Marketing | OCR A-Level Business H436 (H436)

Marketing

428 questions
29 subtopics
Component 01: Business activity, marketing and people
Component 01

Marketing is examined in Component 01, Business activity, marketing and people.

It covers the purpose of marketing and the unique selling point, market orientation and product orientation, why a business researches its market, primary research: questionnaires, focus groups and observation, secondary research sources and their reliability, random, stratified and systematic sampling, qualitative and quantitative research data, market size, market share and market growth, consumer markets and business markets, mass markets and niche markets, segmenting a market into customer groups, new product development, innovation and R&D, the product life cycle and extension strategies, the Boston Matrix and product portfolio analysis, skimming, penetration and cost-plus pricing, competitor, psychological, dynamic and freemium pricing, price and income elasticity of demand, advertising, sponsorship and public relations, sales promotion, direct mail and point of sale, branding and packaging, social media, influencers and content marketing, websites, search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising, distribution channels, e-commerce and intermediaries, why businesses forecast their sales, historical sales forecasting and the line of best fit, intuitive forecasting and forecasting for a new product, big data and artificial intelligence in marketing, gamification, virtual reality and augmented reality and complaints, reviews and the net promoter score.

Sample questions from Marketing

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

The purpose of marketing and the unique selling point

How does marketing increase a business's sales revenue?

Show the answer
Marketing raises awareness and persuades more customers to buy, and a stronger reputation lets the business sell more units or charge a higher price for each one.
Primary research: questionnaires, focus groups and observation

What is one strength and one weakness of trialling a product before launch?

Show the answer
It shows how the product performs in real use rather than how customers imagine it will, but it gives competitors early sight of the product.
Market size, market share and market growth

A market has total sales of 2.5 million units and a firm holds an 18% share. How many units does the firm sell?

Show the answer
The firm sells 450,000 units, because 18% of 2.5 million is 450,000.
Segmenting a market into customer groups

How does segmentation allow a business to charge different prices?

Show the answer
Segments differ in how much they value the product and what they can pay, so the business can charge a premium to the least price-sensitive group.
Skimming, penetration and cost-plus pricing

What are two impacts of using penetration pricing?

Show the answer
It builds volume and market share rapidly, but margins are very thin at first and customers may resist the later price rise.
Advertising, sponsorship and public relations

What are two benefits of sponsorship to a brand?

Show the answer
It puts the brand repeatedly in front of a large and engaged audience, and it borrows the values and reputation of whatever is sponsored.
Websites, search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising

Why is a high unpaid search ranking valuable to a business?

Show the answer
Most users click on results near the top of the page, and once the ranking is achieved those visits cost nothing per click.
Historical sales forecasting and the line of best fit

What is an index number?

Show the answer
An index number shows how a value has changed compared with a chosen base year, which is given the value 100, so changes can be compared as percentages.

