The scientific method
A. rejects the idea that marketing managers can make “educated guesses” about
marketing relationships.
B. shows that every marketing research project should have five steps.
C. is an orderly and objective approach to judging how good an idea really is.
D. recognizes that statistical analysis provides the only basis for rejecting an
hypothesis.
E. None of these alternatives is true.
Answer:
Use this information for question that refer to the Yummy Ice Cream case.
Kelly Stich, marketing manager for Yummy Ice Cream Products, is thinking about some
of her products and her promotion plans for the coming year.
Yummy Ice Cream Products is introducing a new ice cream treat called PlanetSavers.
This treat uses ice cream produced with environmentally friendly processes that save
energy and protect the ozone. Yummy plans to send articles to magazines, local
newspapers, and environmental groups that explain the environmentally safer treat. The
product also has a unique texture and different flavor.
Stich wants to use counter cards and in-store signs to let people know about Cherry
Walrus, the company’s new flavor. She is also developing sales training materials that
will teach ice cream scoopers in Yummy’s ice cream stores to promote the product.
Right after Cherry Walrus is introduced each store will also hand out coupons that are
good for one day only.
Yummy Mondaes is a product that has been around for 25 years. It is Yummy’s take on
the classic ice cream sundae, but white-brownie and coffee-flavored crumbles are added
to make it extra special. The company sells this product in one and two quart containers
through major grocery store chains. It relies on personal selling and price discounts to
retailers to move more of the product. The company does very little consumer
promotion for this product.
Yummy Fudge on a Stick is a new product of fudge-flavored ice cream on a stick.
Yummy plans to sell it through retail grocery stores and is launching an aggressive
advertising program that will use television, radio, newspaper, magazines, and the
Internet. Most of its promotion will be directed at consumers.
Two years ago, the company introduced Yummy Fruit on a Stick, an all-natural frozen
fruit product on a stick. The product category has been popular, continues to grow, and
is in the market growth stage of the product life cycle.
For a new product like PlanetSavers, which of the following would you expect to be a
primary objective of the promotion that is planned?
A. Control of the message channel
B. Increased promotional push
C. Informing consumers
D. Reminding ice cream shop managers and retailers
E. Persuading consumers who otherwise wouldn’t eat ice cream
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT one of the “universal functions of marketing”?
A. Production
B. Standardization
C. Financing
D. Buying
E. Transporting
Answer:
A sales rep might use new software for ______________ to provide a competitive
advantage.
A. sales forecasting
B. spreadsheet analysis
C. electronic presentations
D. customer contacts
E. any or all of these software could help provide a competitive advantage
Answer:
The basic problem with the average-cost approach is that it
A. does not consider cost variations at different levels of output.
B. does not consider historical values.
C. does not add a reasonable markup to the average cost of a product.
D. is not commonly used.
E. is a complex method.
Answer:
Use this information to answer the following question that refer to the EI (Electech Inc.)
case.
Electech, Inc. (EI) produces a line of semiconductors for electronics products
manufacturers. These items range in price from $5-$100 and are used in products the
buyer is producing. EI also designs and builds computer networking equipment. The
prices of these items range from $5,000 to $100,000. These are used to control
production equipment. Usually, they are custom-made to the specifications of the
buyer-the firm that will use the product in its own production process.
EI sells nationally through independent sales reps-paid on commission-who work in the
large industrial centers across the country. EI is more concerned with the quality of
these reps than with the number of them. All of them also sell other lines. EI also uses
five full-time salaried salespeople who work out of its corporate headquarters under a
sales manager.
The home office salespeople are “technical specialists” who sell almost all the
networking equipment, while the “reps” mostly sell the semiconductors. Sometimes,
however, the reps will send in leads to customers who want networking equipment. EI
also sells some of its semiconductors through a Los Angeles wholesaler who carries
stock for West Coast customers.
There are many producers and importers of semiconductors in the U.S.-but several
firms have captured large shares of the networking equipment market. EI has held its
own, and in fact, over the past five years has increased its market share of these
products to over 25 percent-because of its better technical designs.
Industry-wide prices of the more or less homogeneous semiconductors have been
forced further and further down over the last seven years-as have industry profits. The
price of networking equipment is set by adding a standard markup percent to the direct
cost of the items-for overhead and for profit. Following industry practice, all prices are
quoted at the seller’s factory.
EI publishes a catalog, which is revised periodically. Also, it exhibits in most equipment
trade shows.
What kind of distribution is EI seeking for its networking equipment?
A. Direct distribution
B. Exclusive distribution
C. Selective distribution
D. Intensive distribution
Answer:
The percentage of new retailing ventures which fail during their first year is:
A. two-thirds.
B. three-fourths.
C. one-half.
D. one-fourth.
E. one-third.
Answer:
Identify the wholesaler type that carries a very narrow range of products, but offers
more information and service than other service wholesalers.
