tasks that allow computers to perform sophisticated behaviors like guiding self-driving cars and
making purchase recommendations.
A) artificial intelligence
B) enterprise software
C) data visualization
D) data source driver
E) smart query
222) IBM, Tesla, and Amazon are using ________ to operate Watson, guide self-driving cars, and
make purchase recommendations, respectively.
A) cloud
B) data visualization
C) corrective
D) artificial intelligence
E) carousel
223) When a marketing manager begins asking “what if” questions to determine how hypothetical
changes in product or brand drivers can affect sales, she is performing ________ analysis.
A) a marketing
B) an environmental
C) a structured
D) a query
E) a sensitivity
224) The extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases to find statistical links
between consumer purchasing patterns and marketing actions is referred to as
A) predictive analysis.
B) information extraction.
C) variable analysis.
D) database management.
E) data mining.
225) Data mining refers to
A) any form of electronically generated market research.
B) the extraction of hidden predictive information from large databases to find statistical links
between consumer purchasing patterns and marketing actions.
C) a branch of marketing specializing in obtaining both objective and subjective data to be used by
other companies or organizations.
D) obtaining information about a competitor and its products for use by one’s own firm.
E) the use of information derived solely from unsolicited sources such as customer complaints or
complements.
226) Many consumers buy soft drinks and potato chips together when they shop at a grocery,
convenience, or mass merchandiser store. But when querying its marketing information system
(MIS), one convenience store discovered that when consumers bought a sandwich, many also
purchased toothpaste. This information was obtained from checkout scanner data from its stores
nationwide. This convenience store used ________ to extract this hidden information from its MIS
to find the statistical link between the two product categories.
A) linear trend extrapolation
B) heuristic modeling
C) data mining
D) descriptive research
E) RFID data
227) ________ modeling employs statistical models that use data mining and probability analysis
to foretell marketing outcomes.
A) Trend
B) Heuristic
C) Predictive
D) Descriptive
E) Visual
228) Target used ________ to identify product purchases to help them identify a woman’s
likelihood of being pregnant as well as her child’s expected due date and even the gender of the
child.
A) trend hunting
B) heuristic data
C) predictive modeling
D) descriptive research
E) visual analytics
229) All of the following are downsides to data mining except which?
A) Some of the information found on the Internet is factually incorrect.
B) Personal, private data on most Americans are available on the Internet.
C) It is easy for almost anyone to find out your personal information through both online and
offline sources.
D) You can use the Internet to find out which companies are obtaining your personal data.
E) Many firms obtain personal, private data by placing cookies on a person’s computer or use
tracking apps to forward location information from a user’s mobile phone.
230) Making recommendations, implementing them, and evaluating results take place during
which step of the five-step marketing research approach?
A) define the problem
B) take marketing actions
C) collect relevant information
D) develop findings
E) develop the research plan
231) Evaluating the results of a marketing decision involves
A) asking prospective customers if they are likely to buy the product during a specified future time
period.
B) requesting the firm’s salespeople to estimate sales during a coming period.
C) collecting data from marketing experts about changes in the environment.
D) collecting projections from all regional sales managers and making projections based on a
region-to-region basis.
E) monitoring the marketplace to determine if action is necessary in the future.
232) Marketing teams must be vigilant in looking for ways to improve the analysis and results in
order to learn lessons that might apply to future marketing research efforts. Evaluating the results
of marketing research includes
A) asking prospective customers if they are likely to buy the product during some future time
period.
B) requesting the firm’s salespeople to forecast sales during a coming period.
C) determining if the marketing research and analysis used to develop the recommendations was
effective.
D) collecting projections from all regional sales managers and making projections based on a
region-to-region basis.
E) collecting data from marketing experts about changes in the environment.
233) The two aspects of the process for evaluating the results of a marketing decision are
evaluating the decision itself and
A) evaluating the sales results.
B) conducting a SWOT analysis.
C) evaluating the decision process used.
D) beginning a new environmental scan.
E) reallocating resources to become more efficient and effective.
