Ocr Business Studies a Level F292

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Discuss the benefits to QRL of using marketing techniques such as the PLC and Boston Matrix to help make a decision about its product portfolio. (16 marks) The Boston Matrix and the product life cycle are tools to help a business assess its range of products. The business can assess whether it has a balanced portfolio and whether it has sufficient profit makers and revenue generators both now and in the future. Star products such as the ….... are already profitable and the high potential for growth will mean it will become more significant in the future. They are the cash cows of the future. However, QRL needs to recognise that ‘Stars’ are quite expensive as they need constant investment, either to achieve or maintain the expected growth. In QRL’s case this may mean more investment in production and staff as well as marketing. Can QRL afford this? The ….... are potential cash cows. These revenue earners ultimately pay for the necessary investment in the rest of the business. Amy is suggesting that costs need reducing to achieve this. However, by recognising them as cash cows Amy needs to be careful not to destroy their revenue generating nature. Substantially changing their characteristics may be a dangerous path to follow. According to Boston Matrix, ‘dogs’ should be dropped from the product range, particularly if they are not profitable. This will not be difficult for Amy as she has already dropped 22 of their most under-performing stores. The ….... is a good example of a problem child. There is lots of potential in these products but they will need lots of investment but may turn into anything in the future, including dogs. From the point of view of the product life cycle, QRL does not seem to have a good balance of products at each stage of the cycle. Using this approach, Amy can ensure that QRL does not have to over commit investment to too

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