Marketing Essentials Mark Davis Senior Examiner Exam guidance June 2014

Presentation title Key topics for audio power point Recent changes to the assessment Key and command words Magic formula Review recent assessments What has worked well and not so well How the mark scheme has been implemented The future

Presentation title The assessment has had some changes - Why change? Process needs to be refreshed. Progression to other units and levels. To reflect teaching style. Allow candidates to demonstrate underpinning knowledge. Assist in candidates’ time management. Allow candidates to demonstrate application of knowledge. Take out some of the complexity. Research and feedback.

Presentation title Changes to the assessment – what is not changing There will still be Part A and Part B, although the tasks have changed Part A – has five tasks each accounting for 8 marks, a total of 40 marks Part B – has three tasks each accounting for 20 marks, a total of 60 marks. Part A – continues to have an emphasis on theory, underpinning knowledge and concepts. Part B – continues to have an emphasis on context, application of knowledge and evaluation. Part B – continues to look at presentation. The magic formula stays in place.

Presentation title Part A As an example these are the tasks in Part A for September 2013 Task One: Define the following terms: production orientation, customer value, corporate objectives, marketing audit. (2 marks each) Task Two: Identify and briefly explain TWO customer types from the adoption model, Outline TWO key characteristics of ONE of the customer types as identified above, Briefly describe marketing tactics used as a new product is adopted by the market, Identify TWO changes that you would recommend in marketing tactics as a product is targeted at the laggards in the market. (2 marks each) Task Three: You are a Marketing Assistant for a small computer retailer. Your manager has asked you to explain, with the use of a diagram, how the concept of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) can be applied to your organisation. Identify TWO benefits of the PLC to an organisation. (4 marks each) Task Four: Explain, with examples, TWO benefits to an organisation of being marketing orientated. (8 marks) Task Five: Identify TWO channels of distribution for an organisation of your choice. Explain TWO factors that would influence the selection of a distribution channel by an organisation of your choice. (4 marks each)

Presentation title Part A, in a little more detail There are 5 tasks worth 8 marks each. Still based on underpinning knowledge. Tasks one and two will require 4 short answers. Tasks three, four and five will require more detailed responses. More opportunity to show knowledge. More time to provide information. Use of examples of your own choice. For example: Task 4 from March 2014 paper – a.Explain the importance to a car dealership of the marketing’s cross- functional role. b.Compare the transactional marketing approach to the relationship marketing approach within the car dealership.

Presentation title Part B No case study. However there are still 3 compulsory tasks for 20 marks. Answers based on scenarios/business sectors and you are often given the choice of the particular organisation. Broken down into elements – knowledge/application/evaluation. Only three different formats required – report, , briefing paper. For example: Task 6 from March 2014 paper – As a Marketing Assistant for an international retail organisation of your choice, you have been asked to write a briefing paper for your local managers, that: a.Explains the significance of the buyer-seller relationship in terms of attracting and retaining customers, in relation to the chosen international retailer b.Evaluates how the marketing actions of the chosen international retailer can impact on consumers, society and the environment c.Outlines why there is a need for the international retail organisation to act in an ethical and socially responsible manner

Presentation title The ‘Magic Formula’ Concept Evaluation 20% Application 30% Concept 40% Presentation 10%

Presentation title Command and key words Command words require you to do something. Analyse, compare, reasons, identify, describe or explain Command words also link to knowledge, application and evaluation for example: Task 2a from March 14 paper – Briefly explain the evolution of market orientation Key words give you the link to the subject or syllabus area you need to look at, for example the key word in task 2b in March 2014 was – production orientation – Briefly outline the nature and characteristics of a production orientated organisation. Key words could be any area of the syllabus, for example –Loyalty, price, orientation, exchange, objectives, adoption and so on.

Presentation title Moving on to look at examples Taking a number of tasks from recent examinations and looking at: Time management What work well in the answers provided What did not work well in the candidates answers How the marking scheme was implemented Improvement for the future

Presentation title Exam technique – time management Part A now has 5 tasks worth 8 marks. Part A 5 tasks approximately 12 minutes per answer. Part B remains 3 tasks of 20 marks. Part B approximately 30 minutes per answer. Overall remains at approximately 1.5 minutes per mark.

