Chapter 11: Marketing Management

Q1 Identify the marketing management philosophy involved in the following cases:

1. Geetika scooters are the leading manufacturers of scooters in the industry.

They have the first mover advantage in the industry. When they started
manufacturing scooters no other company was doing it. They manufacture
scooters and the middle class purchases them in a high number. With each
passing year the number of scooters sold is increasing. The company’s main
concern usually is to produce maximum number of scooters. Company’s profit
is governed by the maximum number of scooters they produce.
2. Aman microwaves produce microwaves but they do not try to understand the
needs of the customers. Their main focus is always on the quality of the
product but never on customer requirement. They try’ to include as many
features as possible in their product. This year they have added a special type
of alarm in their product which is a unique feature. The alarm is available in ten
varieties. However, the customers say that the product is not of much use to
them as it consumes a lot of electricity.
3. Ravi coolers is a very progressive company. The owners of the company feel
that unless and until they contribute to society it is worthless to exist as a
company. In a recent move by the government the organisation has decided to
help it. The organisation will be making five teams of hired environmentalists
from foreign countries. This team will help the local people clean the portions of
a polluted river in the country. The costs of this project will be borne by the
company.
4. Rajesh is a manager in a company. His main area of focus is to generate
revenue for the company through repeated sales. He decides to develop a
product for the company which can generate revenue in the long run. For this
he meets a team of R&D (Research & Development) of his company. After a
long meeting they decide to do survey. Based on the survey a product is made
to fulfill needs pf the customers. The product later produces a lot of revenue
through repeated sales in the long run.
5. A company decides to do promotion for a new chips flavour. For this many
contests are organized in different colleges. The youth is the target market for
the chips makers. However, there hasn’t been proper research about the liking
of the flavour among the youth. The company has launched this product based
only on intuition. The company has decided to go ahead with the promotional
campaign even if there is a negative response from the buyers.
6. Aakriti foods is making a great impact in the food industry. The top
management of the company has been in news for helping the villagers in the
rural areas grow their income. They have made alliances with groups of people
of different villages. They procure handmade food products from them and help
these products find a way to the elite class of metro cities. The company has its
motto of replacement of the western taste with that of Indian among the elite
class. The company is very intelligent to see a high paying elite class as the
target segment.
7. A company is manufacturing a new type of helicopter for the rich people. The
helicopters manufactured are patented products of the company. No other
company has made this type of helicopter yet. The company says since the
 helicopter is unique the booking of the product is done in advance by the
buyers. There has been demand in excess. The company is in no need to
market its product. It has to see that it can make the helicopter available to
people who can buy it.
8. An Air Conditioner manufacturing company is busy these days in adding
features to its products. This is being done to increase its customer base. The
company has not done any research to see which types of features are liked
and which are in excess. It is only making its product loaded with new features.
The needs of the customers are not considered. When asked why they are not
doing proper research to know the expectations of the customers they replied
that they have full faith on the performance of their Air Conditioners.
9. A company which deals in apparels has decided to clear its stock. The
company has a huge pile of clothes to be cleared across its various branches.
The company has decided to give discount on its products. It even has decided
to go for various fashion shows in different colleges. It has also decided to
sponsor a few events. However, people say that the clothes are not much of
current fashion and the company is not considering the choice of the
customers.
10. An automobile company is a leading manufacturing company in its segment.
The company has decided to launch fully solar charged vehicles. This
technology will cost the company ?2000 crores annually. When the relationship
manager of the company was asked about the reason of bearing so much
extra cost he replied that the company considered environmental friendly
techniques as the only solution to increasing pollution. The company feels by
bearing extra cost it is fulfilling its responsibility. (5)

Q2 A garment manufacturing company has decided to identify the needs of the

customers to start successful marketing of the garments produced by it and for this
the company is doing SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat
Analysis). The company is pursuing its objectives with full efforts. It has decided to
make a blueprint for the amount of production it will do, the efforts behind promotion
it will put and all other major actions it will undertake to achieve its objectives.
However, the company has one weak area which it would like to improve. The
physical movement for its prepared garments was not proper last year and the
company wants to ensure it is done properly this year. For this thing to be done
properly it has created a separate department. Hope the company does better in
future.
Which functions of marketing have been highlighted in the above case? Explain (3)

Q3 Identify the element of marketing mix in the following cases:

1. Naresh bought multi gym equipment from a renowned company. The company
gave a warranty period of 1 year. Naresh used to do workout on this equipment
daily. Everything was going fine till one day some problem in the wire of the
equipment occurred. Naresh called the company and told them that it is still in
the warranty period. A service engineer from the company visited his home and
fixed the problem. Naresh was further told that the maintenance service for 1
year is free of cost. Which element of marketing mix is maintenance here?
2. Savita has started a shirt manufacturing business. The shirts are in high
demand in the market. She has made her shirts available to the intermediaries
at the mall. The major concern for her is to make them available the shirts
whenever they need. The inventory kept by the intermediaries is always kept in
mind and wherever there is any shortage of shirts they are supplied at the
earliest. Sometimes prior information is kept with the head office and any
possible shortage in inventory is met in advance. Which element of marketing
mix is inventory here?
3. A vacuum cleaner company made a model which was of unique type. Many
people purchased it. However, after a few years its production had to be closed
down as the demand of the product declined with passage of time. The
company took a wise decision and always kept spare parts available with it.
This was done to maintain the specific type of vacuum cleaners made by it. So
if the customers who had purchased this vacuum cleaner could buy the spare
parts if in case they wanted to repair or run the cleaner properly. Which
element of marketing mix is ‘spare parts’ here?
4. ‘Zero Errors’ is a mobile manufacturing company. The mobiles are of high
quality and are in demand. The company has decided to increase its customer
base by initiating a liberal credit terms to the potential customers on one of its
mobile model. A ?40,000 mobile can now be purchased through credit and the
installments to be paid will be 10 of f4,000 each. It is expected that this way
many people can afford the pricey model of the mobile. Which element of
marketing mix is ‘credit terms’ here?
5. A noodle manufacturing company has started a campaign where it will be
going to different schools during the class timings. During this time free
samples of noodles will be distributed to the students and the teachers. The
idea is to make them aware about the taste and the quality of the product in
advance. The company is taking this initiative as it has in the past given very
good results to its other products. Through free samples it will develop first
contact of its noodles and its goodness with the potential customers. Which
element of marketing mix is ‘free samples’ here?
6. A TV manufacturing company is very confident about selling its products. The
main focus of the company is always on the features of the products they
make. They always try to add new features and these are added after having
done a lot of research on the subject. The quality is an obsession for them.
They try to keep their quality levels to the highest and for this all necessary
steps in the process of production are undertaken. Simple is to say that the
core strength of the company are quality and features of the product. Which
element of marketing are ‘Quality and Features’ here?
7. ‘Ultimate Luxury’ deals in making watches. The company has maintained its
number one spot in the watch making business. They have always associated
their watches with a class and as soon as the name of this watch comes an
association with luxury comes in the minds of the listeners. The company has
created its brand value by giving extreme attention to quality. The brand value
of the ‘Ultimate Luxury’ is the highest in the industry. Which element of
marketing mix is branding here?
8. A biscuit making company is trying to increase its business. It knows, for this,
the role of the intermediaries is going to be cruciai. A meeting of the top
management is called and factors are highlighted which are responsible for the
underutilisation of the potential of the distributors. In product like biscuit the
 intermediaries play a very significant role. The company has decided to give
discounts to them and start a vigorous promotional campaign to involve the
intermediaries. Which element of marketing mix is highlighted in the above
case?
9. A new car has been introduced in the market. The car is breaking records of
selling. The reason behind its success is its mileage. The mileage of the car is
the best in the industry. No car is able to match its mileage. The company has
focused its attention to increase the mileage of the car further. For this the R&D
department is taking all the measures and making efforts to realise the dream
of increasing the car’s mileage. Which element of marketing mix is ‘mileage’
here?
10. A coffee serving company named ‘Planetcups’ is thinking of increasing its
customer base. Earlier it was serving a medium cup of at a higher price for the
high income group. In order to bring the lower middle class in its reach it has
decided to give an additional cup with a cup of coffee. People have reacted
positively to this step of the company and gradually its customer base is
widening. Which element of marketing mix is going to be affected by this
decision of ‘Planetcups’.
11. ‘Fabulous Organics’ is an FMCG company which only deals in organic
products. The company has its own farms where pure organic food products
are grown. The packaging is also organic with no use of synthetic materials like
plastic. The company has decided to take the benefits of consuming organic
food products tp the masses. It has decided to arrange for talk shows,
newspaper advertisements, TV advertisements, Celebrity involvement and
organising marathons. All these efforts will be able to bring the benefits of
organic products of this company to the potential customers. Which element of
marketing mix is highlighted in this case?
12. A five star hotel has decided to include picking up of clients from airports and
railway stations. This will definitely improve the image of the hotel. It will add to
the comfort of the clients. The hotel has done this to fight the tough competition
with the new . entrants in the market. This step is expected to increase the
charges of the stay at the hotel. (6)

