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Chapter 13 - Measuring and Delivering Marketing Performance
End of Chapter Discussion Questions and Answers
1. MTS Systems Inc. is a relatively small manufacturer of measurement instruments used
to monitor and control automated production processes in a number of different
industries, such as autos and aerospace. The firm has 12 salespeople, each of whom
calls on companies in a particular industry. While the firm’s sales have increased
steadily in recent years, its profits have been relatively stagnant. One problem is that
the firm has no information concerning the relative profitability of the various
products it makes or the different customers to whom it sells. MTS Systems has hired
you as a marketing consultant to design a performance measurement system that will
enable the firm to evaluate its performance across the various items in its product line
and the various segments of its market. As if you were a marketing consultant, outline
the major marketing metrics you would recommend including in such a system.
Answer:
Answers should focus on profitability analysis. The insights offered by the text include the
following:
The profitability analysis requires that analysts determine the costs associated with specific
marketing activities to find out the profitability of such units as:
Different market segments
The system should be designed to collect data in these four areas.
Students may also address the following limitations:
Many objectives can best be measured in nonfinancial terms (e.g., customer
satisfaction)
2. What specific types of information would have to be collected and evaluated in order to
implement the system you outlined in your answer to question 1? What sources could
be used to obtain each necessary type of information?
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© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 13 - Measuring and Delivering Marketing Performance
Answer:
Student answers may vary. Answers may contain the following elements:
3. After finishing your report, including the types of information needed (see question 2),
you decide to develop a dashboard of performance metrics to be used by the top
management team to evaluate the drivers of the firm’s success. These measures would
be used with the system you recommended. Outline the contents of this “addition,”
making sure you give examples of your individual recommendations.
Answer:
Student answers may vary. Answers may contain the following elements:
Since the dashboard is aimed at top management, the question of for whom the metric
should be designed is already answered.
The dashboard should concentrate on the profit generated in the following groupings:
Geographical areas—regions, counties, and sales territories
An array of such metrics can aid top management in identifying patterns of profitability and
trouble spots that need attention.
4. You are a marketing manager in an SBU of a large consumer food manufacturer. The
SBU’s general manager has asked you to conduct a marketing audit of the SBU as a
basis for evaluating its strategic and operations strengths and weaknesses. What issues
or areas of concern should be covered by your audit? After completing your marketing
audit, you are asked to develop a contingency plan for the SBU’s major product line.
Provide an outline of what the plan should cover.
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© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 13 - Measuring and Delivering Marketing Performance
Answer:
Student answers may vary. The insights offered by the text notes include the following:
Marketing audits are both a control and planning activity that involves a comprehensive
However, it seems that other types of audits should also be performed including:
Marketing environment audit—requires an analysis of the firm’s present and future
Planning and control system audit—evaluates the adequacy of the systems that
Organization audit—deals with the firm’s overall structure, how the marketing
Marketing productivity audit—evaluates the profitability of the company’s individual
Marketing functions audit—examines, in depth, how adequately the firm handles each
The contingency plan should address problems that might affect the major product line that
may arise from the environment, the firm’s planning and control systems, its organizational
structure, its marketing productivity or how well it performs the marketing functions.
The text says that the marketing functions audit examines, in depth, how adequately the firm
handles each of the marketing-mix elements.
Questions relating to the product concern the attainability of the present product-line
Price questions have to do with price elasticity; experience effects, relative costs, and
Distribution questions center on coverage, functions performed, and
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© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 13 - Measuring and Delivering Marketing Performance
Questions about advertising focus on advertising objectives and strategies, media
The audit of the salesforce covers its objectives, role, size, coverage, organization, and
Addressing these issues should provide the requested contingency plan.
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© 2014 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any
manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
