Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-34
e. Where will consumers buy it? The answer to this question will specify the types
f. How is your candy bar different from those already on the market? The
12. Have the class comment on the marketing programs that the two teams developed for
their candy bars. Ask the following questions of the entire class about each of the
two candy bars proposed by the two teams:
a. Target market. Is it attractive enough (large, growing, etc.) to warrant the
expense of a marketing effort?
b. Product. What features/benefits are important to prospective customers? Can
they form the basis of a message that can be effectively communicated?
f. Points of difference. Does your product provide overall customer value?
Marketing Lessons. This ICA introduces students to the essential marketing concepts
that marketing and product managers deal with on a daily basis. Students should conclude that
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-35
DESIGNING A CANDY BAR HANDOUT
MARKETING
PROGRAM AND
POINTS OF
DIFFERENCE
YOUR MARKETING ACTIONS
What is it?
(Product)
Specify features,
benefits, form, size,
etc. and why
How much will
consumers pay for
it?
(Price)
Specify cost
and why
How will consumers
find out about it?
(Promotion)
Specify methods to
inform and generate
trial and why
Where will
consumers buy it?
(Place)
Specify types of
retailers and why
How is it different
from others?
(Points of
Difference)
Specify why it is
superior to
competitors’
offerings
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-36
ICA 1-2: IN-CLASS ACTIVITY
What Makes a Better Mousetrap?
3
Learning Objectives. To have students (1) discover the importance of “points of
difference” in meeting consumer wants and needs and (2) see how they vary by market segment.
Nature of the Activity. To have students do in-class “marketing research” on what
features consumers look for in a mousetrap to help discover why a “better mousetrap” failed
more than three decades ago.
Definitions. Because the class is not yet familiar with marketing terms, instructors may
wish to define the following terms before starting the ICA:
• Customer value: The unique combination of benefits received by targeted buyers that
• Points of difference: Those characteristics of a product that make it superior to
competitive substitutes.
Estimated Class Time and Teaching Suggestions. About 20 minutes, taught in class in
4-person teams.
Materials Needed. Copies for each student, either in hard copy or electronically, of the:
Steps to Teach this ICA.
1. OPTIONAL: Bookmark the Victor® Pest (www.victorpest.com) web pages for the
2. Form students into 4-person teams.
3. Pass out copies of the following handouts to each student:
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-37
4. Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote and give the following mini-lecture:
“If a man…makes a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to his door.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
5. Click on the “Video” Internet icon to play a short YouTube video from Victorpest
6. Continue with the following mini-lecture:
“Woolworth decided that what the company needed to do was to build ‘a better
[NOTE: The Live Catch mousetrap being shown was NOT this plastic trap but is used
here FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.]
“If we compare the new versus the old, the original Victor® Metal Bait Pedal trap sold
7. Why did the new plastic mousetrap fail to meet sales expectations?
8. Ask students to answer the following questions:
• Question 1: What triggers the decision to buy a mousetrap?
Answer: Seeing nibbled boxes of cereal or mouse droppings on the floor triggers
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-38
• Question 3: Who actually buys the mousetrap?
• Question 4: Where does the person buy the mousetrap?
Answer: Mousetraps might be purchased in hardware stores (Ace), supermarkets
• Question 5: Who in the family uses the mousetrap and how do they use it?
Answer: This is the key question and should turn up two distinct market
• Question 6: What features do users want in a mousetrap?
Answer: The “disposer” market segment wants a cheap and relatively efficient
• Question 7: Why did sales of the “better” plastic mousetrap not meet sales
expectations? [The Live Catch mousetrap is used for educational purposes only.]
Answer: Have students suggest their answers and write them down on the board.
8. Mousetrap Market Segments and state the following:
“Thirty years ago, ‘efficiency’ (the key ‘point of difference’ or benefit) of the plastic
trap was not an important feature to most buyers. The “disposer” segment was
especially reluctant to throw the dead mouse and the 25-cent plastic trap into the
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-39
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-40
WHY DID THE NEW PLASTIC MOUSETRAP
FAIL TO MEET SALES EXPECTATIONS?
