MKTG ch 2

A competitive advantage exists when a a) firm matches a core competency to opportunities it has discovered in the marketplace. b) firm does marketing better than its competitors. c) combination of circumstances and timing allow a firm to reach an attractive target market.

a

A firm that markets diverse products would most likely base the organization of its marketing department on a) products. b) regions. c) functions. d) types of customers. e) marketing objectives.

a

A group that has the willingness, ability, and authority to buy a product is a a) market. b) consumer. c) strategic business unit. d) business customer.

a

A marketing plan usually begins with a(n) a) executive summary. b) introduction to the company's marketing objectives. c) summary of current performance as compared with past performance. d) situation analysis. e) opportunity and threat analysis.

a

According to the Boston Consulting Group, question marks are characterized as products a) having a small share of a growing market and requiring large amounts of cash to build market share. b) generating more cash than is required to maintain share. c) encompassing the greatest number of products. d) existing at a cost disadvantage and revealing few opportunities for growth at a reasonable cost. e) having substantial reported profits but needing a lot of cash to finance the rate of growth.

a

___________ strategy determines the means for utilizing resources in the functional areas of marketing, production, finance, research and development, and human resources to achieve the organization's goals. a) corporate b) business unit c) Marketing d) Mission statement e) Marketing mix

a

Which of the following is the most specific and detailed type of business strategy? a) business-unit b) marketing c) corporate d) customer service e) tactical

b

A __________ is created when a company matches its core competency to opportunities it has discovered in the marketplace. a) market opportunity b) market requirement c) competitive advantage d) strategic window

c

A __________ is something that an organization does extremely well and may give a company an advantage over its competition. a) benchmark b) sustainable competitive advantage c) core competency d) strategic vision

c

A disadvantage of organizing a firm's marketing unit by products is that a) product managers do not have adequate control over marketing activities. b) large firms might experience coordination problems. c) it can be rather expensive. d) specialized marketing assistance is less readily available. e) marketing flexibility is limited.

c

An appliance manufacturer that sells to large retail stores, wholesalers, and institutions would probably organize its marketing unit on the basis of a) subregions. b) national divisions. c) types of customers. d) functions. e) products.

c

For marketing implementation to be successful, the needs of _________ customers must be met. a) external b) internal c) both internal and external d) planned e) both planned and realized

c

Suppose a customer calls Ann's office at Frito-Lay in Atlanta. The customer has a friend in Seattle who was just telling her about a new snack Frito-Lay has introduced that is selling rapidly. Ann's office does not market this product, and at the present knows very little about it. Based on this information, this firm is most likely organized according to which of the following? a) Function b) Product c) Region d) Customer e) Market

c

A marketing unit can be organized according to functions, products, regions, and a) sales. b) target markets. c) competitive units. d) types of customers. e) product features.

d

A strategic window is a) The right combination of circumstances and timing that permit an organization to take action to reach a particular target market. b) what determines the factors that are most important in making a market attractive or strong. c) customers' requirements or desired benefits. d) a temporary period of optimum fit between the key requirements of a market and the particular capabilities of a firm competing in that market.

d

An expected level of performance against which actual performance can be compared is a a) standard performance. b) standard of excellence. c) step in sales analysis. d) performance standard. e) corrective standard.

d

Based on the work by the Boston Consulting Group, products with a dominant share of the market and good prospects for growth are a) dogs. b) cash contributors. c) question marks. d) stars. e) cash cows.

d

Key factors in determining the best organizational structure for a marketing unit are the a) preferences of top management. b) fiscal resources of the firm. c) number of employees. d) diversity of the firm's products and the characteristics and needs of the people in the target market.

d

The Boston Consulting Group's matrix is based on the a) idea that a firm's market share and market attractiveness are the important factors for a marketing strategy. b) assumption that a firm's actions have a profitable impact on marketing strategy. c) business position and market attractiveness of the firm. d) philosophy that a product's market growth rate and its market share are important determinants of its marketing strategy. e) idea that a product's market growth rate and market attractiveness determine the marketing strategy.

d

The employees of Zingerman's Deli are its ______ customers. a) external b) extended c) intended d) internal e) domestic

d

When the right combination of circumstances occurs at the right time to allow an organization to take action toward a target market, the firm is faced with a a) market objective. b) market requirement. c) strategic market plan. d) market opportunity. e) corporate objective.

