Raw materials are unprocessed expense items such as farm products and natural
products.
The American economy and most other Western economies are completely
market-directed.
Higher physical distribution service levels is not a source of differentiation.
Uniform delivered pricing is most commonly used when transportation costs are
relatively low.
New York is the state with the largest population, and California is a distant second.
Manufacturers’ sales branches operate like wholesalers, but the U.S. Census Bureau
does not consider them wholesaling establishments because they do not involve a
separate warehouse.
Potential customers are all alike.
A “generic market” is a market in which sellers offer substitute products which are so
similar that customers see them as “all the same.”
Gross domestic product includes foreign income earned in a country.
In the U.S., many factories are concentrated in rural areas.
The customer should not be considered part of a “marketing mix.”
The first step in marketing cost analysis is to reclassify all of the costs in functional
accounts into natural accounts.
“Branding” includes the use of trademarks and brand names to identify a product.
The “four Ps” of the marketing mix are Product, Position, Promotion, and Price.
In general, product life cycles appear to be getting longer in recent years.
Whether a particular macro-marketing system is judged fair and effective depends on
the objectives of the society.
An important difference between raw materials and other business products is the need
for grading.
A marketing strategy and all the time-related details for carrying out the strategy is a
“marketing plan.”
Good packaging can provide a product with an important competitive advantage.
Search ads already know what customers are looking for.
Marketing managers should plan time for strategy changes and not put undue pressure
on the people in their organization to perform heroic efforts.
Quantity discounts encourage customers to buy in larger amounts.
People who have the same amount of incomebut who are in different social classestend
to spend their income in the same way.
It’s best to think of retailing on the Internet as just another example of how low-margin
mass-merchandisers appeal to large target markets with discount prices.
It is always illegal to sell the same products to different buyers at different prices, even
if the price differences are based on cost differences.
Using total quality management to implement marketing plans is one way to improve a
marketing mix.
Status quo pricing objectives might focus on meeting competition, avoiding
competition, or stabilizing prices.
A virtual corporation is likely to look for a capable supplier to produce a product that
meets the specs laid out in the firm’s marketing plan.
Product type describes the goods and/or services that customers want.
Product managers can be instrumental in adapting products for international markets.
A ‘substantial” market segment is one which is big enough to be profitable.
The “continuum of environmental sensitivity” suggests that industrial products are more
sensitive to the cultural environments in which they are placed than high-style
consumer products.
Of all service wholesalers, specialty wholesalers carry the narrowest range of products
and offer the most service.
Developing a set of specific qualitative and quantitative screening criteria can help a
manager define what business and markets the firm wants to compete in.
“Marketing strategy planning” means:
A. finding attractive opportunities and developing profitable marketing strategies.
B. finding attractive opportunities and selecting a target market.
C. selecting an attractive target market.
D. selecting an attractive marketing mix.
E. selecting a target market and developing a marketing strategy.
Pioneering ads for a product work best in which stage of the adoption process?
A. Awareness
B. Interest
C. Evaluation and trial
D. Decision
E. Confirmation
A marketing manager should realize that the adoption curve concept implies
A. the firm’s promotion target should always be the innovators.
B. the laggards are cautious, but that they are willing to adopt a new product quickly if
advertising gets their attention.
C. using different promotional mixes for different adopter groups.
D. the firm’s promotion target should always be the opinion leaders.
E. None of these is a good answer.
According to the text, marketing means:
A. making a good product that sells itself.
B. much more than selling and advertising.
C. selling and advertising.
D. producing goods and/or services.
E. doing whatever it takes to be able to offer consumers a “better mousetrap.”
Which of the following is not a part of the direct market environment for Starbucks?
A. McDonald’s and its coffee.
B. Starbucks objective to open 50 new stores in the United States in 2014.
C. Rising interest rates worldwide.
D. High awareness of Starbucks brand name.
E. Growing interest in brewed cacao a prospective competitor for coffee.
Which of the following gives the correct ORDERING of the steps in the “adoption
process?”
