406 T/F

Marketers who want to aim at people within several different cultures are usually able to use the same marketing mix for all of them.

False, it is often useful to think of subcultures within cultural groupings. Failure to consider cultural differences, even subtle ones, can result in problems.

"Good" market segments should be heterogeneous within and homogeneous between.

False; "Good" market segments meet the following criteria: homogeneous (similar) within; heterogeneous (different) between; substantial, and operational.

The main difference between a "product-market" and a "generic market" is whether customer needs are similar or different.

False; A generic market is a market with broadly similar needs—and sellers offering various, often diverse, ways of satisfying those needs. In contrast, a product-market is a market with very similar needs and sellers offering various close substitute ways of satisfying those needs.

The term "marketing orientation" means making products that are easy to produce and then trying to sell them

False; A production orientation means making easy-to-produce products and then trying to sell them. Consumers of these products exist to buy the firm's output, rather than the firm existing to serve customers.

Marketing is basically selling and advertising.

False; Although it's true that selling and advertising are parts of marketing, marketing is much more than that.

Opinion leaders for one subject or product are also usually opinion leaders for many other subjects or products.

False; An opinion leader is a person who influences others. Opinion leaders on one subject aren't necessarily opinion leaders on another.

The main difference between attitudes and beliefs is that beliefs always involve liking or disliking, but attitudes don't necessarily involve liking or disliking.

False; Attitudes are usually thought of as involving liking or disliking. Beliefs may help shape a consumer's attitudes but don't necessarily involve any liking or disliking.

Companies such as Campbell's can only implement one marketing strategy at a time.

False; Campbell's has developed different soups that are targeted to the specific needs of different target markets. The marketing plan for each type of soup is different and fits into its overall marketing program

Economic needs are concerned only with getting the best quality at the lowest price.

False; Economic needs are concerned with making the best use of a consumer's time and money, as the consumer judges it. Some economic needs are economy of purchase or use, efficiency in operation or use, dependability in use, improvement of earnings, and convenience.

In a market-directed economy, government officials decide what and how much is to be produced and distributed by whom, when, to whom, and why.

False; In a command economy, government officials decide what and how much is to be produced and distributed by whom, when, to whom, and why.

In selective exposure we screen out or modify ideas, messages, and information that conflict with previously learned attitudes and beliefs.

False; In selective exposure our eyes and minds seek out and notice only information that interests us.

Compared to final consumers, manufacturers tend to be more spread out geographically.

False; Manufacturing industries are concentrated in certain geographic areas.

A firm that tries to increase sales by selling new products in new markets is pursuing "market development" opportunities.

False; Market development means trying to increase sales by selling present products in new markets.

Marketing only applies to profit organizations.

False; Marketing applies to both profit and nonprofit organizations.

Marketing discourages the development and spread of new ideas, goods, and services.

False; Marketing encourages innovation, which is the development and spread of new ideas, goods, and services.

Good marketing objectives should be ambitious and almost impossible to achieve.

False; Marketing objectives should be realistic and achievable. Overly ambitious objectives are useless if the firm lacks the resources to achieve them.

Marketing strategy planning is the process of deciding how best to sell the products the firm produces.

False; Marketing strategy planning means finding attractive opportunities and developing profitable marketing strategies.

Mass marketing means focusing on some specific customers, as opposed to assuming that everyone is the same and will want whatever the firm offers.

False; Mass marketing vaguely aims at everyone with the same marketing mix. It assumes that everyone is the same—and it considers everyone a potential customer.

There are more final consumers than business and organizational customers, so more is purchased by final consumers.

False; More purchases are made by businesses and other organizations than by final consumers.

Most marketing managers think that the economic-buyer theory explains buyer behavior very well.

False; Most marketing managers think that buyer behavior is not as simple as the economic-buyer model suggests.

Straight-rebuy buying takes longer than modified-rebuy or new-task buying and offers more opportunity for promotion impact by the seller.

False; Most of a company's small or recurring purchases are straight rebuys and take only a small part of an organized buyer's time.

Family, social class, reference groups, and culture are the psychological variables that affect a consumer's buying decisions.

False; Motivation, perception, learning, attitude, trust, and lifestyle are some of the psychological variables which affect consumer buying.

"Positioning" means using a map to show where a firm's products are distributed geographically.

False; Positioning refers to how customers think about proposed or present brands in a market. Without a realistic view of how customers think about offerings in the market, it's hard for the marketing manager to differentiate.

