Principles of Marketing, 17e, Global Edition (Kotler/Armstrong)
Chapter 4 Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Insights
1) With the recent explosion of information technologies, ________.
A) most marketing managers are overloaded with data and often overwhelmed by it
B) most marketing managers are concerned solely about the duplication of content
C) companies have ceased to feel the need for marketing information systems
D) companies have ceased to maintain internal databases
E) it has become more difficult and expensive to obtain primary data
2) The real value of marketing information lies in how it is used ________.
A) in determining selling prices for products
B) in analyzing budgets
C) in creating advertising campaigns
D) in the customer insights that it provides
E) in introducing a new product to the marketplace
3) Brad works with a reputable retailer and leads a team that collects market information from a
wide variety of sources ranging from marketing research studies to monitoring online
conversations where consumers discuss Brad’s firm or its products. Brad’s team uses this
information to arrive at a better understanding of consumers’ behavior and their buying
motives. This, in turn, allows Brad’s firm to successfully generate more value for consumers.
Brad leads the ________ team.
A) product development
B) strategy implementation
C) human resource
D) customer relationship management
E) customer insights
4) The term big data refers to the ________ generated by today’s sophisticated information
generation, collection, storage, and analysis technologies.
A) large reports
B) huge and complex data sets
C) information requests
D) social media contacts
E) e-mail messages
5) Challenges of managing big data include ________.
A) determining what information to request
B) investing in appropriate technology
C) hiring enough software engineers
D) properly routing the information after gathering it
E) accessing and sifting through so much data
6) A(n) ________ consists of people and procedures dedicated to assessing information needs,
developing the needed information, and helping decision makers use the information to
generate and validate actionable customer and market insights.
A) enterprise planning system
B) enterprise information system
C) marketing information system
D) corporate performance management system
E) geographic information system
7) An MIS is used to ________.
A) generate product interest
B) develop marketing plans
C) identify demographic trends
D) assess information needs
E) test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships
8) An MIS user should most likely be able to ________.
A) implement new technology
B) increase order requests
C) develop customer insights
D) analyze employee turnover
E) establish short-term objectives
9) The market researchers at HoneyCamp Foods gather daily sales data and sort it by product
line and region. With the help of sophisticated tools and techniques, they develop the data
needed by marketing managers to evaluate the market share of the company’s different products
and also to gain valuable market insights. This mix of people and procedures at HoneyCamp
Foods that generate actionable marketing insights represents a(n) ________.
A) enterprise planning system
B) product mix
C) strategic planning system
D) marketing information system
E) business portfolio
10) With the recent explosion of information technologies, companies are finding it difficult to
generate marketing information in great quantities.
11) The real value of marketing research lies in the customer insights that it provides.
12) With current technology systems, marketers find it simple to access and sift through the
data that is gathered.
13) A management information system assesses information needs, develops needed
information, and helps decision makers use the information.
14) What do marketers gain from gathering and analyzing information about customers and the
needs and motivations of those customers?
15) What is the function of a marketing information system (MIS)?
16) Briefly explain the functions of a customer insights team.
17) A good marketing information system balances the information users ________ to have
against what they ________ and what is ________ to offer.
A) request; want; affordable
B) demand; should request; time-efficient
C) want; are unaware of; the newest technology
D) would like; need; feasible
E) don’t need; can afford; available
18) Costs are involved in obtaining, ________, storing, and delivering information.
A) analyzing
B) interviewing
C) conducting
D) designing
E) reporting
19) Kei, a senior marketing manager of a pizzeria in North Florida, is currently researching
electronic collections of consumer information within the company network to arrive at crucial
marketing decisions. In this instance, Kei is using ________.
A) ethnographic research
B) internal databases
C) descriptive research
D) data warehouses
E) causal research
20) Information in a company’s database can come from many sources. An advantage of
harnessing such information is to ________.
A) eliminate employee turnover
B) achieve a high degree of employee empowerment
C) gain competitive advantage
D) gain access to mass markets
E) eliminate resource dependency
21) Which of the following is an advantage of using an internal database?
A) Data always remains current in internal databases.
B) Highly sophisticated equipment and techniques are not required for maintaining internal
databases.
C) Internal databases can be accessed more quickly and cheaply than other information sources.
D) Internal databases require less maintenance efforts.
E) Information obtained from internal databases is almost always sufficient for making
marketing decisions.
22) Which of the following is a disadvantage of using information from internal databases?
A) Obtaining information from internal databases is both time-consuming as well as expensive.
B) It is not possible to verify information obtained from internal databases.
C) Using information from internal databases leads to biased research findings.
D) Internal information may be incomplete or in the wrong form for making marketing
decisions.
E) Internal databases do not support highly sophisticated technologies that make it difficult to
store large volumes of data.
23) Problems with internal databases include all of the following EXCEPT that ________.