234) The total sales of a product that a firm expects to sell during a specified time period under
specified environmental conditions and its own marketing efforts is referred to as the
A) prognostication.
B) sales forecast.
C) guesstimate.
D) marketing intuition.
E) market potential.
235) A sales forecast refers to
A) the total sales of a product that a firm expects to sell during a specified time period under
specified environmental conditions and its own marketing efforts.
B) sales goals based on past performances of individual sales representatives, used as motivation
for productivity among this staff.
C) the total sales from a product that could be generated with a hypothetical set of preferred
environmental forces.
D) the total industry sales generated by a product during a specified time period that results from
specified environmental conditions.
E) published information about competitors’ sales from the NAICS.
236) Which of the following is one of the three frequently used sales forecasting techniques?
A) heuristic prognostications
B) customer contracts
C) trade association experts
D) judgments of the decision maker
E) empirical studies
237) A(n) ________ is a type of forecast that involves estimating the value to be forecast without
any intervening steps.
A) direct forecast
B) survey forecast
C) lost-horse forecast
D) lost-cause forecast
E) intention forecast
238) A direct forecast involves estimating the value to be forecast and
A) making decisions without any intervening steps.
B) halving the highest values and doubling the lowest values to determine an acceptable forecast
range.
C) selecting the alternative that holds the greatest consensus within the management team.
D) then conducting a sensitivity analysis to determine price elasticity.
E) selecting the forecasting alternative that would allow a firm to survive financially even if the
forecasts are incorrect.
239) A(n) ________ involves starting with the last known value of the item being forecast, listing
the factors that could affect the forecast, assessing whether they have a positive or negative impact,
and making the final forecast.
A) direct forecast
B) lost-horse forecast
C) buyers’ intentions forecast
D) indirect forecast
E) incremental forecast
240) Lost-horse forecasting involves
A) admitting that the actions you have taken in the past have failed and removing those and similar
actions from your list of alternatives.
B) starting with the last known value of the item being forecast, listing the factors that could affect
the forecast, assessing whether they have a positive or negative impact, and making the final
forecast.
C) making decisions without any intervening steps.
D) following a prescribed set of “directives” established before the research was even begun.
E) selecting the forecasting alternative that would allow a firm to survive financially even if the
forecasts were totally incorrect.
241) Sherrie sold about $800 worth of produce last weekend at a farmer’s market, but it was sunny
and warm both days. This Saturday and Sunday are both supposed to be rainy, so she thinks fewer
people will attend. She estimates she’ll only sell about three-fourths of her total for last time, or
$600. This is an example of
A) a direct forecast.
B) a lost-horse forecast.
C) a buyer’s intentions forecast.
D) an indirect forecast.
E) an incremental forecast.
242) A survey of buyers’ intentions forecast involves
A) starting with the last known value of the item being forecast, listing the factors that could affect
the forecast, assessing whether they have a positive or negative impact, and making the final
forecast.
B) making decisions without any intervening steps.
C) asking prospective customers if they are likely to buy the product during some future time
period.
D) asking the firm’s salespeople to estimate sales during a coming period.
E) selecting the forecasting alternative that would allow a firm to survive financially even if the
forecasts were totally incorrect.
243) A sales force survey forecast involves
A) asking prospective customers if they are likely to buy the product during some future time
period.
B) asking the firm’s salespeople to estimate sales during a coming period.
C) selecting the forecasting alternative that would allow a firm to survive financially even if the
forecasts were totally incorrect.
D) making decisions without any intervening steps.
E) averaging the projections obtained from just regional sales managers and then making the final
projection.
244) Trend extrapolation involves
A) extending a pattern observed in past data into the future.
B) selecting specific points on a graph of sales or market share, multiplying by the cost of living
index, and allowing for a variation of plus or minus 3 percent.
C) averaging the total sales or market share for the previous five years and multiplying that number
by the expected GDP growth rate for the next year (say 1.5 percent) to arrive at the next year’s
forecast.
D) selecting a given percentage and using that number as a yearly predictive base regardless of
changes in sales, revenue, or market share.
E) collecting projections from all regional sales managers and making the final projection.