In monopolistic competition, managers sometimes try to differentiate very similar
products by relying on promotion or other elements of the marketing mix.
Internet tools used in the B2B market that focus primarily on lowering price do not
always lower TOTAL purchasing costs.
Straight-rebuy buying takes longer than modified-rebuy or new-task buying and offers
more chance for promotion impact by the seller.
Customers usually plan and shop for impulse products.
About 10 percent of the total U.S. labor force is in sales work.
At the macro level, consumer satisfaction can easily and objectively be measured using
practical economic methods.
In a recent Nielsen online survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries,
90 percent of respondents said they trusted recommendations from people they knew.
Sometimes micro-macro dilemmas arise because what is “good” for some producers
and consumers may not be “good” for society as a whole.
When a firm sells through intermediaries, there is little reason to try to administer the
price intermediaries charge final consumers.
A nonprofit organization does not measure profit in the same way as a firm.
In market-directed economies, unregulated monopolies are rare.
Total fixed costs do not change when output increases.
In a marketing audit, the auditor evaluates the plans being implemented, but not the
quality of the effort.
Basic list prices are the prices that final consumers or users are normally asked to pay.
Trade promotion usually stresses price-related matters.
Marketing-oriented managers see segmenting as a process of aggregating people with
similar needs into a group.
The “total cost approach” to physical distribution focuses exclusively on the total cost
of transporting a product.
Marketing strategy planning is the process of deciding how best to sell the products the
firm produces.
A company has moved into the “marketing company era” when, in addition to short-run
marketing planning, the total company effort is guided by the marketing concept.
In addition to food, warehouse clubs carry homogeneous shopping goods.
Exporting is sometimes just a way for a firm to get rid of surplus products.
Most Western economies are completely market-directed.
Decision support systems that include marketing models help managers by showing the
relationships among marketing variables.
The task method of budgeting focuses on the amount being spent by competitors.
It is the job of the MIS specialist to ask for the right information in the right form.
When selling to government customers, competitive bids are common.
Exporters usually work with specialists who can handle international problems such as
customs, taxes, exchange rates, and shipping.
Marketing strategy planning for a product depends on where the product is in its life
cycle and how fast it is moving to the next stage.
A firm using sequential price reductions starts with a high price but plans to reduce that
price step-by-step until its product is sold out.
The seven-step approach encourages the use of a market grid (a rectangle with boxes
inside) to represent smaller, more homogeneous submarkets.
Differentiation means that the firm’s marketing mix is similar to its competitors’ mixes.
A market-directed economy is one in which government officials decide what and how
much is to be produced and distributed by whom, when, to whom, and why.
Magnuson-Moss Act says that producers must provide a clearly written warranty if they
choose to offer any warranty.
The Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966 requires that firms in a
product-market reduce the number of package sizes to three or fewer for any product.
Manufacturers’ agents earn higher commissions for introducing new products than they
do for selling established products.
According to a survey of workers, almost half of them have admitted to taking some
type of unethical or illegal action in the recent past.
Purchasing managers
A. are, in general, not very well educated.
B. always buy from the lowest price supplier.
C. may be willing to pay more to reduce personal risk.
D. are usually the last ones a salesperson sees, after the order has been approved by the
gatekeepers.
E. None of these alternatives for purchasing managers is correct.
Most conventional retailers in the U.S. are:
A. supermarkets.
B. mass-merchandisers.
C. limited-line stores.
D. specialty stores.
E. department stores.
Dissonance is a:
A. tension caused by uncertainty about the rightness of a decision.
B. conflict between opinion leaders.
C. confirmation in the learning process.
D. kind of belief.
E. form of social influence.
Some developers of apps for the Apple iPhone price their apps low at launch to
encourage sales and get attention so they can move into the prestigious “Top 25” list.
Then, they frequently raise prices to get a higher profit margin on later sales. The initial
low price is a(n):
A. Noncumulative quantity discount.
B. Temporary sale.
C. Introductory price deal.
D. Skimming price.
E. Cumulative quantity discount.
Early adopters, compared to innovators:
A. Adopt a new idea earlier.
B. Tend to have greater contact with salespeople.
C. Rely more heavily on scientific or impersonal information sources.
D. Are more willing to take risks.
E. Are infrequently opinion leaders.
The appropriate marketing mix is determined in large part by:
A. the preferences of the marketing managers.
B. the length of the product production cycle.
C. the needs of the target market.
D. the hottest trends in viral marketing.
E. the popularity of big box retail stores.
The “battle of the brands” refers to competition between:
A. manufacturers and intermediaries.
B. retailers and wholesalers.
C. retailers and other retailers.
D. wholesalers and other wholesalers.
E. manufacturers and other manufacturers.
Sales promotion:
A. should not be needed if a firm has a good mass selling program.
B. is not likely to be used in the market maturity stage of the product life cycle.
C. objectives should be developed after the other promotion decisions have been
madeso the manager knows how much is left in the budget.
