Marketing | AQA GCSE Business (8132)

Marketing

164 questions
10 subtopics
Paper 2
Paper 2

Marketing is examined in Paper 2, Influences of marketing and finance on business activity.

It covers identifying and satisfying customer needs, market segmentation, purpose of market research and primary and secondary research, market research methods and interpreting findings, pricing methods and factors affecting price, new products, USP, brand image and the Boston Matrix, product life cycle and extension strategies, promotional methods and the promotional mix, channels of distribution, e-commerce and m-commerce and the integrated marketing mix.

Sample questions from Marketing

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

Identifying and satisfying customer needs

Why does satisfying customer needs help a business to be competitive?

Show the answer
Customers choose the business that best meets their needs. A business that meets needs better than its rivals will win customers from them.
Market segmentation

What is segmentation by gender?

Show the answer
Segmentation by gender aims products at men or at women. Razor and cosmetics brands often run separate ranges for each.
Purpose of market research and primary and secondary research

Why do businesses research their target market?

Show the answer
Research into the target market shows who the customers are and what they want. The business can then design a product and marketing to suit them.
Market research methods and interpreting findings

What are the benefits and drawbacks of interviews?

Show the answer
Interviews give detailed answers and let the researcher explore customers' reasons. Interviews are slow and costly, and the interviewer may influence the answers.
Pricing methods and factors affecting price

What is a loss leader?

Show the answer
A loss leader is a product sold at or below cost to attract customers. The business hopes customers will buy other, full-price products at the same time.
New products, USP, brand image and the Boston Matrix

What is a unique selling point (USP)?

Show the answer
A USP is a feature that makes a product different from all its competitors. A USP gives customers a reason to choose that product.
Product life cycle and extension strategies

What happens at the decline stage of the product life cycle?

Show the answer
Sales and profits fall as customers switch to newer or rival products. The business may withdraw the product or use an extension strategy.
Promotional methods and the promotional mix

What is public relations (PR), and why is it useful?

Show the answer
Public relations is gaining positive media coverage and managing a business's public image. PR coverage is often free, and customers trust it more than adverts.

The 10 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Identifying and satisfying customer needs	Customer needs and how identifying them raises sales and avoids costly mistakes, gathering feedback, changing needs over time, customer loyalty and why keeping customers costs less than winning them.	15
Market segmentation	Segmentation and target markets, dividing a market by age, gender, location and income with examples from cars, toys and bakeries, its benefits and drawbacks, and niche against mass markets.	15
Purpose of market research and primary and secondary research	Why businesses research gaps, demand, competitors and target markets, primary against secondary research, internet and press sources, and when a small or large business uses each.	16
Market research methods and interpreting findings	Questionnaires, surveys, samples, interviews and focus groups, quantitative against qualitative data, market size, calculating market share, growth and survey results, and the dangers of misreading findings.	16
Pricing methods and factors affecting price	Price skimming, penetration and competitive pricing, loss leaders, cost-plus pricing and mark-up calculations, the link between price and demand, and how costs, competition and the life cycle shape price.	17
New products, USP, brand image and the Boston Matrix	The benefits and risks of new products, design and image, product differentiation, USPs and brand image, product portfolios, and stars, cash cows, question marks and dogs in the Boston Matrix.	18
Product life cycle and extension strategies	Research and development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline, a games console across its life, and extending a product's life through packaging, features, new markets, advertising or price cuts.	16
Promotional methods and the promotional mix	Advertising on television, in print, online and on billboards, public relations, point-of-sale displays, 2 for 1 offers, competitions, sponsorship, social media, and choosing a promotional mix.	21
Channels of distribution, e-commerce and m-commerce	Place in the marketing mix, channels of distribution, retailers and wholesalers, telesales, selling online and by mobile, reaching buyers abroad, and the right channel for a farm or a chocolate maker.	16
The integrated marketing mix	How product, price, promotion and place must fit together, mixes for luxury perfume and a budget supermarket, changes across the life cycle, online shopping, and responding to a cheaper rival.	14

Marketing is 164 of the 659 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £7

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.