Master of Business Administration- Semester 2 MB0046 Marketing Management - 4 Credits (Book ID: B1135) Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)

Q.1 Explain the various stages involved in new product development Ans: 1.Idea Generation is often called the "fuzzy front end" of the NPD process Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis (Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats), Market and consumer trends, company's R&D department, competitors, focus groups, employees, salespeople, corporate spies, trade shows, or Ethnographic discovery methods (searching for user patterns and habits) may also be used to get an insight into new product lines or product features. Lots of ideas are being generated about the new product. Out of these ideas many ideas are being

implemented. The ideas use to generate in many forms and their generating places are also various. Many reasons are responsible for generation of an idea. Idea Generation or Brainstorming of new product, service, or store concepts - idea generation

techniques can begin when you have done your OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS to support your ideas in the Idea Screening Phase (shown in the next development step). 2. Idea Screening The object is to eliminate unsound concepts prior to devoting resources to them. The screeners should ask several questions: Will the customer in the target market benefit from the product? What is the size and growth forecasts of the market segment/target market? What is the current or expected competitive pressure for the product idea? What are the industry sales and market trends the product idea is based on? Is it technically feasible to manufacture the product? Will the product be profitable when manufactured and delivered to the customer at the

target price? 3. Concept Development and Testing Develop the marketing and engineering details Investigate intellectual property issues and search patent data bases Who is the target market and who is the decision maker in the purchasing process? What product features must the product incorporate?

What benefits will the product provide? How will consumers react to the product? How will the product be produced most cost effectively? Prove feasibility through virtual computer aided rendering, and rapid prototyping What will it cost to produce it?

Testing the Concept by asking a sample of prospective customers what they think of the idea. Business Analysis

Usually via Choice Modelling. 4. 5.

Estimate likely selling price based upon competition and customer feedback Estimate sales volume based upon size of market and such tools as the Fourt-Woodlock equation Estimate profitability and break-even point Beta Testing and Market Testing Produce a physical prototype or mock-up Test the product (and its packaging) in typical usage situations Conduct focus group customer interviews or introduce at trade show Make adjustments where necessary Produce an initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area to determine customer Technical Implementation

acceptance 6. 7.

New program initiation Finalize Quality management system Resource estimation Requirement publication Publish technical communications such as data sheets Engineering operations planning Department scheduling Supplier collaboration Logistics plan Resource plan publication Program review and monitoring Contingencies - what-if planning Commercialization (often considered post-NPD) Launch the product

 8.

Produce and place advertisements and other promotions Fill the distribution pipeline with product Critical path analysis is most useful at this stage New Product Pricing Impact of new product on the entire product portfolio Value Analysis (internal & external) Competition and alternative competitive technologies Differing value segments (price, value, and need) Product Costs (fixed & variable) Forecast of unit volumes, revenue, and profit

These steps may be iterated as needed. Some steps may be eliminated. To reduce the time that the NPD process takes, many companies are completing several steps at the same time (referred to as concurrent engineering or time to market). Most industry leaders see new product development as a proactive process where resources are allocated to identify market changes and seize upon new product opportunities before they occur (in contrast to a reactive strategy in which nothing is done until problems occur or the competitor introduces an innovation). Many industry leaders see new product development as an ongoing process (referred to ascontinuous development) in which the entire organization is always looking for opportunities.

Q.2 Discuss the importance of SWOT analysis to develop effective marketing mix. Ans: SWOT analysis (alternately SLOT analysis) is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses/Limitations, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies. Setting the objective should be done after the SWOT analysis has been performed. This would allow achievable goals or objectives to be set for the organization. Strengths: characteristics of the business, or project team that give it an advantage over others Weaknesses (or Limitations): are characteristics that place the team at a disadvantage relative to

others Opportunities: external chances to improve performance (e.g. make greater profits) in the

