

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cows to induce growth but only to support them so they can maintain

their current market share. Again, this is not always the truth. Cash cows

are usually large corporations or SBUs that are capable of innovating new

products or processes, which may become new stars. If there would be no

support for cash cows, they would not be capable of such innovations.

Strategic choices: Product development, diversification, divestiture,

retrenchment

Stars. Stars operate in high growth industries and maintain high market

share. Stars are both cash generators and cash users. They are the

primary units in which the company should invest its money, becausestars are expected to become cash cows and generate positive cash

flows. Yet, not all stars become cash flows. This is especially true in

rapidly changing industries, where new innovative products can soon be

outcompeted by new technological advancements, so a star instead of

becoming a cash cow, becomes a dog.

Strategic choices: Vertical integration, horizontal integration, market

penetration, market development, product development

Question marks. Question marks are the brands that require much closer

consideration. They hold low market share in fast growing markets

consuming large amount of cash and incurring losses. It has potential to

gain market share and become a star, which would later become cash

cow. Question marks do not always succeed and even after large amount

of investments they struggle to gain market share and eventually become

dogs.

Strategic choices: Market penetration, market development, product

development, divestiture

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6. Ansoff matrix?

Ans - The Ansoff Growth matrix is another marketing planning tool that

helps a business determine its product and market growth strategy.

Ansoff’s  product/market growth matrix suggests that a business’

attempts to grow depend on whether it markets new or existing products

in new or existing markets. The output from the Ansoff product/market

matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies which set the direction

for the business strategy. These are described below:

 Market penetration 

Market penetration is the name given to a growth strategy where the

business focuses on selling existing products into existing markets.

Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives: 

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  Maintain or increase the market share of current products – this can

be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies,

advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated

to personal selling 

  Secure dominance of growth markets

  Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would

require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported

by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for

competitors

  Increase usage by existing customers –  for example by introducingloyalty schemes

A market penetration marketing strategy is very much about “business as

usual”. The business is focusing on markets and products it knows well. It

is likely to have good information on competitors and on customer needs.

It is unlikely, therefore, that this strategy will require much investment

in new market research.

 Market development 

Market development is the name given to a growth strategy where the

business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets.

There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including:

  New geographical markets; for example exporting the product to a

new country

  New product dimensions or packaging: for example

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  New distribution channels (e.g. moving from selling via retail to

selling using e-commerce and mail order)

  Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create

new market segments

Market development is a more risky strategy than market penetration

because of the targeting of new markets.

Product development 

Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a

business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. This

strategy may require the development of new competencies and requires

the business to develop modified products which can appeal to existing

markets.

A strategy of product development is particularly suitable for a business

where the product needs to be differentiated in order to remaincompetitive. A successful product development strategy places the

marketing emphasis on:

  Research & development and innovation

  Detailed insights into customer needs (and how they change)

  Being first to market

Diversification 

Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business

markets new products in new markets.

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This is an inherently more risk strategy because the business is moving

into markets in which it has little or no experience.

For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have

a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an

honest assessment of the risks. However, for the right balance between

risk and reward, a marketing strategy of diversification can be highly

rewarding.

7. Porter’s five forces model? 

Ans - Five forces model was created by M. Porter in 1979 to understand

how five key competitive forces are affecting an industry. Porter’s five

forces model  is an analysis tool that uses five forces to determine the

profitability of an industry and shape a firm’s competitive strategy. It is a

framework that classifies and analyzes the most important forces

affecting the intensity of competition in an industry and its profitability

level. 

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These forces determine an industry structure and the level of competition

in that industry. The stronger competitive forces in the industry are the

less profitable it is. An industry with low barriers to enter, having few

buyers and suppliers but many substitute products and competitors will

be seen as very competitive and thus, not so attractive due to its low

profitability.

Threat of new entrants. This force determines how easy (or not) it is to

enter a particular industry. If an industry is profitable and there are few

barriers to enter, rivalry soon intensifies. When more organizations

compete for the same market share, profits start to fall. It is essential for

existing organizations to create high barriers to enter to deter new

entrants. Threat of new entrants is high when:

  Low amount of capital is required to enter a market;

  Existing companies can do little to retaliate;

  Existing firms do not possess patents, trademarks or do not have

established brand reputation;

  There is no government regulation;

  Customer switching costs are low (it doesn’t cost a lot of money for a

firm to switch to other industries);

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  There is low customer loyalty;

  Products are nearly identical;

  Economies of scale can be easily achieved.

Bargaining power of suppliers. Strong bargaining power allows suppliers

to sell higher priced or low quality raw materials to their buyers. This

directly affects the buying firms’ profits because it has to pay more for

materials. Suppliers have strong bargaining power when:

  There are few suppliers but many buyers;

  Suppliers are large and threaten to forward integrate;   Few substitute raw materials exist;

  Suppliers hold scarce resources;

  Cost of switching raw materials is especially high.