A) data ages quickly
B) the data is in the wrong form for making marketing decisions
C) managing and mining mountains of information requires sophisticated equipment
D) keeping a database current requires major effort
E) information can be accessed more cheaply
24) ________ is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly available information about
consumers, competitors, and developments in the marketing environment.
A) Data warehousing
B) Competitive marketing intelligence
C) SWOT analysis
D) Ethnographic research
E) Customer relationship management
25) The marketing department of a reputable firm wants to improve strategic decision making,
track the actions of other players in the market, and provide early warning of opportunities and
threats. Which of the following would help the firm achieve its objectives?
A) ethnographic research
B) strategic planning
C) data warehousing
D) competitive marketing intelligence
E) customer relationship management
26) Which of the following statements is true regarding competitive marketing intelligence?
A) The advantage of using competitive marketing intelligence is negligible.
B) The goal of competitive marketing intelligence is to improve recruiting efforts.
C) Competitive marketing intelligence relies upon costly internal databases.
D) Competitive marketing intelligence relies upon publicly available information.
E) Companies using competitive marketing intelligence routinely ignore consumers’ online
chatter.
27) Which of the following is NOT a method of gathering good marketing intelligence?
A) sending out teams of trained observers to mingle with customers
B) interviewing competitors’ employees to learn as much “inside information” as possible
C) setting up digital centers that monitor brand-related online consumer and marketplace
activity
D) purchasing merchandise from competing sites to analyze and compare their assortment,
speed, and service quality
E) searching specific competitor names, events, or trends to see what comes up
28) Which of the following refers to a marketing intelligence technique?
A) interviewing customers randomly
B) increasing the annual budget for R&D
C) investing heavily in primary research
D) implementing product diversification
E) benchmarking competitors’ products
29) Firms use competitive marketing intelligence to ________.
A) create and sustain market monopolies
B) counter the adverse effects of organizational anarchy
C) perpetuate organizational learning
D) gain early warnings of competitor moves and strategies
E) strengthen weak ties with industry competitors
Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s).
Jason West, owner of A1 Cleaning, started his enterprise in 2001. Jason’s primary focus had
been on office cleaning for large corporations. But in recent months, Jason has seen a decline in
demand for his office cleaning services. Surprisingly, the competitive environment appeared
relatively stable with no new competitors. However, Jason knew that office cleaning was a
high-frequency service that is usually performed daily; therefore, competitors must have been
doing something to attract his customers. Building a competitive advantage seemed to be the
only option to offset competition. But as Jason pondered over his dilemma, he realized that
prior to building his competitive advantage he needed to better understand how customers
assessed service quality and what they look for in a superior cleaning service.
Jason developed a research plan. First, he gathered information about his competitors, primarily
through pamphlets and Web sites, as well as through a few phone calls in order to find out
exactly what the competitors offered in their cleaning packages. In addition, Jason obtained
from the Chamber of Commerce an updated list of local corporations. He planned on sending
written questionnaires to them.
Though the list of corporations contained 141 local company names, Jason chose to survey 75
of them. To better understand customer service expectations between both small and large
corporations, Jason divided his surveys into two categories. The survey questions were
designed to extract specific data from respondents with regard to service quality expectations in
correlation to service frequency and price.
Jason awaited the results. Though his primary focus had been on large corporations, he was
flexible and would aim his efforts differently if needed.
30) In this scenario, which of the following is representative of competitive marketing
intelligence?
A) formulating a research plan
B) collecting data about competitors
C) sending mail questionnaires to focus groups
D) creating competitive advantage
E) consolidating core competencies
31) The goal of competitive marketing intelligence is to evaluate and prevent high employee
turnover.
32) External databases are electronic collections of consumer and market information obtained
from data sources within a company’s network.
33) Internal databases usually can be accessed more quickly and cheaply than other information
sources.
34) Data ages quickly.
35) Internal information is almost always sufficient for making marketing decisions.
36) Competitive marketing intelligence is the systematic collection and analysis of publicly
available information about consumers, competitors, and developments in the marketplace.
37) Competitor intelligence can be collected from people inside the company, such as
executives, engineers, purchasing agents, and the sales force, as well as customers.
38) Marketers can obtain information from internal data and from competitive marketing
intelligence. Compare and contrast the two sources of information.
39) What is the most important characteristic of a good MIS?
40) ________ is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a
specific marketing situation facing an organization.
A) Product marketing
B) Strategic planning
C) Marketing research
D) Market segmentation
E) Causal research
41) Which of the following is true with regard to marketing research?
A) The marketing research process depends primarily on sophisticated internal databases.
B) The marketing research process requires assessing macroeconomic forces.
C) Marketing research gives marketers insights into customer motivations.
D) Marketing research eliminates the need for a SWOT analysis.
E) Marketing research is a simple two-step process.