environment Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project

Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs. First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated. Users of SWOT analysis need to ask and answer questions that generate meaningful information for each category (strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats) in order to maximize the benefits of this evaluation and find their competitive advantage. Marketing In many competitor analyses, marketers build detailed profiles of each competitor in the market, focusing especially on their relative competitive strengths and weaknesses using SWOT analysis. Marketing managers will examine each competitor's cost structure, sources of profits, resources and competencies, competitive positioning and product differentiation, degree of vertical integration, historical responses to industry developments, and other factors. Marketing management often finds it necessary to invest in research to collect the data required to perform accurate marketing analysis. Accordingly, management often conducts market research (alternately marketing research) to obtain this information. Marketers employ a variety of techniques to conduct market research, but some of the more common include: Qualitative marketing research, such as focus groups Quantitative marketing research, such as statistical surveys Experimental techniques such as test markets Observational techniques such as ethnographic (on-site) observation Marketing managers may also design and oversee various environmental scanning and

competitive intelligence processes to help identify trends and inform the company's marketing analysis. Below is an example SWOT analysis of a market position of a small management consultancy with specialism in HRM.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Reputation in marketplace Shortage of consultants at Well established position partner level niche

Large consultancies

operating level rather than with a well defined market operating at a minor level

Expertise at partner level in Unable to deal with multi- Identified market for

Other small consultancies

HRM consultancy

disciplinary assignments because of size or lack of ability

consultancy in areas other looking to invade the than HRM marketplace

Q.3 Briefly explain the major external and uncontrollable factors that influence an organization decision making, performance and strategies Ans:

1) Demographic Environment : A business and its forces in its micro environment operate in larger macro
environment of forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the business. It refers the major external and uncontrollable factors that influence an organization's decision making, and affect its performance and strategies. These factors include the economic factors; demographics; legal, political, and social conditions; technological changes; and natural forces. The important environmental factors are; (1) Economic Environment (2) Political and Governmental Environment (3) Socio-cultural Environment (4) Natural Environment (5) Demographic Environment (6) Technological Environment (7) International Environment.

2) Political and Governmental Environment: - Political environment refers to the influence exerted by the
three political institutions they are; Legislature, Executive, Judiciary etc. The legislature decides on a particular course of action. Government is the executive and its job is to implement whatever was decided by parliament. The judiciary has ensure that both the legislature and executive function in public interest and within the boundaries of constitution. Legal and political environment provides a framework within the business is to function and its existence depends on the success with which it can face the various challenges constructed out of political and legal framework.

3) Socio-cultural Environment : Changes in social trends can impact on the demand for a firm's products
and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. Social class and caste of a person goes a long way in deciding the business activities in relation to its production and marketing activities. Tradition, customs and social attitudes have changed the attitude and beliefs of the persons which have their effect on organizational environment. Class and caste are influencing the purchasing pattern. Socio-cultural

environment may include expectations of the society from business, attitudes of society towards business and its management, views towards achievement of work, views towards structure, responsibility and organizational positions, views towards customs, traditional and conventional, class structure and labour mobility and level of education.

4) Technological Environment: In order to survive in today's competitive world, a business has to adopt
technological changes from time to time. New technologies create new products and new processes. Technology can reduce costs, improve quality and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organizations providing the products. MP3 players, computer games, online gambling and high definition TVs are all new markets created by technological advances. Online shopping, bar coding and computer aided design are all improvements to the way we do business as a result of better technology.

Q.4 Discuss the potential benefits associated with MIS. Ans: A marketing information system (MIS) is a set of procedures and methods designed to generate, analyze, disseminate, and store anticipated marketing decision information on a regular, continuous basis. An information system can be used operationally, managerially, and strategically for several aspects of marketing.

1) Helps to recognize market trends: MIS helps managers to recognize market trends, in respect of price, designs of products, fashions, etc. timely information of the market trend enables the firm to follow the right course of action.

2) Facilitates marketing planning and control: effective marketing planning is required in terms of product planning, pricing, promotion and distribution. Such planning will be possible only if the company is possessing adequate and relevant information. this is also possible through MIS.

3) Quick supply of information: today a firm has to take quick decisions. for this purpose it requires fast flow of information which is facilitated by a properly designed MIS.

