NLR manufactures a range of branded skincare products including hand cream. Packaging of the products is important. Like many businesses, NLR makes use of market segmentation. The Marketing Director knows the stage of the product life cycle can influence NLR's pricing decisions. He is analysing market research data. This shows 85% of consumers expect businesses to respond to environmental pressures.

Mark scheme

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

1. [1] Sample size;
2. [1] Sample chosen/who is asked;
3. [1] Interviewer experience/interviewer bias;
4. [1] Wording of the questions;
5. [1] Who carried out research;
6. [1] Age of information/when data gathered/information might be out of date;
7. [1] People's actions do not always match what they say;
8. [1] Anonymity;
9. [1] Bots or use of Al.
10. [1] Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
11. [1] Able to tailor goods to specific needs of segment/know what to produce;
12. [1] Identify gaps in the market;
13. [1] To help decide best place to sell;
14. [1] Research is simpler;
15. [1] Help focus spending/make best use of resources;
16. [1] Help target promotion/advertising;
17. [1] Help set prices;
18. [1] Help increase sales/revenue.
19. [1] Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
20. [1] Reduce amount of materials used/wastage [k] when making its skincare products [app];
21. [1] Use recycled materials [k] for the packaging [app];
22. [1] Develop environmentally friendly products [k] based on its market research [app];
23. [1] Buy energy efficient/environmentally friendly machinery/use renewable energy [k];
24. [1] Offer different sizes/only make to order/reduce number of products available [k];
25. [1] Alter/reduce transport use [k];
26. [1] Promote/support environmentally friendly causes [k];
27. [1] Ask customers to reuse containers (when buying from shops) [k] as 85% of consumers (want the business to respond to environmental pressures) [app].
28. [1] Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
29. [1] During introductory stage [k] the business may set a low price to attract customers [an] to their hand cream [app];
30. [1] At growth stage [k] prices may be lowered due to increased competition [an];
31. [1] At maturity stage [k] price is likely to be similar to competitors to retain market share [an] for the branded products[app];
32. [1] During decline stage[k] discounts might be offered to maintain sales/ sell of remaining inventory [an];
33. [1] Skimming pricing [k] can be used at the introductory stage to recover development costs [an] of new packaging [app];
34. [1] Penetration pricing [k] in some market segments [app];
35. [1] Cost plus pricing [k];
36. [1] Competitive pricing [k];
37. [1] Promotional pricing [k].
38. [1] Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
39. [1] This can help the product attract customers/stand out against competitor's products [k] which can help increase/maintain sales [an] leading to higher revenue [an];
40. [1] Protect the product [k] so the product does not get damaged/can be kept fresh [an] which can help reduce the amount of wastage [an];
41. [1] Ease of storage/transport [k] which could lead to lower storage/transport costs [an];
42. [1] Provide information about the product [k];
43. [1] Legal requirements [k] as a business might have to identify the ingredients to avoid legal action [an];
44. [1] Easy to open the container and use the product [k].
45. [k] Packaging helps the product stand out against competitor's products [k] helping increase sales; [an] Protecting the product is important [k]to keep the product fresh. [an] This is the most important role because damaged goods will not sell [eval] Therefore, brand image is not the most important role although customers need to be aware of the product, to buy. [eval]