Strategic Marketing Management July 2008 Question Paper

Strategic Marketing Management July 2008

Course:Higher Diploma In Business Management (Business Management)

Exam Year:2008

HIGHER DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
MODULE II
STRATEGIC MARKETING
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
This paper consists of TWO sections; A and B.
Answer the Compulsory Question 1 in section A.
Answer any THREE questions in section B.
The marks for each question are as indicated.
This paper consists of 4 printed pages.
Candidates should check the question paper to ascertain that all the pages are printed as indicated and no questions are missing.
SECTION A (40 marks)
Answer the compulsory Question 1.
1. Read the case below and then answer the questions that follow.
JIUNDE WOMEN SELF-HELP GROUP
Jiunde Women Self-Help Group is a welfare association which was started years ago with the help of a foreign Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). The association operates from a rented godown in one of the upcoming industrial towns in the country. It has a membership of 200 women who were hitherto unemployment, eking their living from doing odd jobs here and there, and occasional hawking.

The Group is engaged in the production of nutritional flour with an eye to capitalizing on the growing consumer's need for health foods. The nutritional flour is made from beans, bananas, maize, and pumpkin-leaves. All these raw materials for the flour are abundantly available locally, and at relatively low prices. The quality of the flour is quite high.

The Group initially relied mainly on donor funding for its operations. This was done by the NGO which helped found the group. The NGO also facilitated the training of the members in basic production techniques, which would account for the high quality of the products. The members are generally motivated and aggressive, apart from being trained in the production techniques.

For quite some time, the members of the Group had no basic marketing skills. They also did not have a clearly defined management structure for their organization. As a result, the products rarely got any space on supermarket shelves at the local industrial town. The Group mainly sold its products to friends and small village shops.

Two years ago, the foreign NGO ceased operations in the country. This then put the operations of the Group in jeorpady as they no longer had any financier. Returns from the meagre sales could not sustain the Group. It is against this background that the Group, on the advice of the Community Development Officer, sought the help of a young philanthropic marketing consultant.

The marketing consultant carried out a thorough marketing audit of the firm in order to come up with a viable marketing plan. She realized that although the group had a very marketable and quality product offering, there was no strategy to penetrate the market. To do this, she therefore had to:
1. Establish a credible distribution channel for the products
2. Design appropriate packaging materials
3. Create a recognizable brand image for the products and promote the same
4.Establish a competitive pricing strategy for the products
5.Initiate training programmes of the Group members especially in the areas of marketing and customer care.
Having identified what needed to be done, the consultant got down to work to implement the strategy.
The brand name Uzima Bora was adopted for the product offerings. These products were to be packed in well labelled ½ kg, 1 kg and 2 kg packets for the household consumer markets, and in 20 kg and 50 kg packets for the institutional consumer markets. The packaging materials used are biodegrable and environmentally friendly. Product prices are generally marginally below competitor prices.

The consultant established contacts with major supermarkets in all the main towns in the province. She also established contacts with medium-sized stores in the estates in the main towns which accepted to carry the brand as part of their stock. Further, the consultant managed to enlist the patronage of various hospitals and rehabilitation centres which are quite happy with the products. To serve these outlets, the consultant leases distribution vans from some transporters. However, she, together with some young Group members, visit the outlets personally to collect the orders on two-week intervals.

The consultant ensures that the products are properly displayed in the supermarkets and the estate stores. She also arranges for regular promotional events include demonstrations on how to prepare the cooked products are given out at the end. Measures have also been taken to ensure that the products are consistently available on the supermarket and store shelves.

1. (a) Explain the limitations of the marketing organization being used by Jiunde Women Self-Help Group.(12 marks)
(b) Explain the advantages of the distribution strategy adopted by the consultant to the Self Group.(14 marks)
(c) Describe the product strategies adopted by the consultant.(6 marks)
(d) The consultant unearthed certain weaknesses in the marketing strategy of the Self-Help Group. Explain these weaknesses.(8 marks)

SECTION B ( 60 marks)
Answer any THREE questions from this section.
2. (a) Explain the benefits that an organization may derive from adopting price promotional as its promotional strategy.(12 marks)
(b) Outline the restrictive conditions that must be satisfied for price discrimination to be successful as a marketing strategy.(8 mark)

3. (a) Describe the sections of a marketing plan.(12 marks)
(b) Explain the key strategic decisions that must be taken in the development of a corporate strategic plan.(8 marks)

4. (a) Wajuzi Ltd, a newly established manufacturing firm, intends to develop its market coverage strategy. Explain the different patterns of target market selection that the firm can consider in its market coverage strategy.(10 marks)
(b) Co-operation between the Research and Development department and the Marketing department in an organization is considered to be a key determinant of an organization's competitive advantage. Explain the various ways in which such co-operation can be facilitated.(10 marks)

5.(a) Explain the principles that should be followed to ensure effective control of marketing programmes.(10 marks)
(b) The budget is one of the control mechanisms that an organization can use. Explain the factors that should be considered before preparing such a budget.(10 marks)

6. (a) Describe the factors that facilitate the successful positioning of a product.(12 marks)
(b) Most organizations today tend to embrace the marketing concept in programming their market effort. Explain the reasons that may account for this trend.(8 marks)

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