Evaluate the success of S2U's marketing strategy between 2016 and 2022.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Feb/Mar 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [AO1 Knowledge and understanding (3 marks)] Knowledge can be awarded for any relevant business knowledge.
2. [AO1 Knowledge and understanding (3 marks)] Knowledge of how to plan a marketing strategy (do not reward repetition of the contents of Appendix 1, but further knowledge of the elements is rewardable)
3. [AO1 Knowledge and understanding (3 marks)] Knowledge of approaches to marketing strategy, including; the need for the marketing strategy to be consistent with the business, the product and the market, the need for and development of a coordinated marketing strategy, the development of marketing strategies that are focused towards achieving specific marketing objectives, the changing role of Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing.
4. [AO1 Knowledge and understanding (3 marks)] Knowledge of the benefits and limitations of marketing planning.
5. [AO1 Knowledge and understanding (3 marks)] Knowledge of factors to assess business success.
6. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] Application can be awarded for use of S2U's context, including any elements of S2U's marketing strategy between 2016 and 2022:
7. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] S2U provides IT support to small businesses (product); creation and maintenance of websites, 24-hour telephone and internet support, remote and on-site installation of software.
8. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] International business (customers around the world).
9. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] 2016 - word of mouth promotion.
10. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] 2017 - contents of marketing plan (Appendix 2).
11. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] 2018 - promotion through Kareem (TV personality); Chanel 17 morning programme, Kareem known as expert in IT solutions.
12. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] 2018-2021 - expansion (Appendix 3); 400% increase in sales, 23% increase in market share, 900% increase in workforce, but, 4% reduction in profit margin and 26.5% decrease in customer satisfaction.
13. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] Loss of Kareem – likely loss of main promotion tool.
14. [AO2 Application (2 marks)] New CEO (Ruhi).
15. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Analysis is likely to be based on S2U's objective in 2017 to increase sales of businesses using S2U's services (Appendix 1).
16. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Analysis of the objective; although specific about a measure of success (number of businesses) there is no time in which the objective is to be met. The objective is measurable but too vague. The objective is perhaps too easily achievable.
17. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Lack of marketing budget – difficult to increase sales without spending on above the line marketing.
18. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Focus on online marketing – low/zero cost promotion – however can be unpredictable and out of the businesses control.
19. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Secondary and primary market research used may give good outline of the market and allow S2U to target the businesses which do not have a dedicated IT support system. However, lacking detail (may exist beyond the summary).
20. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Primary research of businesses who do not currently use S2U – can this data be trusted? How was this survey completed without a budget – may lack the targeting necessary to give accurate and usable data.
21. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Market research finding support the pricing method chosen (dynamic pricing), however a reduction in prices may reduce sales – which could lead to a fall in profit.
22. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Nothing in the market research findings suggests that product/service is not what is required by the market – may still be successful.
23. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Dynamic pricing may have led to reduction in profit margin between 2018 and 2021 – however still a profitable business. Allowed S2U to respond to market research that service was too expensive and allow sales growth.
24. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Profit increased between 2018 and 2021, despite lowering of profit margin – although profit was not the objective of S2U, likely to be important especially as S2U changed ownership.
25. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Promotion methods have obviously been effective as sales have increased – however is this due to Kareem's appearance on TV as opposed to the sales, direct and digital promotion methods used by S2U.
26. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] S2U is in the B2B market and selling directly. Marketing strategy support this and has led to sales growth.
27. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] S2U's market share has increased, this suggests that the marketing strategy has been successful, however at a cost to the profit margin.
28. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] S2U's number of IT engineers employed has more than doubled, which suggests the business has grown, but has also led to an increase in costs and may have contributed to the reduction in profit margin. However, profit has increased.
29. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Customer satisfaction has significantly decreased. This may be a diseconomy of scale as S2U has grown rapidly – although S2U has increased their brand awareness this may not last if they develop a reputation for poor quality services.
30. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Kareem's appearance on TV may have contributed to S2U's success between 2018 and 2021 – however this may have distracted Kareem and led to the decreasing profit margin and increased customer dissatisfaction.
31. [AO3 Analysis (8 marks)] Kareem's TV personality was not part of the marketing strategy from 2017 and may have been luck as opposed to good strategy. However, the loss of Kareem may mean that the strategy needs updating, especially with the decline of sales in 2022.
32. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] Evaluation will largely depend on the points raised in the analysis.
33. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] A judgement over the success of the marketing strategy between 2016 and 2022
34. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] Discussion over how the success of the marketing strategy can be judgment and what that judgement could depend upon; link to the marketing objective in 2017, other measures of success for a public limited company (profitability, profit, shareholder objectives, other stakeholder objectives, measures of size).
35. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] The extent to which the success of S2U between 2016 and 2022 was based on the marketing strategy or the success of Kareem as a TV personality.
36. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] Other external influences on S2U between 2016 and 2022 other than the marketing strategy (e.g. the state of the economy; economic growth) social factors (e.g. increasing remote working), technological factors (e.g. increased use of technological communication in 2020/2021 due to the pandemic).
37. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] The extent to which S2U updated and changed its marketing strategy between 2017 (the marketing plan) and 2022.
38. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] The extent to which S2U commissioned more market research beyond 2017.
39. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] The extent to which S2U changed its market mix beyond 2017.
40. [AO4 Evaluation (7 marks)] Accept all valid responses.