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Mktg 431: Strategic Marketing Question Paper

Mktg 431: Strategic Marketing

Course:Business Administration

Institution: Kenya Methodist University question papers

Exam Year:2010

FACULTY : BUSINESS STUDIES AND MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT : BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
TIME : 3 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS Answer Question ONE and any other THREE Questions

QUESTION 1
Amazon and the Publishing Industry
The book publishing industry traditionally was characterized by a long value chain. The publisher contracted with authors to write books and entered into agreements with commercial printers (such as R.R. Donnelley and Quebecor) to print the books. Books were distributed to bookstores through wholesalers such as Ingram and Baker & Taylor. The major problem with this value chain was the amount of unsold books returned by booksellers. Publishers faced return rates as high as 30 percent, which added significantly to their costs. Seeing this inefficiency as an opening, Amazon changed the value chain.

By going directly to publishers, Amazon was able to lower costs by cutting out wholesalers. More importantly, they placed orders with publishers after customers ordered from their website. This allowed Amazon to reduce drastically the returns to publishers (from 30% to 3%) and use this to bargain for better prices from them. Amazon backward integrated by bypassing the wholesaler and going directly to the publisher.

Required
a) Explain how the concept of vertical integration can improve the supply chain in direct marketing. (10 marks)

b) Explain the difference between backward and forward integration in strategic marketing. (10 marks)

c) Identify reasons why a firm would source for a strategic alliance. (5 marks)

d) Discuss Amazon innovative idea in strategic marketing. (5 marks)

QUESTION 2
Explain the marketing audit variables and the process involved. (25 marks)

QUESTION 3
a) Critically explain the strategic marketing planning process. (15 marks)

b) Explain the term brand mix and discuss the brand mix strategies. (10 marks)

QUESTION 4
a) Discuss the concept of product life cycle in product management. (5 marks)

b) Explain the market drivers that a marketer should study after conducting market sensing. (10marks)
c) By use of Ansoff model explain a growth strategy for product development in a new market. (10 marks)

QUESTION 5
a) As a Multi National Corporation manager you have been asked to advice an alliance on regional and domestic markets access. What strategies would you give? (9marks)

b) By use of PEST Analysis, identify forces that might be beyond the perfect control of an organization and suggest the trends that will be used to overcome them. (16 marks)

QUESTION 6
Marketing managers would want to differentiate their product as well maintain cost differentiation on what they offer in the market. Discuss (25 marks)

Mktg 431: Strategic Marketing Question Paper

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