OCR A Level Business: Marketing and marketing strategies (H431) – 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 content area 3, Marketing and marketing strategies, in the OCR A Level Business (H431) specification, Version 2.1 (January 2026). All businesses and figures are invented. Revise first with the study guide and the revision notes. Course hub: OCR A Level Business. Checklist: OCR A Level Business checklist. Find weak areas with the free diagnostics.

Questions

1. Define market segmentation and state two ways in which a business could segment its market. [3]

2. Veyrane Oat Drinks sold £7.2m in a market worth £48m in 2025. In 2026 it sold £7.56m in a market worth £54m. Calculate its market share in each year and the market growth, and explain what the figures show. [5]

3. Skerrimoor Bikes recorded these weekly repair jobs: 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 and 30. Calculate the mean and the standard deviation (use division by n), and explain how the owner could use the result if the data is normally distributed. [4]

4. Cadmoor Kitchenware raised the price of a pan from £20 to £22. Monthly sales fell from 500 to 440. Calculate the price elasticity of demand and its effect on revenue, and advise on the price rise. [5]

5. Imbersley Stationery finds that a 5% rise in average household income raises demand for its leather notebooks by 8%. When a rival raises its price by 10%, Imbersley’s notebook demand rises by 3%. Calculate income elasticity and cross elasticity and interpret each. [4]

6. Imbersley Stationery raised advertising spend from £20,000 to £25,000. Sales of its planners rose from 8,000 to 8,600 units. Calculate advertising elasticity of demand and evaluate its usefulness to the business. [6]

7. Cadmoor Kitchenware makes 8,000 pans a year. Variable cost is £9 per pan and fixed costs are £40,000. (a) Using a 30% mark-up on full cost, calculate the cost-plus price per pan. [2] (b) A hotel offers to buy an extra 1,500 pans at £11 each using spare capacity. Calculate the contribution and advise whether to accept. [4]

8. Veyrane Oat Drinks sells four products. A business analyst treats market growth above 10% as high and market share above 15% as high. Product A: growth 3%, share 30%. Product B: growth 14%, share 28%. Product C: growth 15%, share 4%. Product D: growth 2%, share 3%. Classify each using the Boston matrix and recommend how the firm should use the cash from the first. [5]

9. Explain how a dental clinic could use the AIDA model when promoting a new teeth-whitening service. [4]

10. Mordaunt Dental is opening a second clinic. Explain how process, people and physical evidence could each contribute to its marketing. [6]

11. A sports club has 600 members: 40% aged under 30, 30% aged 30 to 49, 30% aged 50 or over. It wants a stratified sample of 50 members. (a) Calculate the number to be sampled from each group. [3] (b) Explain one advantage of this method over convenience sampling. [3]

12. Skerrimoor Bikes sells only in the UK, where its sales are £3m and its market is growing at 2% a year. A neighbouring country has a market growing at 8% a year, with several established brands, and the owner is considering selling there online. Recommend and justify a marketing strategy, weighing the risks. [9]

Answers

1. Splitting the market into customer groups that share traits or needs [1]. Any two of age, income, location, lifestyle or usage rate [1] [1] [3] Examiner insight: Two named ways earn separate credit, but a list with no definition leaves the first point unmet.

2. 2025 share 7.2/48 x 100 = 15% [1]; 2026 share 7.56/54 x 100 = 14% [1]; market growth (54 - 48)/48 x 100 = 12.5% [1]. Share fell by one percentage point [1] because Veyrane’s sales grew by only 5%, slower than the market, so rivals are gaining ground despite higher sales [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Showing the formula and working keeps credit available if one figure slips, and a comment on what the numbers mean is what turns a calculation into analysis.

3. Mean = 120/6 = 20 [1]. Squared deviations 64, 25, 4, 1, 16, 100 total 210, divided by 6 gives 35 [1], square root gives 5.9 jobs [1]. If normal, about 68% of weeks fall within 14.1 to 25.9 jobs, so the owner can plan staffing for that range and treat weeks outside it as unusual [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Stating which divisor you used makes your method clear; the interpretation must be linked to a decision such as staffing, not left as a bare statement.

4. %ΔP = 2/20 = +10% [1]; %ΔQ = -60/500 = -12% [1]; PED = -12/10 = -1.2 [1]. It is elastic, so the rise lowers revenue from £10,000 to £9,680 [1]. The rise is unwise unless costs fell enough to protect profit; a cut or hold would raise revenue [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Giving the sign and saying “elastic” with its revenue consequence shows you can interpret the figure rather than only compute it.

5. YED = 8/5 = 1.6 [1], above 1, so notebooks are income elastic, a normal good whose demand rises faster than income and which is vulnerable in a downturn [1]. XED = 3/10 = 0.3 [1]; positive but small, so the rival’s product is a weak substitute and Imbersley gains little from rival price rises [1]. [4] Examiner insight: The sign and size of each figure should each be interpreted separately; one generic sentence for both loses credit.

