[31days]Business Revision

It has been a good time having these revisions :)

I have listened to 2 podcasts:

• The labour market
• Ethics and entrepreneurs

Also have done 4 quizzes for 4Ps (Place, Promotion, Pricing, Product). There were some mistakes that have been made and something that I have leart as well.

• Place(distribution)

In this section, it mentioned the distribution channel. What does it mean?

- The route a product takes from producers to end consumer.

OR

- The stages of ownership that take place as a product moves from manufacturer to consumer.

I have learnt that a channel with NO intermediaries is know as a Direct Channel, which has nothing to do with those wholesalers and retailers.

1. Agent is a kind of intermediary and is an insurance broker.
2. Agents make their money from the commission on sales achieved.
3. Dell sells entirely directly to customers, comparing to Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba. (Is this because Dell is a wholesaler?)
4. The choice of distribution channel will NOT be influenced by the infrastructure of the economy.
5. An advantage of using a retailer is to provide a convenient place for customers to buy.

• Promotion

Actually I don't really get what is meant by direct marketing and why sales promotion isn't an example of direct marketing whilst "A promotional letter to members of a local club" counts as an example; but "30 second advert on local radio station" doesn't?????

1. A disadvantage of personal selling is that there's a limited number of customers who can be met.
2. Press release isn't an example of sales promotion. (Comparing to loyalty points of purchase, competition and money-off coupon.)
3. Sponsorship is a form of public relations.

• Pricing

In this section, it mentioned the PED and something to do with elasticity.

1. A business that sets prices in line with the market average is said to be a price-taker. (But still...I don't really get what it meant by the market average??)
2. Predatory pricing is a type of pricing tactics that is illegal under competition law.
3. A distributor or other intermediary might benefit from a trade discount on a price.
4. A designer fashion label would generally adopt premium pricing. (Why not Skimming pricing???)

• Product

In this section, it mentioned the Boston matrix and the USP.

1. The product portfolio analysis is used to examine the current strategic position of a firm's products.
2. (I didn't get why's this...) Music CDs is in the decline stage of the PLC. (Comparing to cinema admissions, HDTV sets and SatNav units.)

:) I will be continuing to do some other revisions tomorrow.