A Level Business: The marketing mix (Cambridge 9609) – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover section 3.3 The marketing mix (3.3.1 to 3.3.6) of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, AS Level content that A Level candidates also study. All businesses and people are invented. Revise first with the study guide and the revision notes. Course links: the Cambridge A Level Business hub, the checklist and the free diagnostics. For wider practice, see the Marketing practice questions.

Questions

1. (a) Define product differentiation. [2] (b) Define unique selling point (USP). [2]

2. Yarrow Glen Outdoors buys waterproof jackets at a unit cost of £46.00 and uses cost-plus pricing with a 35% mark-up.

(a) Calculate the selling price of a jacket. [2] (b) Explain one limitation of cost-based pricing. [2] (c) Calculate the total profit if 400 jackets are sold at this price. [2]

3. Quarrybank Cycles sells bicycles and also offers a repair service.

(a) Explain the difference between a good and a service, using the shop as your example. [2] (b) Identify one tangible and one intangible attribute of the repair service. [2]

4. Orchard Stile Preserves is launching a smoked-plum jam in a market with several rival jams. Each jar costs £1.80 to make. The owner is choosing between two prices: £4.50, which she expects to sell 500 jars a month, and £3.20, which she expects to sell 1,100 jars a month.

(a) Calculate the monthly profit under each price. [4] (b) Recommend which price the owner should choose, naming the pricing method it represents. [4]

5. Quarrybank Cycles also sells accessories. Taking market growth above 10% a year as “high”, the data are:

Product	Market growth	Own share	Largest rival share	Relative share
Lights	21%	30%	15%	2.0
Locks	2%	28%	14%	2.0
Panniers	17%	5%	25%	?
Bells	1%	4%	20%	?

(a) Calculate the relative market share of Panniers and of Bells. [2] (b) Classify each of the four products on the Boston Matrix. [4] (c) Explain one marketing decision the shop could make using this analysis. [3]

6. Marrow Lane Games’ board game had sales over five years of 1,200, 3,100, 5,600, 5,000 and 4,100 units.

(a) Calculate the percentage change in sales in year 5. [2] (b) State the stage of the product life cycle in year 5 and give one reason. [2] (c) Explain two extension strategies the business could use. [4]

7. Linnet Ford Skincare compares two promotions. Influencer posts cost £2,400 and win 96 new customers. An in-store sampling stand costs £1,800 and wins 45 new customers.

(a) Calculate the cost per new customer for each method. [2] (b) Identify one other factor the owner should consider before choosing, and explain why. [2] (c) Explain one benefit of digital promotion over printed leaflets. [2]

8. Explain one role of packaging and one role of branding in the promotion of a premium chocolate bar. [4]

9. A maker of handmade candles is considering selling only through its own website rather than through gift shops. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of this for the business. [4]

10. Alderley Brook Playhouse has 100 seats. It sells 60 tickets to adults at £15. Student tickets at £9 would fill the other 40 seats, which otherwise stay empty.

(a) Define dynamic pricing. [2] (b) Calculate the extra revenue from student tickets. [3] (c) Explain why the theatre must keep the two groups apart. [2]

11. Hollin Roasters makes coffee at a cost of £5.20 a bag and uses a 60% mark-up. It can sell online direct at its own price, with handling and delivery costs of £1.45 a bag, and expects 1,400 bags a month. A supermarket offers to buy at £6.90 a bag and expects 3,600 bags a month.

(a) Calculate the cost-plus selling price and the profit per bag. [2] (b) Calculate the monthly profit from each channel. [4] (c) Recommend a channel and justify your choice. [6]

12. (a) Explain why a business whose best-selling product is in maturity should invest in product development. [3] (b) State what is meant by psychological pricing and give one example. [2]

Answers

1. (a) Making a product stand out from rivals [1] through features such as design, quality, service or image [1]. (b) A feature of a product that rivals do not offer [1] and that customers value [1]. Examiner insight: Give two separate ideas in each definition: what the firm does, and how the customer sees it (noticed, valued). Do not just repeat the term.

2. (a) Mark-up per jacket = £46.00 x 0.35 = £16.10 [1]. Price = £62.10 [1]. (b) It ignores demand and what customers will pay [1], so the price may be too high and cut sales, or too low and lose profit [1]. (c) 400 x £16.10 [1] = £6,440 [1]. Examiner insight: Show the line of working for each calculation. A limitation must be explained in context, not just named.

3. (a) A good is a physical item that can be touched and stored, such as a bicycle [1]. A service is an activity that is not stored, such as a repair [1]. (b) Tangible: the replacement parts fitted, or the written invoice [1]. Intangible: the shop’s reputation for reliable work, or friendly staff [1]. Examiner insight: Use the business in the stem for the example. Generic examples with no link to the shop gain less credit on application.

4. (a) At £4.50: profit per jar £2.70 [1]; 500 x £2.70 = £1,350 [1]. At £3.20: profit per jar £1.40 [1]; 1,100 x £1.40 = £1,540 [1]. (b) Recommend £3.20, which is penetration pricing [1]. It earns £190 more a month (£1,540 against £1,350) [1] and suits a crowded market because the low price helps win trial and share [1]. A weakness is that the figures are estimates and rivals may respond, so the owner should review sales after launch [1]. Examiner insight: Back a recommendation with the figures given in the stem. A named method with no data behind it usually leaves the answer incomplete.

