68) Discuss the different levels at which competitors can be identified.
69) Explain how the United States Postal Service has “competitor myopia.”
70) Give examples of competitor objectives and discuss the importance of knowing a
competitor’s mix of objectives.
71) Describe a strategic group. Name a few companies that belong to the same strategic group,
and discuss why they are in the same group.
72) How can companies learn about their competitors’ strengths and weaknesses?
73) What is the purpose of benchmarking?
74) Discuss why a company really needs and benefits from competitors.
75) Discuss the need to understand competitors as well as customers through competitor
analysis.
76) Although competition is most intense within a strategic group, explain why there is also
rivalry among groups. Give examples.
77) Marketing managers need a deep understanding of a given competitor’s mentality if they
want to anticipate how the competitor will act or react. Discuss the different ways competitors
act or react. Why do they do so? Use examples to support your thoughts.
78) An industry often contains “good” competitors and “bad” competitors. Define each term
and discuss scenarios with both “good” and “bad” competitors. How might “good” competitors
choose to react to “bad” competition?
79) Discuss the functions and goals of a competitive intelligence system.
80) Which of the following statements is true of the approaches to marketing strategy?
A) Intrepreneurial marketing applies to companies that sometimes lose their marketing
creativity and passion that they had at the start.
B) As small companies achieve success, they inevitably move away from more-formulated
marketing.
C) Within a company, a single strategy exclusively applies to all different businesses and
products.
D) Formulated marketing seldom involves developing formal marketing strategies and adhering
to them closely.
E) Formulated marketing encourages more marketing initiative and “intrepreneurship” at the
local level.
81) Companies that operate large marketing departments, conduct expensive marketing
research, spell out elaborate competitive strategies, and spend huge sums on advertising are
using ________ marketing strategies.
A) informal
B) formulated
C) entrepreneurial
D) intrepreneurial
E) blue ocean
82) What are the stages that the approaches to marketing strategy and practice usually pass
through?
A) ambush marketing, multi-level marketing, and guerrilla marketing
B) guerrilla marketing, ambush marketing, and affinity marketing
C) multi-level marketing, undercover marketing, and evangelism marketing
D) entrepreneurial marketing, formulated marketing, and intrapreneurial marketing
E) undercover marketing, affinity marketing, and ambush marketing
83) Most companies are started by individuals who live by their wits. They visualize an
opportunity, take risks, and knock on every door to gain attention. Which of the following
stages in marketing strategy is being illustrated here?
A) exponential marketing
B) formulated marketing
C) entrepreneurial marketing
D) affinity marketing
E) ambush marketing
84) When Gary Hirshberg started the Stonyfield Farm yogurt company, he stated that his
company could do better with less advertising, less marketing research, and more guerrilla
marketing. He came up with innovative marketing ideas to promote his products such as having
sales personnel dress up as large yogurt cartons to distribute free yogurt samples. Which of the
following marketing strategies was being implemented by Hirshberg?
A) formulated marketing
B) entrepreneurial marketing
C) ambush marketing
D) undercover marketing
E) intrapreneurial marketing
85) As small companies achieve success, they inevitably move toward more ________
marketing. They adopt more-developed marketing tools and adhere to them closely.
A) ambush
B) formulated
C) entrepreneurial
D) intrepreneurial
E) multi-level
86) Companies that have been in existence for some time often lose the marketing creativity
and passion that they had at the start. They often need to refresh their marketing strategies and
try new approaches, known as ________.
A) multi-level marketing
B) formulated marketing
C) ambush marketing
D) intrapreneurial marketing
E) affinity marketing
87) Many approaches to developing effective competitive marketing strategies exist. There may
be ________ between the formulated side of marketing and the creative side, as creativity and
passion help build and maintain success.
A) collaboration
B) strong disagreements
C) managerial conflicts
D) productive meetings
E) constant tension
88) According to Michael Porter, what are three effective competitive positioning strategies?
A) middle-of-the-roaders, focus, and overall cost leadership
B) focus, differentiation, and middle-of-the-roaders
C) overall cost leadership, differentiation, and middle-of-the-roaders
D) overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus
E) differentiation, market segmentation, and focus
89) Dell produces and delivers PCs of competitive quality at lower costs. The company
constantly aims to achieve low production and distribution costs to win a large market share.
Dell utilizes a(n) ________ strategy very effectively.
A) overall cost leadership
B) differentiation
C) focus
D) blue ocean
E) market segmentation
90) Porsche is a German automobile manufacturer that competes against BMW and Audi, but
only in the sports car and SUV segments of the automobile market. Porsche utilizes a(n)
________ strategy.
A) overall cost leadership
B) focus
C) middle-of-the-roaders
D) market segmentation
E) blue ocean
91) Bosch is a German firm that manufactures home appliances such as dishwashers, ovens,
and ranges. It competes with companies such as GE Elite and LG. Bosch is perceived as the
class of the industry. Bosch pursues a(n) ________ strategy.
A) focus
B) blue ocean
C) overall cost leadership
D) differentiation
E) middle-of-the-road
92) Companies that pursue a clear strategy will likely perform well. Firms that do not pursue a
clear strategy are called ________.
A) jack-of-all-trades
B) middle-of-the-roaders
C) niches
D) red oceans
E) laggards
93) Sears and Holiday Inn encountered difficult times because they did not stand out as the
lowest in cost, highest in perceived value, or best in service of their primary target market
segment. Both companies are ________.
