Principles of Marketing, 15e (Kotler/Armstrong)
Chapter 3 Analyzing the Marketing Environment
1) Dan has been directed to study the actors close to a company that affect its ability to serve its
customers, such as the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer markets,
competitors, and publics. In this instance, Dan has been directed to study the ________ of the
company.
A) macroenvironment
B) microenvironment
C) technological environment
D) demographic environment
E) political environment
2) Which of the following terms is used to describe the actors and forces outside marketing that
affect marketing management’s ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target
customers?
A) marketing environment
B) marketing orientation
C) strategic planning
D) target markets
E) marketing mix
3) Sam has been directed to study the demographic, economic, political, and cultural forces that
affect an organization. In this instance, Sam has been directed to study the ________ of the
organization.
A) macroenvironment
B) microenvironment
C) internal environment
D) marketing mix
E) marketing intermediaries
4) Which of the following is a component of a firm’s microenvironment?
A) customer demographics
B) economic recessions
C) population shifts
D) marketing intermediaries
E) technological changes
5) The interrelated departments within a company that influence marketing decisions form the
________ environment.
A) cultural
B) economic
C) internal
D) political
E) technological
6) ________ provide the resources needed by a company to produce its goods and services.
A) Retailers
B) Marketing services agencies
C) Resellers
D) Suppliers
E) Financial intermediaries
7) ________ help companies stock and move goods from their points of origin to their
destinations.
A) Retailers
B) Physical distribution firms
C) Marketing services agencies
D) Resellers
E) Suppliers
8) ________ include banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other businesses that
help insure against the risks associated with the buying and selling of goods.
A) Financial intermediaries
B) Physical distribution firms
C) Resellers
D) Marketing services agencies
E) Wholesalers
9) Maria works for Sigma Inc., a firm that helps companies target and promote their products to
the right markets. Sigma is most likely a ________.
A) financial intermediary
B) physical distribution firm
C) marketing services agency
D) reseller
E) wholesaler
10) A company’s marketing decisions may be questioned by consumer organizations,
environmental groups, minority groups, and others. These organizations and groups are also
known as ________.
A) media publics
B) marketing intermediaries
C) customers
D) citizen-action publics
E) internal publics
11) Which of the following groups influences the company’s ability to obtain funds?
A) financial publics
B) local publics
C) general publics
D) citizen-action publics
E) internal publics
12) Which of the following is true with regard to media publics?
A) The primary function of this group is to protect the interests of minority groups.
B) This group carries news, features, and editorial opinion.
C) The primary function of this group is to critique the marketing decisions of companies.
D) This group includes neighborhood residents and community organizations.
E) This group directly influences the company’s ability to obtain funds.
13) A consumer organization in Ohio has challenged the marketing decision of a local firm
alleging it to be against the larger social interest. In this instance, the firm is challenged by a
________ public.
A) internal
B) general
C) government
D) citizen-action
E) media
14) Workers, managers, and members of the board are examples of ________ publics.
A) general
B) internal
C) local
D) citizen-action
E) media
15) Which group includes neighborhood residents and community organizations?
A) local publics
B) government publics
C) internal publics
D) citizen-action publics
E) media publics
16) Price & Malone Corp., a company based in Houston, caters to a market of individuals and
households that buy goods and services for personal consumption. Price & Malone caters to a
________ market.
A) business
B) reseller
C) government
D) consumer
E) wholesale
17) ________ markets buy goods and services for further processing.
A) Business
B) Reseller
C) Wholesale
D) Consumer
E) Retail
18) Government markets consist of government agencies that buy goods and services ________.
A) to produce public services
B) to resell at a profit
C) for further processing
D) for personal consumption
E) that are generally of poor quality
19) Rachel works for a furniture company in Ireland. She is responsible for buying and selling
goods at a profit to small retailers. Rachel most likely operates in a ________ market.
A) business
B) reseller
C) wholesale
D) consumer
E) retail
20) LandPort Transportation and Omega Warehousing help companies move and stock goods
from their manufacturing units to their destinations. These two businesses are examples of
________.
A) resellers
B) marketing services agencies
C) financial intermediaries
D) physical distribution firms
E) wholesalers
21) Sparks Inc. has a growing ________ market in the U.S. consisting of individuals and
households that buy Sparks’ products for personal use.
A) consumer
B) government
C) business
D) international
E) financial
22) Sparex Inc., is a manufacturer of metal bolts that are used by Boilex Inc., to manufacture
heavy machineries. In this instance, Sparex acts as a ________.
A) financial intermediary
B) supplier
C) retailer
D) customer
E) local public
23) Jonathan works for a firm that assists companies in promoting, distributing, and selling their
products to end consumers. The firm Jonathan works for is a ________.
