Once again the examiners of Heriot Watt astound me by asking questions to which I know the answers. There are subjects which I don't study so well but somehow they always manage to avoid them! To give an example: whilst looking at previous exam papers, I saw that there had been a question based on module 19. Module 19? Whaddayou mean, module 19? There is a module 19 in the book, but our lecturer, in his infinite wisdom, had considered it not worth learning as the chances of a question on this subject (module 19 is apparently about 'measuring and delivering marketing performance' - hmm, sounds interesting) were minimal. I hope that he did cover the subject the semester in which the question was asked. As there are only three questions in the exam, drawing a blank on a question is fatal.
The first question was, as expected, an exercise in strategies. This is something which we have been practicing in class for some time, so no one should have been unprepared for this. The only catch could be in which product lifestage cycle (plc) the product is - new market entries, growth markets or mature/declining markets; each variant has its own strategies. The question which we were given was about a new product: orange juice with added omega 3 oil; as far as I was concerned, this means that the plc is 'new market entry', with the appropriate strategies. Apart from the actual product, this question had been asked in an earlier exam paper, which we had solved as a class exam. In other words, I was totally prepared for this and I imagine that I did well.
The above is not to say that the question/answer was easy; the answer took five pages of writing and just under an hour to complete. There are several stages which had to be remembered, and as it happened, I forgot one section - I caught this when going through my answers at the end. Fortunately I had plenty of time in which to add the missing section. There was also another small part in which the answer called for a 2X2 matrix, labelling each quadrant in the matrix (this is called the BCG model); I couldn't get the axes correct for the model at first.
The second question was about the decision making process of consumers. Our lecturer had told us that in order to answer the questions properly, one should first identify about which model the question is asking, then list the model and link it appropriately to the question. The question was in regard to anti-aging cream, and in my opinion, the decision making class for this product would be brand loyalty - high involvement for a low cost product. So I listed all the different classes for the model then declared at the end what my opinion was. The second half of the question was "how the decision making process would affect the company's strategy"; as I had chosen brand loyalty in a mature market, it seems to be that the appropriate strategy would be niche marketing. Our lecturer had also told us that if we chose a strategy or plc which was not what the examiners had in mind, we wouldn't lose many marks as long as we clearly stated our reasons and followed the subject through to the end.
Whilst comparing notes with other students after the exam, this is the question which had the most different answers as it seemed that almost everyone understood the question in a different and individual manner. There are no exact nor even approximately exact answers in marketing, so no one will be penalised for giving slightly unexpected answers, as long as nothing in the answer contradicts information given in the question.
The third question invited us to discuss how marketing surveys can help the automobile industry by not introducing new products which will fail. As far as I could see, the question required three different models - the introduction of new products, how to plan a market survey and the different methods of actually performing the survey. So I listed the new products model, noting where marketing surveys would help, and then I listed the other models, noting where there were issues pertinent to the question.
I get the feeling that I did quite well on this exam, much better than I had expected. Let us hope that the examiner feels the same way.
I had got to the hotel conference room (where the exam is held) about an hour and a half too early; I hadn't wanted to leave home an hour later and arrive in a rush. This time allowed me to go over several of the models once more, including the model regarding the introduction of new products. There were several of us revising at the same time, asking each other questions. One man asked what seemed to be very simple questions and on hearing my answers predicted that I would do very well in the exam. "From your mouth to God's ears", I replied. This same man left the exam room after an hour and a quarter (the exam lasts three hours) - I had barely finished the first question. I don't know what this means - did he give only partial answers to each question because he didn't know the material (as per his pre-exam questions)? Did he only answer one question? Does he write at the speed of light? Was he only jesting with his pre-exam questions?
We will know in a month or so when the results are published.
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