Principles of Marketing, 15e (Kotler/Armstrong)
Chapter 10 Pricing: Understanding and Capturing Customer Value
1) ________ refers to the amount of money charged for a product or service.
A) Value
B) Cost
C) Price
D) Wage
E) Salary
2) ________ is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue.
A) Price
B) Product
C) Place
D) Fixed costs
E) Variable costs
3) Which of the following is true with regard to price?
A) Historically, price has had the least perceptible impact on buyer choice.
B) Price is the least flexible element in the marketing mix.
C) Unike product features and channel commitments, prices cannot be changed quickly.
D) Price is the sum of all the values that customers give up to gain the benefits of having a
product.
E) Prices only have an indirect impact on a firm’s bottom line.
4) What sets the ceiling for product prices?
A) product manufacturing costs
B) sellers’ perceptions of the product’s value
C) customer perceptions of the product’s value
D) variable costs
E) break-even volume
5) What sets the floor for product prices?
A) consumer perceptions of the product’s value
B) product costs
C) competitors’ strategies
D) advertising budgets
E) market competition
6) Effective ________ pricing involves understanding how much value consumers place on the
benefits they receive from the product and setting a price that captures that value.
A) customer-oriented
B) cost-based
C) time-based
D) competition-oriented
E) marketer-oriented
7) ________ pricing uses buyers’ perceptions of value as the key to pricing.
A) Customer value-based
B) Cost-based
C) Time-based
D) Markup
E) Target return
8) Which of the following is true of value-based pricing?
A) The targeted value and price drive decisions about what costs can be incurred and the
resulting product design.
B) Value-based pricing is mostly product driven.
C) Value-based pricing involves setting prices based on the costs of producing, distributing, and
selling the product plus a fair rate of return for its effort and risk.
D) The marketer usually designs a product and marketing program and then sets the price.
E) A company using value-based pricing designs what it considers to be a good product, adds up
the costs of making the product, and sets a price that covers costs plus a target profit.
9) Which of the following processes does value-based pricing reverse?
A) high-low pricing
B) everyday low pricing
C) cost-based pricing
D) good-value pricing
E) value-added pricing
10) A pharmaceutical company in Utah recently released a new and expensive anti-ulcer drug in
the market. The company justifies the high price of the drug by claiming that it is highly
effective for treating all kinds of ulcers. The company also claims that the new drug will help
bring down the need for invasive surgeries, an additional benefit for patients. Which of the
following pricing strategies is the pharmaceutical company most likely using in this instance?
A) target pricing
B) markup pricing
C) cost-based pricing
D) value-based pricing
E) break-even pricing
11) The perceived value of different product offers can be reasonably assessed by ________.
A) conducting a SWOT analysis
B) conducting a break-even analysis
C) conducting surveys and experiments
D) collecting data about competitors’ offers
E) setting a benchmark for product quality
12) Underpriced products ________.
A) produce less revenue than they would if they were priced at the level of perceived value
B) sell poorly in the global marketplace
C) produce more revenue than they would if they were priced at the level of perceived value
D) mostly offer higher value than those with a high markup price
E) are characterized by rapidly declining demand
13) Which of the following involves introducing less-expensive versions of established, brand-
name products?
A) markup pricing
B) good-value pricing
C) time-based pricing
D) cost-based pricing
E) target profit pricing
14) ________ pricing refers to offering just the right combination of quality and gratifying
service at a fair price.
A) Markup
B) Good-value
C) Cost-plus
D) Target profit
E) Break-even
15) When McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants offer “value menu” items at surprisingly
low prices, they are most likely using ________.
A) break-even pricing
B) target profit pricing
C) good-value pricing
D) cost-plus pricing
E) target return pricing
16) Azure Air, an airline company, offers attractive prices to customers with tighter budgets. A
no-frills airline, it charges for all other additional services, such as baggage handling and in-
flight refreshments. Which of the following best describes Azure Air’s pricing method?
A) target profit pricing
B) good-value pricing
C) cost-based pricing
D) break-even pricing
E) penetration pricing
17) Retailers such as Costco and Walmart charge a constant, daily low price with few or no
temporary price discounts. This is an example of ________.