Attitudes, income, and opinions are the AIO variables used in lifestyle analysis.

False; Psychographics, or lifestyle analysis, is the analysis of a person's day-to-day pattern of living as expressed in that person's activities, interests, and opinions, sometimes referred to as AIOs.

Reinforcement of a response decreases the likelihood of the same response the next time the drive occurs.

False; Reinforcement occurs when the response is followed by satisfaction, that is, reduction in the drive. It may lead to a similar response the next time the drive occurs.

Strong sentiments of nationalism facilitate growth in importing and exporting.

False; Strong sentiments of nationalism can reduce sales, or even block all marketing activity, in some international markets.

International marketing typically requires less segmenting than domestic markets.

False; Success in international marketing requires even more attention to segmenting. There are over 192 nations with their own unique cultures, and they differ greatly in language, customs, beliefs, religions, race, and income distribution patterns.

The problem with target marketing is that it limits the firm to small market segments.

False; Target marketing is not limited to small market segments, only to fairly homogeneous ones.

Consumer products that are linked to cultural variables tend to be lower risk when entering international markets.

False; The "continuum of environmental sensitivity" suggests that industrial products are more insensitive to the cultural environments in which they are placed than high-style consumer products.

The combined target market approach involves segmenting the market and choosing two or more segments, then treating each as a separate target market needing a different marketing mix.

False; The combined target market approach involves combining two or more submarkets into one larger target market as a basis for one strategy.

The direct market environment includes customers, competitors, and the IRS.

False; The direct market environment includes customers, the company, and competitors.

The technological environment includes such things as national income, economic growth, and inflation.

False; The economic environment refers to macro-economic factors that include national income, economic growth, and inflation.

Macro-marketing emphasizes the activities of individual organizations.

False; The emphasis with macro-marketing is not on the activities of individual organizations. Instead, the emphasis is on how the whole marketing system works.

The marketing strategy planning process starts with a narrow look at a market and becomes broader the closer the firm comes to developing a marketing mix.

False; The marketing strategy planning process starts with a broad look at a market and narrows down towards specific strategy such as marketing mixes.

With the "multiple target market approach," the marketer combines two or more homogeneous submarkets into one larger target market as a basis for one strategy.

False; The multiple target market approach deals with segmenting the market and choosing two or more segments, and then treating each as a separate target market needing a different marketing mix.

When the competitive environment moves toward pure competition, producers offer very different products that consumers do not perceive as substitutes for each other.

False; When most product-markets head toward pure competition, competitors offer very similar products that consumers see as close substitutes.

A drive is a strong stimulus that encourages action to reduce a need.

True: A drive is a strong stimulus that encourages action to reduce a need. In marketing, a product purchase results from a drive to satisfy some need.

Motivation, perception, learning, attitudes, trust, and lifestyle are psychological variables that affect consumer buying.

True: Motivation, perception, learning, attitude, trust, and lifestyle are some of the psychological variables that affect consumer buying.

The economic-buyer theory assumes that consumers know all the facts and logically compare choices.

True: The economic-buyer theory assumes that consumers are economic buyers—people who know all the facts and logically compare choices to get the greatest satisfaction from spending their time and money.

A marketing strategy and all the time-related details for carrying out the strategy is a "marketing plan."

True; A marketing plan is a written statement of a marketing strategy and the time-related details for carrying out the strategy.

A marketing program blends all of the firm's marketing plans into one "big" plan and is the responsibility of the whole company.

True; A marketing program blends all of the firm's marketing plans into one "big" plan. Its success is based on the care that goes into planning individual strategies.

Sometimes marketing managers use a positioning statement to provide focus for a marketing mix.

True; A positioning statement concisely identifies the firm's desired target market, product type, primary benefit or point of differentiation, and the main reasons a buyer should believe the firm's claims. It is sometimes used by marketing managers to provide focus for the marketing mix.

The group of people to whom an individual looks when forming attitudes about a particular topic is his or her reference group for that topic.

True; A reference group refers to the people to whom an individual looks when forming attitudes about a particular topic.

The more heterogeneous a firm's target market becomes, the more likely the firm will see competition from an innovative segmenter.

True; A segmenter wants to aggregate individual customers into some workable number of homogeneous (not heterogeneous) target markets so that it can target them more successfully and avoid competition.

