Answer sheet for JNU

1. Answer (i)
The product lifecycle,inamarketingcontext,isall the stagesof a product'slife spanthat are relatedto
itspromotionandsales.The marketing lifecycle istraditionallybrokendownintofourstages:
introduction,growth,maturityanddecline....Inthe maturitystage,marketsaturationhasbeen
achieved.
Answer (ii)
1. Customer focus:
The marketing function of a business is customer-centred. It makes an attempt to study the
customer needs, and goods are produced accordingly. The business existence depends on human
needs. In a competitive market, the goods that are best suited to the customer are the ones that
are well-accepted. Hence, every activity of a business is customer-oriented.
2. Customer satisfaction:
A customer expects some services or benefits from the product for which payment is made. If
this benefit is more than the amount paid, then the customer is satisfied. In the long run,
customer satisfaction helps to retain market demand. It helps achieve organizational objectives.
Customer satisfaction can be enhanced by providing value-added services, which includes
providing additional facilities at little or no extra cost.
Answer(iii)
A managementinformationsystem(MIS) isacomputerizeddatabaseof financial informationorganized
and programmedinsucha waythat it producesregularreportsonoperationsforeverylevel of
managementinacompany.It is usuallyalsopossible toobtainspecialreportsfromthe systemeasily.
Answer(iv)
As we all know, the universe is constantly evolving and there is nothing permanent in this world
except for change. Consequently, those who fail to adapt are doomed to disappear.
In some associations, executives are so preoccupied with the issues and challenges of their near
surroundings that they feel they have no time to think about the outside environment. Thus, their
organizations lose touch with the wider world and they tend to behave like sitting ducks until
they get severely punished when a major crisis hits.
Environmental scanning is crucial for the development of Strategic Plans. It helps you identify
the trends that are most likely to directly affect your association and its members. Then you can
craft a strategy that will help take advantage of inevitable changes down the road
Environmental scanning is a systematic and continuous effort to search for important cues in the
on-going changes and transformations affecting the world and trying to determine how these will
affect your organization.
Association executives need to recognize the fact that current information about emerging trends
is essential for unveiling tomorrow’s opportunities. As a consequence, they need to devote time
to research and scan the environment.

2. Answer(v)
Answer(2)
1. Flyers
This is the carpet-bombing method of cheap advertising. You find an area that you would like to
do business in, and you distribute flyers to all the mailboxes within reach. Your flyer should be
brief and to the point, highlighting the services you offer and providing contact information.
Offering a free appraisal, coupon or discount never hurts.
2. Posters
Most supermarkets, public spaces and malls offer free bulletin board space for announcements
and advertisements. This is a hit or miss method, but you should try to make your poster
reasonably visible and have removable tabs that the customers can present for a discount. Make
each location a different color so that you can get an idea from the tabs where the most leads are
being generated. If there is one area that is producing the majority of your leads, you can better
target your campaign (flyers, ads in papers catering to those areas, cold calling, etc.)
3. Value Additions
This is one of the most powerful selling points for any product or service. On the surface, value
additions are very similar to coupons and free appraisals, but they are aimed at increasing
customer satisfaction and widening the gap between you and competition.
Common value additions include guarantees, discounts for repeat customers, point cards and.
4. Referral Networks
Referral networks are invaluable to a business. This does not only mean customer referrals,
which are encouraged though discounts or other rewards per referral. This includes business-to-
business referrals. If you have ever found yourself saying, "we don't do/sell that here, but X
down the street does," you should make certain that you are getting a referral in return.
5. Follow-Up
Advertising can help you get a job, but what you do after a job can often be a much stronger
marketing tool. Follow-up questionnaires are one of the best sources of feedback for how your ad
campaign is going. Why did the customer choose your business? Where did he or she hear about
it? Which other companies had he or she considered? What was the customer most satisfied
with? What was least satisfying? Also, if your job involves going to the customer, make sure to

