ch.11
If a company is introducing a brand into a market where it already has one or more brands, it would likely choose which of the following bases for positioning the new product?
Avoiding competition positioning
Marianna tells Rajesh that she likes his team's idea about a new three-lace running shoe but wants him to put together some figures regarding anticipated sales, costs, and resulting profits. She is asking Rajesh to proceed to which stage of the new-product development process?
Business analysis
Which of the following is the stage of the new-product development process where customers are first exposed to the new product idea?
Concept testing
Which of the following services falls closest to the middle of the tangibility continuum?
Dinner at the Olive Garden
H&R Block, a major tax preparation firm, reported having a problem with its employees being inconsistent in the filing of returns. The firm is experiencing a problem with which of the following characteristics of the service offering?
Heterogeneity
Maria asks Glenda what housecleaning service she would recommend in Oakview. Glenda responds that Pristine Cleaning is great if you can be assured that Jamie will be the person assigned to your house. Glenda's recommendation addresses which of the following service features?
Heterogeneity
Saresh owns the Change-ezz, a salon specializing in the unique hair needs of minority populations. Recently, Saresh has been trying to improve the quality of service received by his customers. However, he has experienced difficulty in finding ways to standardize and control the salon's quality of service. Saresh's problem illustrates which of the following unique features of service?
Heterogeneity
Which of the following service characteristics results in variability of service quality yet provides the opportunity for customizing services to match the specific needs of individual customers?
Heterogeneity
Refer to Scenario 11.2. Vortex management is currently in which stage of new product development?
Idea generation
____ is the development of a product that is closely related to one or more products in a firm's existing product line but is designed specifically to meet somewhat different customer needs.
Line extension
Which of the following is an example of a functional modification?
Planters Nuts redesigns the packaging of its nut products so they are easier for those with arthritis to open.
Which of the following is the best example of a high-contact service?
Plastic surgery
______________ refers to how a product is conceived, planned, and produced.
Product design
Ideally, test marketing should follow which stage in the new-product development process?
Product development
Your company has a product that is struggling in its market. However, the product appears to have some strength left that can be exploited. Which of the following product deletion actions would be most appropriate for the product?
Reduce the price and implement a run-out strategy.
Based on these comments, which product deletion strategy should the company adopt?
Run-out
Select the true statement concerning test marketing.
Test marketing is a limited introduction of the product in areas chosen to represent the intended market.
The following organizational approaches accomplish tasks necessary to develop and manage products: product or brand manager approach and the ____ approach.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of gradually introducing a product to market?
Changes that affect the sensory appeal of a product by altering its taste, texture, sound, smell, or visual characteristics are called ____ modifications.
aesthetic
Client-based relationships are least likely to be developed by
appliance repairmen.
Break-even analysis is a tool that marketers are likely to employ during the ____ stage of the new-product development process.
business analysis
Is the demand strong enough?" is a question that marketers ask during the ____ phase of new-product development.
business analysis
The product deletion process is similar to the ____ step of the new-product development process because both involve deciding whether the product should be in the product mix based on an assessment of sales, costs, and profits.
business analysis
The main characteristic of a ____ is that customers are satisfied to the point that they use a service repeatedly over a period of time.
client-based relationship
Many services base their success on building a group of satisfied customers who use their services on a regular basis over long periods of time. This critical component of success is referred to as
client-based relationships
Bethany and Joseph are preparing budgets for a new product as well as finalizing plans for the full-scale marketing and manufacturing of the new UtiliBot. They are in the ____ phase of the new-product development process.
commercialization
One disadvantage of test marketing a new product is that
competitors may copy the product.
Jonah is a member of a consumer panel consisting of about 30 people. The consumer panel has been introduced to a company's new idea for energy drinks. Some of the questions panel members have been asked are "How often would you buy this product?" and "Which features are of little or no interest to you?" Jonah is most likely participating in the ___ phase of the new-product development process.
concept testing
The ability of a product to provide the same level of quality over time is called
consistency.
The necessary interaction between service provider and customer that allows a service to be delivered is called
customer contact.