d

Customer relationship management systems cannot be effective unless they are developed as a) market-share building tools. b) profit-boosting tools. c) selling tools. d) cost-reduction tools. e) relationship-building tools.

e

Favorable conditions in the marketplace environment that could produce business rewards for the organization if acted upon properly are called a) strengths. b) market strategies. c) market niches. d) threats. e) opportunities.

e

Marketing managers can take each of the following corrective actions for reducing a discrepancy between established performance standards and actual performance except a) improving actual performance. b) reducing the performance standard. c) totally changing the performance standard. d) changing the marketing strategy. e) coordinating a new step in performance analysis.

e

Successful business organizations should take actions to convert internal weaknesses into ___________ and external threats into ___________. a) opportunities; core competencies b) core competencies; strengths c) opportunities; strengths d) strengths; core competencies e) strengths; opportunities

e

The Boston Consulting Group classifies products that have a dominant market share but low prospects for growth and that generate more cash than is required to maintain market share as a) dogs. b) cash contributors. c) question marks. d) stars. e) cash cows.

e

The _________ strategy in an organization often does not live up to marketing planners' expectations. a) intended b) expected c) planned d) control e) realized

e

The first step in the marketing control process is to a) take corrective action. b) reduce the difference between actual and desired standards. c) evaluate actual performance. d) compare actual performance and standards. e) establish performance standards.

e

The most important component of customer relationship management is a) technology. b) profits. c) sales. d) share of an individual customer's purchases. e) relationships with customers.

e

Which of the following is not a purpose of the marketing plan? a) Communicate internally with employees b) Assign tasks and responsibilities for implementation c) Specify the allocation of resources d) Monitor the performance of a marketing strategy e) Serve as a contract with the customer

e

A competitive advantage that cannot be readily copied by the competition is referred to as a (n) __________ advantage. a) controllable b) sustainable c) noncopyable d) effective e) implementable

b

A firm that wants to put more senior management personnel into the field, to get closer to customers, and to enable the company to respond more quickly and efficiently to competitors would probably organize its marketing unit on the basis of a) functions. b) regions. c) customer types. d) markets. e) products.

b

In a traditional organization, marketing decisions are likely to be a) very decentralized. b) centralized at the top levels of the organization. c) made by frontline employees. d) made by frontline managers. e) made only by the CEO.

b

Resource deployment and coordination of functional areas of business are determined by a) the mission statement. b) corporate strategy. c) business-unit strategy. d) marketing strategy. e) the marketing mix.

b

The marketing control process consists of a) establishing goals, market scanning, and market share analysis. b) establishing performance standards, evaluating performance, and reducing the differences between desired and actual performance. c) establishing goals and measuring performance. d) planning, implementing, and measuring marketing activities. e) setting objectives, implementing strategies, and reducing the differences between desired and actual performance.

b

The term "______" describes measuring and evaluating a firm's quality in products and processes against industry leaders. a) total quality management b) benchmarking c) internal marketing d) empowerment e) implementation

b

Which of the following statements best describes total quality management? a) A process aimed at improving product quality, increasing competition based on quality, and quality improvement among employees b) The coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, forming and strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating continuous quality improvements c) A method of increasing overall financial benefits, emphasizing faster development of innovations, and improving customer satisfaction d) A process directed at controlling marketing activities at a higher level of involvement among the firms' employees e) An approach used to emphasize the need for quality among a firm's hierarchy of employees, beginning with top-level executives

b

Within a business organization, a profit center that is self-supporting in terms of sales, markets, production, and other resources is known as a a) profit entity. b) strategic business unit. c) marketing program. d) small business. e) diversified corporation.

b

The director of marketing for 3M tapes tells the rest of the management team, "When it comes to our transparent packaging tape unit, our strategy will be to use funds generated here to support our venture in the industrial bonding market." This strategy indicates that the packaging tape unit falls into which one of the following classifications? a) Problem child b) Star c) Cash cow d) Dog e) Question mark

c

The questions "Who are our customers?" and "What is our core competency?" are answered in the firm's a) business plan. b) strategic window. c) mission statement. d) market opportunity statement. e) marketing plan.

