Exam 1

Which one of the following statements best describes the basic goal of marketing?

Marketing creates value by providing different types of utility to customers.

You have just graduated from college and are searching for jobs online. Your ideal position would be in cause marketing. Which of the following positions would come closest to your ideal?

Your state's Department of Environmental Protection is seeking a candidate who will plan an ad campaign to promote the theme "Save Our Trees: Don't Waste Paper."

The director of marketing at your company has asked an intern to determine if the firm's Facebook advertising is profitable. Being unfamiliar with the different measures of e-commerce profitability and success, the intern has come to you for advice. What should you advise her to do?

Divide the cost per click on your Facebook ad by your conversion rate.

You have been hired to advise a food company that is considering whether it should sell one, both, or neither of its two breakfast brands. Here are the facts you are given: Brand A commands a market-leading share in the oatmeal category. A has a large and stable base of loyal customers. However, this category is unlikely to grow in the foreseeable future, as oatmeal preparation takes time and consumers are increasingly focused on convenience. Brand B is a market leader in the small but rapidly expanding category of grab-and-go breakfast wraps. However, it won't be easy to stay ahead of the competition; unless B is sold, the company will need to invest heavily in research and development of healthy fillings and innovative packaging. What is your best advice?

Do not sell either Brand A or Brand B

Regulations requiring social networking sites to get consent to use consumers' personal data have been adopted by the ---- .

European Commission

----- is increasing, and so is the technology designed to detect or block it.

Internet Fraud

----- involve directions and procedures on how to return merchandise, including preprinted shipping labels that are included with the order.

Reverse Logistics

A ----- assesses strengths and weaknesses within the organization and external opportunities and threats.

SWOT analysis

Regarding the major ways of measuring an e-commerce website's success, all of the following statements are true except:

Total number of visitors to a site is a more accurate measure of potential revenue than total number of unique visitors

It is estimated that, on average, marketing costs account for ----% of overall product costs. These costs are not associated with manufacturing, product design, or any of the other ------ functions. Instead, the expenditures go toward the performance of ----- universal functions of marketing.

50; production; eight

To qualify as a recession, a period of economic contraction must last at least --- months.

6

You work for a company that manufactures and distributes home design products directly to customers. Annually, the company executives facilitate meetings with middle and supervisory-level management to ensure that all staff are on the same page. This year, you have proposed that to ensure that all company employees understand the goals of the company, each person has to go through a list of tasks and decide whether top management, middle management, or supervisory-level management is responsible for that task. Which of the following tasks would most likely be the responsibility of middle management?

Assess infrastructural gaps in the community to determine how company can be socially responsible. Develop a tool to help track customer complaints about lost and late shipments.

Your company manufactures consumer electronics products. Historically, you have acted primarily as a wholesaler of these products. However, you now recognize there is a huge opportunity to market your products directly to customers via your own marketing website. You have decided to move forward with this strategy but you want to take steps to minimize any issues with your supply chain partners. In order to avoid any issues, which of the following do you need to take steps to mitigate?

Channel conflicts

You are an analyst in the sales and marketing department. You are currently working on a project to determine, which one of two social networking sites your company should advertise on. You suggested to your boss that the company should try both sites for three months then select one of the two based on some measure of website effectiveness. Your boss agreed to place an ad on each site then evaluate the effectiveness of the ads, in terms of percentage of visitors who see them, after three months. In this situation, which of the following measures of website effectiveness would be most appropriate?

Click-through rate

All these statements are true about the benefits of B2C digital marketing except which one?

Customers can exchange products and services with other customers

You work for an automobile manufacturing company whose sales have been low as a result of the economic downturn. Company executives are strategizing as to how to stimulate sales. Which of the following steps should they take to improve business?

Decrease prices and offer more promotions.

You own an expensive restaurant and have a thriving business until the economic recession hits. Sales immediately plummet as your diners disappear. Some friends argue that a big advertising campaign focused on the quality of your food would bring the customers back, but you don't agree. Choose the statement(s) you'd use to accurately explain your point of view.

During a recession, consumers are more likely to respond to discount deals than to ads touting the quality of a purchase that isn't a necessity. During a recession, consumers limit expenditures on items that aren't necessary, like restaurant meals

Your company just attended a symposium on sustainability; and as company president, you are interested in raising the level of social responsibility in all that the company does, whether manufacturing goods, marketing, or offering services that improve the lives of individuals in the communities you serve. Which of the following steps can your company take to ensure that its practices are socially responsible?

Eliminate the use of paper-based circulars and rely solely on Web-based and social marketing strategies to promote products.

