Marketing Management, 3e (Marshall)
Chapter 4 Market Research Essentials
1) A major problem for most managers today is having too little information.
2) A market information system (MIS) is a software package that companies purchase to help
decision makers cope with critical information.
3) Market information systems serve as an information bank where important data are stored
until it is needed.
4) The information needs of all marketing managers are essentially the same.
5) In evaluating internal and external information sources, companies need to consider not only
what information is important but also the source of the data.
6) In marketing planning, situation analysis involves identification of competitive strengths,
weaknesses, and trends.
7) Technology companies such as Apple use market research to understand product users’ needs
and also to understand the competition.
8) Managers are typically aware of all the information in their own company.
9) Most companies do a good job of maximizing their existing information.
10) Salespeople’s reports summarizing each sales call are a source of internal data.
11) Not tracking and responding to demographic changes is a management failure because the
data are easy to obtain and major changes occur slowly.
12) Companies can use demographic data to create profiles of current customers and identify
new market opportunities.
13) Good marketing research looks to develop answers to fit a predecided outcome.
14) Secondary data are collected for some other purpose than the problem currently being
considered.
15) Research almost always involves secondary data collection.
16) Market research can be a useful tool helping senior managers identify and deal with the real
issue.
17) Causal research is useful for identifying characteristics of a target market or determining how
customers use a product.
18) Primary data are collected specifically for the research question at hand.
19) An in-depth interview is a structured conversation with an individual who was selected at
random.
20) Open-ended questions allow respondents to express themselves freely, which tends to result
in more detailed responses that are useful for exploratory research.
21) Conducting an online (virtual) focus group is an appropriate alternative to a traditional focus
group format, and it offers cost-efficiency and convenience.
22) A continuing process of identifying, collecting, analyzing, accumulating, and dispensing
critical data to marketing decision makers is known as ________.
A) market-driven strategic planning
B) a marketing concept
C) the marketing mix
D) marketing orientation
E) a market information system
23) A shoe manufacturing company is interested in selling its products in a new country. Before
entering the marketplace, the company wishes to gather information about how the country’s
citizens set priorities and make buying decisions. For this purpose, the company is most likely to
analyze the country’s ________.
A) political environment
B) economic conditions
C) technological transformations
D) natural world
E) geographic changes
24) Which of the following is one of the three factors a company needs to consider when
creating a market information system?
A) information needs
B) technology needs
C) flexibility
D) diversity
E) demographics
25) Which of the following is an internal source of collecting information for making marketing
decisions?
A) demographics
B) ethnic groups
C) technology transformations
D) economic conditions
E) customer orders
26) The marketing manager of Zenith Corp. is interested in ranking clients on the basis of their
profitability, and accesses a database that tells him about the frequency and size of each client’s
order along with the actual costs per order. This database is part of the ________ system.
A) sales information
B) customer relationship management (CRM)
C) financial information
D) employee management
E) promotion management
27) The sales manager at a company wants to keep informed, so he collects, analyzes, and stores
data from the macro environment on a continuous basis. This illustrates the concept of
________.
A) portfolio analysis
B) exploratory research
C) marketing intelligence
D) probability sampling
E) mechanical observation
28) The marketing manager for Ned’s Bar and Grill notices that his typical customer is a male
college student. In the context of external information sources, he is using ________ to define
his market.
A) stereotypes
B) estimations
C) visual cues
D) demographics
E) instincts
29) Jan Smith, the marketing manager of Big Wheel Autos, has noticed that in many European
countries more of the population is moving into urban centers. This has resulted in an increased
demand for subcompact cars that can maneuver through these congested streets rather than full-
size automobiles. In the context of external information sources, this is an example of how
________ can influence marketing management decisions.
A) technology transformations
B) geographic changes
C) marketing plans
D) customer inquiries
E) internal factors
30) Which of the following is an external source of collecting information for making marketing
decisions?
A) customer orders
B) marketing plans
C) salesperson information systems
D) customer inquiries
E) ethnic groups
31) Concerned by recent negative trends in economic indicators such as the consumer price
index, gross domestic product, and inflation, the marketing manager of Kevin’s Kayaks
recommends that the company reduce its advertising spending. His recommendation is based on
________ data.
A) microeconomic
B) macroeconomic
C) qualitative
D) observational
E) subjective
32) Small portable computers, powerful statistical software packages, and Internet-enabled
supply chain management systems are all examples of how ________ influences marketing.
