The Marketing Mix (OCR GCSE Business): Exam Questions

J Sainsbury plc (Sainsbury’s)

Sainsbury’s is one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains. Sainsbury’s targets middle to high income customers nationally. Sainsbury’s is owned by shareholders who have limited liability.

The supermarket industry is very competitive, and marketing promotions are important. An example is Sainsbury’s price match against similar products sold by Aldi, one of its competitors. Sainsbury’s also spends a large proportion of its marketing budget on television advertising.

Developing new products is important to remain competitive, as customers are always looking for something new. Sainsbury’s uses market segmentation to support successful product development.

Sainsbury’s managers believe that good food should be accessible to everyone. They use primary market research to ensure the business develops products that meet the needs of its customers.

SJ Salon

SJ Salon is a hair salon owned by Sam and Jamila. The business partners met whilst studying hairdressing at college. The partners’ creativity has helped make the salon very successful. SJ Salon is currently the only salon in town and uses cost-plus pricing.

Sam and Jamila are qualified hairdressers who work full-time in the salon. Until recently, the partners employed one part-time and one full-time worker who works 40 hours per week. However, due to increasing customer demand, two additional part-time employees have recently been recruited.

Sam and Jamila have just found out that a national hairdressing chain is planning to open a new salon in their town. They are concerned about the impact of this competition. The partners asked 200 current customers to complete a short questionnaire. The results show that:

• 130 of the customers have used SJ Salon since 2019

• 104 of the customers were aware of the national hairdressing chain

• 84 of the customers would consider trying the new hair salon, if its prices were cheaper

• 66 of the customers consider quality of service to be more important than price.

When SJ Salon was set up in 2014, Sam wrote a business plan. He has not written another one since then, as the business has been profitable. However, Sam now thinks that a new business plan should be written to help the business succeed against any new competition. Jamila disagrees, as the original business plan took Sam 30 hours to write. She feels that his time would be better spent keeping current customers satisfied.

Boohoo was started in 2006 by two entrepreneurs who had the idea of starting a business where customers could buy the latest fashions online.

Boohoo has expanded using organic growth, and has become a global online retailer of its own brand clothes, shoes and accessories. It now sells in over 100 countries. Boohoo charge for delivery. It has millions of website users per month.

The target market for the Boohoo brand is men and women who are 16 to 24 years old and are fashion conscious. To reach this market, Boohoo uses social media. The business is active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Boohoo has also introduced apps for smartphones and tablets that allow customers to browse and buy products very easily.

Boohoo was started in 2006 by two entrepreneurs who had the idea of starting a business where customers could buy the latest fashions online.

Boohoo has expanded using organic growth, and has become a global online retailer of its own brand clothes, shoes and accessories. It now sells in over 100 countries. Boohoo charge for delivery. It has millions of website users per month.

The target market for the Boohoo brand is men and women who are 16 to 24 years old and are fashion conscious. To reach this market, Boohoo uses social media. The business is active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Boohoo has also introduced apps for smartphones and tablets that allow customers to browse and buy products very easily.

Shirtz Ltd

Shirtz Ltd is a private limited company owned by Shamira and her husband, Zubair. The business manufactures colourful T-shirts with logos and pictures on the front.

Shirtz Ltd has been operating from a room in their house. Shamira and Zubair make the T-shirts and sell them through online stores such as Amazon and eBay.

Shamira and Zubair would like to expand the business. They have created a business plan to help them.

Shirtz Ltd’s business plan

Aims and objectives
To grow by purchasing new machinery and renting a new location for production

Finance
New finance will be required to fund the business’ aims and objectives

Business needs

• New machinery

• Larger premises/location for production

Market research

Changes to the marketing mix

Product – expand the range of T-shirts produced and sold
Price – set price to gain highest revenue
Place – develop links with a high street shop to sell Shirtz Ltd’s products
Promotion – use point of sale promotion

Human resources
Employ two full-time production workers

Walkers Snack Foods Ltd

Walkers Snack Foods Ltd (Walkers) manufactures well‑known snacks, including Walkers crisps, Quavers and Wotsits. The company has a market share of more than 50% of the UK potato snack market. The company aims to maintain its market share and to increase profitability.

