AQA Business Studies 2015 Buss 1/2

hi i'm new to the student room, currently studying AS business (buss 1 and 2).
I'm having some trouble staying on topic, with the longer questions. ALso any general tips on passing this exam?
to be honest the business studies exams are the ones im most scared for.
Help?

Hi, please help...if a question states for example 'what benefits to Kate's business are there for having a consultant?' (9 marks), how many benefits would I state and how would I word them?

I may be wrong, but I think you would do a definition of consultant for the first paragraph, then a paragraph on why a consultant is a benefit, and then a paragraph why the consultant wouldn't be a benefit?

Sorry everyone, could some one please tell me what they would give me for this 13mark BUSS2 answer?
The question is 'Do you think that focusing on the product rather than on the other elements of the marketing mix is the best way for WW Ltd to attract customers to the zoo following its expansion? Justify your view (13 marks)

Here is my response:

I do believe that focusing on the product rather than on the other elements of the marketing mix is the best way for WW Ltd to attract visitors because it helps emphasise WW Ltd's USP. When focusing solely on product, WW Ltd experienced an increase in the number of visitors between 2011 and 2013 therefore showing that it is beneficial to focus on product because visitors were attracted by WW Ltd's USP of educational activities and animal conversation. When WW Ltd mainly focused on product they made a profit in both 2012 and 2013, in 2012 it increased by 0.4 between budgeted and actual profits and in 2013 the budgeted profit was 1.9 but the actual profit was 2.0 meaning it increased by 0.1. Both these figures are favourable meaning that WW Ltd benefited by focusing on their product and USP. 63% of visitors whom WW Ltd conducted market research on claim that WW Ltd's most important feature was the educational value of the zoo which is the company's USP this therefore means that WW Ltd benefits solely focusing on product rather than the other elements of the marketing mix showing it is the best way to attract customers.

However, the other elements of the marketing mix are also important. WW Ltd only spend 40% of the average spending on marketing by competitors, which therefore shows that promotion is also a good way of attracting customers as it will allow them to compete with competitors. WW Ltd's zoo is seasonal meaning that they receive 56% of their visitors in July, this means that they need to focus more on promotion in this month if they wish to gain more visitors. They also need to focus on price because WW Ltd wishes to negotiate a £3.0million loan so it will need to balance out the price to make sure they receive a profit so they can pay back the loan and they also need to make sure the price is not too high for visitors. This therefore shows that product is not the only thing WW Ltd need to focus on

Overall, I agree that focusing on the product is the best way for WW Ltd to gain visitors as it allows them to focus on their USP which over half the visitors believe is the best feature of the zoo so therefore it is beneficial in the long-term.

it will really mean a lot if you could plead give me feedback on this! It's for AQA BUSS2! Thank you

You lost a mark before you even started; you did not define a marketing mix. Other than that, it's a good answer. The only other thing is that I don't think you could plan and write that out in 13 minutes. Don't spend too long on the lower mark answers and then not have enough time to get top marks in the bigger questions.

Thank you so much! Do I define in every question? Ps Is the exam technique ok?

Hi, please help...if a question states for example 'what benefits to Kate's business are there for having a consultant?' (9 marks), how many benefits would I state and how would I word them?

Yes, you should define the key term in every question (except for the lowest mark questions, unless it specifically asks for a definition).

Eg: "Calculate the variable costs per unit for the 80 garments that Asha made during her degree course." (4 marks) - this is only a four mark question, so you do not need to define variable costs. Also, always write down your workings on mathematical questions.

Eg: "Asha agreed with Terence’s proposal to raise the £80 000 finance by using ordinary share capital, rather than using a bank loan. Analyse two possible benefits to Asha resulting from this decision." (10 marks) - you would need to define both share capital and bank loans on this higher mark question.


I think you should have saved some of your points to make a longer evaluation. Evaluation can get you 4 marks on this question, and 2 lines won't get full marks. This is a quick answer I've just written out. It's not perfect because I finished my Business Studies A Level 2 years ago and can't remember everything.

"A Marketing Mix is the balance between the four main elements needed to carry out a marketing strategy. These include Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.
WW Ltd’s main unique selling point is their educational activities. This is great, because 63% of surveyed visitors claimed that the biggest deciding factor in choosing a zoo was it’s educational facilities. This has enabled WW Ltd to distinguish the zoo from other competitors, especially because it’s product has become hard to copy.
The extension of the zoo’s educational facilities in 2015 may also mean that visitors will be willing to pay more when visiting the zoo, hopefully increasing profits and making it easier for the zoo to pay off it’s £3M loan. This is possible because prices are inelastic.

Having said that, promotion of the zoo is an extremely important factor; especially because WW Ltd is a seasonal business which gets more than half of its visitors in July and August alone. Although WW Ltd’s favourable reputation has enabled them to receive free external publicity, the zoo only spends 40% of the average competitors promotional budget, and this could be losing them visitors.
Additionally, the zoo is planning to apply for a £3M loan to improve its facilities. Although this may be beneficial in the long-term, it could create cash flow problems. WW Ltd will need to be able to pay off the loan whilst still maintaining profits. One way of doing this may be to increase prices, whilst still staying price-competitive.

Overall, I believe that all four parts of the Marketing Mix are important. Although WW Ltd have a unique selling point, they are not using it to their full advantage due to their low promotional spending. They could be losing visitors. Pricing is also very important, especially because prices are inelastic. This allows WW Ltd the chance to raise prices and thus create more profit, without losing visitors. However, product is probably the most important factor of the mix because no amount of promotion will make a poor product succeed. Market research seems to indicate that the majority of visitors think that the most important factor is product, and perhaps WW Ltd are right to focus most of their efforts on product."