Marketing Strategy Final

which of the following changes occurring in today's economy has NOT been caused by the growth of the Internet?

rising prices for most products

In 2005, the American Marketing Association changed the definition of marketing that had stood for 20 years. The major changes in the definition included a shift from delivering the 4 Ps (product, prices, place, promotion) to delivering _______________ and a shift from creating exchanges to creating ___________________.

value; customer relationships

___________ involves the analysis of economic, political, legal, technological, and cultural events and trends that may affect the future of the organization and its marketing efforts.

environmental scanning

in the airline industry, companies like American, Delta, and US Air have a difficult time competing because their industry has become commoditized. what does this mean for firms in the airline industry?

there is very little differentiation among product offerings in the industry

which of the following outlines the organization's game plan for success?

strategy

all of the following are reasons for the general decline in customer satisfaction over the past 20 years EXCEPT:

product quality is much lower now than at any time in the past

list the elements that make up a marketing program

target market and marketing mix

______________ is the curse of mature markets whereby products lack any real means of differentiation and customers see competing products as offering roughly the same benefits

commoditization

competitive advantages are critical because they set the tone of the entire marketing program

true

the Internet has shifted more power to the marketer

false

many firms have shifted to balanced strategic planning because traditional planning and measurement approaches are not able to capture:

the value created by an organization's intangible assets

which of the following IS NOT a purpose of a marketing plan?

it explains how marketing activities mesh with other functional areas

Sears at one time lost sight of its mission and jumped into markets such as real estate and financial services that did not fit its strengths or core operations. this most likely occurred because Sears lacked a mission statement with the appropriate:

width

which of the following is one of the five basic questions that a good mission statement should answer?

what is our operating philosophy?

in developing a marketing plan, the section on goals and objectives defines the parameters by which the firm will measure actual performance. in this respect, the goals and objectives section is tied closely to the ___________ section of the marketing plan.

evaluation and control

more consumers are expressing an interest in sustainable behaviors. this represents an opportunity for Tesla's Model X.

true

marketing goals should be specific statements stated in quantitative terms.

false

the SWOT analysis is derived from the marketing goals and objectives section.

false

all functional plans have at least two target markets.

true

in the marketing strategy section of the marketing plan, the firm details how it will gain a competitive advantage by doing something better than the competition.

true

with respect to conducting a situation analysis, which of the following IS NOT one of the four important issues to keep in mind?

all bits of data are relevant no matter how minor they may seem.

in many buying situations, customers will buy one product because it complements another product. in these cases of ____________ demand, the demand of one product depends on the demand of another product.

derived

compared to primary data, secondary data have the main advantage of:

being dramatically lower in cost.

what is the main purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002?

to increase the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures of financial information.

information is often easier to collect than data.

false

the competitive analysis should start by identifying current and potential competitors.

true

a SWOT analysis is one of the most effective tools to analyze and organize environmental data and information.

true

focus groups can be used to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

false

situational analysis is only valuable to the extent that it improves the quality of the resulting marketing plan.

true

the use of a vending machine is an example of non store retailing.

true

because total budget competitors don't compete with the organization directly, marketers should not consider them when conducting a SWOT analysis.

false

firms specializing in operational excellence excel at basic research/rapid research interpretation as a core competency.

false

comprehensiveness in the goal-setting process means that each functional area should be able to develop its own goals that relate to the organization's needs.

true

rather than conducting just one SWOT analysis, marketers should conduct a series of analyses, each focusing on a specific product/market combination.

true

the SWOT analysis should always be analyzed quantitatively.

false

a SWOT analysis assesses the fit between what a firm can and cannot do (strengths and weaknesses), and the environmental conditions working for and against the firm (opportunities and threats).

true

an organization plans to increase its market share from 10% to 20% within the next year. this is an example of a

discontinuous objective

what might be the problem with only taking the customer's perspective?

customers do not see behind the scenes to understand the firm's characteristics

as a tool of Blue Ocean Strategy, the strategy canvas provides a way to visualize the firm's strategy relative to other firms in the industry. the central portion of the strategy canvas is the __________, or the graphic representation of the firm's relative performance across its industry's factors.

value curve

to successfully utilize SWOT analysis as a catalyst for strategic planning, the marketing manager must focus on several important issues. which of the following IS NOT one of these issues?

the manager must find ways to transform key threats into strengths

what is a big difference between the marketing of today versus marketing products 50 years ago?

today's marketers can more precisely define and understand consumer needs.

Nielsen's PRIZM segmentation system is a useful ______________ tool.

geoclustering

from the viewpoint of the consumer buying process, what is the difference between and need and a want?

needs are based on discrepancies between actual and desired satisfaction, whereas wants occur relative to specific products that can fulfill a need.

if a researcher were to ask consumers to quickly name the top 3 brands of computers they might consider purchasing, the most common brands in the ___________ would most likely be Dell, Apple, and HP.

evoked set

when your sister expresses her desire for a car, you know that her real need is transportation.

true

ethnography is a qualitative research technique designed to understand cultural phenomena such as communication, shared meanings, and personal interests.

true

when the product's performance falls short of the customer's expectations, the customer experiences cognitive dissonance.

false

a common tool used in permission marketing is the opt-in email approach.

true

Little Gym focuses on highly customized workout experiences for children between the ages of 4 months and 12 years. this is an example of niche marketing.

true

the two key issues for marketers during the purchase stage are product availability and form utility.

false

Proctor & Gamble's introduction of a national chain of car washes would be a new product line for the company.

true

a feature article is a few pages of typewritten copy typically fewer than 300 words used to draw attention to a company event, product, or person affiliated with the firm.

false

personal selling is the most precise form of communication because it assures companies that they are in direct contact with an excellent prospect.