Walkers uses different marketing strategies as the snacks move through the stages of the product life cycle. Flavours are regularly added to Walkers’ range of crisps, often trialling new flavours before launching them. Recent examples have included ‘fish & chips’ and ‘chicken burrito’ flavours.

Walkers have responded to concerns about healthy eating by adapting its product range, including:

• recipe changes to reduce added salt by 25% and saturated fats by up to 70%

• a reduction in bag size

• multipacks now containing 22 bags rather than 24, with no change in price.

These changes were supported by a marketing strategy which affected all elements of the marketing mix.

An independent market research company arranged focus groups in both 2017 and 2022 to look at healthy eating trends. It found that:

• 46% of people were concerned about healthy eating in 2017, compared with 60% in 2022.

• In 2022, 36% of people considered whether a snack was healthy before buying it.

• In 2017, 26% of people thought that snack companies were trying to produce more healthy products. By 2022 this figure had increased to 29%.

Walkers Snack Foods Ltd

Walkers Snack Foods Ltd (Walkers) manufactures well‑known snacks, including Walkers crisps, Quavers and Wotsits. The company has a market share of more than 50% of the UK potato snack market. The company aims to maintain its market share and to increase profitability.

Walkers uses different marketing strategies as the snacks move through the stages of the product life cycle. Flavours are regularly added to Walkers’ range of crisps, often trialling new flavours before launching them. Recent examples have included ‘fish & chips’ and ‘chicken burrito’ flavours.

Walkers have responded to concerns about healthy eating by adapting its product range, including:

• recipe changes to reduce added salt by 25% and saturated fats by up to 70%

• a reduction in bag size

• multipacks now containing 22 bags rather than 24, with no change in price.

These changes were supported by a marketing strategy which affected all elements of the marketing mix.

An independent market research company arranged focus groups in both 2017 and 2022 to look at healthy eating trends. It found that:

• 46% of people were concerned about healthy eating in 2017, compared with 60% in 2022.

• In 2022, 36% of people considered whether a snack was healthy before buying it.

• In 2017, 26% of people thought that snack companies were trying to produce more healthy products. By 2022 this figure had increased to 29%.

Walkers Snack Foods Ltd

Walkers Snack Foods Ltd (Walkers) manufactures well‑known snacks, including Walkers crisps, Quavers and Wotsits. The company has a market share of more than 50% of the UK potato snack market. The company aims to maintain its market share and to increase profitability.

Walkers uses different marketing strategies as the snacks move through the stages of the product life cycle. Flavours are regularly added to Walkers’ range of crisps, often trialling new flavours before launching them. Recent examples have included ‘fish & chips’ and ‘chicken burrito’ flavours.

Walkers have responded to concerns about healthy eating by adapting its product range, including:

• recipe changes to reduce added salt by 25% and saturated fats by up to 70%

• a reduction in bag size

• multipacks now containing 22 bags rather than 24, with no change in price.

These changes were supported by a marketing strategy which affected all elements of the marketing mix.

An independent market research company arranged focus groups in both 2017 and 2022 to look at healthy eating trends. It found that:

• 46% of people were concerned about healthy eating in 2017, compared with 60% in 2022.

• In 2022, 36% of people considered whether a snack was healthy before buying it.

• In 2017, 26% of people thought that snack companies were trying to produce more healthy products. By 2022 this figure had increased to 29%.

Shinz Ltd

Five years ago, brothers Tom and Amir set up a car washing business called Shinz Ltd in the town of Littlelong. The business has been very successful and currently offers ‘economy’, ‘gloss’ and ‘high-gloss’ washing services. Tom is responsible for the administration, finance and marketing functions. Amir is responsible for the car washing operations and supervises two fulltime employees. The prices Shinz Ltd charges are not low when compared to its competitors. Customer service is a priority for the business.

Tom and Amir are keen to expand the business and are planning to launch a new ‘resin polish’ service, to protect car paintwork during the cold winter months. Many of Shinz Ltd’s customers have requested this service. ‘Resin polish’ is not currently available in Littlelong but is offered by a business in another town five miles away. Tom is considering whether to use competitor pricing or price skimming for this new service.

