Market Research (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Business)

Exam Questions

1 hour15 questions
12 marks

Identify two factors that might affect the accuracy of market research.

Did this page help you?

22 marks

Case Study

GBU is a public limited company. It makes a range of beauty products, including shampoo and soaps for the mass market.

Last year, GBU’s revenue fell. The Marketing Director has been looking at some results from its primary market research. It was based on a sample of 2000 people, see Table 4.1. She believes maintaining customer loyalty is more important than attracting new customers.

Table 4.1: Market research

Question 1: Where do you buy beauty products?

Shop

Online

Mail order

1,100

700

200

Question 2: Do you buy GBU beauty products?

Yes

No

1,700

300

Calculate the percentage of people who buy beauty products online. Show your working.

Did this page help you?

31 mark

Identify four methods of primary market research that a business could use.

Did this page help you?

42 marks

Define'market testing'.

Did this page help you?

52 marks

Define 'sampling'.

Did this page help you?

64 marks

Case Study

Gloria is a sole trader. Her business provides house-cleaning services. Gloria uses telephone calls to communicate with her 4 employees. She wants to expand the business by offering a repair service. Gloria plans to carry out some market research. She has been told producing a business plan can help to reduce risk. Gloria would also like to reduce her workload and is considering taking on a business partner.

Outline two reasons why Gloria might carry out primary market research with her existing customers.

Did this page help you?

72 marks

Identify two factors that can affect the reliability and accuracy of market research.

Did this page help you?

18 marks

Explain one way the information in each chart in Appendix 1 might be useful to TT.

Refer to the following insert when answering the question.

Did this page help you?

26 marks

Do you think it is always better for a start-up business to use primary market research, rather than secondary market research, when making decisions? Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

36 marks

Explain two methods of primary market research a business could use to find out the demand for a new product or service. Which would be the best method to use? Justify your answer.

Did this page help you?

48 marks

Explain two reasons why it is important to Bethany to identify changes in customer preferences.

Refer to the following insert when answering the question.

Did this page help you?

56 marks

Case Study

Veronique is bored with her work in a large factory. As a creative person, she would like to leave and start up a flower shop. Veronique has asked about micro-finance and prepared a cash flow forecast. An extract is shown in the below table. Veronique has also carried out some market research and found out that the demand for flowers is likely to be high during festivals. She thinks she has the right characteristics to be a successful entrepreneur.

Extract from the cash flow forecast for Veronique’s flower shop for the first 3 months ($)

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Cash in

500

1 200

2 000

Cash out

1 500

1 400

1 200

Net cash flow

(1 000)

(200)

800

Opening balance

0

(1 000)

(1 200)

Closing balance

(1 000)

(1 200)

(400)

Explain one method of primary market research and one method of secondary market research Veronique could have used.

Did this page help you?

112 marks

Consider the advantages of using primary and secondary market research to gather information about the potential sales in the new market. Which is the best method for SSM to use? Justify your answer.

Refer to the following insert when answering the question

Did this page help you?

212 marks

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the following two methods of market research SSE could use when entering new markets in other countries.

  • Primary market research

  • Secondary market research

Which method of market research should SSE use? Justify your answer.

Refer to the following insert when answering the question

Did this page help you?

312 marks

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the following three methods PH uses to collect market research data.

  • A focus group made up of existing customers

  • An online survey with only 5 questions

  • Secondary research, including government sources

Which method is most likely to ensure that accurate data is collected? Justify your answer.

Refer to the following insert when answering the question

Did this page help you?