2024 NECO GCE MARKETING: 2024 NECO GCE Second Series MARKETING ANSWERS (2264)

(2a)
Consumer products, also referred to as final goods, are products that are bought by individuals or households for personal use. In other words, consumer products are goods that are bought for consumption by the average consumer. Consumer behavior reveals how to appeal to people with different habits.

(2b)
(i)Convenience Products; they refers to those that require little trouble or effort to purchase. They are both easy to access and frequently purchased. Examples include: food, drink, laundry detergent, toilet paper, deodorant, and toothpaste.

(ii)Shopping Products;
Shopping goods contrast with convenience products in the fact that they are brought less frequently and are not so easily available. Consumers take more time to decide on what to buy and take a more deliberate effort before making a decision.

(iii)Speciality; Speciality products are goods that consumers do not take long when deciding to purchase. They have unique characteristics like being rare, or being an original design, so are largely incomparable to other products. For example, speciality products include: sports cars, rare paintings, high-spec laptops, rare ornaments, or designer clothing

(iv)Unsought; Unsought products can range from new innovations to old goods. They are simply goods that consumers do not know about or would think to buy. Equally, they are not necessarily goods that the consumer would want to buy.

(3a)
marketing mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix - Price, Product, Promotion and Place.

(3b)
(i)Price
(ii)Product
(iii)Promotion
(iv)Place

(i)Price; price refers to the pricing strategy for products and services and how it will affect customers. Pricing decisions do not include just the selling price, but also discounts, payment arrangements, credit terms, and any price-matching services offered.

(ii)Promotion; Promotion refers to the activities that make the business more known to consumers. It includes items such as sponsorships, advertising, and public relations activities.

(iii)Place; Place refers to where the product/service of the business is seen, made, sold, or distributed. In essence, place decisions are associated with distribution channels and ways of getting the product to targeted key customers.

(iv)Product; Product refers to the products and services offered by a business. Product decisions include function, packaging, appearance, warranty, quality, etc.

(4a)
An organizational market refers to the practice by consumers and companies purchase commodities for other purposes rather than personal consumption. These markets have fewer buyers, but purchasing in bulk is common in comparison to consumer markets WHILE Consumer market refers to the market where people purchase products/services for consumption and are not meant for further sale. This market is dominated by the products which consumers use in their daily life.

(4b)
(i) Industrial market: It includes individuals and companies that buy goods and services in order to produce other goods and services

(ii) Resellers market: It consists of individuals or companies that purchase goods and services produced by others for resale to consumers

(iii) Government market: It consists of government agencies at all levels that purchase goods and services for carrying out the functions of government

(iv) Institutional market: It consists of individuals and companies such as schools or hospitals that purchase goods and services for the benefit or use of persons cared for by the institution.

(6a)
Marketing research refers to the process by which an organization gathers information about its ideal customer and larger market in order to inform the organization’s go-to-market strategy.

(6b)
(i) Identification and Defining the Problem
(ii) Statement of Research Objectives
(iii) Planning the Research Design or Designing the Research Study
(iv) Data Collection

(i) Identification and Defining the Problem: The market research process begins with the identification “of a problem faced by the company. Clear definition of the problem helps the researcher in all subsequent research efforts including setting of proper research objectives, the determination of the techniques to be used, and the extent of information to be collected.

(ii) Statement of Research Objectives: After identifying and defining the problem with or without explanatory research, the researcher must take a formal statement of research objectives. Such objectives may be stated in qualitative or quantitative terms and expressed as research questions, statement or hypothesis.

(iii) Planning the Research Design or Designing the Research Study: After defining the research problem and deciding the objectives, the research design must be developed. A research design is a master plan specifying the procedure for collecting and analysing the needed information. It represents a framework for the research plan of action.

(iv) Data Collection: The collection 'copied from e x p o c o d e . n e t free' of data relates to the gathering of facts to be used in solving the problem. Hence, methods of market research are essentially methods of data collection. Data can be secondary, i.e., collected from concerned reports, magazines and other periodicals, especially written articles, government publications, company publications, books, etc.

(7a)
(i)Buying; It is the process of acquiring goods at the right price, at a right time, in right quantity and quality and from a right source of supply.

(ii)Assembling; Producers at different centers produce goods in small quantities. They cannot be processed unless they are transported to the market. This process of collecting goods from various sources and bringing together those in a centrally located place are called assembling.

(iii)Standardizing and grading; Standardizing means the setting up of basic categories or grades of the products. If the particular goods are of certain standard, it means that they are of a certain quality. Grading means the division of products into classes made up of units possessing similar characteristics of size and quality.

(iv)Storing; Storing is another important function of the marketing process. It involves the holding of goods in proper condition from the time they are produced until the consumers need them. Storing protects the goods from deterioration.

(7b)
(i)When the goods are secured, the retailer must determine the unit price that he or she will assign to the products. In all cases, this retail price will be higher than the cost of purchasing the goods from the supplier.

(ii)the process of retail merchandising moves on to the task known as setup and display. This process is concerned with displaying the goods within the retail setting to best advantage.

(iii)By using such 'copied from e x p o c o d e . n e t free' devices as display windows, elevated platforms, and colorful backdrops to attract the attention of shoppers, the retailer increases the chances of selling many units quickly.

(iv)it is necessary to provide consumers with a couple of key benefits. First, the products must be of high quality; this helps to ensure that the customer will return for more purchases in the future.