Littlelong Motors Ltd is a used car retailer. The business has three owners. They have suggested a merger with Shinz Ltd. Littlelong Motors Ltd offers a basic car washing service in addition to its car sales. It prides itself on offering the lowest prices in the town. 26% of Littlelong Motors Ltd’s customers are ‘extremely satisfied’ with the car washing service provided. This compares to 68% of Shinz Ltd’s customers saying they are ‘extremely satisfied’.

The car washing market in Littlelong is valued at £460 000 per year. The chart below shows the market share of the four car washing businesses located in the town.

Superdry plc

Superdry is a successful international brand of clothing featuring American- and Japanese-inspired graphics. In 2018, over 4800 people were employed by the company, which is committed to high quality. Superdry’s policies include one against discrimination in its workforce and another to support employee retention.

The company uses many different distribution channels. These include:

• 135 Superdry stores across the UK and Europe

• Superdry’s own website

• other retailers, including Next in the UK, which allows the brand to reach new customer groups.

Superdry regularly invests in its own stores. To keep its retail stores exciting and encourage customers to visit, there is a regular re-fit programme. In 2017, the company spent £41.4m on store-related investment, including the re-fitting of 11 stores.

The company faces competition from retailers of all sizes, ranging from sole traders to other public limited companies.

EDF

EDF is a limited company which supplies gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the UK. It is the largest producer of low-carbon electricity in the UK and owns two fossil fuel power stations, three wind farms and eight nuclear power stations.

In 2016, EDF started to build the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, which will eventually provide 7% of the UK’s electricity needs for 60 years. Managers at EDF expect it to open in 2025.

During the construction stage, the project has created thousands of jobs. A number of these construction jobs are filled by self-employed workers. Once it is fully operational, the power station will employ over 900 people, most of whom will be employed by EDF.

EDF produces around 20% of the UK’s electricity and is the largest supplier. As EDF operates in a competitive market, the price that it charges its customers is very important.

Best Foot Forward Ltd (BFF)

Best Foot Forward Ltd (BFF) operates five stores in the north-west of England, selling shoes (such as ballet and tap) for adult dancers. Up until 2017, the business was growing, due to its reputation for quality products.

A new Managing Director, Jessie Thompson, was appointed six months ago to reverse the recent poor performance of the business.

BFF has never sold dance shoes for children and Jessie would like to expand into this market. Another business, specialising in selling children’s dance shoes, closed down three months ago. Jessie is also concerned by market research which suggests that customer service is poor in BFF’s stores. All store managers have been told to attend a five-day off-the-job training course on customer service.

To support the launch of the children’s range, Jessie plans to create a new position of Marketing Manager (Children’s Shoes) who will work alongside the Marketing Manager (Adults’ Shoes). This employee will be recruited internally, despite many former employees from the children’s shoe retailer which closed down still being out of work.

Table 1 gives some data about the recruitment of staff within BFF.

Table 1

The Ford Motor Company Ltd

The Ford Motor Company Limited (Ford Motors) is a global manufacturer of a range of vehicles including cars, vans, trucks and buses. Ford Motors has been one of Britain’s best-selling car brands for over 30 years, with a range of models including the KA, Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo and Galaxy. The company’s large range of products includes models that differ in size to meet the individual needs of different market segments, including eco-friendly small cars, family cars, sports cars and 7-seater people carriers.

Ford Motors carries out a lot of market research when developing new car designs and uses both primary and secondary research. This ensures that new car designs and models meet the needs of potential customers.

Each model’s sales levels are regularly monitored against the product lifecycle.

The Ford Motor Company Ltd

The Ford Motor Company Limited (Ford Motors) is a global manufacturer of a range of vehicles including cars, vans, trucks and buses. Ford Motors has been one of Britain’s best-selling car brands for over 30 years, with a range of models including the KA, Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo and Galaxy. The company’s large range of products includes models that differ in size to meet the individual needs of different market segments, including eco-friendly small cars, family cars, sports cars and 7-seater people carriers.

Ford Motors carries out a lot of market research when developing new car designs and uses both primary and secondary research. This ensures that new car designs and models meet the needs of potential customers.

Each model’s sales levels are regularly monitored against the product lifecycle.