IGCSE Cambridge (CIE) Business 1 hour 15 questions

Exam Questions

3.2 Market Research

Easy (7 questions) /15 Scan here to return to the course

Hard (3 questions) /36

Total Marks /85

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

(2 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.

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 (2 marks)

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

(1 mark)

4 Define'market testing'.

(2 marks)

5 Define 'sampling'.

(2 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.

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 (4 marks)

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

(2 marks)

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Medium Questions
1 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.

(8 marks)

2 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.

(6 marks)

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3 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.

(6 marks)

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

Refer to the following insert when answering the question.

(8 marks)

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5

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.

(6 marks)

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Hard Questions
1 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

(12 marks)

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2 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

(12 marks)

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3 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

(12 marks)

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