The heterogeneity characteristic of services provides marketers with tremendous opportunity to
customize their services to meet unique individual needs.
Quality modifications are changes that relate to a product's
dependability and durability.
When a firm identifies old technologies that can be exploited in new ways or develops new business models to give customers more than they've come to expect from current products in a specific market, it is engaging in
disruptive innovation.
All of the following are major steps in developing new products except
evaluation of competitors' efforts.
A run-out policy of product deletion
exploits any strengths left in the product.
When Herstyler adds an electrical component that automatically shuts off its curling irons when they have been left on for more than one hour, this improvement would best be classified as a(n)
functional modification.
The car has undergone major redesigns and upgrades in the past few decades. For instance, car windows used to have to be rolled down manually. Now drivers can push a button to roll their windows up and down. The body of the car has been changed as well. In particular, the front of the car has been changed so that in case of a crash, the very front of the car will absorb more of the impact. The intent is to leave the cabin area intact so that the driver and passengers will not be harmed. The first example is a(n) _________________ modification, while the second change is an example of a(n) ______________modification.
functional; quality
Because of a service's ____, standardization and quality are difficult to control.
heterogeneity
The more ____ involved with delivering a service, the greater the degree of heterogeneity.
human labor
Repositioning a product can be executed by physically changing the product, its price, or its distribution, or by changing its
image through promotional efforts.
Personal trainers cannot complete their work without their clients present because of the ____ feature of services.
inseparability
The test-marketing stage
is a sample launching of the entire marketing mix.
If Julio, product manager at Frito-Lay, became aware that General Mills is in the process of test marketing a new snack chip in the southeast U.S. region, he might want to engage in ____ to reduce the validity of the other firm's results
jamming
Refer to Scenario 11.1. The new, improved Cheetos Fat-Free Crunchies was a(n) ____.
line extension
Dorito's has expanded to Nacho Cheese Doritos, Cool Ranch Doritos, and Salsa Verde Doritos, to name a few. These are examples of
line extensions.
Product deletion
may be opposed by management.
The fact the services cannot be inventoried and then sold at a later date is called
perishability.
Marketers of a particular brand of ice cream have decided to delete their line of ice cream bars. They will do so by letting the product decline and not change the current marketing strategy. This method of deletion is called
phase-out.
Kiera is a member of the product development team at a company that manufactures sports equipment. During a recent meeting, one of the team members asked, "What level of quality are we building into the camping gear?" Based on this question, Kiera and her team are most likely in the ____ phase of new-product development.
product development
Marketers begin to make decisions about labeling, packaging, branding, pricing, and promotion during
product development.
The phase of the new-product development process when the organization determines the technological feasibility of producing the product at a cost that results in a reasonable selling price is
product development.
The decisions and activities intended to create and maintain a certain concept of the firm's product, relative to competitive brands, in customers' minds is
product positioning.
Asim recently purchased a new Legacy Billiards table for his recreation room. The day after delivery, Asim noticed a problem with the way one of the pockets was strung. Because it was a weekend, he didn't expect to have it repaired. However, when he called the store to leave a message, someone answered the phone. She gave Asim a number where he could call a repair representative who would come straight to Asim's house within an hour. Legacy Billiards is most likely differentiating itself through
product support services.
The overall characteristics of a product that allow it to perform as expected in satisfying customer needs is
quality.
When Old Spice came out with the "Smell like a Man" advertising campaign, the goal was to _____ the brand from one that appealed to older men to a new, younger target market.
reposition
Often, a new product is launched in stages during commercialization. This gradual introduction of the product is known as
rollout.
All of the following are elements of the inseparability characteristic of services except that
services are easy to standardize and control.
A suggested approach to deleting products, in which each product is evaluated periodically to determine its impact on the overall effectiveness of the firm's product mix, is called a(n)
systematic review.
Refer to Scenario 11.2. Because some products are not doing well, Jon Moore thinks that the company should set up a procedure to evaluate each product so that management will know when and how a product should be discontinued. He is suggesting a
systematic review.