A. General merchandise
B. Limited-function
C. General-line
D. Specialty
E. Catalog
Answer:
Persuasive promotion is especially important in which of the following product life
cycle stages?
A. Market maturity
B. Sales decline
C. Market introduction
D. Market growth
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of mail surveys as a method of
quantitative research?
A. Ability to do extensive questioning
B. Ability of the respondent to complete the survey at his/her convenience
C. Greater willingness of the respondent to provide personal information
D. High response rates
E. Low cost relative to personal interview surveys
Answer:
“Competitive advertising” tries to:
A. develop selective demand rather than primary demand.
B. keep a product’s name before the public.
C. promote the competitive products of an industry rather than a particular firm.
D. build demand for a product category.
E. create goodwill for a firm.
Answer:
San Oxana Insurance Company uses relatively untrained people to sell its life
insurance. The sales reps learn prepared sales presentations, which help them describe
the firm’s policies to potential customers, discover each customer’s specific needs, and
then lead them through some logical steps to a final close. They are using a:
A. selling formula approach.
B. customer service approach.
C. target market presentation.
D. consultative selling approach.
E. prepared sales presentation.
Answer:
To reduce conflicts in channels, a firm should:
A. Offer different products through each channel.
B. Provide some compensation to members of the older channel.
C. Treat channel partners fairly even when one partner is more powerful.
D. Focus on segments not currently served by existing channels.
E. All of these alternatives are correct.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT one of the basic sales tasks?
A. Order-taking
B. Supporting
C. Sales-promoting
D. Order-getting
E. None of these, i.e. all are basic sales tasks
Answer:
The adoption process refers to the steps individuals go through on the way to accepting
or rejecting a new idea.
Answer:
Manufacturers’ agents usually work for:
A. manufacturers’ sales branches.
B. only one manufacturer.
C. selling agents.
D. several manufacturers of noncompeting lines.
E. service wholesalers.
Answer:
Use this information for question that refer to the Sporting Products, Inc. (SPI) case.
Randy Todd, marketing manager for Sporting Products, Inc. (SPI), is thinking about
how changes taking place among retailers in his channel might impact his strategy.
SPI sells the products it produces through wholesalers and retailers. For example, SPI
sells basketballs to Wholesale Supply for $8.00. Wholesale Supply uses a 20 percent
markup and most of its ‘sport shop” retailer customers, like Robinson’s Sporting Goods,
use a 33 percent markup to arrive at the price they charge final consumers. However,
one fast growing retail chain, Sports Depot, only uses a 20 percent markup for
basketballs, even though it pays Wholesale Supply the same price as other retailers.
Furthermore, Sports Depot occasionally lowers the price of basketballs and sells them
at cost-to draw customers into its stores and stimulate sales of its pricey basketball
shoes.
Sports Depot is also using other pricing approaches that are different from the sports
shops that usually handle SPI products. For example, Sports Depot prices all of its
baseball gloves at $20, $40, or $60-with no prices in between. There are three big bins –
one for each price point.
Todd is also curious about how Sports Depot’s new strategy to increase sales of tennis
balls will work out. The basic idea is to sell tennis balls in large quantities to nonprofit
groups who resell the balls to raise money. For example, a service organization at a
local college bought 2,000 tennis balls printed with the college logo. Sports Depot
charged $.50 each for the tennis balls-plus a $500 one-time charge for the stamp to print
the logo. The service group plans to resell the tennis balls for $2.50 each and contribute
the profits to a shelter for the homeless.
Todd is not certain if Sports Depot ideas will affect SPI’s plans. For example, SPI is
considering adding tennis racquets to the lines it produces. This would require a
$500,000 addition to its factory as well as the purchase of new equipment that costs
$1,000,000. The variable cost to produce a tennis racquet would be $20, but Todd
thinks that SPI could sell the racquet at a wholesale price of $40 each. That would allow
most retailers to add their normal markup and make a profit. However, if Sports Depot
sells the racquet at a lower than normal price other retailers might decide to carry it.
By pricing below other retailers, Sports Depot apparently:
A. hopes to achieve status quo pricing objectives.
B. wants to set prices based on “value in use.”
C. relies on a high margin percent.
D. sees this as an oligopoly market.
E. expects a high stockturn rate.
Answer:
In a firm that fully implements the physical distribution concept:
A. Physical distribution activities are dealt with as separate, unrelated activities, not as
coordinated parts of a single system.
B. The firm seeks to minimize the cost of distribution for a given customer service
level.
C. Increasing the level of service provided is not related to customer perceptions of
value.
D. Physical distribution is never a source of competitive advantage.
E. None of these alternatives is correct.
Answer:
The term “micro-macro dilemma” means that:
A. most people are both producers and consumers.
B. marketing people cannot agree on whether marketing should be viewed as activities
or as a social process.
C. macro-marketing is just a small part of a larger micro-marketing system.
D. the micro view of marketing is concerned with the flow of goods and services from
producers to consumers-while the macro view is not.
E. what is “good” for some producers and consumers may not be good for society as a
whole.