A basic idea in the legal environment in the United States is that attempts by business to limit competition are considered contrary to the public interest.

True; American economic and legislative thinking is based on the idea that attempts by business to limit competition are considered contrary to the public interest.

Marketers should be aware of federal legislation, as well as state and local laws, when planning marketing strategy.

True; Besides federal legislation, marketers must be aware of state and local laws.

By differentiating the marketing mix to do a better job meeting customers' needs, the firm builds a competitive advantage.

True; By differentiating the marketing mix to do a better job meeting customers' needs, the firm builds a competitive advantage. When this happens, target customers view the firm's position in the market as uniquely suited to their preferences and needs.

Clustering techniques can be used in segmenting to help find similar patterns within sets of data to identify homogeneous groups of people.

True; Clustering techniques try to find similar patterns within sets of data. Clustering groups customers who are similar on their segmenting dimensions into homogeneous segments.

A successful marketing program benefits the firm by increasing customer equity.

True; Customer equity is the expected earnings stream of a firm's current and prospective customers over a period of time. A successful marketing program is expected to identify opportunities that will lead to an increase in a firm's customer equity.

Customer lifetime value (CLV) represents the total stream of purchase a customer could contribute to the company over the life of the relationship.

True; Customer lifetime value (CLV) represents the total stream of purchase a customer could contribute to the company over the life of the relationship.

Customer satisfaction is the extent to which a firm fulfills a consumer's needs, desires, and expectations

True; Customer satisfaction is the extent to which a firm fulfills a consumer's needs, desires, and expectations.

Customer value is the difference between the benefits a customer sees from a market offering and the costs of obtaining those benefits.

True; Customer value is the difference between the benefits a customer sees from a market offering and the costs of obtaining those benefits.

A determining dimension for segmenting markets actually affects the purchase of a specific brand in a product-market.

True; Determining dimensions are those that actually affect the customer's purchase of a specific product or brand in a product-market.

GE's strategic planning grid considers two dimensions—industry attractiveness and business strengths—to identify opportunities that may be categorized as growth, borderline, or no growth.

True; General Electric's (GE) strategic planning grid forces company managers to make three-part judgments (high, medium, and low) about the business strengths and industry attractiveness of all proposed or existing product-market plans.

In monopolistic competition, managers sometimes try to differentiate very similar products by relying on promotion or other elements of the marketing mix.

True; In monopolistic competition, marketing managers sometimes try to differentiate very similar products by relying on other elements of the marketing mix.

Relationship-specific adaptations involve changes in a firm's product or procedures that are unique to the needs or capabilities of a relationship partner.

True; Managing relationship-specific adaptations involve changes in a firm's product or procedures that are unique to the needs or capabilities of a relationship partner. Industrial suppliers often custom design a new product for just one customer. This may require investments in R&D or new manufacturing technologies.

A mission statement sets out the organization's basic purpose for being.

True; Many firms develop a mission statement, which sets out the organization's basic purpose for being.

Effective market segmentation is a two-step process that starts with naming broad product-markets and then goes on to segmenting these broad product-markets into more homogeneous submarkets.

True; Market segmentation is a two-step process of (1) naming broad product-markets and (2) segmenting these broad product-markets in order to select target markets and develop suitable marketing mixes.

Marketing does not occur unless there are two or more parties who want to exchange something for something else.

True; Marketing does not occur unless there are two or more parties who want to exchange something for something else.

The micro view of marketing sees it as the performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization's objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to customer or client

True; Marketing in micro view is defined as the performance of activities that seek to accomplish an organization's objectives by anticipating customer or client needs and directing a flow of need-satisfying goods and services from producer to customer or client.

The function of marketing research is to develop and analyze new information to help marketing managers make better decisions.

True; Marketing research refers to procedures to develop and analyze new information about a market. Marketing managers utilize marketing research for making better decisions.

Marketing-oriented managers see segmenting as a process of aggregating people with similar needs into a group.

True; Marketing-oriented managers think of segmenting as an aggregating process—clustering people with similar needs into a "market segment."

Often, attractive opportunities are fairly close to markets the firm already knows.

True; Most firms think first of greater market penetration and usually find the most attractive opportunities in markets they already know.

Marketing functions are performed by producers, consumers, and a variety of marketing specialists

True; Producers and consumers sometimes handle some of the marketing functions. However, exchanges are often easier or less expensive when a marketing specialist performs some of the marketing functions.

