Marketing Mix and Strategy | Edexcel A-Level Business (9BS0)
Marketing Mix and Strategy
- 138 questions
- 5 subtopics
- Theme 1: marketing and people
- Paper 1 and Paper 3
Marketing mix and strategy is the third section of Theme 1.
It covers the design mix, the promotion and branding a business uses to be noticed, the pricing strategies open to it, how the product reaches the customer, and the strategy that ties the four together across a product's life.
Sample questions from Marketing Mix and Strategy
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Product/service design
Why must businesses balance the three elements of the design mix?
Show the answer
Because improving one element often involves trade-offs with another; enhancing one aspect may require compromising on the others. -
Product/service design
Define designing for re-use.
Show the answer
Designing for re-use involves creating products that can be used multiple times or repurposed after their initial use. -
Branding and promotion
What is manufacturer branding?
Show the answer
Manufacturer branding occurs when a producer creates and promotes its own brand identity for products it manufactures. -
Branding and promotion
How does sponsorship help build a brand?
Show the answer
Sponsorship builds a brand by associating the business with events, teams, or causes that reflect desired brand values and reach target audiences. -
Pricing strategies
What is psychological pricing?
Show the answer
Setting prices that appear more attractive to consumers, such as pricing at £9.99 rather than £10. -
Pricing strategies
What pricing approach is typically required during the maturity stage of the product life cycle?
Show the answer
Competitive pricing, as the market becomes saturated and competition intensifies. -
Distribution
Why do longer distribution channels typically result in higher prices for consumers?
Show the answer
Because each intermediary in the channel adds a margin to cover their costs and profit. -
Distribution
What does the shift from product to service mean for a business?
Show the answer
The business shifts from selling physical goods to providing access or subscription-based services.
The 5 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Product/service design | Function, aesthetics and cost as the three elements of the design mix, and the social and environmental pressures that change the balance between them. | 22 |
| Branding and promotion | Above-the-line, below-the-line and through-the-line promotion, sales promotion, personal selling and public relations, manufacturer, own-label and generic branding, the added value of a strong brand, ways of building a brand, and the social trends behind viral and emotional branding. | 28 |
| Pricing strategies | Cost-plus, penetration, skimming, predatory, competitive and psychological pricing, and how elasticity, competition and the product life cycle decide which fits. | 23 |
| Distribution | Direct and indirect distribution, wholesalers, retailers and agents, the effect of channel length, online distribution and the social trends behind it, the shift from product to service, and multi-channel distribution. | 18 |
| Marketing strategy | The stages of the product life cycle and the extension strategies that prolong it, the Boston Matrix and a balanced portfolio, mass against niche marketing, business-to-business against business-to-consumer marketing, and building customer loyalty. | 47 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel A-Level Business Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,305 questions with their answers.