You work for a multimillion-dollar supermarket chain whose executives have been strategizing around ways to enhance their relationships with customers. Which of the following steps would you take to address this need if your company is committed to the practices of the relationship era?

Institute a loyalty program that rewards regular customers through a point system.

In a memo giving the time and date for your company's marketing strategy session, you see that the only topic on the agenda is "Promotion." Knowing that promotion is only one variable in the marketing mix, you contact the memo writer to suggest additional topics that will cover all the relevant variables. What topics do you suggest?

Price, Product, and Distribution

You recently assumed the role of head of digital marketing at one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Your mission is to fully harness the power and potential of digital marketing to enhance the automobile purchasing experience of your customers. The first project you are working is code-named "You design it and we build it." The project entails giving the customer the ability to design their own vehicle on the company's marketing website. Specifically, the customer will be able to do the following: Choose the color of the car. Choose the engine size. Choose the upholstery. Choose the tires and the rims. Choose when and where the car will be delivered Which combination of digital marketing capabilities are you providing to your customers with this "You design it and we build it" project?

Right-time marketing and personalization

Check My Work Marketing ethics and social responsibility are important to the success of marketing strategies. Marketing ethics defines the principles and standards that define acceptable conduct in marketing. Which of the following decisions is not related to marketing ethics?

The Director of Marketing wants to withdraw a product because it is no longer profitable or competitive

You just got hired by the Federal Trade Commission, and you're the envy of all your friends. You feel good when you overhear your roommate describe your new job to another student. However, in his enthusiasm, he made a couple of mistakes. Which of the following points about the FTC did your roommate get wrong?

The FTC operates at the state level as well as the federal level. The FTC sets safety standards for consumer products.

From the following list of six marketing questions, choose those related to the Environmental & SWOT Analysis element of the marketing plan:

What are the most popular chip snacks in my area, and how are tastes changing? What other products will my chips be competing with in the marketplace?

You have been working as an intern for your father's construction company and have been asked to sit in on the company re-visioning meeting. Because this is your first time in a marketing planning meeting, you are somewhat confused about the jargon being used. One of the employees explains to you the difference between strategic planning and tactical planning, and asks you to provide examples so she can make sure you understand the concepts. Which of the following is an example of a strategic plan?

Within the next 10 years, we want to open 20 locations

In addition to competitive pricing, the top advantages of online shopping cited by consumers are ---- and ---- .

access and convenience; personalized service

The percentage of website visitors who make a purchase is known as ----

conversion

For e-commerce sellers, the lower the --- , the better

conversion cost

A major marketer of rice offers a range of varieties to satisfy the distinctive tastes of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese consumers. By catering to its different Asian buyers, the marketer is demonstrating sensitivity to ----- diversity.

cultural

During a recession, consumers' buying power normally -----.

decreases

People might think that ----- is good for consumers because prices fall. However, this condition ultimately hurts the economy by causing ------.

deflation; layoffs

Vendors who sell essentially identical products or services are known as a firm's ----. .

direct competition

Revenue maximization strategies on an e-commerce site seek to -----.

encourage repeat visits

------ measures how much time users spend on a website.

engagement

The question of channel control may pose a serious ------ issue

ethical

Marketing ----- refers to a marketer's standards of conduct and -----.

ethics; values

UX refers to a customer's ---- when shopping on a website.

experience

A(n) --- is any time an ad is shown to an online consumer.

impression

Jan was planning to take her kids to Disney World, but decided instead to book a family-oriented cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines. The competition between Disney World and Carnival Cruise Lines is --- .

indirect

The ---- component specifies what the company wants to accomplish with its marketing activities.

marketing objectives

As the company plans to expand globally, Milagros and her team must engage in ----- , the process through which they decide their price points, which products they are going to carry at their flagship stores around the world, and the company's promotional campaigns. As Milagros's team outlines their short- and long-term ---- , they also have to map out the ---- that will help them reach their targets. Milagros notes that the CEO of the company has a seven-year vision and ---- for the company, so all of their activities must be in alignment with those proposals, and they must make sure that they have enough funds and resources to implement their ideas. One of the other employees reminds the team that ---- is just as critical because it will help the company build the foundation in the immediate future to reach longer-term goals.

marketing planning; goals; objectives; strategic plan; tactical planning

The performance evaluation component establishes the ---- standards for evaluating the success of the company's marketing strategies.

measurement

Consumerism exerts legal, ----- , and economic pressures on businesses.

moral

The marketing strategies component spells out how the company plans to achieve its marketing ------ .