Presentation title Reviewing March 2014 exam - Part A Question – Task 1 Define the following terms: E-commerce, promotional pricing, profit and franchising. Often these types of quick questions can be used as wake up or warm up questions within sessions or part of your revision plan. Response 2 marks per definition therefore limit to facts, for example - E-commerce looks at the exchange process over electronic systems. Franchising is where an organisation grows by licensing, at a cost, their operation to local provider. Take care over time management.

Presentation title Reviewing March 2014 exam - Part A Task 3 – a.Explain the importance to a car dealership of marketing’s cross-functional role. (4 marks) b.Compare the transactional marketing approach to the relationship marketing approach within the car dealership. (4 marks) Key and command words? – cross-functional, transactional/relationship, explain and compare. So answer should cover - Cross functional role builds internal relationships, brings staff together to achieve common goals and ensures policies are maintained. Transactional one off sale, not long term, however relationship building looks to bring customer back time and again to keep the business going.

Presentation title Reviewing March 2014 exam - Part B Task 6 – As a Marketing Assistant for an international retail organisation of your choice, you have been asked to write a briefing paper for your local managers, that: explains the significance of the buy-seller relationship in terms of attracting and retaining customers, in relation to the chosen international retailer (6 marks) Evaluates how the marketing actions of the chosen international retailer can impact on consumers, society and the environment (6 Marks) Outlines why there is a need for the international retailer organisation to act in an ethical and socially responsible manner (6 marks) Key and command words – explain, evaluates, outline. Buyer-seller relationships, marketing actions and ethics/social responsibility Clear understanding of relationship marketing and its outcomes Clear knowledge of how international retail organisations function

Presentation title Reviewing March 2014 exam - Part B, Task 6 continued Clear development of context, linking theory with the organisation Basic underpinning knowledge of relationship marketing, impact and ethics Context of these areas to an international retail organisation or at least B2C Evaluate – means what are the impacts on 3 areas Retail need customers to come back What is important to the customer – quality of the organisation Synergy is a fundamental part of any marketing relationship Good presentation and format achieved 2 marks It is important to remember the key and command words once again, however in Part B it is also important to have that context – explain, outline and evaluate to an international retail organisation.

Presentation title Key messages - what was good General strengths of the candidates who performed well, as identified by the examining team were – Answering the question asked, rather than rewording it to suit candidates existing knowledge Good understanding of the key concepts and theories Having excellent underpinning knowledge which allowed candidates to perform well in Part A tasks Giving the specific information that directly addresses the task Excellent time management skills, answering all 8 tasks thoroughly, the team can only mark the information provided Understanding the scenario situations using the correct context for their answers, good organizational examples, for examples Following the magic formula Presenting the information in correct format

Presentation title Key messages - what was not so good Format - briefing paper, , reports are different, there are 6 marks for the correct format, it is better to be marked from 100 than 94 marks overall. Lack of contextualisation in scenarios. Time management in Part A – too much for 2 marks. Not answering the question. Supermarkets are part of the retail sector Introducing models that are not in the syllabus, and poorly understood Lack of underpinning knowledge of relationships, franchises, marketing planning and the adoption model, as these were particularly poorly answered in March 2014.

Presentation title Do not forget the simple things Format is still an important part of Part B, each scenario will give a different format to use: s, reports and briefing paper. Use appropriate examples when asked. Contextualise – organisations need customers to purchase products to survive, grow or develop Diagrams when drawn well! – PLC for example, but only when required. Underpinning knowledge is demonstrated when shown in context. Practise time management with the new style marks per minute Read around the subject at least a broad sheet newspaper.

Presentation title Summary Read and use the information on the website which will include: The new style and information on format/presentation. Web reports about all recent examinations Presentations and webinars about the examination Practise – short answer tasks – lock in the theory. Good planning – Time/Marks. Make the team smile!