true

which of the following statements best represents the universal goal of all sales promotion activities?

to induce product trial and purchase

why would a firm offer a deep assortment of products in its product portfolio?

to attract a wide range of customers and market segments.

which of the following statements is TRUE with respect to the relationship between price and revenue?

price cuts must be offset by an increase in sales volume to keep the same level of revenue

in terms of marketing channel functions, which of the following statements describes the concept of discrepancy of quantity?

manufacturers produce large quantities; customers usually want only one item.

to compete in the fast-growing hybrid segment, Honda introduced the Civic Hybrid with unique styling and great fuel economy. the Civic Honda was based not he traditional Honda Civic. which product development strategy has Honda implemented?

product line extension

retailers use ______________ extensively. this occurs when the retailer compares sale prices to regular prices, such as when Best Buy promotes a DVD player as "regularly $99, now $49.

reference pricing

firms such as IKEA and The Home Depot are known for their use of ____________ because they set reasonably low prices but still offer high-quality products and adequate customer services.

value-based pricing

companies that have products in the decline stage should immediately divest them.

false

a major disadvantage of family branding is that the poor performance of one product could tarnish the brand image of the other products in the line.

true

a major goal in the growth stage is to maximize profit by defending market share or stealing it from competitors.

false

Porsche and BMW would most likely be positioned close to one another on a perceptual map.

true

while Madison was shopping for coffee makers at Target, she recognized many of the brands that were available. although she was looking for a machine made by Mr. Coffee, she bought a coffee maker by Hamilton Beach because Target was out of all Mr. Coffee machines. what type of brand loyalty is Madison exhibiting?

brand preference

during the maturity stage of the product life cycle, a firm has four general goals that can be pursued. which of the following IS NOT one of these options?

divest the product

Best Buy offers many different manufacturer (name) brands including HP, Panasonic, Sony, and Canon. which of the following is a primary reason that Best Buy would offer these and other manufacturer brands?

increased store traffic

which stage of the product life cycle has (1) establishing a strong, defensible market position, and (2) achieving financial objectives that repay investment as its main priorities?

growth

overall, what is the difference between differentiation and positioning?

differentiation is about creating differences among competing products, while positioning is about creating a mental image in consumers' minds.

with respect to product descriptors, the product's ___________ communicate(s) how the product behaves, hopefully in a fashion that is distinctive and appealing to customers.

advantages

which activity is part of a stakeholder orientation?

the organization-wide generation of data about stakeholder groups and assessment of the firm's effects on these groups

Colgate promotes its toothpaste using a claim that states "helps fight plaque and gingivitis." what potential ethical issue does Colgate have with respect to its promotional strategy?

ambiguous statements

many large firms, such as Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Barnes & Noble, have been accused of predatory pricing because their business practices have put many local, mom-and-pop firms out of business. in reality, these large firms are not necessarily guilty of predatory pricing. why?

because the large firms have efficient cost structures and lower variable costs.

essentially, having a climate of ethics and social responsibility is all about creating trust among a firm's stakeholders. to gain trust, the firm and its employees but continuously uphold:

their standards of integrity

Patagonia has adopted a ______________ approach to environmental issues, a synergistic use of resources to address key stakeholders' interests and achieve both organizational and societal benefits.

strategic philanthropy

research has found that corporate codes of ethics should contain six highly desirable core values or principles. which of the following IS NOT one of these core values?

legality

the exchange process tends to break down when marketing activities deviate from accepted standards.

true

the current view of marketing held by most practitioners is that ethics and social responsibility are good supplements to business activities but are not essential.

false

a stakeholder orientation can be viewed as a continuum in that firms are likely to adopt the concept to varying degrees.

true

codes of conduct try to address every ethical issue the company is likely to face.

false

with respect to evaluating and compensating employees, which of the following statements about outcome-based systems is FALSE?

they require more supervision than other systems.

in terms of marketing structure, what type of structure coordinates and manages all marketing activities and decisions from the top of the marketing hierarchy?

centralized marketing structure

Samsung shifted its operational focus from production to marketing and dropped over 50 low-budget brands in favor of a single master Samsung brand. what type of marketing implementation is this?

implementation through change

marketing implementation is often problematic, as marketing plans are usually devised by ______________, while implementation is the responsibility of ____________.

top management; frontline employees

under an implementation by command approach, the top manager acts more like a coordinator.

false

the product, price, distribution, and promotion elements of an internal marketing program differ significantly from the elements in an external marketing program.

false

out-of-stock items, malfunctioning websites, and unfriendly employees represent some common failures in marketing implementation.

true

frontline employees are the ones who usually implement the marketing strategy.

true

cultural controls are similar to social controls, but they focus on the norms of the workgroup rather than the entire organization.

false

the practice of internal marketing came from manufacturing industries.

false

in the purchase of a product, time, effort, risk, and opportunity costs are all examples of:

nonmonetary costs

with respect to the different components of the total product offering, supplemental products play the important role of:

differentiating the product offering from competing products

which of the following activities is used to maintain clients rather than simply acquire customers?

value-based pricing strategy

_________ refers to the degree of superiority of a firm's goods or services. it is a relative term because it can only be judged in comparison to competing products or when compared to an internal standard of excellence.

quality

the most basic strategy for enhancing and maintaining customer relationships is the offering of financial incentives.

true

the room service at the Waldorf Astoria is an example of a symbolic or experiential attribute.

false

marketers should make it difficult for customers to complain because these complaints can easily create negative perceptions among other customers.

false

sales tax is an example of a transactional cost.

true

advocacy involves creating social bonds that prevent product or supplier switching.

false

customers do not usually make independent judgements about satisfaction.

true