A) licensor
B) supplier
C) marketing intermediary
D) local public
E) general public
24) Cape Sky Inc., an international insurance and financial services company, is the primary
sponsor of the annual New York City Marathon, which is attended by over one million fans and
watched by approximately 300 million viewers worldwide. The Cape Sky logo and name are
displayed throughout the race course. Cape Sky most likely sponsors this event in order to appeal
to which of the following types of publics?
A) financial publics
B) citizen-action publics
C) government publics
D) general publics
E) internal publics
25) The marketing team of 7 Star Inc., a company manufacturing smartphones, is currently
studying the size, density, location, age, and occupation of its target market. Which of the
following environments is being studied in this scenario?
A) demographic environment
B) political environment
C) economic environment
D) technological environment
E) cultural environment
26) The 83 million children born between 1977 and 2000 are known as the ________.
A) Generation X
B) Millennials
C) baby boomers
D) Silent Generation
E) Lost Generation
27) The single most important demographic trend in the United States is the ________.
A) changing age structure of the population
B) mobility of families
C) changing family structure of the population
D) increasing number of professional jobs
E) increasing birth rate
28) Among the generational groups in U.S population, the ________ are still the wealthiest
generation in U.S. history.
A) baby boomers
B) Generation Xers
C) Millennials
D) echo boomers
E) Silent Generation
29) Which of the following is true of the baby boomers?
A) They tend to see themselves as far older than they actually are.
B) They represent a rapidly shrinking market for new housing and home remodeling.
C) They are long past their peak earning and spending years.
D) They control an estimated 80 percent of the United States’ personal wealth.
E) They have utter fluency and comfort with digital technology.
30) Which of the following is true of Gen Xers?
A) They are considerably larger than the boomer generation.
B) They were the first to grow up in the Internet era.
C) They are less educated than the baby boomers.
D) They are more materialistic than the Millennials.
E) They rarely research a product before purchasing it.
31) Which of the following generation groups is the most educated to date?
A) Lost Generation
B) baby boomers
C) Millennials
D) Generation X
E) Silent Generation
32) Which of the following generational groups, born between 1977 and 2000, is also referred to
as the echo boomers?
A) Generation Xers
B) Millennials
C) Lost Generation
D) baby boomers
E) Silent Generation
33) Marketers often split the ________ into teens and young adults.
A) Generation X
B) Millennials
C) Silent Generation
D) baby boomers
E) Lost Generation
34) Which of the following is true of the Millennials?
A) They are the children of baby boomers and were born between 1977 and 2000.
B) They control an estimated 80 percent of the personal wealth in the U.S.
C) They have reached their peak earning and spending years.
D) They were the first to grow up in the Internet era.
E) They are less immersed in technology than Gen Xers.
35) Which among the following generational groups is most fluent and comfortable with digital
technology?
A) Generation X
B) Millennials
C) Baby Boomers
D) Silent Generation
E) Lost Generation
36) Which of the following is a result of a significant increase in the number of women in the
workforce?
A) increase in the consumption of convenience foods
B) decrease in the number of vacation trips planned and booked by women
C) increase in the number of single income households among couples
D) decrease in the demand for consumer goods
E) decrease in the demand for financial services
37) In the context of geographical shifts in population, the migration toward ________ areas has
resulted in a rapid increase in the number of people who telecommute.
A) urban
B) remote
C) rural
D) metropolitan
E) micropolitan
38) Which of the following is a trend that depicts the increasingly nontraditional nature of
today’s American families?
A) the low percentage of working women in the workforce
B) the low percentage of married couples with children
C) the sharply declining number of dual-income families
D) the sharply declining number of stay-at-home dads
E) the decreasing reliance on convenience foods and services
39) Over the past two decades, the U.S. population has shifted toward the ________.
A) Northern states
B) Northeast states
C) Sunbelt states
D) Midwest states
E) Cornbelt states
40) Which of the following has lost population in the past two decades?
A) California
B) Florida
C) the Western states
D) the Northeast states
E) the Southern states
41) In the 1950s, Americans made a massive exit ________.
A) from the South to the Northeast
B) from the West to the Midwest
C) to foreign countries
D) from the cities to the suburbs
E) from the coastal towns to the cities
42) An increasing number of American workers currently work from their homes or remote
offices and conduct their business by phone or the Internet. These trend has created a ________.
A) booming real estate market in the big cities
B) booming SOHO market
C) decline in the demand for convenience foods
D) decline in the demand for financial services
E) steady increase in global enterprises
43) Currently, in the United States, job growth is the weakest for ________.
A) white collar workers
B) manufacturing workers
C) salespeople
D) telecommuters
E) professional workers
44) Micropolitan areas are ________.
A) likely to have a higher crime rate than metropolitan areas
B) less likely to attract telecommuters
C) likely to offer the same advantages as metropolitan areas
D) less likely to offer market expansion opportunities
E) generally unattractive to niche marketers
45) Currently, in the United States, job growth is the strongest for ________.