D. activities are often handled by outside specialists.
E. All of these alternatives are correct.
Kelly Stich, marketing manager for Yummy Ice Cream Products, is thinking about some
of her products and her promotion plans for the coming year.
Yummy Ice Cream Products is introducing a new ice cream treat called PlanetSavers.
This treat uses ice cream produced with environmentally friendly processes that save
energy and protect the ozone. Yummy plans to send articles to magazines, local
newspapers, and environmental groups that explain the environmentally safer treat. The
product also has a unique texture and different flavor.
Stich wants to use counter cards and in-store signs to let people know about Cherry
Walrus, the company’s new flavor. She is also developing sales training materials that
will teach ice cream scoopers in Yummy’s ice cream stores to promote the product.
Right after Cherry Walrus is introduced each store will also hand out coupons that are
good for one day only.
Yummy Mondaes is a product that has been around for 25 years. It is Yummy’s take on
the classic ice cream sundae, but white-brownie and coffee-flavored crumbles are added
to make it extra special. The company sells this product in one and two quart containers
through major grocery store chains. It relies on personal selling and price discounts to
retailers to move more of the product. The company does very little consumer
promotion for this product.
Yummy Fudge on a Stick is a new product of fudge-flavored ice cream on a stick.
Yummy plans to sell it through retail grocery stores also and is launching an aggressive
advertising program that will use television, radio, newspaper, magazines, and the
Internet. Most of its promotion will be directed at consumers.
Two years ago the company introduced Yummy Fruit on a Stick, an all-natural frozen
fruit product on a stick. The product category has been popular, continues to grow, and
is in the market growth stage of the product life cycle.
The Yummy Fudge on a Stick promotion plan relies on:
A. direct-response promotion.
B. integrated marketing communications.
C. pushing.
D. pulling.
E. noise in the communication process.
Natalie Simopoulos, director of procurement at Grecian Glass Company must approve
every purchase order, and Anthony Markatos, purchasing manager, must authorize any
sales rep who wants to talk to a Grecian Glass employee. Natalie and Anthony are
acting as _____ and _____, respectively.
A. decider, gatekeeper
B. influencer, user
C. gatekeeper, influencer
D. buyer, decider
E. user, gatekeeper
More women working outside the home and greater interest in leisure are examples of
changes in the ______________ environment.
A. technological
B. cultural and social
C. economic
D. legal
E. competitive
Clearwater Office Supply sells frequently purchased office supplies to businesses in a
metropolitan area. It is a well-established company with a large share of the market. Its
promotion should probably focus on
A. reminding.
B. stimulating primary demand.
C. informing.
D. innovators.
E. making the demand curve less elastic.
A market-oriented strategy planner applies the ______________ target market
approach.
A. combined
B. multiple
C. single
D. Any of these could be true.
The current U. S. population is largest in which of the following states?
A. California.
B. Florida.
C. Illinois.
D. New York.
E. Texas.
A sales-oriented objective may seek all of the following except
A. some level of unit sales.
B. some level of dollar sales.
C. target return profits.
D. share of the market.
E. percentage of the market.
Mass-merchandisers:
A. usually operate with low margins on individual items.
B. are now the primary place to shop for many frequently purchased consumer
products.
C. generally run a self-service operation.
D. are concerned with maintaining high inventory turnover.
E. All of these alternatives are correct for mass-merchandisers.
According to the rule for maximizing profit, the highest profit is earned at the price
where
A. average cost is just less than or equal to marginal revenue.
B. average cost is just less than or equal to average revenue.
C. total revenue is just greater than total costs.
D. marginal cost is just less than or equal to marginal revenue.
E. total revenue is equal to total costs.
A generic market description should NOT include any:
A. customer needs.
B. geographic area.
C. competitors’ names.
D. customer types.
E. All of these should be included in a generic market description.
An office supplies producer sells a variety of office supplies to final consumers and
businesses using its own mail order catalog. Here,
A. there is no channel of distribution.
B. there is no opportunity to apply target marketing.
C. no promotion is involved.
D. a production orientation is just as effective as a marketing orientation.
E. None of these is true.
A ski resort is considering a promotional campaign that emphasizes ads in national ski
magazines. Which of the following disadvantages would most likely affect this
campaign?