42) Which of the following is the first step in the marketing research process?
A) developing a marketing information system
B) defining the problem and objectives of the study
C) developing the research plan
D) implementing the research plan
E) interpreting and reporting the findings
43) Which of the following is the final step of the marketing research process?
A) developing the research plan
B) implementing the research plan
C) interpreting and reporting the findings
D) selecting a research agency
E) defining the research objectives
44) The objective of causal research is to ________.
A) test hypotheses about cause-and-effect relationships
B) gather preliminary information that will help suggest hypotheses
C) describe things, such as the market potential for a product
D) assign a cause to a seemingly random event
E) predict the effect of a random event on unrelated entities
45) In ________ research, the objective is to gather preliminary information that will help
define the problem and suggest hypotheses.
A) exploratory
B) statistical
C) causal
D) analytic
E) descriptive
46) The goal of ________ research is to describe things, such as the market potential for a
product or the demographics and attitudes of consumers who buy the product.
A) exploratory
B) statistical
C) causal
D) analytic
E) descriptive
47) Akira Takano, a marketing manager, is about to test the hypothesis that the sale of a
particular product will increase exponentially if there is a $5 drop in the selling price of the
product. Akira is involved in ________ research.
A) exploratory
B) descriptive
C) causal
D) constructive
E) ethnographic
48) Which of the following types of research would be best suited for understanding the
attitudes of consumers who buy a particular brand of soft drink?
A) internal research
B) descriptive research
C) causal research
D) exploratory research
E) demographic research
49) Beth Williams works for a marketing research company in Chicago. Her current research
involves finding the market potential for a client’s new line of sports apparel. Given her
objective, which of the following types of research is the most suitable for Beth?
A) causal research
B) constructive research
C) statistical research
D) descriptive research
E) exploratory research
50) The research plan ________.
A) provides comprehensive marketing intelligence about competitors
B) outlines sources of existing data and spells out the specific research approaches
C) does not include sampling plans
D) does not include contact methods
E) precedes the definition of research objectives
51) The research plan should be presented in a written proposal. The proposal should include
all of the following EXCEPT ________.
A) the predicted results
B) research objectives
C) how the results will help management’s decision making
D) estimated research costs
E) the information to be obtained
52) Secondary data consist of ________.
A) information collected for the specific purpose at hand
B) data that does not age
C) information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose
D) information collected from conducting personal, in-depth interviews
E) data that is unreliable and unsuitable for the purpose of making marketing decisions
53) Primary data consist of ________.
A) data that does not age
B) data obtained from the public domain
C) information collected for the specific purpose at hand
D) information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose
E) information that is the least expensive and the easiest to obtain
54) Information collected from Internet search engines is an example of ________ data.
A) primary
B) secondary
C) binary
D) low-level
E) disposable
55) Commercial online databases are rich sources for obtaining ________.
A) primary data
B) secondary data
C) customer insights
D) low-level data
E) binary data
56) Which of the following is a valid source of secondary data?
A) personal letters and correspondence
B) Internet search engines
C) ethnographic research
D) direct surveys
E) interviews
57) Which of the following is true with regard to gathering secondary data?
A) Gathering secondary data involves costly fees to government agencies.
B) Commercial online databases contain primary rather than secondary data.
C) Internet search engines can be useful sources of relevant secondary data.
D) It is illegal for firms to purchase secondary data from outside suppliers.
E) Secondary data eliminates the need for primary data in most cases.
58) Which of the following is true about secondary data?
A) It is always current and, unlike primary data, it does not have to be updated.
B) Unlike primary data, it can be obtained by using direct surveys and questionnaires by the
company.
C) It cannot provide extra information a company is looking for.
D) It can be obtained more quickly and at a lower cost than primary data.
E) It requires more effort compared to gathering primary data.
59) Which of the following is a disadvantage of using secondary data?
A) Secondary data is generally not appropriate for consumer products.
B) Collecting secondary data is time consuming.
C) Few sources exist for secondary data.
D) Gathering secondary data is costly.
E) Relevant secondary data can be difficult to locate.
60) Designing a plan for primary data collection requires decisions on all of the following
EXCEPT ________.
A) research instruments
B) contact methods
C) sampling plan
D) research results
E) research approaches
61) A company sent a trained observer to watch and interact with consumers in their natural
environments in order to gain deeper insights on consumer needs. This is an example of
________.
A) viral marketing
B) survey research
C) ethnographic research
D) experimental research
E) niche marketing
62) ________ involves gathering primary data by closely examining relevant people, actions,
and situations.
A) Observational research
B) Survey research
C) Telephone interviewing
D) Causal research
E) Group interviewing
63) ________, a form of observational research, involves sending observers to watch and
interact with consumers in their natural environments.
A) Group interviewing
B) Ethnographic research
C) Survey research
D) Experimental research
E) Causal research