Marketing Management, 15e (Kotler)
Chapter 3 Collecting Information and Forecasting Demand
1) As the manager of an organization that is attempting to build a Marketing Information System
(MIS), you have been informed that an MIS is built upon three fundamental information sources.
The sources are ________, marketing intelligence activities, and marketing research.
A) external records and documents
B) databases found on the Internet
C) consultant reports
D) internal company records
E) secondary data from government sources such as the Better Business Bureau
2) The company’s marketing information system should be a mix of what managers think they
need, what managers really need, and ________.
A) what the marketing research department is able to do
B) what consumers are willing to consume
C) what the government policies allow
D) what is acceptable at the industry level
E) what is economically feasible
3) Marketers have little information about how consumption patterns vary across and within
countries.
4) Companies with superior information enjoy a competitive advantage.
5) What is a marketing information system (MIS)? From what sources is the MIS developed?
6) What are the two basic advantages that a company’s marketers have in identifying significant
changes in the market?
7) The heart of the internal records system is the ________ because customers favor firms that
can promise timely delivery.
A) sales information system
B) data mining system
C) order-to-payment cycle
D) information needs probe
E) data warehouse
8) The ________ begins with sales representatives and dealers sending orders to the firms and is
followed by the sales department preparing invoices, and finally generating shipping and billing
documents which are then sent to various departments.
A) payroll system
B) market research process
C) human resources system
D) expense cycle
E) order-to-payment cycle
9) By equipping its sales force with handheld devices with barcode readers and Internet
connections to speed inventory assessment, TaylorMade allows sales executives to have
significantly more time to interact with their consumers. This is an example of the use of
technology in improving ________.
A) sales information systems
B) payroll systems
C) cookies
D) cohort segmentation
E) competitive intelligence gathering
10) Companies can practice targeted marketing by using ________, which are records of Web
site usage stored on personal browsers.
A) plug-ins
B) black swans
C) cookies
D) trolls
E) honey-pots
11) Because customers are not really concerned with timely delivery, customers are unlikely to
differentiate between firms based on their order-to-payment cycles.
12) Few consumers actually delete cookies frequently. When customers do not delete cookies,
they expect customized marketing appeals and deals.
13) Mailing of a new offer to a handful of selected customers instead of all customers reduces
the response rate to the offer.
14) Why is it necessary for firms to execute the steps of the order-to-payment cycle quickly and
accurately?
15) Describe the steps in the order-to-payment cycle.
16) List three examples of how companies are using Big Data.
17) The internal records system supplies results data, but the marketing intelligence system
supplies ________ data.
A) internal
B) revenue
C) thematic
D) happenings
E) process
18) A ________ is a set of procedures and sources managers use to obtain everyday information
about developments in the marketing environment.
A) data warehousing system
B) viral marketing campaign
C) product management system
D) marketing intelligence system
E) sales information system
19) A company can take several steps to improve the quality of its marketing intelligence. Which
of the following best describes the practice used by McDonald’s when it sent pseudo customers
to assess stores’ internal speed standards?
A) training and motivating the sales force to spot and report new developments
B) motivating intermediaries to pass along important intelligence
C) networking externally
D) purchasing information from outside research firms and vendors
E) using the sales information system to get accurate sales reports
20) A company can take several steps to improve the quality of its marketing intelligence. If the
company purchases competitive products for study, attends open houses and trade shows, and
reads competitors’ published reports and stockholder information, the company is using
________ to improve the quality of its marketing intelligence.
A) sales-force surrogates
B) intermediaries
C) external networks
D) advisory panels
E) customer feedback systems
21) When gathering marketing intelligence, companies often use the US census, which provides
an in-depth look at the population swings, demographic groups, regional migrations, and
changing family structure of the more than 281 million people living in the United States. Which
of the following steps to improve the quality of a company marketing intelligence system would
be most closely associated with this illustration?
A) A company can purchase information from outside suppliers.
B) A company can take advantage of government data sources.
C) A company can use online customer feedback systems to collect data.
D) A company can network externally.
E) A company can use its sales force to collect and report data.
22) When a company acquires consumer-panel data from firms like A.C. Nielsen Company and
Information Resources Inc., which of the following steps to improve the quality of a company
marketing intelligence system is the company resorting to?
A) training and motivating the sales force to spot and report new developments
B) motivating distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries to pass along important intelligence
C) hiring external experts to collect intelligence
D) using external network
E) purchasing information from outside research firms and vendors
23) Elance.com is a service provider that allows contractors to describe their level of satisfaction
with subcontractors. This is an example of a(n) ________.
A) independent customer goods and service review forum
B) public blog
C) customer complaint site
D) combo site offering customer reviews and expert opinions
E) distributor or sales agent feedback site
24) When ConAgra learned that many mothers switched to time-saving meals and snacks when
school started, it launched its “Seasons of Mom” campaign to help grocers adjust to seasonal
shifts in household needs. Which of the eight possible actions to improve the quantity and quality
of its marketing intelligence yielded this insight?
A) Train and motivate the sales force to spot and report new developments.
B) Motivate distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries to pass along important intelligence.