A. Inability to convey complex messages
B. Poor detail
C. Poor photo reproduction
D. Low reader involvement
E. Long lead times
Cargill, Inc. is finally earning a profit on the unique product it introduced six months
ago. Cargill’s advertising is both informative and persuasive. Much money is being
spent on Place development. There is little price competition, although several
competitors have come out with reasonable imitations. Total industry sales and profits
are both rising. In which stage of the product life cycle is Cargill operating?
A. Market growth
B. Market introduction
C. Sales decline
D. Market maturity
E. Market development
Quantity discounts are offered by sellers to:
A. reduce shipping or selling costs.
B. encourage customers to purchase larger quantities.
C. shift some of the storing function to buyers.
D. encourage buyers to make additional purchases.
E. All of these alternatives are correct.
The marketing manager for a producer of mattresses and box springs distributes its
products through discount stores (like Costco), department stores, furniture stores, and
specialty bedding stores. To avoid conflict with channel members, the manager
A. should offer purchase discounts based on the quantity of mattresses that the retailer
sells.
B. assume that all channel members have a common commitment to target consumers at
the end of the channel.
C. trust retailers to emphasize sales of his brand rather than the brand of some other
manufacturer.
D. develop different brands or product lines for different channels.
E. expect one of the large retail chains to step up to the responsibilities of being the
channel captain.
The first thing a marketing manager should do if one of his firm’s products drops in
sales volume is:
A. conduct a survey to see what is wrong.
B. define the problem.
C. set research priorities.
D. do a situation analysis.
E. interview representative customers.
Nonprofit organizations
A. do not have a profit objective, so the marketing concept does not apply.
B. can benefit by adopting the marketing concept.
C. are fundamentally different than business firmsso they should embrace a production
orientation rather than a marketing orientation.
D. do not need to be concerned with marketing activities.
E. none of these is true.
When making business buying decisions, it is important to remember that:
A. capital item purchases can’t be fully charged off to the current year’s expenses.
B. expense items are depreciated over several years.
C. large purchases must be expensed in one year.
D. capital items are expensed in one yearmaking them less risky to buy.
E. expense items are very risky since they cannot be depreciated.
Physical distribution customer service level means all of the following EXCEPT:
A. Honda wants enough bumpers to build cars that day.
B. A vacationer wants Avis to have his rental car clean and ready when he arrives at the
rental car counter.
C. Sears’ shirts are priced at a fair value.
D. McDonald’s has enough large cups so that customers can buy the larger size drinks
which are on sale.
E. Safeway’s loaves of bread are in stockand not crushedwhen customers want them.
Straight rebuy
A. decisions, as contrasted with modified rebuys, are more likely to involve multiple
buying influence.
B. vendor selections are likely to be made by a purchasing managerwithout consulting
anyone else.
C. decisions are infrequent, but they typically take longer to make than new-task buying
decisions.
D. decisions usually involve getting negotiated bids from suppliers.
E. decisions cannot be influenced by advertising.
Barnes and Noble, a multichannel book shop, discovers that Amazon.com is selling a
new blockbuster book by Dan Brown at a 25 percent discount over Barnes and Noble’s
in-store pricebecause Amazon.com has a lower overhead cost. This is an example of
_________ conflict.
A. vertical
B. traditional
C. horizontal
D. administered
E. contractual
Regarding retailer store size, it is true that:
A. almost 75 percent of all retail sales are made by smaller storesthose with annual
sales less than $1 million.
B. almost 75 percent of all retail sales are made by the largest storesthose with annual
sales over $5 million a year.
C. small retailers are unimportant and can safely be ignored by most manufacturers and
wholesalers.
D. big retailers do a lot of business but they make up less than 5 percent of stores.
E. None of these alternatives is correct.
For a homogeneous shopping product, a marketing manager should
A. provide enough exposure to facilitate price comparison.
B. understand that price sensitivity is likely to be low.
C. recognize that consumers see a lot of differences across alternatives.
D. realize that consumers usually pay little attention to price.
E. know that consumer purchases are typically unplanned and bought quickly.
A paving contractor wants to work on road construction contracts administered and paid
for by the state government. The contractor submits a sealed proposal to the state
department of transportation for each construction job. The proposal contains a
description of how the contractor will fulfill the specifications for the job at a specified
price. The contractor is engaging in:
A. Odd-even pricing.
B. Prestige pricing.
C. Leader pricing.
D. Bid pricing.
E. Price lining.