OCR GCSE Business Studies
Topic questions Business economics Market research & segmentation
15 questions · 115 marks · about 2 hours
Which option contains two secondary sources of market research?
A Focus groups and websites
B Internal data and newspapers
C Magazines and questionnaires
D Place and product
A small garage sells low-priced second-hand cars.
Which market segment is the garage most likely to target?
A Cycling enthusiasts
B High earners with luxurious lifestyles
C Local residents with low incomes
D Teenagers from across the country
Text 1 J Sainsbury plc (Sainsbury’s)
Sainsbury’s is one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains. Sainsbury’s targets middle to high income customers nationally. Sainsbury’s is owned by shareholders who have limited liability.
The supermarket industry is very competitive, and marketing promotions are important. An example is Sainsbury’s price match against similar products sold by Aldi, one of its competitors. Sainsbury’s also spends a large proportion of its marketing budget on television advertising.
Developing new products is important to remain competitive, as customers are always looking for something new. Sainsbury’s uses market segmentation to support successful product development.
Sainsbury’s managers believe that good food should be accessible to everyone. They use primary market research to ensure the business develops products that meet the needs of its customers.
Explain one way that limited liability affects the owners of a company.
Explain three advantages for Sainsbury’s of using television to advertise its products.
Analyse one likely reason why Sainsbury’s uses market segmentation when developing new products.
Identify two primary market research methods.
Evaluate whether Sainsbury’s should use primary or secondary market research methods in the future.
Text 2 C & J Clark International Ltd (Clarks)
Clarks is a successful UK footwear brand with ranges for children, women, and men. Their market is very competitive. Clarks employs specialist designers who create new shoe styles in response to fast-changing fashion trends. The designers interpret quantitative data carefully when planning new shoe styles.
The designers work closely with employees from other functional areas of the business, such as marketing, finance, and retail, to ensure that the new shoe styles meet customers’ needs profitably.
Clarks works hard to retain its team of designers, as they are central to its success. However, Clarks sometimes needs to recruit new designers and uses several selection methods to help find the best person available to fill the vacancy.
State two aspects of employment law that may affect a business.
Analyse one advantage for Clarks of interpreting quantitative data when designing new products.
Explain three reasons why employee retention is important for Clarks.
Analyse one advantage for Clarks of using interviews to select new designers.
Analyse one advantage for Clarks of using references to select new designers.
Recommend whether using interviews or references is likely to be more effective for selecting new designers. Give a reason for your answer.
A restaurant constantly monitors the dishes on its menu. It has collected data about customers’ preferred flavours of soup for three years.
| Year | Percentage of customers who preferred each flavour of soup | ||
| Tomato | Leek and potato | Chicken | |
| 2020 | 40% | 25% | 35% |
| 2021 | 37% | 28% | 35% |
| 2022 | 32% | 32% | 36% |
According to the data, over the last three years which of the following is true?
A Chicken soup has never been the customers’ preferred flavour
B In 2020, chicken soup and tomato soup were equally popular with customers
C Leek and potato soup has gained in popularity with customers over the years
D Tomato soup has always been the customers’ preferred flavour
What is not a secondary source of market research?
A Focus groups
B Internal business data
C Newspapers
D Websites
Mia is the owner of a small, independent, fashion store. She is wondering whether to start selling clothing specifically targeted at people aged over 65.
Which type of market research activity would best help Mia make this decision?
A Searching lifestyle magazines for articles about saving for retirement
B Searching national census data to find out how many people live in the UK
C Searching the internet for charities that support the elderly
D Searching the local government’s website for age‑related population figures
Text 1
Nina’s Knitting Supplies
Nina runs a successful business selling knitting wool and sewing products. She opened her first shop 15 years ago. The business has grown organically and now sells products from 10 shops and a website. Nina uses market segmentation to target customers. Nina employs 80 people. She works hard to meet the shared objectives of her employees, as well as external stakeholder groups such as customers, suppliers, lenders and the local community.
Nina produces a weekly update that is sent by email to all employees every Friday. The updates contain information about the future development of the business, plus other stories of interest to employees. Recent stories include congratulating an employee on the birth of a child and the charity fundraising activities of one shop.
Nina plans to develop the business further over the next five years, especially as knitting is becoming an increasingly popular pastime. This has led to more competitors entering the market.
Explain one way that a business can segment its market.
Explain how the objectives of three external stakeholder groups can be satisfied by Nina’s Knitting Supplies.
Analyse one likely reason why Nina sends a weekly update to her employees.
Identify two methods of external growth that a business could use.
Evaluate whether or not Nina’s Knitting Supplies should continue to grow organically.
An entrepreneur is thinking of opening a restaurant in their local area.
What is an example of qualitative market research data they could use?
A The number of adults who live and work in the local area
B The percentage of the population who eat out once a week
C The preferences of local residents when eating out
D The prices charged by local competitors
A store sells a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Nina, the owner of the store, is trying to decide whether to stock a new range of non-alcoholic herbal drinks.
Which type of market research activity would help Nina make this decision?
A Analysing data in the most recent census
B Reading articles in specialist fine wine magazines
C Studying the sales data for the store’s best-selling alcoholic drink
D Trialling the new drinks in the store and monitoring sales
An interview is an example of:
A a primary market research method
B a recruitment method
C a training method
D an informal communication method
The owner of a toy shop wishes to use market segmentation to target customers.
What is an example of market segmentation?
A Encouraging customers into the shop by posting on social media
B Opening a second toy shop in the same town
C Organising the toys in the shop by age group
D Viewing a rival store’s website to identify its special offers
The owner of a salad bar has done some market research.
Which of the following is an example of a secondary research source the salad bar owner could have used?
A Giving out free samples of the salads and collecting feedback
B Looking at magazines on healthy eating and nutrition
C Online questionnaires emailed to regular customers
D Visiting a rival store and noting down the types of salads it sells
16
Text 1
Waitrose
Waitrose is a supermarket chain with over 300 stores throughout the UK. Waitrose specialises in good quality food, targeted at customers with high levels of income. The company is owned by its employees, who receive a range of benefits including profit sharing. Waitrose continues to offer profit sharing to its employees, even though another UK supermarket chain has replaced this type of benefit with higher rates of pay.
Waitrose has over 50 000 employees. Many employees are recruited externally. As part of the selection process, potential employees take part in lengthy interviews, group activities and tests. References are requested for all new employees. Once appointed, all employees receive regular training.
The supermarket industry is very competitive, so new product development is important to Waitrose. Qualitative market research data is collected using methods including focus groups and customer trials. This data then needs to be communicated effectively between employees at Head Office.
Explain what is meant by a focus group.
Explain one advantage for Waitrose of using customer trials.
Explain one benefit for Waitrose of having good business communication between employees at its Head Office.
Explain one advantage for Waitrose of using external recruitment.
Analyse one likely reason why Waitrose provides its employees with regular training.
Waitrose is always considering new ways of motivating its employees.
Identify two non-financial methods of motivating employees.
Evaluate whether or not Waitrose should continue to offer profit sharing to its employees.
State one characteristic of an entrepreneur.
Analyse two benefits for Miles Ahead of using market segmentation.
Nessa is thinking about the best organisational structure for Miles Ahead when she becomes the new owner.
Analyse one benefit for Miles Ahead of each of the following organisational structures.
Tall organisational structure
Flat organisational structure
Recommend which type of organisational structure would be the most appropriate for Nessa to use at Miles Ahead. Give reasons for your answer.
* Evaluate, with reference to the data in Text 3, whether operating as a sole trader is the best
type of business ownership for Miles Ahead in the future.
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