Marketing Questions

Please answer each question in APA format with 3 to 4 paragraphs minimum.

1. A company’s marketing strategy can be customer-oriented (i.e., strategy designed by examining primarily customer needs) or competitor-oriented (i.e., strategy based on competitors’ actions). In reality, companies do both. For the following scenarios, identify which strategies to emphasize and why. 

1. A market leader in pharmaceuticals 
2. A market follower in a mature market
3. A market nicher (i.e., company focused on a small segment) in interior decoration of luxury homes
4. A a market challenger in a mature market with low margins and significant economies of scale effect

2. Buzz can be created in a variety of ways, for example, advertising. Explain how advertising can be used to generate buzz. What are some of the dangers of this method?

3. Gobi Inc. has sales of $40,000,000. The contribution margin is 40% and the fixed costs are $3,000,000. The variable cost per unit is $12. The company is considering two different strategies for increasing their profits: 

1. Spend $2,000,000 in advertising; the results is expected to increase the company’s sales by 25% 
2. Reduce the price by 20%; the price-demand elasticity is -3.0

Which of the two strategies will generate the highest overall profits? Show all calculations!