6. %Δ spend = 5,000/20,000 = 25% [1]; %Δ sales = 600/8,000 = 7.5% [1]; AED = 7.5/25 = 0.3 [1]. It is useful for comparing campaigns and judging whether spend gives good returns [1]. But sales may have been raised by other factors, such as seasonality or price, and effects may be delayed [1]. Overall it is a helpful guide but not proof, so Imbersley should combine it with other measures such as profit per campaign before deciding on further spend [1]. [6] Examiner insight: An evaluation question needs a judgement at the end; listing strengths and weaknesses without a conclusion usually stays at the lower levels.

7. (a) Fixed cost per pan = 40,000/8,000 = £5, so full cost = £14 [1]; price = 14 x 1.3 = £18.20 [1]. [2] (b) Contribution per pan = 11 - 9 = £2 [1]; total 1,500 x 2 = £3,000 [1]. Accept, as fixed costs are already covered by regular sales so the order adds profit [1], provided spare capacity is real and the lower price does not leak to regular customers or damage the brand [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A mark-up is a percentage of cost, not of price; stating the base shows which you used, and the advice should rest on the contribution figure.

8. A: low growth, high share, so a cash cow [1]. B: high growth, high share, a star [1]. C: high growth, low share, a question mark [1]. D: low growth, low share, a dog [1]. Use A’s surplus cash to fund B’s growth and test whether C can gain share, while reviewing whether to withdraw D [1]. [5] Examiner insight: Naming the quadrant gets the classification, but the recommendation is what shows you can use the model to make a decision.

9. Attention: a striking local advert or social media post about whitening results [1]. Interest: facts about how it works and its safety [1]. Desire: before-and-after photos or an introductory offer, so patients want it [1]. Action: an easy online booking link or a call to action with a deadline [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Naming the four stages is not enough; each needs a clinic-specific action to count as applied.

10. Process: a simple booking system and short waits make the service easy and reliable [1], which supports repeat visits [1]. People: friendly, qualified dentists and receptionists build trust, which is central to health services [1], and staff recommendations spread by word of mouth [1]. Physical evidence: a clean, modern waiting room and clear signage make an intangible service visible [1], reassuring new patients about quality [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Each element needs both an explanation and a link to this clinic; defining the terms alone does not answer a question set in a context.

11. (a) Under 30: 600 x 0.4 = 240 members, so 50 x 0.4 = 20 [1]; 30 to 49: 50 x 0.3 = 15 [1]; 50 or over: 15 [1]. [3] (b) Stratified sampling reflects the age mix of the membership [1], so results represent each group in proportion [1], whereas convenience sampling might over-represent whoever is easiest to reach, such as those who attend often, producing bias [1]. [3] Examiner insight: The comparison must name the biased outcome of the alternative method, not only praise the chosen one.

12. Sound reasons to expand: the neighbouring market grows at 8%, against 2% at home [1], so the owner could raise sales and spread risk [1]. Recommend a cautious Ansoff-style market development: sell the existing range online, adapt the website language and delivery to local customers [1], and first run trial marketing or secondary research on local tastes [1]. Use social media promotion to build awareness cheaply and use the UK reputation as a USP [1]. Risks: established brands mean strong competition, so a penetration price may be needed, cutting margins [1]; international delivery adds logistics cost, and cultural, legal and exchange rate differences may apply [1]. A small test lets the firm limit losses, funded by the UK business [1]. On balance expansion is justified if it is staged and checked against results, because the faster growth outweighs the risks only if the firm keeps costs controlled [1]. [9] Examiner insight: A recommendation that cites figures from the case and weighs a risk against the benefit, then reaches a clear judgement, reads as evaluation rather than description.

Where marks are usually lost

• Writing a formula but not substituting the numbers, so there is no working to credit.
• Giving a percentage change in the wrong direction or without the sign in elasticity questions.
• Stating “elastic” or “inelastic” without saying what it means for revenue or pricing.
• Confusing market share with market growth, or sales growth with either.
• Naming a Boston matrix quadrant without a recommendation.
• Defining AIDA or process, people and physical evidence without applying them to the business.
• Giving advantages of a sampling or pricing method with no contrast against another.
• Finishing “recommend” and “justify” questions without a judgement.

Frequently asked questions

Are these OCR A Level Business H431 past paper questions? No. They are twelve original practice questions written for Marlbridge on content area 3, Marketing and marketing strategies. Use them alongside OCR’s own past papers.

How do you interpret an elasticity figure in an exam answer? Give the sign and size of the figure, say whether demand is elastic or inelastic, and explain what that means for revenue or pricing. Calculating the number without interpreting it earns less.

What base should a mark-up be calculated on? A mark-up is a percentage of cost, not of the selling price. State the base you have used so your method is clear.

What should follow a Boston Matrix classification? A recommendation for each product, such as invest, harvest or divest. Naming the quadrant gets the classification, but the recommendation shows you can use the model to make a decision.

How should standard deviation answers be presented? State which divisor you used and show the squared deviations, then link the result to a decision such as staffing or stock levels rather than leaving it as a bare number.

Next steps

• Revision notes for this topic
• Study guide
• OCR A Level Business hub
• Printable checklist
• All free 10-minute diagnostics
• Book a free trial class

Official syllabus

OCR Level 3 Advanced GCE in Business (H431) specification, Version 2.1 (January 2026), for first assessment in 2017 (final assessment summer 2027), published by OCR.