Marketing | OCR A-Level Business H431 (H431)

Marketing

377 questions
25 subtopics
Assessed on all three papers
Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03

Marketing is examined in all three written papers — the specification is assessed in full on every one of them, and they differ by the context questions are set in rather than by content.

It covers marketing objectives and why a business sets them, marketing resources and SWOT analysis, primary market research and trial marketing, secondary market research and desk sources, sampling methods and sample reliability, normal distribution and standard deviation, market share and market growth, using market analysis to make decisions, consumer buying behaviour and the marketing models, niche marketing and mass marketing, customer orientation, product orientation and customer service, market segmentation, customers, consumers and business-to-business marketing, the product life cycle and its stages, extension strategies, the marketing mix and the marketing strategy, product, USP, branding and differentiation, the Boston matrix, Ansoff's matrix and portfolio analysis, pricing strategies, price and income elasticity of demand, cross elasticity and advertising elasticity of demand, place and channels of distribution, promotion above the line, below the line and digital, service marketing and the extended marketing mix and external influences on marketing.

Sample questions from Marketing

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Marketing objectives and why a business sets them

How do clear marketing objectives help a department allocate its budget?

Show the answer
They show which activities contribute to the stated goal, so spending can be directed towards those and away from ones that do not.
Secondary market research and desk sources

Give two examples of internal secondary data held by a business.

Show the answer
Internal secondary data includes the business's own past sales records and its log of customer complaints.
Market share and market growth

A business sells 60,000 units and holds a 15% share of its market by volume. Calculate the total size of the market in units.

Show the answer
The market is 60,000 ÷ 0.15, which is 400,000 units.
Niche marketing and mass marketing

Why does mass marketing usually produce lower unit costs?

Show the answer
High volumes spread fixed costs thinly and bring purchasing economies, so each unit costs less to make and to sell.
Customers, consumers and business-to-business marketing

Give two features that distinguish a business market from a consumer market.

Show the answer
Buyers are fewer and each is much larger, and purchase decisions are usually made by several people against technical criteria.
The marketing mix and the marketing strategy

What is meant by a local marketing context?

Show the answer
It means marketing aimed at customers in one town or area, where the business can rely on local knowledge, reputation and word of mouth.
Pricing strategies

What is competition-based pricing?

Show the answer
Competition-based pricing means setting price by reference to what rivals charge rather than to the business's own costs.
Place and channels of distribution

Why does a producer accept a lower price per unit when selling through a retailer?

Show the answer
The retailer provides shelf space, reach and payment collection that the producer would otherwise have to fund and manage itself.