c

___________ involves giving customer-contact employees the authority and responsibility to make marketing decisions without seeking the approval of a supervisor. a) total quality management b) benchmarking c) internal marketing d) empowerment e) implementation

d

All marketing mix decisions must have two characteristics: ___________ and ___________. a) consistency; flexibility b) consistency; rigidity c) formality; flexibility d) variability; flexibility e) formality; rigidity

a

At Mrs. Fill's Cookie Co., top-level managers delegate very little authority to lower-level employees. Mrs. Fill's is a(n) ___________ organization. a) centralized b) decentralized c) empowered d) marketing-oriented e) total quality management

a

Procter & Gamble, like many firms in the consumer packaged-goods industry, is organized by a) function. b) product. c) region. d) types of customers. e) subregion.

b

According to the text, a market is defined as a) a place to buy products. b) the buyers of the products that a company develops, promotes, prices, and distributes. c) the specific group of customers on whom an organization focuses its marketing efforts. d) a group of individuals and/or organizations that have needs for products in a product class and have the ability, willingness, and authority to purchase these products

d

According to the text, the 80/20 rule suggests that a)80 percent of profits come from 20 percent of business customers. b) 20 percent of profits come from 80 percent of business customers. c) 20 percent of profits come from 80 percent of customers. d) 80 percent of profits come from 20 percent of customers. e) 80 percent of profits come from 20 percent of sales.

d

___________ refers to the coordination of internal exchanges between the organization and its employees to better achieve successful external exchanges between the organization and its customers. a) Internal management b) Internal leadership c) Empowerment d) Internal marketing e) Total quality management

d

The time lag between the performance of marketing activities and their results a) limits the marketing manager's ability to measure the effectiveness of marketing activities. b) facilitates the ability to measure performance. c) increases the chance of accurate measurement.

a

A firm's unique symbols, personalities, and philosophies comprise its a) corporate persona. b) corporate identity. c) corporate character. d) CEO's identity. e) ethics.

b

According to the Boston Consulting Group, marketers may classify their products as all of the following except a) dogs. b) cash contributors. c) question marks. d) stars. e) cash cows.

b

According to the textbook, which of the following statements is most accurate? a) A small company always should organize by products, and a large organization should organize by regions. b) There is no single approach to organizing a marketing unit that works well in all businesses. c)Some organizations, by nature, have no specific internal structure. d) Organizing by type of customer works best for companies with few groups of customers. e) Using several bases for organizing leads to uncoordinated marketing management.

b

If you were a marketing manager, under which type of organizational structure would you most likely be working if your firm were a large business with centralized marketing operations? a) Organization by type of customer b) Organization by function c) Organization by regions d) Organization by products and regions e) Organization by products

b

In response to the increase in demand for organic foods, Wegmans, Inc., a regional supermarket, recently created organic food departments within their large stores. The creation of these departments was a result of a) a core compentency b) a market opportunity c) its sales orientations d) its distribution plan e) a competitive advantage

b

Realizing that consumers have begun to seek vehicles that use less gasoline, Toyota heavily promotes its hybrid automobiles to capitalize on this __________ while the strategic window is open. a) marketing mix b) market opportunity c) objective d) requirement

b

When an organization attempts to control its marketing activities, it may find it difficult to a) determine their effect on sales volume. b) use the information it collects. c) obtain the necessary information. d) get the accounting department to cooperate. e) develop a marketing plan.

c

Which of the following is not a component of a marketing plan? a) Environmental analysis b) Marketing strategies c) Product d) Executive summary e) Marketing implementation

c

Products that have a relatively low market share and low prospects for growth are considered by the Boston Consulting Group to be a) dogs. b) cash contributors. c) question marks. d) stars. e) cash cows.

a

The process of putting marketing strategies into action is called a) marketing implementation. b) marketing control. c) marketing action. d) marketing auditing. e) the marketing action plan.

a

To formulate a marketing strategy, one must a) identify and analyze a target market and develop a marketing mix to satisfy individuals in that market. b)develop a statement of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities. c) develop plans for implementation and control. d) develop an adequate marketing control process.

a

The marketing plan is a)a plan of all aspects of an organization's business strategy. b) written differently for each SBU. c) a written document detailing activities to be performed to implement and control marketing actions. d)designed to specify not only marketing, but all other functional areas of business activities as well. e) updated only periodically.

c

The strategic planning process begins with a) development of an organizational mission statement. b) development of marketing strategy. c) analysis of the marketing environment. d) analysis of target markets. e) development of a marketing plan.

c