A. Interest, awareness, trial, decision, evaluation, dissonance
B. Awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, decision, confirmation
C. Awareness, interest, trial, evaluation, decision, dissonance
D. Awareness, interest, trial, decision, evaluation, confirmation
E. Awareness, interest, evaluation, decision, trial, confirmation
“Technical specialists”:
A. are usually paid a straight commission on sales.
B. help explain technical details as needed.
C. usually work with business purchasing agents.
D. usually install emergency products.
E. are technical order getters.
Which of the following is a possible outcome of a sales promotion?
A. Sales increase during the period of the promotion and then remain at a higher level
than they were at the start of the promotion.
B. Sales increase during the period of the promotion, decrease when the promotion
ends, and then return at the original level where they were prior to the promotion.
C. Sales increase during the period of the promotion, but then immediately return to the
original level that they were prior to the promotion.
D. All of these are possible outcomes of a sales promotion.
A marketing manager might greatly improve his marketing mix by:
A. shifting the storing job to a specialized storage facility.
B. adjusting the time products will be held by channel members.
C. encouraging final consumers to store some products for future consumption.
D. sharing the storage function (and costs) with intermediaries.
E. All of these would improve the marketing mix.
Integrated direct-response promotion:
A. got its start in the area of direct-mail advertising.
B. is often part of an integrated marketing communications program.
C. focuses on achieving feedback from a target customer that is immediate and
measurable.
D. All of these alternatives are correct for integrated direct-response promotion.
Which of the following retailers was the first to adopt the mass-merchandising concept?
A. Department stores.
B. Discount houses.
C. Supermarkets.
D. General stores.
E. Supercenters.
The universal functions of marketing include buying, selling, transporting, storing,
_________________________________________.
A. standardization and weighing, financing, risk taking, and marketing information
B. standardization and grading, facilitating, risk taking, and marketing information
C. standardization and grading, financing, risk taking, and marketing information
D. standardization and grading, financing, risk taking, and merchandising information
The Consumer Product Safety Commission
A. sets safety standards for new products, but has little power until after a consumer
accident occurs.
B. must approve every new product (including foods and drugs) before it can be sold.
C. provides product liability insurance.
D. can order costly returns of products it considers unsafe.
E. has very little power.
A marketing manager may choose a pricing objective that is:
A. sales oriented.
B. status quo oriented.
C. profit oriented.
D. Any of thesedepending on the situation.
The company’s sales training program typically covers all the following areas except
A. company policies and practices.
B. product information.
C. building relationships with customer firms.
D. professional selling skills.
E. personnel attitudes and prospective client profiles.
A _____ refers to all of the people who participate in or influence a purchase.
A. procurement department
B. bidding group
C. set of gatekeepers
D. sales analysis group
E. buying center
A producer with a marketing orientation is MOST likely to:
A. Distribute the product according to the needs customers have for product availability.
B. Distribute the product in as many retail outlets as possible.
C. Provide overnight express shipping.
D. Use e-commerce as a key element in distribution.
E. Distribute directly from the producer to the consumer.
The job of product or brand manager is often created when a firm:
A. has many different kinds of products or brands.
B. wants to eliminate the job of the research and development department.
C. wants to eliminate the job of sales manager.
D. wants to do away with product “champions.”
E. None of these alternatives is correct.
Which of the following is NOT relevant regarding why some consumers prefer one
retailer over another?
A. Convenience.
B. Shopping atmosphere.
C. Assortment carried.
D. Service.
E. All of these choices can be relevant.
Jeffrey O’Donnell works for a producer of dairy products and knows all about these
products. He is responsible for only two very large chain customers. Other sales reps,
like Jeffrey, call on other large chains for this producer. They regularly call on the
central offices of these big retail chains and encourage them to buy the company’s full
line. Jeffrey is:
A. a missionary salesperson.
B. a retail order taker.
C. a technical specialist.
D. a manufacturers’ agent.
E. a member of his company’s major accounts sales force.
Carefully set territories
A. can reduce travel time but increase costs.
B. can reduce confusion about who has responsibility for a set of sales tasks.
C. always include at least one metropolitan area.
D. always reduce the cost of sales calls.
E. can increase travel time while reducing costs.
The ______ says that producers must provide a clearly written warranty if they choose
to offer any warranty.