A) competition-based pricing
B) everyday low pricing
C) cost-plus pricing
D) break-even pricing
E) penetration pricing
18) Bon Vivant offers an assortment of exclusive French wines at incredibly low prices. These
prices are neither limited-time offers nor special discounts, but represent the daily prices of
products sold by Bon Vivant. This reflects Bon Vivant’s ________ strategy.
A) everyday low pricing
B) markup pricing
C) penetration pricing
D) break-even pricing
E) cost-based pricing
19) ________ involves charging higher prices on an everyday basis but running frequent
promotions to lower prices temporarily on selected items.
A) High-low pricing
B) Everyday low pricing
C) Cost-plus pricing
D) Break-even pricing
E) Penetration pricing
20) Department stores such as Kohl’s and Macy’s practice high-low pricing by ________.
A) charging a constant, everyday low price
B) providing few or no temporary price discounts
C) increasing prices temporarily on select products
D) having frequent sale days for store credit-card holders
E) underpricing most consumer items
21) Companies that adopt value-added pricing ________.
A) consider value-added features as a fitting substitute for aggressive cost cutting
B) set incredibly low prices to meet competition
C) attach value-added features and services to differentiate their offers and support their higher
prices
D) overprice their products without any apparent justification
E) underprice their products and lower quality to boost demand in the short-run
22) Which of the following is true with regard to value-added pricing?
A) Companies that practice value-added pricing typically match the competition by cutting
prices.
B) Companies practicing value-added pricing differentiate their offers by attaching value-added
features to offerings that, in turn, justify higher prices.
C) The intrinsic value of products sold by companies practicing value-added pricing is far less
than their actual selling price.
D) Companies practicing value-added pricing primarily rely on cost differentiation.
E) Value-added pricing is the most suitable pricing strategy in pure monopolies.
23) In an effort to differentiate its offerings from its competitors, Pegasus Computers decided to
add an extra USB port in all its laptops besides providing a free pair of Delphi power bass
headphones with every Pegasus laptop. Although the additional features increased the price of
the laptops by $500, Pegasus was confident that the strategy would help boost demand for its
laptops substantially. This is an example of ________.
A) good-value pricing
B) markup pricing
C) break-even pricing
D) value-added pricing
E) cost-based pricing
24) ________ involves setting prices based on the costs for producing, distributing, and selling
the product plus a fair rate of return for effort and risk.
A) Value-based pricing
B) Competition-based pricing
C) Cost-based pricing
D) Penetration pricing
E) Break-even pricing
25) Companies with lower costs ________.
A) specialize in selling products with value-added features
B) usually market products with inferior quality, thereby justifying the low selling price
C) can set lower prices that result in smaller margins but greater sales and profits
D) tend to overprice products owing to their monopolistic advantage
E) usually set higher prices that result in higher margins
26) A company must pay each month’s bills for rent, heat, interest, and executive salaries
regardless of the company’s level of output. This exemplifies its ________ costs.
A) overhead
B) variable
C) target
D) total
E) unit
27) Overhead costs ________ as the number of units produced increases.
A) decrease
B) increase steadily
C) fluctuate
D) remain the same
E) increase rapidly
28) Which of the following is most likely a fixed cost?
A) sales representative commissions
B) product distribution costs
C) manufacturing input costs
D) temporary worker salaries
E) facility rental payments
29) Fixed costs ________.
A) are costs that do not vary with production or sales level
B) vary directly with the level of production
C) decrease with accumulated production experience
D) are the sum of the overhead and variable costs for any given level of production
E) represent the annual costs of inputs incurred by a company
30) Costs that change with the level of production are referred to as ________.
A) fixed costs
B) variable costs
C) target costs
D) total costs
E) overhead costs
31) In 2011, the fixed costs of a company were $500,000, and its variable costs equaled
$150,000. In 2010, the company made an annual profit of $200,000. It has been predicted that,
despite a steady growth, the company’s variable costs will likely equal $300,000 by 2013. The
total costs of the company in 2011 were ________.
