Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani

Work-Integrated Learning Programmes Division

Second Semester 2019-2020
Mid-Semester Test (EC-2 Regular)

Course No. : BA ZC411

Course Title : MARKETING
Nature of Exam : Closed Book
Weightage : 30% No. of Pages =2
Duration : 2 Hours No. of Questions = 5
Date of Exam : Saturday, 07/03/2020 (AN)
Note:
1. Please follow all the Instructions to Candidates given on the cover page of the answer book.
2. All parts of a question should be answered consecutively. Each answer should start from a fresh page.
3. Assumptions made if any, should be stated clearly at the beginning of your answer.

Q.1. Write a note on the four (Production, Product, Sales, and Marketing) concepts of
marketing with at least one suitable example of each type. [6]

Q.2. A conglomerate holds the following brands in different businesses. The revenue,
market growth, and market share figures of leading rivals are given in the following
table.
(a) Place the brands on the BCG matrix. (Please take 0 and 1 to be the extreme
values of relative market share (RMS) and 0 and 20% to be the extreme values
of market growth (MG) in the matrix. [3]
(b) Analyze the portfolio and give your recommendations. [3]

Revenu Leading Market

e (U$ Brand Rival's Brand Growt
Brand ‘000) Share Share h
A 500000 25% 25% 3%
B 350000 5% 30% 12%
C 50000 30% 45% 13%
D 20000 1% 10% 15%

Q.3. The Chief Marketing Officer of ABC Ltd., a firm manufacturing color televisions, was
addressing the sales force. The company was beginning the new financial year, and the
CMO decided to discuss the targets for the coming year with his sales representatives.
“This year, we have decided to innovate on our goals. Unlike other years, where goals
used to be purely sales numbers, this time they would cover several other factors to
make it more representative.”
He gave a sly smile to the assembled group of sales persons.
“Don’t you think you would be able to escape your sales numbers? They would
always be there.”
“Apart from that, this year, you would have many other targets.”
“We shall now judge you on profitability. All sales executives would be ranked based
on the profitability of the products they sell.”
“We shall also check the brand recall of the brand at all your regions. The company is
hiring a brand audit firm to inspect how many prospective customers in your
respective areas remember our brand. Your incentives would be linked to brand recall.
The sales executives looked at one another.

“But Sir, we are not responsible for brand recall. That is determined by advertising
and other activities that are controlled by the head office. We have no role to play.”

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“Head office, Head office. For far too long, you people have gotten away with
blaming the head office. Please stay accountable for your areas. This has been
discussed amongst us in the top management. There is no escape now.”
“Sir, I handle the Raipur branch where the market is largely rural. The profitability
goals would be hard to meet. I think I will not be able to meet the guys who are
selling in metro cities like Delhi or Mumbai.”
“Are you not taking a salary? Is the guy in Delhi or Mumbai being paid in separate
currency? If there is no profit, let us close down the business in Raipur.”
The sales person of Raipur thought it was better to be silent. Discretion is the better
part of valor.
“We shall also check walk-ins to our dealer showrooms. We suspect we have some
bad apple dealers who try to convert our customers to brands of their (the dealer’s)
choice. These dealers think they are smart. The customer comes to their shops as a
result of our advertisements, and they think nothing of converting them to the
competitor’s brand because of their more margin in it. We have to stop this.”
This time the Head of Sales objected.
“Sir, it is not always about dishonesty. Smart dealers always size up customers. If the
customer does not seem to be well off, they pitch cheaper products. This is difficult to
quantify.”
“I don’t know. Your people are not performing, and the management is worried. Here
are the sales targets for the year. Please sit with your sales representatives and work
out how you would achieve them.”
The head of sales looked at the target sheet.
“These are twice last year’s numbers. Do you think the market is doubling every
year?” the sales head replied incredulously.

(a) What are SMART goals? [2]

(b) Critically evaluate how goals have been set in the above case. [4]

Q.4. Agrani is a leading brand of flour (atta) marketed by a well-known consumer company
in India. The distribution of sales of the branded wheat category, as well as Agrani, is
given below.
(a) Calculate the countrywide brand share of Agrani. [1]
(b) Calculate the brand development index (BDI) for each region. [2]
(c) If the annual growth in the branded flour market is assumed to be 10%, forecast
the demand for Agrani atta in the four regions of the country using the BDI
method. [3]
Branded Agrani
Flour Sales Sales(ton
(tons per s per
Region month) month)
North 4000 500
East 2000 100
West 3000 200
South 1000 50
Total 10000 850

Q.5. Discuss the difference aspects of the socio-cultural environment and their importance
in marketing. [6]

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