A) niches
B) jack-of-all-trades
C) middle-of the roaders
D) red oceans
E) laggards
94) Which of the following are value discipline strategies?
A) operational excellence, overall cost leadership, and differentiation
B) customer intimacy, operational excellence, and focus
C) employee relations, product leadership, and overall cost leadership
D) product leadership, customer intimacy, and focus
E) operational excellence, customer intimacy, and product leadership
95) When a company provides superior value by leading its industry in price and convenience,
it has obtained ________.
A) product leadership
B) focus
C) operational excellence
D) customer intimacy
E) differentiation
96) Walmart, Costco, and Southwest Airlines serve customers who want reliable, good-quality
products or services that are also reasonable and easily available. These companies are all
known for pursuing a value discipline known as ________.
A) operational excellence
B) customer intimacy
C) product differentiation
D) product leadership
E) focus
97) When companies serve customers who are willing to pay a premium to get precisely what
they want and the company responds quickly to satisfy these customers’ needs, the company
has achieved ________.
A) customer intimacy
B) product differentiation
C) operational excellence
D) product leadership
E) focus
98) American Express will do almost anything to build long-term customer loyalty and to
capture customer lifetime value. Which of the following competitive marketing strategies is
being pursued by American Express?
A) consumer capitalism
B) customer equity
C) product differentiation
D) product leadership
E) customer intimacy
99) If a company’s aim is to make its own and competing products obsolete and serve
customers who want state-of-the-art products and services, it is using a value discipline called
________.
A) overall cost leadership
B) product activation
C) product binning
D) product leadership
E) customer intimacy
100) Samsung and Apple actively generate new ideas, relentlessly pursue new solutions, and
quickly work to get new products to market. They serve customers who want state-of-the-art
products and services, regardless of the costs in terms of price or inconvenience. Which of the
following value disciplines is illustrated from this example?
A) operational excellence
B) customer intimacy
C) product leadership
D) product activation
E) product binning
101) Some companies successfully pursue more than one of the three value disciplines at the
same time. For example, FedEx excels at operational excellence as well as customer intimacy.
However, more companies focus on excelling at a single value discipline while ________ the
other two.
A) choosing a second one to also focus on
B) meeting industry standards on
C) ignoring
D) achieving minimal goals on
E) developing plans to improve on
102) Which of the following is a competitive position or role that firms play in the target
market?
A) surrogate consumer
B) market analyst
C) market maven
D) market nicher
E) laggard
103) Most of the market is in the hands of the ________, the firm with the largest market share.
A) market challenger
B) market follower
C) market leader
D) market nicher
E) market maven
104) ________ are those runner-up firms that are working to increase their market share in an
industry.
A) Market leaders
B) Market challengers
C) Market followers
D) Market mavens
E) Market nichers
105) Fifty percent of the market is in the hands of Company A, 30 percent is in the hands of
Company B, 15 percent is in the hands of Company C, and the remaining 5 percent is in the
hands of Company D. Based on these hypothetical numbers, Company B is the market
________.
A) leader
B) challenger
C) follower
D) nicher
E) maven
106) A runner-up firm that wants to hold its share in an industry without rocking the boat is a
________.
A) market follower
B) market maven
C) market challenger
D) market nicher
E) market leader
107) Firms that serve small segments not being pursued by other firms are called ________.
A) market followers
B) market mavens
C) market challengers
D) market nichers
E) market leaders
108) Fifty percent of the market is in the hands of Company A, 30 percent is in the hands of
Company B, 15 percent is in the hands of Company C, and the remaining 5 percent is in the
hands of Company D. Based on these hypothetical numbers, Company D is the market
________.
A) leader
B) challenger
C) follower
D) nicher
E) maven
109) If a company is a market leader in one category, and a market challenger or market nicher
in other categories, it will follow ________ strategies for each category.
A) different
B) the same
C) unique
D) multiple
E) complex
110) Which of the following is a market leader strategy?
A) expanding market share
B) multiple niching
C) full frontal attack
D) following at a distance
E) following closely
111) Which of the following are market challenger strategies?
A) expand total market and protect market share
B) expand market share and follow closely
C) full frontal attack and indirect attack
D) follow closely and follow at a distance
E) multiple niching and quality service
112) To remain number one, leading firms can take any of three actions. First, they can find
ways to expand total demand. Second, they can protect their current market share through good
defensive and offensive actions. Third, they can ________.
A) focus exclusively on divestment
B) evaluate current employees and reduce costs through downsizing
C) run smaller companies out of business, causing them to sell out to larger firms
D) try to expand their market share further, even if market size remains constant
E) shut down current company locations and reopen in highly populated areas
113) A company can protect its market share through all of the following EXCEPT ________.
A) continuous innovation
B) attacking its competitors directly
C) preventing or fixing weaknesses
D) fulfilling its value promise to customers
E) pricing its products to be consistent with the customers’ perceived value
114) The market leader normally gains the most when ________.
A) its total market diminishes
B) it achieves expanded market share
C) its personal communication channels expand
D) the niche marketing efforts by other firms expand
E) the major global competitors enter the market
115) Marketers can expand markets by discovering and promoting ________.
A) subliminal points of interest
B) the deficiencies of competitors
C) subtle advantages of the product
D) new uses of the product
E) green technologies
116) Market leaders can expand the market by ________ and more usage of the product.
A) identifying competitors
B) initiating monopolistic practices
C) developing new users
D) ensuring users adhere to higher standards
E) initiating new rules for product users