4) Improves quality of decision making: a properly designed MIS supplies reliable and relevant information. with the help of computers and other data processing equipments, the marketing managers can make the right

decisions at the right time.

Q.5 Describe five interdependent levels of basic human needs (motivators) as propounded by Abraham Maslow Ans: Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, all of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans. Maslow use the terms Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, and Self-Actualization needs to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through

1)Self-actualization Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top. While the pyramid has become the de facto way to represent the hierarchy, Maslow himself never used a pyramid to describe these levels in any of his writings on the subject.

2)Physiological needs For the most part, physiological needs are obvious they are the literal requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body simply cannot continue to function.

Physiological needs are the most pre potent of all the other needs. Therefore, the human that lacks food, love, esteem, or safety would consider the greatest of his/her needs to be food. Air, water, and food are metabolic requirements for survival in all animals, including humans. Clothing and shelter provide necessary protection from the elements. The intensity of the human sexual instinct is shaped more by sexual competition than maintaining a birth rate adequate to survival of the species. 3) Safety needs With their physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual's safety needs take precedence and dominate behavior. In the absence of physical safety due to war, natural disaster, or, in cases of family violence, childhood abuse, etc. people experience post-traumatic stress disorder and trans-generational trauma transfer. In the absence of economic safety due to economic crisis and lack of work opportunities these safety needs manifest themselves in such things as a preference for job security, grievance procedures for protecting the individual from unilateral authority, savings accounts, insurance policies, reasonable disability accommodations, and the like. This level is more likely to be found in children because they have a greater need to feel safe. 4) Love and belonging After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layers of human needs is interpersonal and involve feelings of belongingness. The need is especially strong in childhood and can over-ride the need for safety as witnessed in children who cling to abusive parents. Deficiencies with respect to this aspect of Maslow's hierarchy due to hospitalize, neglect, shunning, ostracism etc. can impact individual's ability to form and maintain emotionally significant relationships in general. 5) Esteem All humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem or an inferiority complex. People with low self-esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory, which again depends on others. Note, however, that many people with low self-esteem will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by receiving fame, respect, and glory externally, but must first accept themselves internally. 6)Self-actualization This level of need pertains to what a person's full potential is and realizing that potential. Maslow describes this desire as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. This is a broad definition of the need for self-actualization, but when applied to individuals the need is specific. For example one individual may have the strong desire to become an ideal parent, in another it may be expressed athletically, and in another it may be expressed in painting, pictures, or inventions. As mentioned before, in order to reach a clear understanding of this level of need one must first not only achieve the previous needs, physiological, safety, love, and esteem, but master these needs.

Q.6 List the important differences between Consumer market and business markets Ans: Business Marketing is the practice of individuals, or organizations, including commercial businesses, governments and institutions, facilitating the sale of their products or services to other companies or organizations that in turn resell them, use them as components in products or services they offer, or use them to support their operations. Also known as industrial marketing, business marketing is also called business-to-business marketing, or B2B marketing, for short. Business marketing v/s consumer marketing although on the surface the differences between business and consumer marketing may seem obvious, there are more subtle distinctions between the two with substantial ramifications. Dwyer and Tanner (2006) note that business marketing generally entails shorter and more direct channels of distribution. While consumer marketing is aimed at large demographic groups through mass media and retailers, the negotiation process between the buyer and seller is more personal in business marketing. According to Hutt and Speh (2001), most business marketers commit only a small part of their promotional budgets to advertising, and that is usually through direct mail efforts and trade journals. While that advertising is limited, it often helps the business marketer set up successful sales calls. Marketing to a business trying to make a profit (Business-to-Business marketing) as opposed to an individual for personal use (Business-to-Consumer, or B2C marketing) is similar in terms of the fundamental principles of marketing. In B2C, B2B and B2G marketing situations, the marketer must always: successfully match the product/service strengths with the needs of a definable target market; position and price to align the product/service with its market, often an intricate balance; and Communicate and sell it in the fashion that demonstrates its value effectively to the target market.