A) competition
B) the legal environment
C) the natural world
D) technology
E) training
33) The marketing manager of Big Wheel Motors notices an increased demand for “green” cars
that use less fossil fuel and emit fewer pollutants. Under which of the following external
information sources for making marketing decisions will this information be included?
A) legal environment
B) technology transformations
C) natural world
D) competition
E) economic conditions
34) The marketing manager for Dream Weaver Textiles reads in a trade magazine that the
Federal Trade Commission is in the process of revising content labeling requirements for textiles
that claim to be natural. In the context of external forces affecting marketing decisions, this
represents the ________.
A) economic conditions
B) geographic changes
C) technological transformations
D) political/legal environment
E) natural world
35) Since there are so many other companies that operate in the food service industry, the
marketing manager of Gourmet Dining pays detailed attention to what other restaurants that offer
similar meals, prices, and services are doing. In the context of external forces affecting
marketing decisions, the marketing manager’s focus is on ________.
A) demographics
B) competition
C) the political/legal environment
D) technological transformations
E) the natural world
36) ________ is defined as the methodical identification, collection, analysis, and distribution of
data to discover and solve marketing problems or enhance good decision making.
A) Marketing control
B) Market research
C) Market development strategy
D) Marketing mix
E) Market orientation
37) Good market research will ________.
A) develop answers to fit an already decided outcome
B) not enhance the validity of information
C) happen by accident
D) be subjective
E) be impartial
38) The marketing manager for Brand A Razors, a strong national brand, believes he knows how
customers will react to a new product offering, but he conducts market research so that he can
provide justification for this new product. This cannot be considered quality market research
because it ________.
A) fails to prejudge the outcome
B) enhances the validity of the information
C) is not impartial and objective
D) enhances good decision making
E) is a result of the methodical analysis of data
39) Which of the following is NOT a part of the market research process?
A) defining the problem
B) implementing the recommendations
C) establishing the research design
D) collecting the data
E) searching secondary sources
40) In the market research process, once the management research deliverable has been
identified, the next step is to ________.
A) define the research problem
B) establish the research design
C) search secondary sources
D) collect the data
E) analyze the data
41) Apex Jerseys, a manufacturer of sports apparel and sports equipment, has experienced a
sharp drop in sales over the last quarter. The marketing manager asks the marketing research
department to investigate this alarming development. The first step taken by the researchers in
their process should be to ________.
A) design a questionnaire to gather pertinent data
B) decide which statistical procedure to use
C) determine sources of internal secondary data
D) identify the sample of customers to survey
E) formulate a specific research problem
42) B&B Co. is conducting market research to determine if a new beverage will be successful.
The company is in the process of determining the kind of research that needs to be done, the
information needed, and the sampling plan—including the research participants. B&B is in
which stage of the market research process?
A) collecting the data
B) searching secondary sources
C) establishing the research design
D) analyzing the research data
E) reporting the research findings
43) Reasons for conducting exploratory research include ________.
A) discovering the cause and effect between variables
B) discovering differences across demographic characteristics
C) identifying characteristics of the target market
D) assessing competitors’ actions in the marketplace
E) answering the research question
44) A restaurant’s marketing manager is interested in finding out if reducing the price of food
items will lead to increased sales. For this purpose, the manager should conduct ________
research.
A) causal
B) exploratory
C) descriptive
D) secondary
E) longitudinal
45) Sheena, marketing manager for Yaard-Vark Lawn Tractors, is interested in the relationship
between the prices of lawn tractors and the level of sales. To test whether increasing prices will
lead to a change in sales and, if so, how much of a change, she should use ________ research.
A) causal
B) descriptive
C) random
D) academic
E) exploratory
46) Brand X diapers, a national brand, has been declining in absolute level of sales for the last
four consecutive months. The product manager asks the market research department to do a
study to determine why sales have declined. The most appropriate research type would be
________.
A) a laboratory experiment
B) a field experiment
C) a descriptive study
D) an exploratory research
E) a causal research
47) The sole proprietor of Sam’s Swings is interested in gaining a better understanding of his
current customers in terms of certain demographic and lifestyle characteristics so he may better
serve their needs. For this purpose, he should most appropriately conduct ________ research.
A) causal
B) descriptive
C) random
D) academic
E) exploratory