Answer:
Which of the following could serve as a firm’s mission statement?
A. Green is good
B. Promote all brands using viral videos
C. We aim to boost annual sales by 15 percent
D. Create three new product lines
E. We exist to provide customers with the best shopping experience anywhere in
cyberspace.
Answer:
Which statement is true about products in the sales decline stage of the product life
cycle?
A. Brand managers should phase-out this product as quickly as possible.
B. A declining product may still be profitable for some time and it might be more
appropriate to phase-out this product gradually.
C. Customers will always abandon the declining product immediately if an alternative
is available.
D. Phasing-out a product at this time is fairly easy and this strategy will cut future
losses.
E. None of these statements about the sales decline stage is true.
Answer:
“Discretionary income:”
A. is a family’s income AFTER taxes.
B. is a measure of a family’s total purchasing power.
C. is the amount of income spent on durable goods.
D. is a family’s income AFTER paying taxes and paying for necessities.
Answer:
Compared to conventional retailers, which of the following types of retailers offer a
wider product assortment but less service?
A. Convenience stores.
B. Supermarkets.
C. Telephone order retailers.
D. Department stores.
E. Limited-line stores.
Answer:
Which of the following is NOT a promotion method?
A. mass selling
B. personal selling
C. sales promotion
D. All of these choices are promotion methods.
Answer:
A large producer who offers no discounts and the same prices to all customers in the
U.S.:
A. does not have pricing objectives.
B. ignores the benefits of administered pricing.
C. probably ignores nonprice competition too.
D. may be “playing it safe” because of concern about the Robinson-Patman Act.
E. is probably violating the antidumping laws.
Answer:
Market research firm BestOne sells reports about competitors, products, and other areas
to various clients in the software industry. BestOne performs which universal marketing
function:
A. risk taking.
B. market information.
C. standardization and grading.
D. social responsibility.
E. financing.
Answer:
With focus group interviews,
A. consumers talk as a group for about 10 minutes, and then meet individually with an
interviewer.
B. it is typical for the researcher to develop quantitative summaries of the results.
C. marketing managers can estimate the size of the market for a new product.
D. the objective is to get the group to interact, so that many ideas are generated.
E. researchers try to select a large sample so they can extend the results to the whole
population.
Answer:
In order to build relationships with customer value, firms must do all of the following
except
A. ensure that everyone in a firm works together to provide customer value before and
after each purchase.
B. brief their advertising people to develop ads that try to convince a customer to buy
once.
C. attract customers in the first place-and keep them satisfied after they buy.
D. try to adopt the marketing concept.
E. try to eliminate costs that do not give value to customers.
Answer:
From a marketing perspective, product quality primarily depends on,
A. the price of a product.
B. a product working as it is supposed to work.
C. quality control procedures used during manufacturing.
D. the customer’s specific requirements and needs.
E. the features of products offered by competitors.
Answer:
Which of the following duties would not be performed by a firm’s marketing managers?
A. Planning activities
B. Directing the implementation of plans
C. Controlling plans
D. Overseeing the firm’s financial statements
E. Developing marketing mixes for target markets
Answer:
Generation Z refers to:
A. those born between 1965 and 1977.
B. those born since 1995.
C. those born between 1946 and 1964.
D. those born in the generation immediately following the baby boom.
Answer:
Which of the following types of advertising is most appropriate for the awareness stage
of an advertising campaign?
A. Reminder ad
B. Competitive ad
C. Jingle
D. Direct-action retail ads
E. Price deal offers
Answer:
Which of the following is true of the role of smartphones and online advertising?
A. Advertisers are suspicious about the use of smartphones for advertising as they offer
limited access to the Internet.
B. Ads appearing on smartphones are better trusted and accepted as a source for buying
information when compared to online consumer opinions.
C. Advertisers need to consider having mobile-compatible versions of their ads, as this
will help them access customers anytime and anywhere.
D. Smartphones can be used as a medium to deliver ads based on cultural targeting in
the near future.
E. Smartphones are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in many less-developed
countries, even though they are the last avenue to the Internet in developed countries.
Answer:
FRI Phones Inc. always used the services of ad agency West, Smith, and Wiley, to
create advertising campaigns for its products. When a major competitor outsourced its
promotional campaign to West, Smith and Wiley, FRI Phones revoked its contract with
the ad agency. Which of the following is most likely to have been the reason for FRI
Phones Inc.’s decision?
A. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) prohibits two competing companies from
using the services of the same ad agency.
B. Ad agencies are permitted to handle only one account at any given time.
C. When customers realize that two competing companies use the services of the same
ad agency, they will fail to differentiate the companies’ products.
D. Ad agencies often have access to their client’s confidential information, increasing
the chances of FRI Phones losing such information to its competitor.
Answer:
Buying specialists for organizations are commonly called:
A. supply agents.
B. vendor agents.
C. value analysts.
D. purchasing managers.
E. consumer buyers.
Answer: