IBPS SO Professional Knowledge - Marketing Officer (Scale I) Syllabus

List Maslow's hierarchy of needs from lowest to highest.

Physiological, Safety, Social (love/belonging), Esteem, and Self-actualization needs.

What are the four types of buying behaviour based on involvement and brand differences?

Complex buying behaviour, Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour, Habitual buying behaviour, and Variety-seeking buying behaviour.

What are the stages of the Product Life Cycle (PLC)?

Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline (preceded by Product Development).

In which PLC stage are profits typically highest, and what is the sales pattern across the cycle?

Profits usually peak in the late growth/early maturity stage. Sales rise slowly in introduction, climb rapidly in growth, peak and flatten in maturity, and fall in decline.

What are the stages of the New Product Development (NPD) process?

1) Idea generation, 2) Idea screening, 3) Concept development & testing, 4) Marketing strategy development, 5) Business analysis, 6) Product development, 7) Test marketing, 8) Commercialization.

What are the five adopter categories in the diffusion of innovation?

Innovators (~2.5%), Early adopters (~13.5%), Early majority (~34%), Late majority (~34%), and Laggards (~16%). (Rogers' model.)

What is the difference between cost-plus (markup) pricing and value-based pricing?

Cost-plus pricing adds a standard markup to the product's cost (cost-driven). Value-based pricing sets price based on the buyers' perceptions of value rather than on the seller's cost.

What is the difference between market-skimming pricing and market-penetration pricing?

Skimming sets a high initial price to 'skim' maximum revenue from segments willing to pay more. Penetration sets a low initial price to attract many buyers and gain market share quickly.

Give the break-even quantity formula.

Break-even quantity = Fixed Costs / (Price per unit − Variable Cost per unit), where (Price − Variable Cost) is the contribution margin per unit.

Define price elasticity of demand and its formula.

It measures the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price. Price elasticity = (% change in quantity demanded) / (% change in price). Demand is elastic if the absolute value > 1 and inelastic if < 1.

Name common psychological pricing tactics.

Odd/charm pricing (e.g., 99), prestige/premium pricing, reference pricing, bundle pricing, and price lining. These use buyer perception rather than pure economics.

What is a brand, and what is brand equity?

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or combination that identifies a seller's goods and differentiates them from competitors. Brand equity is the added value/marketing impact a brand name gives to a product.

What is the difference between brand awareness and brand loyalty?

Brand awareness is the extent to which consumers recognize or recall a brand. Brand loyalty is consumers' commitment to repeatedly purchase the same brand over time.

What are the three primary functions of packaging?

Protection (of the product), Containment/convenience (storage, handling, use), and Communication/promotion (information, branding, attracting buyers).

What is the difference between packaging and labelling?

Packaging is designing and producing the container/wrapper for a product. Labelling is the printed information (brand, contents, instructions, legal data) on or attached to the package.

Differentiate a line extension, a brand extension, and a multibrand strategy.

Line extension: new items in an existing product category under the same brand. Brand extension: existing brand name used to launch a product in a new category. Multibrand: multiple brands within the same product category.

Define product mix width, length, depth, and consistency.

Width = number of different product lines. Length = total number of items across all lines. Depth = number of variants of each product in a line. Consistency = how closely related the product lines are in use/production/channels.

What are the five elements of the promotion mix (marketing communications mix)?

Advertising, Sales promotion, Personal selling, Public relations (publicity), and Direct & digital marketing.

What is Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)?

Carefully coordinating all of a company's communication channels and messages so they deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its products.

What does the AIDA model stand for?

Attention, Interest, Desire, Action — a model describing the stages a customer passes through in response to advertising/selling.

What is the difference between advertising and publicity/PR?

Advertising is paid, non-personal communication by an identified sponsor. Publicity/PR is typically unpaid, third-party (often media) communication that builds goodwill and is generally seen as more credible but less controllable.

Distinguish a 'push' strategy from a 'pull' strategy in promotion.

A push strategy promotes the product to channel members (using the sales force and trade promotion) to push it through the channel. A pull strategy targets end consumers (via advertising/consumer promotion) so they demand it, pulling it through the channel.

Give three examples of consumer sales-promotion tools.

Coupons, discounts/price-offs, samples, premiums (gifts), contests/sweepstakes, loyalty/reward programs, and point-of-purchase displays. (Trade tools include allowances and dealer contests.)

What are the main steps in the personal selling process?

1) Prospecting & qualifying, 2) Pre-approach, 3) Approach, 4) Presentation & demonstration, 5) Handling objections, 6) Closing, 7) Follow-up.

What is a marketing/distribution channel, and what does 'channel level' mean?

A distribution channel is the set of interdependent organizations that make a product available for use/consumption. A channel level is each layer of intermediaries; a zero-level (direct) channel has no intermediaries between producer and consumer.

Distinguish intensive, selective, and exclusive distribution.

Intensive: stocking the product in as many outlets as possible (convenience goods). Selective: using more than one but fewer than all intermediaries (shopping goods). Exclusive: limited dealers given sole rights in a territory (specialty/luxury goods).

What are the key components of logistics / physical distribution management?

Order processing, Warehousing, Inventory management, and Transportation, all coordinated through supply-chain/logistics management to deliver goods at the right place and time at minimum cost.

What is sales force management and its main components?

The analysis, planning, implementation, and control of sales force activities, including designing strategy/structure, recruiting and selecting, training, compensating, supervising/motivating, and evaluating salespeople.

What is CRM (Customer Relationship Management)?

The overall process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction; technologically, software/systems for managing detailed customer information and touchpoints.

What is the difference between SEO and SEM in digital marketing?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) improves a site's organic (unpaid) search rankings. SEM (Search Engine Marketing) uses paid search ads (e.g., PPC) to gain visibility on search engines.

What are the unique characteristics of services that distinguish them from goods?

Intangibility, Inseparability (produced and consumed simultaneously), Variability/Heterogeneity (quality varies), and Perishability (cannot be stored). Often a fifth, Ownership (no transfer of ownership), is added.