OLD WOODEN TRAP
Wood
2 for 15¢
50% efficiency
Some Key Marketing Questions
1. What triggers the decision to buy a mousetrap?
2. Who in the family makes the decision to buy?
3. Who actually buys the mousetrap?
4. Where does the person buy the mousetrap?
5. Who in the family uses the mousetrap and how do they
use it?
6. What features do users want in a mousetrap?
7. Why did the “better” plastic mousetrap not meet sales
expectations?
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-41
WHICH OF THE MARKETS (A, B, C, OR D) WAS THE
LARGEST FOR MOUSETRAPS 25 YEARS AGO?
Market
Segment
Product: Kind of Mousetrap
Wooden Trap
Plastic Trap
“Disposers”
A
B
“Reusers”
C
D
Copyright © 2020 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
1-42
Exercise 1: Customer Value and Relationship Strategies
Activity Summary: This click and drag activity helps students identify how firms create
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Product Value Creation
Learning Objective: LO 01-04 Explain how organizations build strong customer relationships
and customer value through marketing.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could build on the examples of value creation presented in the
text by creating three master lists on the board; best service, best price, and best product.
Exercise 2: 4 Ps of Marketing
Activity Summary: This activity provides students with an opportunity to classify marketing
tactics as one of the 4Ps in this click and drag. There are four examples of each marketing tactic
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: The Four Ps
Learning Objective: LO 01-03 Distinguish between marketing mix factors and environmental
forces.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: The instructor could describe an unmet need for a target market to the class
1-43
Exercise 3: 3M: Video Case
Activity Summary: This video case describes the process of need discovery utilized by 3M as it
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: Consumer Needs and Wants, Target Markets, Product Value Creation, The Four Ps
Learning Objectives: LO 01-01 Define marketing and identify the diverse factors that influence
marketing actions.
LO 01-02 Explain how marketing discovers and satisfies consumer needs.
LO 01-04 Explain how organizations build strong customer relationships
and customer value through marketing.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Remember, Understand
Difficulty Level: 1 Easy, 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: Using the Post-it Flag Pen as a starting point, have students identify
Exercise 4: The Marketing Program: How Customer Relationships Are Built
Activity Summary: This click and drag activity has the students identify the marketing mix
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topic: Target Markets
Learning Objectives: LO 01-02 Explain how marketing discovers and satisfies consumer needs.
LO 01-03 Distinguish between marketing mix factors and environmental
forces.
LO 01-05 Explain the characteristics of a market orientation
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-44
Exercise 5: Chobani: Making Greek Yogurt a Household Name
Activity Summary: This video case tells the story of Hamdi Ulukaya’s entrepreneurial
development of Chobani Greek Yogurt for the U.S. market. The 2007 new-product launch is
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: Target Markets, The Four Ps, CRM, Corporate Social Responsibility
Learning Objectives: LO 01-02 Explain how marketing discovers and satisfies consumer needs.
LO 01-03 Distinguish between marketing mix factors and environmental
forces.
LO 01-04 Explain how organizations build strong customer relationships
and customer value through marketing.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Follow-Up Activity: The instructor could engage students in a discussion about new-product
introductions in the packaged foods category. Begin by asking how many students have tried
Exercise 6: iSeeit! Video Case: Value Creation Through the Marketing Mix
Activity Summary: In this straightforward whiteboard animation video, the customer value
Tagging (Topic, Learning Objectives, AACSB, Bloom’s, Difficulty)
Topics: The Four Ps, Product Value Creation, Steps in Market Segmentation
Learning Objectives: LO 01-02 Explain how marketing discovers and satisfies consumer needs.
LO 01-03 Distinguish between marketing mix factors and environmental
forces.
AACSB: Knowledge Application
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty Level: 2 Medium
Chapter 01 – Creating Customer Relationships and Value Through Marketing
1-45