A) blue collar workers
B) manufacturing workers
C) professional workers
D) construction workers
E) sanitation workers
46) With an expected increase in ethnic diversity within the American population, marketers are
most likely to place a greater emphasis on ________.
A) geographic segmentation
B) targeted advertising messages
C) mass marketing
D) “do well by doing good” missions
E) corporate giving
47) Which of the following is an accurate statement about the diversity of the American
population?
A) African Americans represent the largest non-white segment of the population.
B) More than 40 million people living in the United States were born in another country.
C) By 2050, the Asian population is estimated to hold steady at 4.7 percent.
D) By 2050, Hispanics are estimated to be 10 percent of the population.
E) The United States has become more of a “melting pot” than a “salad bowl.”
48) By 2050, ________ will be an estimated 30 percent of the U.S. population.
A) African Americans
B) Asians
C) Hispanics
D) Native Americans
E) Native Hawaiians
49) Which of the following situations is expected to enhance the use of targeted advertising
messages by marketers?
A) increase in derived demand in the market
B) increase in ethnic populations
C) rising global inflation rates
D) inadequate quality control
E) low advertising budgets
50) Which of the following is true with regard to the diversity segment of U.S. adults with
disabilities?
A) Most individuals with disabilities are active consumers.
B) The market represented by U.S. adults with disabilities is smaller than that represented by
African Americans or Hispanics.
C) The diversity segment, U.S. adults with disabilities, is a rather unattractive segment for the
tourism industry.
D) The annual spending power of U.S. adults with disabilities is less than $100 billion.
E) Most companies are reluctant to reach out to consumers with disabilities.
51) The economic environment consists of economic factors that affect ________.
A) cultural patterns of communities
B) entrepreneurial orientation of a population
C) the quality of technological innovation
D) consumer purchasing power
E) the natural environment
52) A country with a(n) ________ economy consumes most of its own agricultural and industrial
outputs and offers few market opportunities.
A) industrial
B) service
C) technological
D) subsistence
E) developing
53) A country with a(n) ________ has rich markets for many different kinds of goods.
A) industrial economy
B) gift economy
C) barter economy
D) subsistence economy
E) natural economy
54) A value marketer is most likely to ________.
A) offer consumers superior quality of goods and services at a very high price
B) offer consumers only those products that are associated with status and prestige
C) offer consumers low quality goods and services at very low prices
D) offer consumers a balanced combination of product quality at a fair price
E) deny discounts to consumers to increase profits
55) Which of the following statements about income distribution in the United States is NOT
true?
A) Over the past several decades, the rich have grown richer.
B) Over the past several decades, the middle class has grown phenomenally.
C) Over the past several decades, the poor have remained poor.
D) The top 20 percent of earners capture over 50 percent of all income.
E) The top five percent of American earners get nearly 22 percent of the country’s adjusted gross
income.
56) Wholesome Soups, a maker of organic soups, is starting a new marketing campaign
emphasizing the ease of preparing and eating Wholesome Soups. Print, television, and Internet
ads feature teens enjoying Wholesome Soups in between classes and during study breaks.
Wholesome Soups’ new marketing campaign is most likely aimed at which of the following?
A) Baby Boomers
B) the LOHAS market
C) Gen Xers
D) Millennials
E) the SOHO market
57) Mary Adams is helping her company develop a marketing program for a new product line.
The program is designed to appeal most to less materialistic consumer groups who are likely to
prize experience, not acquisition. The marketing program is most likely designed to appeal to
which of the following demographic groups?
A) Generation X
B) Millennials
C) Echo Boomers
D) Silent Generation
E) Lost Generation
58) Which of the following demographic trends is the most likely cause for a rapid increase in
telecommuting?
A) the migration toward micropolitan and suburban areas
B) the migration from rural to metropolitan areas
C) the increasing number of traditional households
D) the growing percentage of married couples who do not have children
E) the declining number of manufacturing workers in today’s workforce
59) Seth Hoffman’s chain of travel agencies has identified the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender community as a growing market that spends an increasing percentage of its income
on travel. Which of the following would be the LEAST effective component of a marketing plan
for Seth to take advantage of this opportunity?
A) develop a presence on LGBT-oriented social networking sites
B) position his agency as focused on specialized experiences
C) implement a mass marketing campaign
D) place specially-targeted ads in gay-themed publications
E) advertise on LOGO, the cable television network aimed at gays and lesbians and their friends
and family
60) The physical environment affecting marketing activities is referred to as the ________
environment.
A) economic
B) natural
C) cultural
D) political
E) social
61) The so-called green movement encouraged companies to ________.
A) actively resist social change
B) operate freely in the black market
C) go beyond government regulations
D) institute deregulation
E) curb organizational anarchy