The 25 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Marketing objectives and why a business sets them	Recall questions on marketing objectives and how they differ from corporate objectives, measurable marketing goals and SMART form, customer retention, using objectives to allocate budgets and manage staff, consistency with other functions, over-ambitious objectives, reviewing objectives, and market share against sales volume.	14
Marketing resources and SWOT analysis	Recall questions on the resources needed to market a product, how budgets, team skills, customer data, brands and time constrain strategy, SWOT analysis and its internal and external elements, examples of strengths and threats, the purpose and criticisms of SWOT, and making a SWOT more useful.	16
Primary market research and trial marketing	Recall questions on market research and primary research techniques, focus groups and their drawbacks, observation, online surveys, interviewer bias and leading questions, the cost of primary research, and trial marketing, how it reduces launch risk, its drawbacks and what an app trial aims to learn.	16
Secondary market research and desk sources	Recall questions on primary and secondary research, desk research, external sources such as government statistics and published reports, internal sales and complaints data, the advantages and limitations of secondary data, research funding, competitors' accounts, web analytics, and sequencing secondary before primary research.	14
Sampling methods and sample reliability	Recall questions on sampling and why businesses sample, random, stratified, cluster, systematic, quota and convenience sampling, which method represents minority groups, sampling bias, how sample size affects confidence, why large samples can still mislead, and the flaw in surveying a store's own shoppers.	15
Normal distribution and standard deviation	Recall questions on the normal distribution and its use in marketing, standard deviation and what a small value shows, the 68% and 99.7% rules, calculating ranges and a standard deviation, planning stock, comparing samples with the same mean, delivery times, and the limitations of standard deviation.	14
Market share and market growth	Recall questions on calculating market share, market growth and total market size, contracting markets, share by value against volume, percentage points against percentage change, sales rising while share falls, the benefits of high market share, and how a business should respond to market growth, shrinkage and changes in its share.	18
Using market analysis to make decisions	Recall questions on market analysis and its purpose, quantitative and qualitative market data and why neither suffices alone, misleading correlations, trends against single periods, ignoring or setting aside research findings, why accurate data can still lead to wrong decisions, extrapolation, testing surprising results, and stated purchase intentions.	14
Consumer buying behaviour and the marketing models	Recall questions on consumer buying behaviour, planned and impulse purchases, risk in purchasing, setting promotional budgets, the AIDA model, the DAGMAR approach and the hierarchy of effects, the ATR model, the shared limitations of the models, diagnosing a failing campaign, and how business decisions change buying behaviour.	16
Niche marketing and mass marketing	Recall questions on niche and mass marketing, the advantages and risks of a niche, unit costs and margins in mass marketing, how promotion and market research differ, premium pricing, growing from a niche into the mass market, break-even in each strategy, large firms' niche brands, and a brewery's supermarket contract.	13
Customer orientation, product orientation and customer service	Recall questions on customer and product orientation and their advantages, risks and criticisms, product orientation in long research cycles, customer orientation across the whole business, customer service as part of the product, after-sales service, social media complaints, service as competitive advantage, and measuring service by call times.	13
Market segmentation	Recall questions on market segmentation and its demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural bases with examples, charging segments more, reducing wasted promotion, the costs of serving several segments, what makes a segment worth targeting, over-segmentation, stereotypes, a premium fitness app, and withdrawing products.	14
Customers, consumers and business-to-business marketing	Recall questions on customers and consumers and how the split complicates promotion, business-to-business marketing and how business markets differ, derived demand, personal selling, pricing, trade exhibitions, brands in business purchasing, losing a customer, the length of the buying process, and promoting low-value consumer products.	14
The product life cycle and its stages	Recall questions on the product life cycle and its development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline stages, sales, profit and cash flow at each stage, the shape of the curve, how promotion differs between stages, the model's limitations, and the danger of holding all products at one stage.	14
Extension strategies	Recall questions on extension strategies and their purpose, examples including new markets, product updates, new uses and price cuts, why extension is cheaper than a replacement, timing an extension, the danger of relying on it too long, judging whether it worked, and why it works less well in technology markets.	12
The marketing mix and the marketing strategy	Recall questions on the marketing mix and marketing strategy, strategy against tactics, keeping the mix consistent, why mixes differ, local, national and international marketing, standardising and adapting the mix, changing the mix at maturity, funding a strategy, benefits to employees, and entering a market held by two rivals.	15
Product, USP, branding and differentiation	Recall questions on product in the marketing mix, unique selling points and their effect on price, real and perceived differentiation, brands and branding, the benefits and risks of a strong brand, negotiating with retailers, own-label competition, product portfolios, and balancing the product mix across the life cycle.	16
The Boston matrix, Ansoff's matrix and portfolio analysis	Recall questions on the Boston matrix, its axes and its stars, cash cows, question marks and dogs, cash flow between cash cows and question marks, keeping a dog, the matrix's limitations, Ansoff's matrix and its four strategies, why diversification is riskiest, value analysis, and product portfolio analysis.	17
Pricing strategies	Recall questions on price in the marketing mix, price skimming and penetration pricing, competition-based and psychological pricing, calculating cost-plus prices and contribution, marginal-cost and contribution pricing, accepting orders below full cost, the danger of price cuts, and pricing a new technology.	17
Price and income elasticity of demand	Recall questions on price elasticity of demand, its formula and why it is negative, elastic and inelastic demand, calculating it, its effect on total revenue, the factors that make demand elastic, branded products, income elasticity of demand, normal and inferior goods, and planning for a recession.	16
Cross elasticity and advertising elasticity of demand	Recall questions on cross elasticity of demand, its formula, substitutes, complements and unrelated products, calculating it and using it when rivals change prices or when selling complements, advertising elasticity of demand, calculating and interpreting it, and why it can understate a campaign or be hard to measure.	15
Place and channels of distribution	Recall questions on place in the marketing mix, channels of distribution, direct selling and its advantages, wholesalers and retailers, intensive, exclusive and selective distribution, luxury watches, online selling, logistics, the cost of stock-outs, channel conflict, and distribution for a new craft food brand.	15
Promotion above the line, below the line and digital	Recall questions on above-the-line and below-the-line promotion, sales promotions, public relations, personal selling, drip and viral marketing, social media and internet promotion with their advantages and drawbacks, matching the promotional mix to the audience, and promoting a small independent restaurant.	19
Service marketing and the extended marketing mix	Recall questions on service marketing and the characteristics of services, why services cannot be stored, the people, process and physical evidence of the extended marketing mix, consistency, reducing delivery costs, restaurants, customer reviews, hotel pricing, and where a new hairdressing salon should invest first.	14
External influences on marketing	Recall questions on how an ageing population and health trends alter marketing, the Advertising Standards Authority and its rules, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, data protection, marketing to children, greenwashing, interest rates, recession and exchange rates, the tobacco advertising ban, measuring effectiveness, and marketing abroad.	16

Marketing is 377 of the 2,384 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

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.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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.
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.