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ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Explain how marketing research can be used in the leisure and sports industry.
The introductory vignette describes how the Sports & Leisure Research Group works
with sports and leisure companies in the golf, cruise line, and other recreation
industries to:
2. What is marketing? Explain the role of marketing research in the process of
marketing management.
The American Marketing Association has defined marketing as an organizational
function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to
3. Give some examples of products that have failed.
Listed are: Irridium telephone, General Motors EVI, McDonald’s veggie burger,
IncrEdibles, Hey! There’s A Monster in My Room Spray. Marketing Research
4. Why are philosophies important to decision makers? What is the marketing concept?
A philosophy is a system of values, or principles, by which you live. Thus, one’s
The marketing concept is a business philosophy, which holds that the key to achiev-
ing organizational goals consists of the company being more effective than com-
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
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5. What is strategy, and why is marketing research important to strategy makers?
A marketing strategy consists of selecting a segment of the market as the company's target
Marketing research is a process that results in reporting information and that information can be
6. Define marketing research. Define market research.
Marketing research is the process of designing, gathering, analyzing, and reporting
Market research refers to applying marketing research to a specific market area. One definition
of market research is: The systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data with respect to
7. What is the purpose of marketing research?
The purpose of marketing research is to link the consumer to the marketer by providing
8. Name the uses of marketing research.
The chapter describes four uses:
Identifying market opportunities and problems
9. Which use of marketing research is considered basic research?
Basic research is conducted to expand our knowledge rather than to solve a specific problem.
10. Give two examples of the types of studies in each of the four classes of marketing research
studies provided in this chapter.
11. Distinguish among MIS (marketing information system), marketing research, and DSS (decision
support system).
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A marketing information system (MIS) is a system consisting of people, equipment, and
procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate
ANSWERS TO APPLICATIONS QUESTIONS
12. Go to your library, either in person or online, and look through several business periodicals
such as Advertising Age, Business Week, Fortune, and Forbes. Find three examples of
companies using marketing research.
13. Select a company in a field in which you have a career interest and look up information on this
firm in your library or on the Internet. After gaining some knowledge of this company, its
products and services, customers, and competitors, list five different types of decisions that you
believe this company’s management may have made within the last two years. For each
decision, list the information the company’s executives would have needed to make these
decisions.
Results will vary greatly based on students’ efforts and their career interests. Typical marketing
14. Think of the following situations. What component of the marketing information system would
a manager use to find the necessary information?
a. A manager of an electric utilities firm hears a friend at lunch talk about a new
breakthrough in solar panel technology she read about in a science publication.
b. A manager wants to know how many units of each of three of the company’s products
were sold during each month for the past three years.
c. A manager wants to estimate the contribution to company ROI (return on investment)
earned by ten different products in the company product line.
d. A manager is considering producing a totally new type of health food. But first, he
would like to know if consumers are likely to purchase the new food, at which meal they
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
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would most likely eat the food, and how they would prefer the food to be packaged.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
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CASE SOLUTIONS
Case 1.1 Starlight Films
Case Objective: This case illustrates the need for marketing research to estimate the
demand (sales forecast) for a movie. Specifically, there is a very large
investment (cost of making the movie) at stake, and the
director/producer must convince potential investors that the movie will
make a significant profit (ROI).
Answers to Case Questions
1. Do you think Daniel Yarbough needs to conduct marketing research? Why or why
not?
Because the purpose of marketing research is to “…link the consumer to the marketer
by providing information that can be used in marketing decisions,” this situation
certainly calls for marketing research information. Based on his experience, Yarbough
2. Based on the case material alone, list decisions that Daniel needs to make.
Here is a list of decisions and how they will affect the ROI estimate.
Decision Effect on ROI
3. For each decision you list in question 2, provide a description of the information that
you think Daniel needs in order to make the decision.
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Here are the decisions and the information that is needed:
Decision Information Needed
Use “hot” actors or unknown actors? 1. What “hot” actors are available and
interested?
Film on location or in a studio? 1. What is the estimated cost of the studio
production?
Use marketing research or not? 1. How much will the marketing research
cost?
Case 1.2 Integrated Case: Advanced Automobile Concepts
Case Objective: This is the introduction to the integrated case that is used throughout
the textbook. It describes how an automobile manufacturer that has
built its reputation and profit on large automobiles senses a change in
consumer sentiment as a result of environmental (global warming) and
practical (high gasoline prices) factors. In addition to innovative new
designs, the company may move to alternative fuel models. Whether
or not prospective automobile buyers are willing to buy the new
models is the issue.
Answers to Case Questions
1. Should Nick Thomas use marketing research?
Yes, absolutely. This is a multimillion dollar investment that may take 3 to 5 years to
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2. What components of ZEN’s marketing information system will Nick Thomas need?
Nick will need all aspects of the MIS. Each component and its associated value are
listed below:
Internal reports system—useful to gather past sales patterns by model, country, and
Marketing intelligence system—useful for gaining an understanding of what
Marketing decision support system—depending on its features, perhaps use the tools
Marketing research system—definitely a specific situation, and there will be a great
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