Product, Place, Promotion, and Price are the four major variables (decision areas) in a firm's marketing mix.

True; Product, Place, Promotion, and Price are the four important variables in a firm's marketing mix.

A good S.W.O.T. analysis helps a manager focus on a strategy that takes advantages of the firm's opportunities and strengths while avoiding its weaknesses and threats to its success.

True; S.W.O.T. analysis helps a marketing manager identify strategies that take advantage of the firm's strengths and opportunities while avoiding weaknesses and threats.

Competitor analysis is an organized approach for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current or potential competitors' marketing strategies.

True; The basic approach to competitor analysis is to compare the strengths and weaknesses of the current target market.

The external market environment is shaped by these four areas: economics, technology, politics/law, and culture/society.

True; The external market environment includes four major areas: economic environment, technological environment, political/legal environment, and cultural/social environment.

The marketing concept means that an organization aims all its efforts at satisfying its customers—at a profit

True; The marketing concept means that an organization aims all its efforts at satisfying its customers—at a profit.

The three basic jobs in the marketing management process are planning, implementation, and control.

True; The marketing management process is the process of (1) planning marketing activities, (2) directing the implementation of the plans, and (3) controlling these plans.

The micro-macro dilemma occurs when a firm focuses its efforts on satisfying some consumers to achieve its objectives, possibly causing negative societal outcomes.

True; The micro-macro dilemma occurs when a firm focuses its efforts on satisfying some consumers to achieve its objectives, which may result in negative effects on society.

When evaluating opportunities, quantitative screening criteria help a manager decide what kind of opportunities to pursue.

True; The product-market screening criteria include both quantitative and qualitative components. The quantitative components summarize the firm's objectives: sales, profit, and return on investment (ROI) targets. These help a manager decide what kind of opportunities to pursue.

A marketing strategy is composed of two interrelated parts—a target market and a marketing mix.

True; The two interrelated parts that make up a marketing mix are (1) target market, and (2) marketing mix.

When a firm makes a total company effort to satisfy its customers, and profit—not just sales—is an objective of the firm, the company is practicing the "marketing concept."

True; Three basic ideas of the marketing concept are: (1) customer satisfaction, (2) a total company effort, and (3) profit—and not just sales—as an objective.

Good relations with intermediaries, good locations, and good salespeople are some of the many resources of a firm that should be evaluated when searching for new opportunities.

True; When introducing new products, good relations with wholesalers and retailers can also be an important resource.

CRM approaches are based on information from detailed customer databases.

True; With customer relationship management (CRM), the seller fine-tunes the marketing effort with information from a detailed customer database. This usually includes data on a customer's past purchases as well as other segmenting information.

Marketing can provide needed direction for production and help make sure that the right goods and services find their way to interested consumers.

True;; Marketing provides needed direction for production and helps make sure that the right goods and services are produced and find their way to consumers.

In a large company, the "buying center" refers to all the purchasing managers who work for the firm.

false; A buying center is made up of all the people who participate in or influence a purchase—users, buyers, influencers, deciders, gatekeepers.

Consumers use extensive problem solving when they put even limited effort into deciding how to satisfy a need.

false; Consumers use extensive problem solving when they put much effort into deciding how to satisfy a need. Limited problem solving is used by consumers when some effort is required in deciding the best way to satisfy a need.

It isn't necessary for marketing managers to be involved with marketing research specialists, since research requires statistical skills that managers usually don't have.

false; Good marketing research requires cooperation between researchers and marketing managers. Marketing managers must be able to explain their problems and the information they need to the specialists.

Focus group interviews are a form of quantitative research.

false; One widely used form of qualitative questioning in marketing research is the focus group interview.

Organizations always focus on economic factors when they make purchase decisions and are never as emotional as final consumers in their buying behavior.

false; Organizations typically focus on economic factors when they make purchase decisions and are usually less emotional in their buying than final consumers.

Qualitative research seeks clear yes or no answers.

false; Qualitative research seeks in-depth, open-ended responses, not yes or no answers.

The Internet is an excellent source for primary data but not secondary data.

false; Secondary data refers to information that has been collected or published already. One of the first places a researcher should look for secondary data is on the Internet.

In business markets, suppliers usually want close relationships with customers; however, there's little benefit to the customer of having closer relationships with suppliers.

false; There are often significant benefits of a close working relationship between a supplier and a customer firm. Such relationships are becoming common.

