Yangon University of Economics
Department of Management Studies
MBA Programme
Second Quarter, Final Examination
November 2015
MBA124 Marketing Management
Closed-book examination.
Answer the Section A and any THREE questions from the Section B.
Time Allowed: 3 hours.
Section A (Compulsory)
The Fly of Black Eagle into Myanmar Engine Oil Market[1]
Kelvin Lin, a Myanmar origin but a citizen of Singapore, is wondering the openness of Myanmar market, which was previously very notorious about the backwardness and full of barriers in the foreign trade. As a fresh graduate from the NUS and the son of a businessman, he decided to do a business with Myanmar. He is an enthusiast of automobile and he through that it might be good if he enters the marketing and distribution of a lubricant brand available in Malaysia where he has a close contact with the industry as he conducted an industrial analysis of Malaysian Lubricant industry. He contacted with the company which is offering its products with the brand name, Black Eagle. Mr. Lin started setting up this business in Myanmar since the beginning of 2015 and penetrated the market gradually. However, he felt that the market is tough and he needs a great deal of study and strategic planning.
Lubricants and engine oil are essential to the automobiles and machines. The exchange of engine oil and the quality can also effect on the engine’s performance and life. The buyers of these products are belonged to two markets; consumer and industrial buyer. In the consumer market, major buyers are car owners who maintain their cars themselves or through the car servicing workshops.
In Myanmar, motorcar ownership increased sharply in the last five years under the first newly elected civilian government led by the president, U Thein Sein. The government’s policy of allowing imports of car for outdated cars has caused the drastic increase in the number of cars on the road and the flood of new models in place of old and unfashion cars. During the same time, the government’s policy was more open-door policy that caused drastic increase in the foreign direct investment and the presence of some multinational companies and their brands. The infrastructure development such as express highway, extension of airports, permits to operate telecommunication, etc. helped sudden growth of modern goods and services which were previously under shortage or undersupplied. As a result of change in the environment, people are experiencing new daily lives such as heavy traffics, new shopping malls, international brands, new buildings, etc.
Myanmar had 331500 registered passenger cars in 2013 and the increase was approximately 20% during the period from 2012 to 2013, according to the report by the IPSOS (2013). The trucks in the same period accounted for 74500 and 10% increase is noted from 2012 to 2013. As the country is modernized, more demand for trucks will exist. Similarly, 19800 buses and 3.2 million motorcycles were registered in 2012/13. Moreover, the car ownership is related to the population density and the two cities, namely Yangon and Mandalay are the largest cities with highest ownership of cars. The private car owners are actually professionals and financially privileged people despite of increasing number of car owners as the car price dropped compared to earlier days prior to the present government.
Myanmar’s consumption of lubricants was estimated as 60 million litres by 2013, according to the consulting firm, Solidance (2013). Growth in the use of lubricants in Myanmar is between 8 and 9% each year, according to Chapman. This is aligned with the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) 8% GDP growth forecast for Myanmar’s economy, which the bank says will continue to expand at a robust pace “on investment stimulated by structural reform and generally strong domestic demand.” Automotive lubricant market is counted for 65% of total lubricant consumption in Myanmar. There are many lubricant brands in Myanmar. It is not easy to set a foot in the market, because of the large crowd of brands. The top brands are Motul, PTT and Stallion. PTT brand held 8% market share and Shell held 5% market share in 2015, but targeting 15% market share.
Mr. Lin has so far set up the distribution centre in Yangon and ran the campaign for the brand awareness. He emphasised the quality of the engine oil with the grades, SAF 20, SAF 30, SAF 40 and SAF 60. He believed that the Myanmar consumers are not experienced with the quality standards and thus he used the label “Top Quality” on the package. The price for the 5 Liters canned pack is 12,000 Ks which is slightly below the market price of competitors. He is using the door-to-door delivery to the car workshops in Yangon and a main distributor appointed for the distribution outside Yangon. He used the media advertising and social media. Auto magazine was chosen to insert the ad and discount coupon. The FaceBook is also used to post the marketing messages.
Mr. Lim is committed to invest in his business and willing to invest to gain satisfactory market share in the market. He strongly believes that a systematic approach in marketing can lead to the success and he will never spare to put efforts in the applications of marketing concepts and techniques.
Questions
(a) at should be the vision and mission statements of Mr. Lim’s business?
(10 marks)
(b) Develop a customer-driven strategy (Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning) for the business.
(20 marks)
(c) Which market information are you in need for the strategic marketing planning like in the question (b), and how would you conduct the collection of data and information?
(10 marks)
Section B
Answer any three questions.
Question 1 (20 marks)
Marketing is increasingly important in today’s businesses.