A) $350,000
B) $450,000
C) $650,000
D) $800,000
E) $950,000
32) The total production costs at Kellner Machine Works are $87,000 out of which $45,000
represent fixed costs. Which of the following is representative of the variable costs incurred by
the company?
A) $35,000
B) $42,000
C) $45,000
D) $87,000
E) $132,000
33) The fixed cost in manufacturing a single LED monitor is $40 and the variable cost is $12. If
the company expects to manufacture 5,000 monitors, the total costs would be ________.
A) $60,000
B) $200,000
C) $260,000
D) $420,000
E) $500,000
34) As production moves up, the average cost per unit decreases because ________.
A) variable costs decrease
B) of increasing diseconomies of scale
C) fixed costs are spread over more units
D) overhead costs decrease
E) revenue increases
35) A cell phone manufacturing firm produced 1,000 cell phones a day but believed that it could
reasonably step up production to 2,000 cell phones a day. Consequently, it built a larger plant
and installed efficient machineries and work arrangements to realize the projected output. Which
of the following can most likely be inferred from this information?
A) The unit cost of producing 2,000 cell phones per day would be twice that of the unit cost of
producing 1,000 units per day.
B) A production plant with the capacity of producing 5,000 cell phones a day would be most
efficient.
C) The unit cost of producing 2,000 cell phones per day would be lower than the unit cost of
producing 1,000 units per day.
D) A 2,000-capacity production plant would be less efficient because of increasing diseconomies
of scale.
E) The fixed costs of the firm are more likely to increase with the increase in output.
36) The long-run average cost (LRAC) curve indicates the ________.
A) per unit cost of output in the long run
B) projected total production costs of competitors
C) variable costs incurred by a firm over time
D) fixed costs incurred by a firm over the long term
E) number of units the market will buy in a given time period, at different prices that might be
charged
37) The learning curve is representative of the ________.
A) per unit cost of output in the long run
B) drop in the average per-unit production cost that comes with accumulated production
experience
C) number of units the market will buy in a given time period, at different prices that might be
charged
D) total market demand resulting from different prices
E) per unit cost of output in the short run
38) As production workers become better organized and more familiar with equipment, the
average cost per unit tends to decrease with the ________.
A) increase in the diseconomies of scale
B) accumulated production experience
C) decrease in the economies of scale
D) increase in derived demand
E) increase in primary demand
39) With accumulated production experience and a higher volume of production, companies not
only become more efficient but also ________.
A) gain economies of scale
B) incur higher overhead costs
C) create derived demand in the market
D) spend more per unit of produced output
E) tend to routinely spend less on inputs
40) The experience curve reveals that ________.
A) repetition in production has no visible impact on production costs
B) repetition in production enhances efficiency
C) the average cost of production remains the same with accumulated production experience
D) repetition in production adds to the costs and thereby increases the prices of outputs
E) the average cost of production increases with accumulated production experience
41) A downward-sloping experience curve is indicative of ________.
A) the negative customer perception about a company’s products
B) the falling demand for a company’s products
C) the falling unit production cost of a company
D) the low quality of a company’s products
E) slow and inadequate organizational learning
42) Which of the following is most likely a risk associated with experience-curve pricing?
A) High-volume production facilities are unable to meet demand.
B) New technology often leads to productivity problems.
C) Demand for the product fluctuates unpredictably.
D) Consumers tend to prefer new brands over established ones.
E) Aggressive pricing often gives a product a cheap image.
43) Experience-curve pricing assumes that ________.
A) competitors are weak and not willing to fight price cuts
B) competitors are strong and invincible
C) aggressive pricing adversely affects product image
D) volume-based production slows down organizational learning
E) lower-cost technologies are almost always inferior
44) The simplest pricing method is ________ pricing.
A) value-based
B) fixed cost
C) cost-plus
D) target return
E) competition-based
45) Cost-plus pricing ________.
A) is a complex pricing method
B) involves pricing that accurately reflects production costs
C) involves adding a standard markup for profit
D) aims at breaking even on the costs of making and marketing a product
E) is a value-based pricing method
46) Lawyers, accountants, and other professionals typically price by adding a standard markup
for profit. This exemplifies ________.
