SIES COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, NERUL, NAVI MUMBAI 400 706

MMS Semester IV General/Core 2015-17

Marketing Strategy
Maximum Marks: 60 Date:17/04/2017 Duration: 2 hours Time:1pm to 3 pm
_______________________________________________________________________________
Instructions: Solve all the questions with suitable Industry Examples.
Section I is compulsory. (1 Question x 20 Marks = Total 20 Marks)
Section II - Attempt any four. (4 Questions x 10 Marks = Total 40 marks)

Section I
Q.1 Read the following case and answers the questions given below.
Columbus Walking around the shops in your local town or village, one is unlikely to get lost or
have difficulty finding ones way to a destination. But travelling abroad in unknown regions,
even in developed countries, it is often a problem to know exactly where one is located
especially when driving a car, cycling or even walking in rough terrain over considerable
distances. As long as one has a map, one can often work out an approximate location by looking
for familiar landmarks. But, of course, recognition of landmarks is not always easy and judging
distances from distant landmarks such as high mountains can be very difficult. However, a new
product from Columbus may be able to solve everyones problems. The product provides satellite
navigation in the palm of ones hand. Designed for use with virtually any outdoor sport
walking, sailing, climbing, cycling, flying or even driving, the brand new Columbus GPS gives
ones precise position to around 50m anywhere on the Earths surface. Smaller than the average
mobile phone, easy to use and priced at just 129 for the UK market, the product literally puts
satellite navigation in everyones pocket. The machine monitors a network of global positioning
satellites some 11,000 miles above the Earth and can tell you where you are and point you in the
right direction, show the speed you are travelling, distance to your destination and time of arrival.
The product is weatherproof and lightweight and is easy to use with rubber armouring, back-
light, a 24-hour battery life using just 2AA batteries and comes complete with a carry case, user
guide and instruction video. The firm intends to introduce the product into the UK later in the
year and has plans to move into West European markets early next spring. Key questions concern
market segmentation, market targeting and strategic positioning of the product.

Page 1 of 7
 Questions:
1) How should this product be marketed?
2) How should the firm segment the marketinternational and domestic?
3) What are likely to be the market targets of interest?
4) How should it position itself towards identified target markets?

Section II
Q.2 Answer any two:
a) Explain marketing Strategy process by citing an industry example.
b) Why is it useful to differentiate between industries at the different stages of their life cycles?
c) Analyze extent to which organizations vision and mission support the market orientations.
d) Discuss the value of the Internet as a vehicle for marketing goods and services.

Q.3 Write short note on any two

a) Brand Strategies in FMCG markets.
b) Rural marketing strategies
a) McKinseys 7s framework
b) Marketing Plan

Q.4 Answer any two of the following:

a) Discuss the role of Price in marketing strategy also elaborate your answer by citing example
from Indian context where company gained market share/changes market dynamics by
adopting pricing strategy.
b) Discuss Porters five forces model. Analyze Indian Ecommerce Industry by using Porters five
forces.
c) Three important marketing communication tools are advertising, selling and sales promotion.
To what extent are they complementary and mutually exclusive as promotional tools?

Q.5 Answer any two of the following:

a) Discuss the value of the Internet as a vehicle for marketing goods and services.
b) Explain how the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) model might be used to assess the health
of a firms product mix and to suggest strategies.

Page 2 of 7
 c) How might the Ansoff matrix be usefully employed when looking for new marketing
strategies?
d) Examine the relationship between marketing planning and marketing control.

Q.6 Attempt any two:

a) Marketing Director is interested in understanding how the marketing planning can enhance
the organisations level of market orientation. using relevant academic theory and framework,
evaluate how effective marketing planning can improve the organisations market orientation
b) Companies that fail to develop new products are putting themselves at risk. At the same
time, new product developments are risky. Explain in brief about the challenges for the new
product development and List the reasons for failure of new products.
c) McDonalds is one of the most powerful brands in the world. In addition to its product mix,
wide distribution of restaurants, and value pricing, McDonalds has extremely effective
communications with important audiences. The concept of integrated marketing
communications recognizes that customers are only one group to whom a firm wants to
disseminate persuasive information. In addition to targeting kids and their parents,
McDonalds is concerned with shareholders, potential franchisees, potential employees, and
the communities in which the restaurants reside. Why McDonalds wants to communicate
with each of the non-customer groups?

Q.7 Answer any two of the following:

a) What factors impact upon a firms selection of market segments? What do you understand by
segment strategies and how do these influence a firms approach to market segmentation?
b) What do you understand by a competitive positioning strategy? Discuss the factors that
influence choice of positioning strategy.
c) What is repositioning and why are products and services repositioned periodically?
d) What are the steps involved in designing channel system? and discus the key functions
perform by marketing channels.

Page 3 of 7
Cometex
Door-to-door selling is something which always seems to have been with us. The tinkers of the Middle Ages
still have their counterparts today. In modern times, door-to-door selling seems to have come in and out of
fashion. In the 1950s, for example, even vacuum cleaners were sold in this way. More usual has been the
bric--brac type of salesman carrying a range of household utensils in an often large case or encyclopaedia
salesmen with their well rehearsed sales chatter. One of the most popular forms of door-to-door selling has
been the Avon representative selling a variety of beauty aids to the appearance-conscious housewife.
Cometex, the door-to-door home cleaning company, is planning an expansion strategy into emerging
markets, as the firm has suffered drops in sales in the home UK market. The firm said it would invest 5m in
expanded joint ventures with a door-to-door cosmetics group. The managing director said sales from the
joint ventures could reach several hundred million pounds in ten years. Cometex is launching in five East
European countries beginning with Hungary, and three Asian countries including Japan. The overseas
expansion follows joint ventures with the same cosmetic group in Latin America during the past two years.
South American turnover is expected to rise sharply next year, with this years launch in Brazil. Cometex has
also begun local manufacturing in Mexico, where margins are 10 per cent higher than in western Europe. In
the UK, however, Cometex suffered from recruitment problems which affected its network of door-to-door
distributors. The company blamed low levels of unemployment, although it added that its customers were
spending on average 6 per cent more than last year. Cometex has tremendous growth prospects with the
cosmetic groups management in emerging markets which have yet to show through in its results. Questions
1 Is door-to-door selling in mature markets and developed economies a dying craft? Why or why not? 2 Do
you consider that the strategy being followed by Cometex is the right one? Why or why not? 3 How might
Cometex undertake market analysis for its products? Be specific

