1.5.2b How technology influences sales, costs and the marketing mix Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Business, Unit 5

The 20 questions

1. How can e-commerce increase a business's sales?

   • By removing the need for any marketing or promotion of the product to new customers
   • By letting customers buy at any time and from anywhere, reaching a wider market
   • By requiring customers to visit a shop in person before they are able to buy
   • By guaranteeing that every online order will be delivered the next day to the buyer

2. How can technology reduce a business's costs?

   • By automating routine tasks, which can cut the number of staff hours needed
   • By requiring the business to buy new computers every single month for its staff
   • By removing the need for any payment systems in the business, which saves admin
   • By increasing the number of managers needed to supervise every process in the business

3. A business uses online advertising that targets local customers. How does this affect its marketing mix?

   • It affects no part of the marketing mix because advertising is not part of it at all
   • It affects the product element by changing the ingredients that are used in the goods
   • It affects the promotion element by reaching customers more efficiently and at lower cost
   • It affects the place element by moving the business's head office to a new town

4. Which of these shows technology affecting a business's sales?

   • Customers are given paper catalogues only and no online ordering is possible
   • Customers can now buy goods on a smartphone app at any time
   • Customers are required to pay in cash only at the till in a shop
   • Customers are unable to see prices online before they visit the shop

5. How might technology affect a business's pricing decisions?

   • Technology removes all competition, so businesses can charge any price they like
   • Prices are always fixed by the government, so technology has no effect on them at all
   • Competitors' prices can be checked instantly online, so the business may need to adjust its prices
   • Prices can never change once they have been set in any business for the whole year

6. Which of these is a cost saving that technology can bring to a business's operations?

   • Hiring extra staff to type up every letter by hand each morning before the post
   • Buying a new computer every week to keep up with the latest trends in the market
   • Online banking that reduces the need for bank staff visits and paper handling
   • Printing every email and filing it in a paper folder for the record each day

7. How can social media affect a business's sales?

   • It always stops customers from buying because it spreads too much information online
   • It only affects the business's costs and never its revenue in any way at all
   • It can raise brand awareness and encourage customers to buy when they see positive content
   • It has no effect on sales, because customers never use social media for shopping

8. A business moves its ordering to an online system that links to its suppliers. What is the likely effect on its costs?

   • No change at all, because technology never affects the costs of a business
   • Lower admin costs and possibly quicker ordering, though system costs must be considered
   • Higher admin costs with no benefit, because online systems always cost more to run
   • A large increase in rent, because online systems require a bigger premises to house them

9. How can digital communication affect a business's marketing?

   • It means businesses must stop all forms of marketing and promotion to their customers
   • It allows businesses to send tailored messages to customers quickly and cheaply
   • It has no impact on how businesses promote their products to their customers
   • It requires businesses to send printed letters to every customer each and every week

10. Which of these shows technology affecting a business's product?

    • A business sells only hand-made products with no technology involved at any stage
    • A business keeps its product exactly the same forever to avoid any change to the range
    • A business relies only on paper records to track its product development over time
    • A business designs its product using computer software that speeds up development

11. A small business is considering online payments to replace cash. What is the main risk to consider?

    • Customers will not be able to pay at all if the business uses online payments
    • Security of customer data and the cost of processing card payments
    • The business will be forced to close if it accepts any card payments
    • Online payments always increase the risk of the business being fined by the government

12. How does technology affect a business's sales through a website?

    • A website can be open at all times, so customers can buy outside normal opening hours
    • A website means the business can no longer sell to customers in the same town
    • A website only shows the business's address and prevents sales completely from happening
    • A website is only useful for businesses that sell cars and houses to buyers

13. Why might technology lead to a reduction in staff costs for a business?

    • Technology stops businesses from paying wages at all to their employees
    • Technology means staff have to work for free to support the system in the business
    • Automated processes can perform tasks that once needed several employees
    • Technology requires businesses to hire many more staff to operate and maintain it

14. A business uses data from online sales to plan its stock levels. How does this affect the business?

    • It means the business no longer needs suppliers to deliver any goods to its premises
    • It guarantees the business will never have any stock shortages in any future month
    • It removes the need for the business to make any sales forecasts at all in future
    • It improves stock planning and may reduce the risk of holding too much or too little stock

15. Which of these is a potential disadvantage of technology for a business?

    • Technology makes it impossible for the business to change its prices
    • The cost of buying and maintaining systems, and the risk of cyber attacks
    • Technology means customers can always order goods without any payment
    • Technology stops the business from communicating with its customers at all

16. How can technology affect the marketing mix's place element?

    • By fixing the location of every business in the same town
    • By making the price of every product identical across the country
    • By removing the need for any product to be delivered or stocked at all
    • By creating online sales channels alongside or instead of physical shops

17. Which of these explains how technology influences sales?

    • It makes products more accessible to customers and can open new markets
    • It means the business can ignore its competitors entirely in the market it serves
    • It requires every customer to pay the same price for a product in every market
    • It stops customers from comparing products before they decide to buy from a seller

18. A business that adopts new technology finds its staff need training. What does this show?

    • Technology is free to adopt with no additional costs of any kind for the business
    • Technology can bring costs such as training, which must be factored into decisions
    • Technology removes the need for the business to employ anyone at all in future
    • Technology never needs any training or support from the business once it is installed

19. Which of these is most likely to be a benefit of a business using a customer database?

    • It allows the business to sell customers' data without any legal limits or consent
    • It removes the need for any promotion because customers buy automatically from the firm
    • It allows the business to tailor marketing to the needs of different customer groups
    • It means the business never needs to deal with customer complaints again in the future

20. Why might a business with a loyal online customer base invest in a better website?

    • A better website ensures customers never leave the site without buying something first
    • A better website means the business can avoid all tax on its online sales income
    • A better website can improve the customer experience and encourage repeat purchases
    • A better website means the business does not need to advertise at all to customers

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