Marketing Chapter 12

Because a market is saturated, firms may attempt to enter new geographical markets that may be less saturated. For example, pharmaceutical companies are realizing that they need to turn to ________ for continued growth in the coming years.

BRIC countries

How is consumer panel data collected during the test marketing phase of a new product introduction?

Panelists scan their receipts on a home scanning device.

Which of the following is true of profits in the maturity stage of the product life cycle?

They peak or are declining.

Before Segway manufactured its two-wheeled people movers, it built a prototype and had staff engineers test it for performance and stability. At this stage, Segway was involved in

alpha testing.

The product life cycle is theoretically ________ with regard to sales and profits.

bell shaped

One reason auto companies spend millions on racing cars is that they offer the opportunity to test new designs and technology under extreme conditions. Using the cars in a real-use setting provides an opportunity for ________ the product.

beta testing

If a few of Nintendo's customers are asked to try out a new video game that has not yet been released on the market, this is an example of

beta testing.

Laptop computers, personal digital assistants, and cellular phones were all readily accepted and diffused in U.S. markets where business and personal lifestyles tend to be faster-paced, compared to many other areas in the world. These products offered ________ with consumers' needs and priorities.

compatibility

Firms can measure the success of a new product by all of the following factors except

fewer competitors in the market.

Innovators are a critical group of new product adopters because they

help the product gain market acceptance.

One of the key characteristics of brainstorming sessions is

no idea is immediately accepted or rejected

For new product marketers, early adopters are important because they tend to be

opinion leaders.

All of the following are benefits of new product development to a firm except

reducing the costs of production

All of the following would be part of the launch of a new product except

starting to make preliminary decisions about the target market

The diffusion of innovation theory focuses on

the rate at which consumers are likely to adopt a new product or service.

_______ involves taking apart a product, analyzing it, and creating an improved product that does not infringe on the competitor's patents.

Reverse engineering

Golf ball manufacturers use "Iron Mike," a machine that swings a golf club at a constant velocity, to test the distance for new golf ball designs. When using Iron Mike, the manufacturers are engaged in

alpha testing

YouEye is developing eye tracking technology that works with an individual's webcam. Instead of needing to spend thousands of dollars on eye tracking equipment and having customers come into labs, firms will be able to utilize everyday webcams to track not only what a person attends to on a computer screen but also his or her emotional reactions to these products. Firms such as YouEye are automating the

beta testing process.

Suppose that you work for an advertising agency and are brought into a meeting where everyone is asked to generate ideas for names for a new beach resort. You are engaged in ________, a form of new idea generation.

brainstorming

During the ________ stage of the product life cycle, sales are low and profits are small or negative.

introduction

The CEO of David's firm just came back from a business seminar. He called David into his office and stated, "I just found out about the product life cycle curve in a strategy seminar. This is a great tool. I want you to drop whatever you're doing and inventory all of our products to determine exactly where they are in the product life cycle." David needs to think fast for a good answer because he knows that

it is often impossible to identify with precision where a product is in the product life cycle.

When a product is successful in the introductory stage of the product life cycle,

it may start to see profits toward the end of this stage

Computer game companies constantly monitor computer game-related blogs keeping track of the latest hot products, because they know that their customers crave the "latest and greatest" games. They use this information to create new products that primarily provide the benefit of

keeping up in a market where sales come mostly from new products.

When John began helping his favorite uncle Burton with his finances, he discovered his uncle was still renting a rotary-dial telephone from the phone company. Uncle Burton had paid thousands of dollars in rental fees over the previous 40 years. Uncle Burton is a(n. ________ in the diffusion of innovation process for telephones.

laggard

Which of the following adopter categories refers to the last large group of buyers to enter a new product market?

late majority

By the time BMW and Mercedes-Benz entered the mini-SUV market, there were many competitors, sales had peaked, and profits were declining. These firms entered the market during the ________ stage of the product life cycle.

maturity

The diffusion of innovation theory is useful to marketers in helping them

predict which types of customers will buy their product immediately and later.

The growth phase of the product life cycle is always dynamic. All of the following occur during this phase except

price competition with protracted price wars erodes profits.

As a promotion technique, samples are often used for new products when ________ will influence the diffusion of the product.

trialability

Microsoft's Windows operating system continues to dominate the market, even though it has been around for over 20 years. Windows will likely remain in the maturity stage of the product life cycle

until a superior product comes along to replace it.