Daniel & Carl for Education (DCE) Daniel and Carl started a company for online teaching, Daniel & Carl for Education (DCE). DCE provides online tutors who work with students to help them pass their examinations. Timeline of DCE 2019: DCE sets up as a private limited company with Daniel as the Managing Director and Carl as the Marketing Director. Carl creates a website and social media accounts. DCE's marketing objective is to provide a premium quality service. This allows it to use price skimming. 2020: Revenue grows and employee numbers rise. Daniel outlines DCE's approach to quality (see Appendix 1). Social media subscribers increase rapidly. DCE relies on word-of-mouth promotion. 2021: Competition increases when new businesses enter the online teaching market. Dynamic pricing is used by DCE. 2022: Revenue declines as students find more affordable options. Carl recommends changes to DCE's promotion (see Appendix 2). DCE revises its marketing objectives (see Appendix 3). 2023: Daniel and Carl collect market research data (see Appendix 4). 2024: DCE offers face-to-face revision workshops in response to a fall in revenue from online tutoring. What is next for DCE? Competition is increasing but Daniel and Carl do not want to compromise on the quality of the service the business provides. However, they are both aware that DCE needs to change if it is to survive. Carl thinks that transformational leadership is the key to survival, but Daniel remains uncertain. Appendix 1: DCE's approach to quality in 2020 As a service-based business, DCE believes its employees are central to its success. All tutors are qualified teachers with at least three years teaching experience. Students are encouraged to provide feedback which is used to adapt the service offered. In 2020, 86% of students stated that they would recommend DCE to a friend. Appendix 2: proposed changes to DCE's promotion in 2022 Artificial intelligence (AI) to be used to: • analyse customer searches • optimise digital promotion • target social media messages to students and parents. Sales promotion: • DCE loyalty scheme to reward returning customers • one free lesson for every friend referred. Appendix 3: DCE's revised marketing objectives in 2022 1. Develop new services to increase revenue by 10% by the end of 2024 2. Maintain a strong brand identity Appendix 4: Summary of market research data in 2023 Online or face-to-face: • 55% prefer online • 30% prefer face-to-face • 15% prefer a combination of both Strengths of DCE: • High exam pass rate • High brand awareness Weaknesses of DCE: • Communication with parents • High prices Competitors' strengths: • User-friendly apps • Affordable • Revision notes often included • Self-study options. Answer both questions. Evaluate DCE's marketing strategy between 2019 and 2024.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Feb/Mar 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [max 1] Knowledge (AO1) can be awarded for any relevant business knowledge about marketing, including: Marketing objectives; Demand and supply; Markets (consumer, industrial, local, national and international); Mass and niche marketing; Market segmentation; Customer relationship marketing; Market research (primary and secondary) and sampling; The marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion); Elasticity (price, income and promotional); Product development, including R&D; Sales forecasting; 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; The contents of a marketing plan: objectives, resources, research, marketing mix; The benefits and limitations of marketing planning
2. [max 2] Award DEV for any explanation of relevant business knowledge, up to a max of 2 marks.
3. Marketing strategy is when a business plans to meet their marketing objective [1K]. Marketing objectives may include sales maximisation and increasing market share [1DEV].
4. Promotion is the communication from the business to the custome [1K]. It includes advertising, sales and direct promotion [1DEV]. The aim of promotion is often to increase awareness of a product [1DEV].
5. [max 2] Application (AO2) can be awarded for applying knowledge, analysis or evaluation of marketing to DCE between 2019 and 2024.
6. [AO2] DCE goal is to have high quality services which means they will have a premium brand image
7. [AO2] Social media accounts to promote the business can be used to evaluate the marketing mix
8. [AO2] Any use of the Market research information in context
9. [AO2] Social media subscribers increase rapidly
10. [AO2] DCE's sales promotion techniques: loyalty scheme and free lessons for referrals
11. [AO2] The use of pricing methods in context such as price skimming
12. [AO2] 10% increase in revenue objective
13. [AO2] Use of AI
14. [AO2] Any use of the case content in context between 2019 and 2024.
15. [AO3] Analysis is likely to be based on the different marketing activities and the impact on DCE, including:
16. [AO3] Social media allows students to access the business which will increase brand recognition as seen by the increase in subscribers this will bring in more customers and sales. However, they may be missing customers that are in different platforms therefore losing on potential sales.
17. [AO3] The use of social media would allow the business to find out what customers want especially parents as they would be looking for online teaching business. This would allow the business to have a USP and beat the intense competition. However, while social media can be effective has it reached the target customers effectively?
18. [AO3] The marketing strategy failed as DCE did not achieve the goal of increased revenue by 10% as in 2022 revenue starts to decrease which would lead to less retained earnings and less ability for the business to expand. However, maintaining quality will allow them to stand out and possibly profits can start to rise.
19. [AO3] DCE goal is to have high quality which means they will have a premium brand image this would allow them to charge premium prices increasing revenue and profits. However, the competitors have other USP that may take away customers especially if they care about affordability.
20. [AO4] Evaluation will depend upon which element/s of marketing have been discussed previously:
21. [AO4] DCE's marketing strategy was successful as they were able to increase sales rapidly in the beginning specifically 2020 and have more subscribers this means they would be able to eventually achieve their 10% revenue increase. However, this depends on the intensity of competition and their ability to keep innovating to beat any external factors they may face.
22. [AO4] DCE's marketing strategy was not successful as the revenue decreased which means they may be struggling to have retained profits and repay any debts this would lead them to fail.
23. [AO4] DCE's marketing strategy was not successful as revenue decreased leading to lower profits which means they will need to apply new services and follow the new proposed marketing objectives for success. However, this success is dependent on how well they apply their upcoming product development and maintaining brand identity.
24. [AO4] Accept all valid responses.