5. (a) Panniers: 5 / 25 = 0.2 [1]. Bells: 4 / 20 = 0.2 [1]. (b) Lights: star [1]. Locks: cash cow [1]. Panniers: question mark (problem child) [1]. Bells: dog [1]. (c) The shop could use the surplus cash from Locks [1] to fund promotion of Panniers, because the market is growing fast and Panniers could become a star [1]. The risk is that share may not rise, so the spending could be wasted [1]. Examiner insight: Show the classification rule used (here, growth above 10% and relative share above or below 1). A decision should be tied to a named product, not to the matrix in general.

6. (a) (4,100 − 5,000) / 5,000 [1] = −18.0% [1]. (b) Decline [1]. Sales have fallen two years in a row, by 10.7% and then 18.0% [1]. (c) New packaging or a redesigned version [1] may refresh interest among existing buyers [1]. Selling in a new market or finding a new use, such as a travel edition [1], widens the customer base [1]. Examiner insight: Each strategy needs a developed link to sales. A list of extension strategies with no explanation tends to stay at the same level.

7. (a) Influencers: £2,400 / 96 = £25 [1]; sampling: £1,800 / 45 = £40 [1]. (b) Customer value or repeat purchases [1], because a cheaper customer is not better if they buy only once, or if they are outside the target segment [1]. (c) It can be targeted at a chosen segment [1] and responses can be measured quickly [1]. Examiner insight: A calculation answer should be followed by a comment on what the figure does not show.

8. Packaging: it attracts attention on the shelf or signals quality, for example a foil wrapper for a premium bar [1], so the bar looks worth its price [1]. Branding: a recognised name and logo [1] build loyalty and support a higher price than an unbranded bar [1]. Examiner insight: Link each role to the promotion of the product in the stem, which here is a premium chocolate bar.

9. Advantage: the business keeps the whole selling price instead of giving a retailer a margin [1], and gains customer data and brand control [1]. Disadvantage: it loses the gift shops’ reach and display [1], and it must pay for delivery, returns and the website [1]. Examiner insight: One advantage and one disadvantage are asked for, so extra points beyond these gain nothing. Develop each one.

10. (a) Setting a price that changes frequently [1] in response to demand, time or stock levels [1]. (b) With student tickets: 60 x £15 + 40 x £9 = £1,260 [1]. Without: 60 x £15 = £900 [1]. Extra revenue = £360 [1]. (c) If adults could buy student tickets, revenue would fall from £15 to £9 on each such ticket [1] and the extra revenue would not occur [1]. Examiner insight: The student scheme is price discrimination, not dynamic pricing. Read the definition asked for in part (a) carefully.

11. (a) Price = £5.20 x 1.60 = £8.32 [1]. Profit per bag = £8.32 − £5.20 = £3.12 [1]. (b) Online: £8.32 − £1.45 − £5.20 = £1.67 a bag [1]; x 1,400 = £2,338 [1]. Supermarket: £6.90 − £5.20 = £1.70 a bag [1]; x 3,600 = £6,120 [1]. (c) The supermarket gives £3,782 more profit a month (£6,120 − £2,338) [1] and much wider reach [1]. However, depending on one buyer is risky and the supermarket controls display and may press for a lower price later [1]. The online route keeps brand control and customer data [1], but reaches far fewer people [1]. Judgement: the roaster should accept the supermarket offer for volume while building online sales as a second channel, provided it can supply 3,600 bags without a drop in quality [1]. Examiner insight: For a recommend or justify question, the final judgement should rest on the figures in the case and name a condition that would change it.

12. (a) In maturity, sales flatten and rivals compete [1]. New or improved versions can renew interest and protect share [1], and spread risk if the best seller later declines [1]. (b) Prices that appeal to customers’ perception rather than to cost or rivals [1], such as £4.99 instead of £5.00 [1]. Examiner insight: Explain the link from maturity to the need for development, not just that products must change.

Where marks are usually lost

• Stating a pricing or promotion method with no link to the firm described.
• Mixing up mark-up (on cost) and margin (on price) in cost-plus calculations.
• Using the Boston Matrix without stating the rule for “high” growth or “high” share.
• Treating the Boston Matrix and the product life cycle as the same tool.
• Listing extension strategies without saying how each would raise sales.
• Giving a cost per customer without commenting on customer value or repeat buying.
• Writing both sides of a channel decision but giving no final judgement.
• Confusing price discrimination (different groups, different prices) with dynamic pricing (price changes over time or with demand).

Next steps

• Revise with the revision notes and the study guide.
• Go to the Cambridge A Level Business hub and the checklist.
• Check your wider knowledge with the free diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Frequently asked questions

Which section of Cambridge AS and A Level Business 9609 do these questions cover? Section 3.3 The marketing mix (3.3.1 to 3.3.6), including product, price, promotion and place.

What is the difference between mark-up and margin? Mark-up is calculated on cost, while margin is calculated on the selling price. Mixing them up is a common error in cost-plus pricing calculations.

How should I use the Boston Matrix in an answer? State the rule you use for high market growth and high relative market share before classifying products, and do not confuse the Boston Matrix with the product life cycle.

What should follow a cost per customer calculation? A comment on what the figure means, such as customer value or repeat buying, because the cheapest customer to win is not always the most valuable.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International, Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, section 3.3 The marketing mix.