Marketing Management
Marketing questions test the marketing concept, the mix, segmentation and positioning, product and promotion decisions, and distribution.
Orientation and the mix
The production orientation assumes buyers want availability and low price; the selling orientation pushes volume through aggressive promotion; the marketing orientation starts with customer needs and works backward. The marketing mix is product, price, place, and promotion, extended in services by people, process, and physical evidence. Marketing research uses secondary data first, since it is already collected and cheaper though possibly dated or mismatched, and primary data when the firm must gather its own through surveys, observation, experiments, or focus groups.
Segmentation, targeting, positioning
Segments should be measurable, accessible, substantial, and actionable. Bases include demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral. Positioning is the place a brand occupies in the buyer's mind relative to competitors, expressed in a positioning statement and supported by the mix.
Product decisions and the life cycle
The product life cycle runs introduction, growth, maturity, and decline, each with different pricing and promotion emphases: skimming or penetration at introduction, distribution expansion in growth, differentiation and promotion efficiency in maturity, harvesting or divestment in decline. A product mix has width (number of lines) and depth (items per line). Branding builds recognition and premium pricing but requires consistent quality.
Pricing and distribution
Cost-plus adds a markup to cost; target-return prices to earn a set return on investment; value-based prices to perceived worth; penetration sets low initial prices to build share; skimming sets high prices to recover development costs. Price elasticity determines whether a cut raises revenue. Channels may be direct or use intermediaries such as agents, wholesalers, and retailers, and each step adds markup. Promotion blends advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct or digital marketing.
Worked example
A manufacturer's unit cost is $40 and it applies a 25% markup: $40 × 1.25 = $50. A wholesaler adds 20% on cost: $60. A retailer applies a 40% markup: $84. The consumer price is nearly double factory cost while the manufacturer's margin is only $10 - a common source of channel-conflict questions.
Traps
Confusing markup on cost with margin on selling price; skipping secondary research before commissioning primary data; treating penetration pricing as a premium strategy; and assuming every intermediary raises price without adding coverage or service value.