Page 4 of 7
Ecoprods Ever since environmental pollution came on to the political and business agendas, firms have been
steered, voluntarily or otherwise, towards green or eco products. Indeed, it has now become part of the
appeal of products that they are environmentally friendly and the eco label is as familiar to the consumer
as any brand label. Non-reusable batteries are an example of where environmentally friendly chemical
constituents have been used to replace the undesirable mercury content which polluted the environment
when batteries were disposed of. However, these days, defining exactly what is or what is not an eco
product has become increasingly more difficult and boundaries are becoming blurred. A firm called Ecoprods
has produced a prototype battery charger that does not require a mains source for its power. In fact, the
product is essentially a solar car battery booster. The charger uses the latest type of solar cells to trickle
charge a car battery while the car is left standing for long periods of time. It simply sits on the dashboard and
plugs into the cigarette lighter socket. Even on dull or cloudy days it can convert enough energy from
available sunlight to keep the battery charge satisfactorily topped up. When one is away on holiday it is an
ideal way to ensure that the battery is well charged. Ecoprods needs to assess the market for such a product.
In particular, it is keen to assess the potential market size and the likely price that it should charge. In
addition, it needs to identify the best way of seeking to distribute the product, should the market seem large
enough, and to establish what is needed in the way of promotional expenditure. Questions 1 How would you
undertake a market analysis for this product? 2 What do you consider to be the main problems or difficulties
in undertaking such a market analysis?

3 Given the increasing power of retailers in consumer goods marketing how has this affected producers
brand strategy

Explain the main challenges faced in organizations in the implementation

of marketing strategies.
1 What benefits are to be gained from employing market segmentation as
opposed to treating the market as a single entity? Why should some bases
of segmentation be more suitable for some products than others?
2 What factors impact upon a firms selection of market segments? What
do you understand by segment strategies and how do these influence a
firms approach to market segmentation?
3 What do you understand by a competitive positioning strategy? How is
product or service positioning accomplished? Discuss the factors that
influence choice of positioning strategy.
4 What is repositioning and why are products and services repositioned

Page 5 of 7
periodically?
5 How would you evaluate competitive advantage based on positioning
analysis?
Companies that fail to develop new products are putting themselves at risk. At the same time, new
product developments are risky. Explain in brief about the challenges for the new product
development and List the reasons for failure of new products.

d) What is the role of strategic Brand analysis in building strong brand?

e) What are the steps involved in designing channel system? and discus the key functions perform
by marketing channels.
Section C
Q.4 Solve any Two of the Following. (10 Marks)
a) What are different types of Challenger strategies? Patanjali name has become nightmare for
leading FMCG brands in India.Discuss the strategies adopted by Patanjali to capture significant
market shares of existing market leaders in FMCG segment.
b) What are the criteria required for market segmentation. M/s Glaxo wants to segment the market
for a possible extension of Horlicks into the infant nutrition market, which is dominated by
Nestle. Please help Glaxo to evaluate the segmentation and targeting strategy using the above
criteria.

Q. 2 Solve any One. (8 Marks)

a) Companies that fail to develop new products are putting themselves at risk. At the same time,
new product developments are risky. Explain in brief about the challenges for the new product
development and List the reasons for failure of new products.
b) Explain marketing Strategy process. Describe marketing strategy process of any Indian
companyby citing its anyone product.

Q.3Solve any Two. (6 Marks Each)

f) Explain the GE Multifactor Portfolio Matrix and BCG Matrix with suitable examples.
g) What is the role of strategic Brand analysis in building strong brand?
h) What are the steps involved in designing channel system? and discus the key functions perform
by marketing channels.

Page 6 of 7
i) Discuss the role of Price in marketing strategy also elaborate your answer by citing example from
Indian context where company gained market share/changes market dynamics by adopting
pricing strategy.
Section C
Q.4 Solve any Two of the Following. (10 Marks)
c) What are different types of Challenger strategies? Patanjali name has become nightmare for
leading FMCG brands in India.Discuss the strategies adopted by Patanjali to capture significant
market shares of existing market leaders in FMCG segment.
d) McDonalds is one of the most powerful brands in the world. In addition to its product mix, wide
distribution of restaurants, and value pricing, McDonalds has extremely effective
communications with important audiences. The concept of integrated marketing communications
recognizes that customers are only one group to whom a firm wants to disseminate persuasive
information. In addition to targeting kids and their parents, McDonalds is concerned with
shareholders, potential franchisees, potential employees, and the communities in which the
restaurants reside.
What are the steps of developing effective communication strategy of the company? Why
McDonalds wants to communicate with each of the non-customer groups?
e) What are the criteria required for market segmentation. M/s Glaxo wants to segment the market
for a possible extension of Horlicks into the infant nutrition market, which is dominated by
Nestle. Please help Glaxo to evaluate the segmentation and targeting strategy using the above
criteria.
f) Discuss Porters five forces model. Analyze Indian Ecommerce Industry by using Porters five
forces.

Page 7 of 7