A) target pricing
B) cost-plus pricing
C) value-based pricing
D) break-even pricing
E) penetration pricing
47) Herbie Inc., a firm manufacturing sandwich makers, has fixed costs of $250,000, variable
costs of $20 per unit of output, and expected unit sales of 50,000 units. What is the unit cost of a
sandwich maker manufactured by Herbie?
A) $15
B) $25
C) $30
D) $50
E) $75
48) Samsung Mobile plans to launch a new phone with a unit cost of $270 and wants to earn a 10
percent markup on its sales. Samsung’s markup price is ________.
A) $275
B) $280
C) $295
D) $300
E) $335
49) Why is markup pricing most likely impractical?
A) Calculating costs is complicated due to fluctuations.
B) By tying the price to cost, sellers oversimplify pricing.
C) When all firms in the industry use this pricing method, prices tend to be similar.
D) The method ignores demand and competitor prices.
E) With a standard markup, consumers know when they are being overcharged.
50) Why is markup pricing most likely popular?
A) Sellers are more certain about demand than about costs.
B) Markup pricing tends to maximize market competition.
C) Markup pricing affords buyers greater bargaining power.
D) Sellers do not need to make frequent adjustments as demand changes.
E) Markup pricing is designed to set prices to break even on the costs of making and marketing a
product.
51) Which of the following is a cost-based approach to pricing?
A) value-based pricing
B) high-low pricing
C) target return pricing
D) good value pricing
E) EDLP
52) Target return pricing is a variation of which of the following cost-oriented pricing
approaches?
A) cost-plus pricing
B) break-even pricing
C) markup pricing
D) value-based pricing
E) fixed cost pricing
53) Target return pricing uses the concept of a(n) ________, which shows the total cost and total
revenue expected at different sales volume levels.
A) BCG matrix
B) break-even chart
C) SWOT analysis
D) demand curve
E) experience curve
54) John assured his venture capitalists an earning of 25 percent return on equity when he began
his IT start-up. In order to achieve this result, he will most likely use which of the following
pricing approaches?
A) value-based pricing
B) markup pricing
C) EDLP
D) customer-based pricing
E) target return pricing
55) The break-even volume is the point at which ________.
A) the total revenue and total cost curves intersect
B) demand equals supply
C) the production of one more unit will not lead to increase in demand
D) the company can pay off all its long-term debt
E) a firm exceeds the sales forecast
56) Which of the following statements about break-even analysis is true?
A) It is used to determine how much production experience a company must have in order to
achieve desired efficiencies.
B) It is a technique used to calculate fixed costs.
C) It determines the amount of retained earnings a company will have during a given accounting
period.
D) It is a technique marketers use to determine the relationship between supply and demand.
E) It is calculated by using variable costs, the unit price, and fixed costs.
57) A company faces fixed costs of $100,000 and variable costs of $8 per unit. It plans to
directly sell its product in the market for $12. How many units must it produce and sell to break
even?
A) 20,000
B) 25,000
C) 30,000
D) 35,000
E) 40,000
58) As a manufacturer increases the price, ________.
A) efficiency drops
B) the break-even volume drops
C) competition is minimized
D) the total costs increase
E) the profit margin shrinks
59) Mansfield Pharmaceuticals markets Zipro, an antibiotic. The firm has fixed costs of
$1,000,000 and variable costs of $2 per bottle of 50 tablets priced at $10 per bottle. What is the
break-even volume?
A) 25,000
B) 55,000
C) 100,000
D) 115,000
E) 125,000
60) A manufacturer has fixed costs of $100,000, a variable cost of $10 per unit of output, and
break-even volume of 50,000 units. What should the manufacturer’s unit cost be in order to break
even?
A) $10
B) $12
C) $14
D) $16
E) $20
61) Which of the following involves setting prices based on a rival firm’s strategies, costs, prices,
and market offerings?
A) target return pricing
B) good-value pricing
C) competitor value-added pricing
D) market-based pricing
E) competition-based pricing
62) Companies can legitimately charge a higher price if ________.
A) consumers perceive that the company’s product offers greater value
B) the demand for products manufactured by a firm is highly elastic
C) the cost of advertising is minimal
D) derived demand remains constant
E) consumers de-emphasize quality