Q4 Ravi is a CEO in a reputed company. He lives a very comfortable life. There is

nothing which disturbs him when it comes to expenses. Since he works in corporate
environment and has to meet clients of very high level he maintains a level in his
lifestyle. He recently purchased a watch and specs, both of these items were of very
pricey brands considered as luxuries, and this purchase has given him a reason to
feel proud of using them and have added to his satisfaction. One day it so happened
that he felt his watch was not functioning properly. He called an executive of the
watch company who ensured him replacement in case there is any fault in the watch
and this further increased his level of confidence in the watch company. Wherever
Ravi goes people look up to him. He has got a very good career track record. After
having purchased the. watch and the specs people complement for his choice and
appreciate him for his decision and from a distance identify the class of his products.
Definitely Ravi is a more satisfied man due to these two amazing brands.

Which concept of marketing has been highlighted in the above case? explain the
advantages of this concept wherever highlighted in this case (4)
Q5 Sharmila is the founder of a new FMCG company. She wants her products to
speak to the potential customers. For this she is working a lot on the packaging of
her products. She has decided to cut down the personal selling efforts of her
company by reducing the number of sales men as she wants that the packaging
should speak for itself thus gaining the attention of the potential customers. She has
made other efforts also. She has brought an R&D department in her organisation
and has asked them to invent new types of packaging in order to increase the scope
of marketing as new packaging would ensure safety, environment friendliness and
attractiveness. She knows she will face a lot of competition in the market as already
there are many players in the market who are ready to give challenge to her
products. She wants her packaging to be such that her product should stand apart,
be recognized easily and not be lost in the pool of different products in the market.
Their packaging should convey their quality. The nature of the potential customers
has changed over the years. They have become more demanding and informed.
They have more choices now. One thing that the customers always look for in an
FMCG product is the hygiene and purity; these two traits can only be conveyed to
the potential customers by proper packaging. Sharmila’s perception about packaging
is really noteworthy.

1. Which concept of marketing has been highlighted in the above case?

2. Explain the advantages this concept highlighted in the lines above. (4)

Q6 ‘Armada Cables’ deals in cables of all varieties. Recently it has launched a new
product to increase its revenue and take the company to a new height. The company
is confused about keeping the price of a newly launched cable which is meant for all
types of household works. In order to beat the competition it has decided to keep the
prices low as there is tough competition in the market. The company has got a
contract from a government institution. This institution works for non-profit motive
and whosoever works for them will have to work at subsidized rates so the company
will have to take less money but will get tax benefits; the impact on the organisation
will be that it will have to provide cables at a low price to support government
initiative. However, the prime objective of company otherwise is profit maximization.
For its metro cities based customers the company has decided to adopt various
methods like improvement in quality of salesmen, innovation in packaging, liberal
credit terms, etc. Whatsoever the conditions the company can’t go beyond a level as
far as pricing is concerned. One such reason is the amount of funds it puts both in
the fixed capital like plant & machinery or working capital like wages of labourers
which fixes the lowermost limit of the price. The management of the company has
recently come to know about a great opportunity arising in Europe for it. It has been
contacted by Europe based contractors who are making world class buildings around
the globe. They require the cables in high quantity and the requirement is so high
that they are ready to pay double the price provided the cables are made available to
them within a short period of time. However, the management of the company has
decided that in this case they can lower the prices of the cables. This has been done
keeping in mind the presence of other European competitors who can lower the
prices of their cables in order to survive in the market.
Explain the various factors affecting price determination in the above case. (6)

Q7 An FMCG company has recently launched a new tyPe °f biscuit in the market.
The name of the biscuit is ‘Behetrino’. The company has made the biscuits of the
highest quality possible. It wants to create an irreplaceable place for the new brand
in the market. The price of the biscuit is also the highest in the market suggesting its
quality. The CEO of the company in an interview said that the branding of the new
biscuit will help the company to connect with the customers. An customers can ask
for the promised quality in case the company deviates from it. As far as packaging of
the biscuit is concerned it is different from others. The immediate outer covering is
beautiful and an additional layer of cardboard box is provided to ensure protection to
the shape of the biscuits.

1. Which characteristic of the good brand name can be seen in the brand name of
the biscuit kept by the company?
2. What do you think is the pricing objective of the company?
3. Which advantage of branding to the customers has been highlighted in the
above case?
4. Which level of packaging does ‘cardboard box’ come under? (4)

Q8 In a popular advertisement on radio and Television, Bollywood actress Vidya

Balan talks about cleanliness and hygiene. The idea behind is to create awareness
regarding having a toilet in each house instead of going out in the open. She
included the advertisement with a punchline ‘JAHAN SOCH VAHAN
SHAUCHALAYA’. Identify what is being marketed by the famous actress in the
above case. (1)