C-8No. of Printed Pages : 6

COMMONWEALTH EXECUTIVEMBA/MPA PROGRAMME

Term-End Examination

June, 2010U)CD C-8 : MARKETING FOR MANAGERS

Time : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 100(Weightage 70%)

Note : This paper consists of two Sections-A and B. Attempt

any three questions from Section-A. Section-B is

compulsory. All questions carry equal marks.

SECTION-A

1. What are the levels at which a service productneeds to be conceptualised ? With reference tothe following services, explain these levels.

A courier service

A fitness centre

2. (a) What are the considerations involved indesigning marketing organisations ?

(b) Explain any 2 bases of organising the salesforce.

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Discuss the advantages and limitation of familybranding versus individual branding. Takesuitable examples to illustate your answer.

(a) How does the stage in the product life cycleaffect pricing of a product ?

(b) When is a lugh skimming pricing strategy anappropriate strategy for a new product ?Explain with the help of examples .

5. Write short notes on any three of the following :

Impact of government control onpromotional decision.

Qualities of a good sales person.

(c) Methods of sales forecasting.

Family as a reference group

Howard Sheth model

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SECTION-B

6. Read the case given below and answer thequestions at the end of the case :

Today, Shahnaz Hussain is a strong brand in theherbal personal care products category in Indiaas also in the world market. What made it astrong brand is a combination, of entrepreneurial

spirit, commitment and belief in the product,continuous innovation, distribution strategy andword of mouth publicity. About 27 years backwhen Shahnaz Hussain started her business, shehad picked the skills from some of the best in thebeauty schools all over Europe like HelenaRubinstein, Schwarzkopf, Lancome, ChristineVarlmy etc. At the time when the cosmeticindustry was dominated by chemical basedproducts, she started developing products basedon ayurveda and marketed them under her namewhich today has become a brand. Herbal based

products were new to the market. Marketing anunknown brand and an unknown productcategory was the most daunting task she facedespecially as the market was dominated by thewell known global brands and the Retail Storeslike Harrods and Selfridges in UK would not carryany other brand. In her first marketing encounterat these top stores, she realized that more thanjust good talk, the product had to achieve asignificant sales volume before being accepted at

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these stores. She then used a marketing gimmickand offered a free Kashmir carpets to all thosewhose purchases exceeded 20,000 francs. Thisdid the trick. Customers stampede followed suchan announcement and Selfridges and Harrodshad never seen such a rush. She not only sold forthe entire consignment in 1980 in three days, she

also secured a counter for her in these stores.Today throughout India, herbal beauty care issynonymous with Shahnaz Hussein.

As can be made out, her strategy was to placeher herbal products in jars at these elite stores,which were the ultimate destination of the upperand upper middle class aspirants. In this wayshe was quickly able to place her brand amongthe world's rich and famous. Even when the totalbeauty business in India is estimated to be aroundRs. 2000 Crores, growing at the rate of 25 percentyear on year basis and has some well knownbrands in the herbal category, like HimalayaMarico, Dabur, Emami and Biotique, ShahnazHussein's position remains unchallenged. This is

because of her strategy of customised treatmentbeing offered through her chain of clinics.

This team is supported by her range ofproducts. The relationship between the clinic andthe product is dyadic in as much as both areinterdependent. Her range of products hasevolved from clinical usage and client feedback.

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She has a countrywide distribution network andunquestioned brand loyalty. Her brand is not afaceless one like those of others. There is a veryclear identity of the person in the consumer's mindvis a vis her products. She personally attends allof her franchisee outlet openings and frequentlyconducts training of the practitioners.

Shahnaz Hussein also customized and developedher products to meet the needs of diversesegments. For example, she introduced men'sbeauty treatment in 1993 and created a presencein the spa market. Her low cost 'Day Spas' hadbeen quite a success just as her ayurvedic Spas,which have gone global. A specialized rangecalled professional power range has been createdfor the beauty salons, which are her institutionalmarket.' She also introduced Fair One, a naturalfinish screen in the mass market through amarketing alliance with Elder Pharmaceuticals.With initial success in this market, she now intendsto introduce her entire range for the middle class,for whom the formulations are out of reach so farin terms of price. She has ensured that herproducts meet international standards for whichshe has an herb and flower farm near Delhi.

All this success seems although impressive if oneconsiders that the entire brand has been builtpurely on the strength of word of mouth publicityand a good distribution strategy. Till today, theorganization does not have an advertising budget.

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Questions :

Comment upon the promotional methodsused by Shahnaz Hussein to develop herbrand. In your view, can she continue touse the same promotional methods in futuretoo ?

In your view, is her proposed strategy of

introducing her products range for themiddle class a good move, since part of hersuccess was due to the exclusiveness of theproducts ?

(c) Identify the factors responsible for a strongbrand identity brand loyalty in case of thisbrand.

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