3. slip a flyer into the nearby mailboxes, as people of similar needs and interests tend to live in the
same area.
6. Cold Calling
Unpleasant? Yes. Important? Yes. Cold calling, whether it is over the phone or door to door, is a
baptism of fire for many small businesses. Cold calling forces you to sell yourself as well as your
business. If people can't buy you, the person talking to them, then they won't buy anything from
you. Over the phone you don't have the benefit of a smile or face-to-face conversation – a phone
is a license for people to be as caustic and abrupt as possible (we are all guilty of this at one time
or another). However, cold calling does makes you think on your feet and encourages creativity
and adaptability when facing potential customers.
7. The Internet
It is dishonest to pretend that the Internet is a cohesive whole for marketing – like a community
hall you can put up a poster in or a section of the highway were you can buy billboard space.
However, it is difficult to overstate the importance the Internet has on marketing. The previous
methods of marketing have not changed in the last 50 years. The Internet has been born and
evolved rapidly during that same time frame.
Answer (3)
DescribethechallengesfacedbybusinessesusingInternetMarketing(P4)
Internetmarketingcanhave some disadvantagestothe waya businessoperates.Below showssome
examplesof challengesthatbusinessesmayface;
- Converting leads to sales
For a business to convert leads into sales they need to attract customers and make sure that
they buy something from them. ASOS can measure how many people have visited their website
but cannot find out how many people have actually purchased from them. To gain more sales
ASOS should make their website different from competition and offer wider ranges of products
which encourages people to buy from them. ASOS also need to carry out market research to
find out what people want, this would help them with their sales as they will have this
information and will know what people like and dislike.
- Managing an online market system
It isimportantfor a businesstomanage theironlinemarketsystem.Thiscanbe verydifficultfor a
businessastheyregularlyhave tokeepuptodate withcustomerfeedbackandalsoregularlyupdate
theirwebsite tokeepcustomersinterested.Itisimportantthattheykeeptheirwebsite regularly
updatedsotheycan retaintheircustomersandalsothismay helptoattract new onesas more people
will become aware of the business.Itisalsoimportanttoreplyto customersquestionsandjoininwith
customerdiscussionsoverthe website.Thisprovidesagoodcustomerservice whichalsohelpstoretain
theircustomers.Thiscouldbe a disadvantage forabusinessastheywouldneedtoemploypeople who
are specialiststokeeptheirwebsitesmaintainedregularly;thiscouldbe verycostlyforthem.ASOShave
specialistswhokeeptheirwebsiteuptodate and alsotry to make it standout fromtheircompetition.
Theyalsosendout regularemailstotheircustomersinformingthemof latestproductsoranychangesin
the business.
- Prioritizing time, energy and money for best results

4. It isimportantthat a businesshastime,energyandmoneytoproduce the bestresultsfortheir
business.A disadvantageforabusinessisthattheymayput all of the above intothe businessandend
up makinga lossas theirsalesmaynotbe highenoughwhichmeanstheymaynotbe able to coverthe
costs.
- Creating content
It isimportantthat a businessknowswhattargetaudience theyare aimingtheirproductsat.Once they
knowthistheyneedtodecide whatcontenttheyshouldhave ontheirwebsitetokeeptheirtarget
audience attracted.Itisimportantthat theyprovide productswhichare differentfromtheir
competitorssotheykeepaheadof theircompetition.A disadvantage forhavinganonline businessis
that youhave to be patientasit takeslongerforthe business tobecome wellknownandalsofor
customerstobecome aware of the website.Whensettingupanonline businessabusinessneedsto
thinkaboutmakingtheirwebsite well presentedandeasytoaccess,the costs of advertising,securing
the website fromhackersandvirusesandfindingwaystokeepaheadof the competition.
Otherchallengeswhensettingupanonline businessinclude;
- Technical and Design skills – It is important to have technical skills when setting up an
online business, this is because online businesses websites regularly need updating and
need a lot of attention so it is important that the person maintaining the website has good
ICT skills and also good designing skills to attract customers.
- Making the website easy to use for customers – it is important that the website is easy
and simple to use for customers. If customers find it easier to navigate around the site
there is more of a chance for the customer purchasing from them again as they are
familiar with the website. Adding additional features such as; being able to zoom in and
out and seeing a 3D image of the product also helps to gain customers and is also
providing a better customer service.
- Making sure the website is secure for customers – There is always a chance for a
businesses website to be hacked or have a virus on it. It is important that a business has
security measures to prevent these things from happening. They also need to make sure
that all customer details are secure and no one has access to them.
- Carrying out research – a business needs to make sure that they carry out market research
before they start an online business. By doing this they can find out exactly what their
target customers want.

5. - Updating website regularly – for an online business it is important that they update their
websites regularly with all their latest prices and products. This will keep customers
interested and purchasing from them in future.
- Keeping ahead of competition – operating an online business has become more popular
over the years. A business needs find ways to keep ahead of their competition. They
could do this by offering cheaper prices and wider ranges of products.
- Advertising – another challenge faced by businesses is advertising and the costs of it.
Businesses need to consider if they want to advertise and how much they are willing to
pay to make their website well known.