79) In the late 1950s and 1960s, television Westerns were extremely popular and included
Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, and The Big Valley. When ratings declined as viewers’ tastes
changed, production of them waned. The television Western was a product category that had
entered the ________ stage of its product life cycle.
A) deletion
B) cancellation
C) decline
D) maturity
E) harvesting
80) Apple introduced the iPhone and iPad with multitouch screens, as well as the Magic
Trackpad, also a multitouch device. These devices require consumers to use gestures (touch,
swipe, tap, etc.) to perform various functions. This could make the mouse, a device Apple
invented in 1977 for its Apple II, obsolete. With the emergence of multitouch technologies, the
mouse most likely is now in the ________ stage of its product life cycle.
A) deletion
B) cancellation
C) decline
D) maturity
E) harvesting
81) Your product has been suffering from steadily eroding sales. You have tried a number of
options to revitalize the product’s sales and profits, but after seven changes in your strategy, you
have yet to find success. Which of the following actions would be the least appropriate next
step?
A) Delete the product from the line.
B) Retain the product, but reduce its marketing costs.
C) Stimulate primary demand.
D) Stimulate selective demand.
E) Rebrand the product.
82) To handle products in the decline stage of the product life cycle, companies often use either a
________ strategy or a ________ strategy.
A) divesting; harvesting
B) diversification; contraction
C) deletion; harvesting
D) deletion; diversification
E) building; divesting
83) A strategy of dropping a product from the product line during the decline stage of the
product life cycle is referred to as
A) trimming.
B) elimination.
C) paring down.
D) deletion.
E) harvesting.
84) Even though Liquid Paper correction fluid is in the ________ stage of its product life cycle,
Sanford, its manufacturer, has not deleted it from its line because there is still a residual core of
consumers who use the product.
A) decline
B) introduction
C) growth
D) maturity
E) deceleration
85) In the late 1950s and 1960s, television Westerns were extremely popular and included
Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train, and The Big Valley. When ratings declined as viewers’ tastes
changed, production companies used a(n) ________ strategy and stopped producing all
television Westerns when the networks stopped showing them.
A) diversification
B) aggregation
C) segmentation
D) deletion
E) harvesting
86) When a product reaches the decline stage of the product life cycle, a firm has two choices.
One choice involves product deletion—dropping it from a firm’s product line. The other is called
________, which retains the product in the product line but reduces marketing costs.
A) skimming
B) paring
C) divesting
D) milking
E) harvesting
87) A strategy of harvesting may be employed in the decline stage of a product life to
A) maintain primary demand for a product category.
B) acquire as many new customers as possible.
C) maintain the ability to meet ongoing customers’ requests.
D) eliminate all production costs.
E) reposition the product.
88) Three important aspects of product life cycles are (1) their length, (2) the shape of their sales
curves, and (3) the rate at which
A) consumers switch brands.
B) consumers adopt products.
C) consumers use word-of-mouth.
D) competitors create rival offerings.
E) environmental forces change the environment.
89) Generally, the length of time it takes for a product category to move from the introduction
stage to the decline stage of its product life cycle is
A) 18 months.
B) 5 to 10 years.
C) about 20 years.
D) about 30 years.
E) dependent of a variety of factors, including the type of product.
90) There is no set time that a product takes to move through its life cycle. But as a rule,
A) services are highly affected by social trends while tangible goods are not.
B) consumer products have shorter life cycles than business products.
C) business products typically show very short maturity stages.
D) technological change tends to lengthen product life cycles.
E) product life cycles are longer for ideas than for services.
91) All of the following are true about the length of product life cycles except which?
A) The length of service life cycles is typically longer than those for tangible products.
B) There is no set time that a product takes to move through its life cycle.
C) Technological change shortens product life cycles as new products replace existing ones.
D) The use of mass media tends to shorten product life cycles.
E) Consumer products have shorter life cycles than business products.
92) The product life cycle shown in Box A in Figure 11-3 above is an example of a ________
product.
A) low-learning
B) fashion
C) fad
D) high-learning
E) generalized
93) The product life cycle shown in Box B in Figure 11-3 above is an example of a ________
product.
A) high-learning
B) fashion
C) low-learning
D) fad
E) generalized
94) The product life cycle shown in Box C in Figure 11-3 above is an example of a ________
product.
A) high-learning
B) fashion
C) low-learning
D) fad
E) generalized
95) The product life cycle shown in Box D in Figure 11-3 above is an example of a ________
product.