A. Norris-LaGuardia Act
B. Lanham Act
C. Wagner Act
D. Magnuson-Moss Act
E. Food and Drug Act
Producers who consider handling the entire distribution job themselves may be
especially inclined to do so because:
A. many customers have established buying patterns that don’t include buying direct
from producers.
B. many customers have a preference for shopping at their favorite locations and won’t
be likely to change.
C. direct distribution usually requires a significant investment in facilities, people, and
information technology.
D. a channel partner (intermediary) is not available or will not cooperate.
E. intermediaries often serve customer needs better than producers and at lower cost.
Freight absorption pricing:
A. amounts to cutting list price to appeal to new geographic markets.
B. forces all buyers to pay higher shipping costs.
C. tends to restrict firms from competing in distant markets.
D. tends to decrease competition.
E. None of these alternatives is correct.
World Tennis Ball Co. (WTB) makes tennis balls and sells them only in the U.S. Raul
Fernandez, the firm’s marketing manager, is comparing his firm’s distribution with two
major competitors.
1) WTB sells its products through four regional distributors who then sell to 22 sporting
goods wholesalers. The wholesalers sell to a total of 7,000 retail outlets. From its
website, WTB also sells directly to any customer who will purchase a minimum
quantity of 24 tennis balls. WTB cooperates with members of its channel, but maintains
some control through its economic power and leadership. It helps to direct the activities
of the whole channel and tries to avoid or resolve channel conflicts.
2) American Tennis Ball (ATB) is a competitor that sells through two distributorseach
with half the country. The distributors then sell through 6 sporting goods wholesalers,
and they, in turn, sell to 1,000 retail outlets (split between two national sporting goods
chains and two general merchandise stores). ATB and its channel make little effort to
work together. However, because of a relatively low level of competition between the
distributors, the wholesalers, or the retail stores, each member of the channel gives the
product special attention.
3) National Tennis Ball (NTB) sells its products through only three tennis specialty
wholesalers that sell only to tennis clubs. NTB actually owns the wholesale firms that
handle its products. NTB’s balls are only available at certain tennis clubs and NTB
limits coverage to only one club in a particular geographic area.
Which of the following appears to best describe ATB’s channel arrangements?
A. Intensive distribution
B. Exclusive distribution
C. Selective distribution
D. Global distribution
E. Direct distribution
Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Marketing is most important in a pure subsistence economy.
B. Marketing should provide direction for production, accounting, and financial
activities.
C. Marketing builds long-lasting relationships that benefit the selling firm.
D. Marketing doesn’t occur unless two or more parties are willing to exchange
something for something else.
E. Marketing anticipates customer needs.
Which of the following statements about packaging is TRUE?
A. Better packaging almost always increases total distribution cost.
B. A package should satisfy not only the needs of final consumers but also those of
intermediaries.
C. A package doesn’t have much promotion impact at retail stores.
D. A good package can aid in the promotion effort, but it’s not as effective as
advertising.
E. All of these statements about packaging are TRUE.
Regarding retailing, which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Supermarkets average about $17 million in sales per year.
B. Single-line mass-merchandisers have not been successfulprobably because their
assortments are so limited.
C. Mass-merchandisers put less emphasis on knowledgeable salespeople than more
conventional retailers.
D. Discount houses got their start selling “hard goods” at lower prices.
E. None of these statements regarding retailing is FALSE.
A specialty product
A. may not require much searching to find it, but the customer would be willing to
search if necessary.
B. may carry a well-recognized brand.
C. may be frequently purchased.
D. need not be an expensive item.
E. All of these alternatives are correct.
When a company provides its advertising agency with a statement about a new product
to use in designing an advertising campaign, and this statement includes a description
of the target market, the product type, the primary benefits of using the product, and
how this product is different from, and better than, competitive products, what type of
statement is this?
A. Qualifying
B. Positioning
C. Determining
D. Clustering
E. Combining