C) Hire external experts to collect intelligence.
D) Network internally and externally.
E) Set up a customer advisory panel.
25) Competitive intelligence gathering is inherently illegal and unethical.
26) PlanetFeedback.com is an example of a government-related public resource, which is one of
the five main ways marketers can research competitors’ product strengths and weaknesses online.
27) If a company were pursuing a policy of networking externally to gather marketing
intelligence, it might collect competitors’ ads or look up news stories about competitors.
28) One of the ways to find relevant online information on competitors’ strengths and
weaknesses might be to frequent distributor or sales agent feedback sites.
29) The competitive intelligence function works best when it is closely coordinated with the
decision-making process.
30) A fad is more predictable and durable than a trend.
31) What is a marketing intelligence system? How can marketing intelligence data be collected?
32) What are the various steps a company can take to improve the quality of its marketing
intelligence function?
33) Briefly describe the five main ways in which marketers can find relevant online information
on competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
34) How do the distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries help a company to improve the
quantity and quality of its marketing intelligence?
35) Suppose Canon and Nikon are the only players in the digital camera industry. What can
Canon do to acquire marketing intelligence?
36) A ________ is “unpredictable, short-lived, and without social, economic, and political
significance.”
A) fad
B) fashion
C) trend
D) megatrend
E) style
37) A ________ is a direction or sequence of events that has some momentum and durability; it
reveals the shape of the future and can provide strategic direction.
A) fad
B) fashion
C) trend
D) megatrend
E) style
38) A ________ is a “large social, economic, political, and technological change that is slow to
form, and once in place, influences us for some time — between seven and ten years, or longer.”
A) fad
B) fashion
C) trend
D) megatrend
E) style
39) Which of the following is true about trends in worldwide population growth?
A) Birthrates are on the rise in developed countries.
B) Overall, the world population growth is declining.
C) Birthrates are on the rise in developing countries.
D) Death rates are rising in developing countries.
E) Population growth is highest in developing countries.
40) A growing population does not mean growing markets unless ________.
A) the people are under a democratic system of government
B) there is common ownership of all resources
C) people have sufficient purchasing power
D) there is adequate governmental intervention in the market
E) the government has a budget surplus
41) In the United States, people born between the years ________ are called baby boomers.
A) 1978 and 2002
B) 1946 and 1964
C) 1925 and 1945
D) 1965 and 1985
E) 1920 and 1940
42) Firms find “reverse innovation” advantage by introducing a commodity in a ________.
A) developed country and then distributing it globally
B) developing country and then distributing it in other developing countries
C) developing country and then distributing it globally
D) developed country and then distributing it in developing countries
E) developed country and then distributing it in other developed countries
43) ________ refer to groups of individuals who are born during the same time period and travel
through life together.
A) Cohorts
B) Populations
C) Clans
D) Societies
E) Ethnic groups
44) In the first two-and-a-half years of the iPad’s existence, Apple sold ________ million units
worldwide.
A) 97
B) 45
C) 63
D) 112
E) 91
45) Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons consumers are concerned about privacy?
A) Consumers worry that they will be robbed or cheated.
B) Consumers worry that their information will be used to customize their offers.
C) Consumers believe private information will be used against them.
D) Consumers believe they will be bombarded by solicitations.
E) Consumers believe that children will be targeted by ads.
46) Abby lives in a suburb of Atlanta with her three children. She is part of the biggest
household change this decade, which was ________.
A) a growing demand for larger apartments
B) a need for smaller-size food packages
C) the jump in households headed by women without husbands
D) the growth of the gay and lesbian population in the suburbs
E) the increase of empty nesters
47) The traditional household consists of ________.
A) a husband, wife, and children (and sometimes grandparents)
B) a group of related persons living together
C) two or more families living together
D) a man and a woman living together (whether married or not)
E) related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements
48) By 2010, only ________ percent of US households were traditional households.
A) 20
B) 25
C) 28
D) 31
E) 33
49) Which of the following is likely to occur during economic downturns?
A) People tend to spend more on luxury goods.
B) Consumption of necessary goods decline.
C) Long-term credit is available at concessional rates of interest.
D) The purchasing power of the population declines.
E) The level of investment in the economy rises.
50) Which of the following economies provide limited opportunities to international marketers to
develop product sales?
A) capitalist economies
B) subsistence economies
C) raw-materials-exporting economies
D) industrializing economies
E) industrialized economies
51) Which of the following represents a raw-material-exporting economy?
A) Papua New Guinea
B) Democratic Republic of Congo
C) India
D) Egypt
E) Philippines
52) When its monitoring software spotted a Twitter post that went to 10,000 followers from an
upset consumer who couldn’t redeem a prize from a MyCoke rewards program, Coke quickly
posted an apology on his Twitter profile and offered to help resolve the situation. This is an
example of which of the following?
A) mystery shopper actions
B) consumer panel data
C) purchasing outside information
D) acting on marketing intelligence
E) conducting a sentiment analysis
53) Which of the following elements of sociocultural environment can be associated with the
growing demand for “social surrogates” like social networking sites, television, etc.?