Top managers at Escort Radar believe that they have a successful working prototype of their new radar detector and plan to go directly to regional commercialization of the new product. In this instance, they are contemplating skipping the ____ phase of the new-product development process.
test marketing
The major drawback to using aesthetic modifications is
that the value of the modification is determined subjectively.
Jaguar I-Pace sedans have the unique characteristics of being totally electric, luxury sports sedans. The marketing manager wants to focus on these unique aspects rather than comparing the vehicles directly to competitors. He wants the I-Pace to be seen in a totally different light. Based on these objectives, he would want to position the vehicles
to avoid competition.
Which of the following statements is true about organizational structures for managing products?
A product manager is responsible for several distinct products that make up a group.
When Cameron was visiting family in Missouri, he ate a flavor of Boulder Canyon Kettle Chips that he had never seen before. When he returned home to Virginia, he could not find the flavor in any store. Which of the following reasons most likely explains why he could not find the flavor at home?
He was visiting a city being used as a Boulder Canyon's test market.
Which of the following would suggest that a company is implementing a phase-out strategy for a declining product?
Maintaining the product's marketing mix
Which of the following statements is true about product support services?
They include delivery, installation, financing, and customer training.
What is the primary distinction between a line extension and a product modification?
With product modifications, the original product is replaced in the product line while both the old and the new products remain in the case of line extension.
If Parkland School Furniture Company provides standard primary school chairs in new colors to match the interiors of schools, this modification is most likely to be viewed as a(n) ____ modification.
aesthetic
Melissa is interested in upgrading to a new sofa for her apartment. She looks online to see what new models her favorite sofa brand has available and can get information on the style and color; however, she can't actually sit on the sofa to determine its comfort level. Melissa is able to evaluate the ____ modifications to the sofa, but not the ____ modifications
aesthetic; functional
The phase of new-product development in which a small sample of potential buyers are presented with a product idea through a written or oral description in order to determine their attitudes and initial buying intentions regarding the product is called
concept testing.
Fabi just bought a new phone. However, almost immediately he started experiencing glitches. Fabi called the phone company's helpline. He was surprised to find that the helpline was entirely automated. The automated helpline described some common problems that customers might experience and provided instructions on what to do. Fabi followed the instructions and his phone started working correctly. Although Fabi was happy that the problem was fixed, he was frustrated that the entire process was automated. Fabi would prefer to have a higher degree of ____________________ when he calls in to ask for help.
customer contact
When marketers at Link Snacks met with groups of young adults to identify the types of snacks that young people want, they were engaging in which phase of new-product development?
dea generation
Minerva is frustrated with the cost of ink cartridges for her small business computer. Although she paid just $159 for the name-brand printer, replacing the ink cartridges on a near monthly basis is time consuming and costs her about $50 a month, no matter how much she actually uses the printer. Minerva is beginning to work on a new business model that would involve marketing lower priced ink cartridges delivered right to the customer on a subscription basis. This best illustrates
disruptive innovation.
Changes that affect a product's versatility, effectiveness, convenience, or safety are called ____ modifications.
functional
The fact that the first massage Gretchen gives each day is better than the last massage demonstrates the ____ of services.
heterogeneity
Services have six basic characteristics: intangibility, inseparability of production and consumption, perishability, client-based relationships, customer contact, and
heterogeneity.
A genuinely new product, like the iPhone once was, offers
innovative benefits to consumers.
Milo is a product manager at Hershey. He learned that one of his competitors, the Mars Candy Company, is engaging in test marketing a new candy bar. He decided to increase promotional activity, including coupons with significant price reductions, in the test markets in order to _____ the test program.
jam
Tim is a new product manager for a large biochemical firm. He is currently working on a proposal for a new chemical solvent and knows that introducing the new product can be risky because it might fail. He also knows that ___ is risky as well.
not introducing new products
Functional modifications usually require that the product be
redesigned.
Which of the following is the best definition of product features?
Specific design characteristics that allow a product to perform certain tasks
One downside to modifying a successful product is that consumers who enjoyed the original version of the product
may view a modified version as a riskier purchase.