(a) How do you understand the term, marketing? Explain also the ‘marketing concept’. (8 marks)
(b) ‘Marketing is more than the customer orientation.’ Critically evaluate the statement, with the examples from the real world. (12 marks)
Question 1 (20 marks)
Consumers are at the centre of every marketing programme.
(a) Explain the term, customer value, with supporting examples. (8 marks)
(b) Evaluate the value you, as a consumer, obtained from a service provider and identify the factors which contributed to the high or low value to you. (12 marks)
Question 3 (20 marks)
A product has the life cycle that is considered as a useful marketing tool.
(a) Distinguish the stages of a product life cycle. (8 marks)
(b) Suggest marketing strategies for the newly introduced ‘robot cleaner’, based on the product life cycle concept. (Consider only the first two stages of the product life cycle.) (12 marks)
Question 4 (20 marks)
Pricing decision needs to consider several factors.
(a) Elaborate three basic factors of price decision. (8 marks)
(b) Discuss the importance of understanding the concept of ‘price elasticity of demand’ in setting the price of a product. (12 marks)
Question 5 (20 marks)
The promotion tools need to be integrated under a marketing communication programme.
(a) Distinguish between ‘Push’ strategy and ‘Pull’ strategy in the developing a marketing communication programme. (8 marks)
(b) Suggest the promotion tools for the launch of new MBA programme in Myanmar which will be accredited by a well reputed UK university. (12 marks)
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[1] The mini-case written by Dr. Sein Min (2015. All rights reserved.
Yangon University of Economics
Department of Management Studies
MBA Programme
Second Quarter, Final Examination
November 2016
MBA124 Marketing Management
Closed-book examination.
Answer the Section A and any THREE questions from the Section B.
Time Allowed: 3 hours.
Section A (Compulsory)
Ya Kun Coffee & Toast in Yangon
Coffee is a favorite beverage of people around the world. Myanmar consumers prefer too to drink coffee as a staple beverage for many years. Coffee is drunk at home or at café (also known as tea shop in Myanmar.) Sipping coffee or tea and chatting with friends at tea shops is a habit for many Myanmar people, young and old.
Traditional tea shops that sell both tea and coffee are present everywhere in Myanmar. In these days, as the country has opened her door and a lot of foreigners are visiting Myanmar, modern cafés are also established in major cities and towns. In parallel with the increasing number of modern cafes, coffee plantation in Myanmar has been increased and different sorts of coffee are being offered in retail outlets. Coffees sole in outlets are both gourmet coffee and instant coffee like 3-in-1.
One of the cafés in Myanmar which are in origin of a foreign country or in international chain is Ya Kun Coffee & Toast, Ya Kun is Singaporean chain of mass-market, retro-ambience cafes selling toast products (notably Kaya toast), soft-boiled eggs and coffee. Founded by Loi Ah Koon in 1944, Ya Kun remained a small family-run stall for decades, but have expanded rapidly since Loh’s youngest son headed the business in 1999, They have 70 over outlets, mostly franchised , across seven countries (China, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines) and are a Singaporean cultural icon, known for their traditional brand identity and conservative, people-centric corporate culture.
Ya Kun opened its first coffee outlet in Myanmar in FMI centre near to the popular Bogyoke Aung San market. Recently, the 5th outlet was opened in Myanmar Plaza. The foods and drinks offered in Ya Kun are in Singapore and Malaysian style, with high hygiene standards, but with affordable and reasonable prices. The shops are expected to be popular in Yangon and gaining increasingly the brand awareness and high scores of customer satisfaction.
Questions:
Suppose you are the marketing director of the Ya Kun Coffee & Toast in Myanmar.
(a) What will be your growth strategies to be pursued in Yangon? (Present details about the strategy and the rationale behind the strategy.) [10 marks]
(b) What is your approach to develop customer-driven strategies? (State market segments, the target market and the positioning strategy.) [15marks]
(c) What is your marketing programme for a specific market segment? (State the selected target market and present in details the marketing elements in the programme.)
[15 marks]
Section B
Answer any three questions.
Question 1 (20 marks)
Describe the marketing concept and discuss that this concept is the most important principle in doing business of our time. Give examples in your answer.
Question 2 (20 marks)
Describe the factors influencing consumer behavior. Select any TWO factors and discuss how marketing of consumer goods in Myanmar should pay close attention towards these factors.
Question 3 (20 marks)
The product life cycle (PLC) is useful in developing marketing strategies of products. Explain how marketers of an electronic product can apply the PLC model in developing marketing strategy.
Question 4 (20 marks)
Discuss that digital media are changing the landscape of marketing communication. Demonstrate also the use of digital media in the promotion programme of a product of your choice.
Question 5 (20 marks)
Critically review the role of intermediaries in the distribution of goods and services and explain the impact of technology in the landscape of distribution, providing examples.
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