All marketing research projects are worthwhile because they gather new information even if the research doesn't have action implications.

false; Though the information that comes from the research process is fascinating, if the marketing research doesn't have action implications, it has little value and suggests poor planning.

A marketing information system (MIS) is an organized way of continually gathering, accessing, and analyzing information that marketing managers need to make ongoing decisions.

true; A marketing information system (MIS) is an organized way of continually gathering, accessing, and analyzing information that marketing managers need to make ongoing decisions.

A straight rebuy is a routine repurchase that may have been made many times before.

true; A straight rebuy is a routine repurchase that may have been made many times before. Buyers probably don't bother looking for new information or new sources of supply.

After making a purchase, buyers often wonder if they made the right choice. The resulting tension is called dissonance.

true; After making a purchase, buyers often have second thoughts and wonder if they made the right choice. The resulting tension is called dissonance.

A close buyer-seller relationship in a business market may reduce a firm's flexibility.

true; Although close relationships can produce benefits, they are not always best. A long-term commitment to a partner may reduce flexibility.

A formal marketing research project usually involves gathering primary data.

true; Collecting primary data or problem-specific data is the third step in a marketing research project.

Unless the problem is precisely defined, research efforts may be wasted on the wrong problem and may lead to costly mistakes.

true; Defining the problem is often the most difficult step in the marketing research process, but it's important for the objectives of the research to be clearly defined. The best research job on the wrong problem is wasted effort.

When selling to government customers, competitive bids are common.

true; Government buyers in the United States are expected to spend money wisely—in the public interest. Most government customers buy by specification using a competitive bidding procedure.

In cooperative relationships in a business market, the buyer and seller work together to jointly achieve both mutual and individual objectives.

true; In cooperative relationships, the buyer and seller work together to achieve both mutual and individual objectives. The buyer and seller firms treat problems that arise as a joint responsibility.

Purchasing managers are buying specialists for organizations and may have a lot of power.

true; Many organizations rely on specialists or purchasing managers to ensure that purchases are handled sensibly.

Marketing managers should be able to explain the kinds of problems they are facing and the kinds of marketing research information that will help them make decisions.

true; Marketing managers must be able to explain to the specialists what their problems are and what kinds of information they need.

Organizational buyers are often referred to as the B2B market.

true; Marketing managers often refer to organizational customers collectively as the "business-to-business" market, or simply the B2B market.

A marketing manager should seek help from research only for problems where the risk of a decision can be greatly reduced at a reasonable cost.

true; Marketing research takes time and money. A good marketing manager knows that the value of additional information lies in the ability to design more effective marketing strategies.

Most retail and wholesale buyers see themselves as purchasing agents for their target customers.

true; Most retail and wholesale buyers see themselves as purchasing agents for their target customers. Typically, retailers do not see themselves as sales agents for particular manufacturers. They buy what they think they can profitably sell.

A common quantitative research approach is to use survey questionnaires with multiple-choice questions.

true; Most survey research is quantitative research. Survey questionnaires usually provide fixed responses to questions. A multiple-choice approach makes it easier and faster for respondents.

In the observation method, researchers try to see or record what the subject does naturally.

true; Observing, which is a method of collecting data, focuses on a well-defined problem. With the observation method, researchers try to see or record what the subject does naturally.

A firm's "relevant market for finding opportunities" should be bigger than the present product-market but not so large that it couldn't expand and still be an important competitor.

true; The relevant market for finding opportunities should be bigger than the firm's present product-market—but not so big that the firm couldn't expand and be an important competitor.

When a firm is doing similar research projects in different international markets, it makes sense for the marketing manager to coordinate the efforts so that comparisons across markets are possible.

true; When a firm is doing similar research projects in different markets around the world, it makes sense for the marketing manager to coordinate the efforts. The results can be compared and used for better understanding.

A competitive bid is the terms of sale offered by a supplier in response to the purchase specifications posted by a buyer.

true; When buyers in B2B markets have identified potential suppliers, they sometimes ask them to submit a competitive bid—the terms of sale offered by the supplier in response to the purchase specifications posted by a buyer.

A marketing researcher using the scientific method develops and tests hypotheses about the relationships between things or about what will happen in the future.

true; With the scientific method, managers use their intuition and observations to develop hypotheses—educated guesses about the relationships between things or about what will happen in the future.