A) views of ourselves
B) views of organizations
C) views of others
D) views of nature
E) views of the universe
54) Today, corporations need to make sure that they are good corporate citizens and that their
consumer messages are honest in order to positively align themselves with consumers’ views of
________.
A) others
B) organizations
C) themselves
D) the universe
E) society
55) People vary in their views of society and their consumption patterns often reflect their social
attitudes. ________ usually live more frugally, drive smaller cars, and wear simpler clothing.
A) Makers
B) Escapers
C) Seekers
D) Changers
E) Developers
56) People vary in their views of society and their consumption patterns often reflect their social
attitudes. ________ usually eat, dress, and live well.
A) Makers
B) Escapers
C) Seekers
D) Changers
E) Developers
57) People vary in their views of society and their consumption patterns often reflect their social
attitudes. ________ are a major market for movies, music, surfing, and camping.
A) Makers
B) Preservers
C) Escapers
D) Changers
E) Developers
58) ________ beliefs and values are passed from parents to children and reinforced by social
institutions — schools, churches, businesses, and governments; they are very difficult to change.
A) Transient
B) Secondary
C) Protected
D) Core
E) Variable
59) Which of the following would be the best illustration of a secondary belief or value?
A) belief in work
B) belief in giving to charity
C) belief in getting married
D) belief in getting married early
E) belief in being honest
60) Each society contains ________, groups with shared values emerging from their special life
experiences or circumstances.
A) stakeholders
B) cliques
C) consumer bundles
D) subcultures
E) behavioral niches
61) Which of the following is the largest contributor to global warming, contributing almost a
quarter of the carbon dioxide in the environment?
A) transportation
B) industrial production facilities
C) electrical power plants
D) aerosol cans
E) rural cooking fires
62) Which of the following is the second largest contributor to global warming, accounting for
roughly a fifth of carbon emissions?
A) transportation
B) primary metal production facilities
C) electrical power plants
D) aerosol cans
E) rural cooking fires
63) Firms whose products require ________ resources — oil, coal, platinum, zinc, silver — face
substantial cost increases as depletion approaches.
A) infinite
B) near finite
C) finite renewable
D) finite nonrenewable
E) perishable
64) Prestige LLC, a small company that manufactures specialty cereals and energy bars, wants to
launch a “green marketing” program in response to heightened consumer awareness about
environmental issues. What should the company do to maximize the program’s chances of being
successful?
A) demonstrate that the products will benefit both customers and the society in the long term
B) emphasize benefits to the consumer rather than environmental benefits
C) focus on the efforts and costs incurred by the company to bring these “green” products to
consumers
D) engage in “greenwashing” to highlight the environmental benefits of the product
E) explain the rules and regulations laid out by governmental agencies to protect the environment
65) When a company is said to have engaged in “greenwashing,” it means that the ________.
A) company has significantly changed its business processes to incorporate a greener, more
environmentally friendly philosophy
B) company has moved its production facilities to countries where environmental laws and
regulations are less rigorous
C) company has changed its “green” image in order to appeal to a different, usually older,
demographic
D) company’s products are not nearly as green and environmentally beneficial as its marketing
might suggest
E) company has undertaken a campaign to lobby for tougher environmental regulations for the
industry
66) Of the following, which country received the highest score on the Greendex sustainable
consumption index, which suggests they minimize their environmental impact via decisions
made about transportation, household energy, resource use, and food/good consumption?
A) China
B) Brazil
C) India
D) United States
E) France
67) ________ Americans, the second-largest Asian population in the United States, is generally
affluent, well-educated, and attractive to marketers.
A) Korean
B) Japanese
C) Chinese
D) Filipino
E) Indian
68) Which of the following is true about the technology trends that marketers should monitor?
A) A growing portion of US R&D expenditures are going toward the research side as opposed to
the development side.
B) Today, the time between idea and implementation is expanding.
C) More single companies rather than consortiums are directing research efforts toward major
breakthroughs.
D) The pace of change is accelerating today.
E) The government has decreased regulation of technological change.
69) Mandatory recycling laws have boosted the recycling industry and launched dozens of new
companies making new products from recycled materials. Which of the following most closely
resembles this situation?
A) Government makes reforestation mandatory for lumbering firms leading to a rise in timber
production.
B) Government restricts industries from purchasing farmland thereby increasing agricultural
produce.
C) Government subsidizes export of beef to promote production of beef cattle.
D) Government pollution control norms increase the production of pollution control equipment.
E) Government restricts unfair trade practices to promote international trade.
70) A possible unintended effect of business legislation is ________.
A) restricting fair competition in the market
B) encouraging unbridled business behavior
C) reducing the social cost of producing a particular commodity
D) exposing consumers to unfair trade practices
E) slowing economic growth
71) An important force affecting business is the ________ movement, a movement of citizens
and government organized to strengthen the rights and powers of buyers in relation to sellers.
A) human rights
B) consumerist
C) environmental
D) self-determination
E) materialistic
72) A new market opportunity generally guarantees success, if the new product is technically
feasible.
73) Demographic developments are often unpredictable.
74) Population growth is highest in countries and communities that can least afford it.
75) There is a global trend toward an aging population.