Bargaining power of buyers.  Buyers have the power to demand lower

price or higher product quality from industry producers when their

bargaining power is strong. Lower price means lower revenues for the

producer, while higher quality products usually raise production costs.

Both scenarios result in lower profits for producers. Buyers exert strong

bargaining power when:

  Buying in large quantities or control many access points to the final

customer;

  Only few buyers exist;

  Switching costs to other supplier are low;

  They threaten to backward integrate; 

  There are many substitutes;

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  Buyers are price sensitive.

Threat of substitutes. This force is especially threatening when buyers

can easily find substitute products with attractive prices or better quality

and when buyers can switch from one product or service to another with

little cost. For example, to switch from coffee to tea doesn’t cost

anything, unlike switching from car to bicycle.

Rivalry among existing competitors. This force is the major determinant

on how competitive and profitable an industry is. In competitive industry,

firms have to compete aggressively for a market share, which results in

low profits. Rivalry among competitors is intense when:

  There are many competitors;

  Exit barriers are high;

  Industry of growth is slow or negative;

  Products are not differentiated and can be easily substituted;

  Competitors are of equal size;

  Low customer loyalty.

8.  Product Life Cycle?

Ans - The product life cycle is an important concept in marketing. It

describes the stages a product goes through from when it was first

thought of until it finally is removed from the market. Not all products

reach this final stage. Some continue to grow and others rise and fall.

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The main stages of the product life cycle are:

  Introduction –  researching, developing and then launching the

product

  Growth – when sales are increasing at their fastest rate

  Maturity –  sales are near their highest, but the rate of growth is

slowing down, e.g. new competitors in market or saturation

  Decline – final stage of the cycle, when sales begin to fall

This can be illustrated by looking at the sales during the time period of

the product.

A branded good can enjoy continuous growth, such as Microsoft, because

the product is being constantly improved and advertised, and maintains a

strong brand loyalty.

Some key features of each stage in the product life cycle can be

summarized as follows:

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Introduction

•New product launched on the market 

•Low level of sales 

•Low capacity utilization 

•High unit costs - teething problems occur

•Usually negative cash flow 

•Distributors may be reluctant to take an unproven product 

•Heavy promotion to make consumers aware of  the product

Relevant strategies at the introduction stage might include:

•Aim – to encourage customer adoption

•High promotional spending to create awareness and inform people 

•Either skimming or penetration pricing 

•Limited, focused distribution 

•Demand initially from “early adopters” 

Growth

•Expanding market but arrival of competitors 

•Fast growing sales 

•Rise in capacity utilization 

•Product gains market acceptance 

•Cash flow may become positive 

•Unit costs fall with economies of scale 

•The market grows, profits rise but attracts the entry of new competitors

Relevant strategies at the growth stage might include:

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•Advertising to promote brand awareness 

•Increase in distribution outlets - intensive distribution

•Go for market penetration and (if possible) price leadership

•Target the early majority of potential buyers 

•Continuing high promotional spending 

•Improve the product - new features, improved styling, more options

 Maturity  

•Slower sales growth as rivals enter the market = intense competition +

fight for market share•High level of capacity utilization 

•High profits for those with high market share 

•Cash flow should be strongly positive 

•Weaker competitors start to leave the market 

•Prices and profits fall 

There is a wide variety of possible options for a product that has reached

the maturity stage:

•Product differentiation & product improvements 

•Rationalization of capacity 

•Competitor based pricing 

•Promotion focuses on differentiation 

•Persuasive advertising 

•Intensive distribution 

•Enter new segments

•Attract new users 

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•Repositioning 

•Develop new uses 

Decline Stage 

Common features at this stage include:

•Falling sales 

•Market saturation and/or competition 

•Decline in profits & weaker cash flows 

•More competitors leave the market 

•Decline in capacity utilization –switch capacity to alternative products

Potential strategies are:

•Harvest by spending little on marketing the product 

•Rationalize by weeding out product variations 

•Price cutting to maintain competitiveness 

•Promotion to retain loyal customers

•Distribution narrowed 

Extension strategies 

These extend the life of the product before it goes into decline. Again

businesses use marketing techniques to improve sales. Examples of the

techniques are:

  Advertising –  try to gain a new audience or remind the current

audience

  Price reduction – more attractive to customers

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  Adding value – add new features to the current product, e.g. video

messaging on mobile phones

  Explore new markets – try selling abroad

  New packaging –  brightening up old packaging, or subtle changes

such as putting crisps in foil packets or Seventies music

compilations

Some criticisms of the product life cycle 

•The shape and duration of the cycle varies 

•Strategic decisions can change the life cycle •It is difficult to recognize exactly where a product is in its life cycle

•Length cannot be reliably predicted 

•Decline is not inevitable?

•Assumes no reversion to earlier consumer preferences 

•It can become a self fulfilling prophecy 

9.