A) high-learning
B) low-learning
C) fashion
D) fad
E) generalized
96) The shapes of the product life cycle curve for high-learning, low-learning, fashion, and fad
products vary as does
A) the actual length of time a product stays in any stage of the life cycle.
B) the individual criteria selected to place a firm in a stage of the life cycle.
C) the importance of the marketing mix elements.
D) the importance of environmental forces.
E) the importance of new product innovation.
97) A ________ product is one for which significant customer education is required and there is
an extended introductory period.
A) low-learning
B) fashion
C) fad
D) substitute
E) high-learning
98) Which of the following products would have a high-learning product life cycle curve?
A) electric cars
B) five-blade razors
C) fleece bikinis
D) titanium golf driver
E) spicy ketchup
99) Interactive television with video-on-demand capabilities changes how people watch
television and how consumers access the Internet. This technology requires significant customer
education for most people. What type of product life cycle curve would be associated with this
product?
A) generalized
B) high-learning
C) low-learning
D) fashion
E) fad
100) A ________ product requires little learning by the consumer, and the benefits of the
purchase are readily understood.
A) high-learning
B) fashion
C) fad
D) substitute
E) low-learning
101) Which of the following products would have a low-learning product life cycle curve?
A) electric cars
B) five-blade razor
C) interactive television
D) software for learning a foreign language
E) convection ovens
102) ________ products have a product life cycle that reflects benefits that are readily
understood by consumers, and because the products are easily imitated by competitors, the
appropriate marketing strategy is to broaden distribution quickly.
A) High-learning
B) Fashion
C) Fad
D) Low-learning
E) Generalized
103) A ________ product is a style of the times.
A) high-learning
B) low-learning
C) fashion
D) fad
E) substitute
104) Which of the following products would have a fashion product life cycle curve?
A) skinny ties
B) parabolic skis
C) personal flotation devices
D) razor blades
E) hockey helmets
105) Products that are introduced, decline, and seem to return have a ________ product life
cycle.
A) high-learning
B) low-learning
C) fashion
D) fad
E) generalized
106) Products that experience rapid sales on introduction and then an equally rapid decline are
called ________ products.
A) high-learning
B) low-learning
C) fashion
D) fad
E) primary
107) Which of the following products would have a fad product life-cycle curve?
A) women’s hosiery
B) fidget spinners
C) electric cars
D) convection ovens
E) sport drinks
108) Which of the following products would have a fad product life-cycle curve?
A) aquarium fish
B) hoverboards
C) riding lawn mowers
D) calculators
E) backpacks
109) Some singers record a great song that shoots to the top of the charts. The singers then go on
tour and have sold-out concerts everywhere they appear. Just as quickly (particularly if they are
unable to follow their first hit song with a second one), they are singing in half-filled concert
halls, then smaller clubs, and eventually no one wants to hear them perform. Such “one-hit
wonder” singers are best categorized as being ________ products.
A) fad
B) low-learning
C) fashion
D) generalized
E) high-learning
110) Imagine that Eveready has developed solar rechargeable batteries that cost only slightly
more to produce than the rechargeable batteries currently available. These solar batteries can be
recharged by sunlight up to five times, after which they are to be discarded. Unfortunately, the
production process cannot be patented, so competitors could enter the market within a year.
Which of the following is the best description of the product life cycle of this product?
A) rapid growth followed by rapid decline
B) long, level beginning, and rapid ascent
C) moderately slow introduction, followed by modest growth, gradually leveling off
D) high introductory sales followed by rapid decline
E) high initial sales followed by slow decline
111) An entire product category or industry is referred to as a
A) product form.
B) product class.
C) product line.
D) product mix.
E) product item.
112) Product form refers to
A) the legal description of an individual item including all its salient characteristics.
B) the SKU designation assigned to a product item.
C) a series of product items that share similar characteristics in terms of usage.
D) variations within the product class.
E) a group of product items that comprise an industry.
113) Prerecorded music is an example of a ________, and digital music downloading and
streaming are an example of a
A) product line; product class.
B) product class; product form.
C) product family; product line.
D) product brand; product line.
E) product form; product class.
114) Footwear is an example of a ________ while men’s dress shoes are an example of a
A) product line; product class.
B) product family; product line.
C) product class; product form.
D) product brand; product line.
E) product form; product class.
115) Vinyl records, cassette tapes, CDs, and music downloads (MP3 files) are all members of the
same
A) product form.
B) product mix.
C) product line.
D) product item.
E) product class.
116) The life cycle of a product depends on product adoption by consumers as measured by
A) sales.
B) word-of-mouth.
C) number of competitors.
D) regulators.
E) product proliferation.