The 29 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The purpose of marketing and the unique selling point	Recall questions on what marketing is and how it informs customers and raises sales, the unique selling point and why it is often short-lived, understanding customers, and the benefits and limits of marketing spending.	14
Market orientation and product orientation	Recall questions on market orientation and product orientation, the advantages and drawbacks of each, which approach suits businesses such as pharmaceutical firms and fast fashion retailers, and how the two can be combined.	13
Why a business researches its market	Recall questions on what market research is and what it is for, the decisions it informs, how it reduces risk, and why a new region should be researched first.	13
Primary research: questionnaires, focus groups and observation	Recall questions on primary market research, open, closed and leading questions in questionnaires, focus groups and one-to-one interviews, trialling and observation, and choosing the right method for a research problem.	17
Secondary research sources and their reliability	Recall questions on secondary market research, sources such as the census, government statistics, internal data, competitor websites, online forums, newspapers, trade magazines and published reports, and judging a source's reliability.	16
Random, stratified and systematic sampling	Recall questions on why businesses sample, random, stratified and systematic sampling with their advantages and drawbacks, calculating stratified and systematic samples, sample size and unrepresentative results.	14
Qualitative and quantitative research data	Recall questions on qualitative and quantitative research data, the advantages and limitations of each, interpreting survey percentages and conflicting evidence, and which type of data suits a particular marketing decision.	13
Market size, market share and market growth	Recall questions on measuring market size, calculating market share and market growth, how market share changes as a market grows, and why share, growth and size matter to a business's decisions.	16
Consumer markets and business markets	Recall questions on business-to-consumer and business-to-business markets, how order sizes, buying decisions, promotion, relationships and price negotiation differ between them, and derived demand.	12
Mass markets and niche markets	Recall questions on the characteristics of mass and niche markets, the advantages and drawbacks of targeting each, how branding and market share differ, and moving from a niche into a mass market.	14
Segmenting a market into customer groups	Recall questions on market segmentation, demographic, geographic and psychographic segmentation with examples, the benefits and costs of segmenting, price discrimination and what makes a segment worth targeting.	14
New product development, innovation and R&D	Recall questions on invention and innovation, research and development and its benefits and risks, sources of new product ideas, the role of design, prototype testing and why product matters in the marketing mix.	14
The product life cycle and extension strategies	Recall questions on the stages of the product life cycle, how sales, cash flow, pricing and promotion change across it, extension strategies and their risks, and the limits of the life cycle as a guide.	17
The Boston Matrix and product portfolio analysis	Recall questions on product portfolio analysis, stars, cash cows, question marks and dogs in the Boston Matrix, the strategy and cash position of each, its use in setting budgets and its limitations.	15
Skimming, penetration and cost-plus pricing	Recall questions on price skimming, penetration pricing and cost-plus pricing, when each suits, calculating mark-up and profit margin, and how the choice of method affects cash flow.	15
Competitor, psychological, dynamic and freemium pricing	Recall questions on competitor-based, psychological, dynamic and freemium pricing, when each is used, their advantages and risks, and how a free tier can still earn revenue for a business.	15
Price and income elasticity of demand	Recall questions on price and income elasticity of demand, their formulas and calculations, elastic and inelastic demand, effects on sales revenue, what makes demand price elastic, and the limitations of elasticity.	18
Advertising, sponsorship and public relations	Recall questions on promotion in the marketing mix, television, press and radio advertising, public relations and its risks, sponsorship and its benefits, and judging whether an advertising campaign was worthwhile.	14
Sales promotion, direct mail and point of sale	Recall questions on sales promotion and its advantages and drawbacks, buy-one-get-one-free offers, loyalty schemes, direct mail, point-of-sale promotion and paying for shelf positions, and the effect of constant discounting.	13
Branding and packaging	Recall questions on brands and brand loyalty, the benefits of a strong brand to a business and its customers, the risks of a single brand, and the functions of packaging in promotion, pricing and environmental concern.	13
Social media, influencers and content marketing	Recall questions on promoting a business on social media, influencer marketing and its risks, content marketing, email marketing, and the benefits and limitations of chatbots in marketing and customer service.	15
Websites, search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising	Recall questions on the role of a business website, search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising, their advantages and drawbacks, cost per click and conversion rate, and advertising against a brand's own name.	13
Distribution channels, e-commerce and intermediaries	Recall questions on place in the marketing mix, physical channels of distribution, e-commerce, multi-channel distribution, and the roles of intermediaries such as wholesalers, retailers and agents.	17
Why businesses forecast their sales	Recall questions on sales forecasting, the decisions and cash flow planning it informs, the consequences of optimistic and pessimistic forecasts, factors that make forecasts wrong, and why they are revised during the year.	13
Historical sales forecasting and the line of best fit	Recall questions on historical sales forecasting, scatter graphs and the line of best fit, extrapolating a trend, seasonal variation, the advantages and limitations of forecasting from past sales, and calculating index numbers.	22
Intuitive forecasting and forecasting for a new product	Recall questions on intuitive sales forecasting and its advantages and drawbacks, reducing bias, forecasting for a new product, regional test launches, forecasts given as a range, and combining historical and intuitive methods.	13
Big data and artificial intelligence in marketing	Recall questions on big data and its sources, how it improves targeting, pricing and prediction, its costs and the risk of mishandling customer data, and the uses and limitations of artificial intelligence in marketing.	15
Gamification, virtual reality and augmented reality	Recall questions on gamification and how it improves customer retention and data, virtual reality and augmented reality in marketing, their costs and risks, and why a small business might choose augmented reality.	13
Complaints, reviews and the net promoter score	Recall questions on measuring marketing performance, calculating and interpreting complaint rates, collecting customer feedback, online reviews and replying to them, and calculating and tracking the net promoter score.	17

Marketing is 428 of the 2,383 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.