objectives

Drafting programmatic reports on last year's Urban Youth Coalition Conference involves -------.

operational planning

Hiring a new chief executive officer (CEO) to usher in an era of microfinance programs for entrepreneurial youth involves neither ----- nor tactical planning.

operational planning

Scheduling staff to attend the morning plenary on the effects of globalization on the environment and climate change involves

operational planning

The growth in online shopping is driven by a shift in consumer ----

preferences

The central focus of the marketer's activities is to develop mutually beneficial relationships with customers and potential customers. If the marketer is able to convince the customer to buy the firm's products, then the customer's lifetime value to the firm is enhanced. Marketers also seek to encourage customers to _________________ the firm's products because that will ____________ the customer's lifetime value to the firm. Which of the following terms/words best express what marketers should do to enhance a customer's lifetime value to the firm?

recommend; increase

Many online shopping sites feature customer ----

reviews

Businesses compete indirectly when they produce goods and services that are for those of another business.

substitutable

Applying for a sustainable development grant aimed at creating community gardens involves ------.

tactical planning

Deciding whether the organization will merge with Grassroots, Inc., a multinational company involves neither operational planning nor -----.

tactical planning

You are conducting an analysis of competitive forces facing the pharmaceutical company you work for. You're especially struck by the fact that companies in your industry generally need government patents and approvals from the US Food and Drug Agency before they can legally market many of the most profitable products. These realities primarily influence the competitive force identified in Porter's five forces model as ----- , which is based on the ------- for entering a market or industry.

threat of new competitors; level of difficulty

An e-commerce website's ability to generate revenue is driven primarily by --- and ---- .

traffic; conversions

When the economy slows, marketers are more likely to succeed with products that are ----- rather than ------ .

value priced; premium priced

You are the head of the corporate acquisitions team at a major biotech company in Atlanta, Georgia. Your team has identified a couple of attractive acquisition targets that you would like to recommend to the Board of Directors for consideration. However, before you make a recommendation, you want to make sure that none of the acquisitions will raise any regulatory issues. In order to evaluate all potential regulatory issues, which one of the following analytical actions should you have your team complete prior to making any recommendations?

A thorough analysis of the provisions of the Celler-Kefauver Act, the Clayton Act, and the Sherman Antitrust Act

There's Nothing Like Knitting is a unique new shop that sells unusual varieties of wool. Thanks to heavy advertising leading up to its grand opening, the shop was crowded with eager knitters during its first two weeks. But suppliers were late in shipping their products, so TNLK soon ran short of merchandise. The owners brought backup goods from their warehouse, but the ceiling of the flimsy storage building had leaked and the wool was wet and moldy. Angry customers demanded refunds and didn't come back. Now TNLK is on the brink of bankruptcy. TNLK's problems reflected breakdown in which of the functions of marketing?

Buying, transporting, and storing

You work for a music CD distributor that specializes in rare albums that many other distributors do not carry. Because of mp3s, mp4s, and online music streaming and downloading sites, sales have decreased significantly. You realize that the Internet can either help your company or further hinder its mission and goals. You use Porter's five forces as a model to assess the impact of the Internet on your business; you look at potential new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitute products, and rivalry among competitors. Choose the impact of the Internet likely to make your business more challenging.

Consumers can now find rare music online

If your company wishes to communicate a consistent message to its customers with its traditional marketing and digital strategies then it should focus on which of the following opportunities of digital marketing?

Integrated marketing

The pyramid of corporate social responsibility states that there are four dimensions of social responsibility: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic. The socially responsible marketer accepts different responsibilities for each of these dimensions in terms of how she carries out her marketing activities. You have been asked to make a presentation to management that will highlight your company's ethical responsibilities. Which of the following topics do you plan to discuss?

It is important to recognize that corporate integrity and behavior go beyond mere compliance with laws and regulations

Nike has been able to capitalize on its relationship with basketball star LeBron James, not only by endorsing him, but by also developing a LeBron James Collection composed of T-shirts, socks, basketball apparel, and sneakers. The LeBron X shoe line has been especially successful: When released, the base shoe was priced at about $180, while a version embedded with Nike-plus sensors—which track how high a player can jump and how far he or she can run—sold for $260. Which of the following statements about the LeBron X shoe line is NOT accurate?

Nike's effort to sell the line is primarily an example of person marketing.

Check My Work Procter & Gamble wants to determine both the market share of Iams and the customer lifetime value of Iams buyers. These measurements are calculated based on different variables. Customer lifetime value calculations are complex, but are usually based on the frequency and dollar amounts of an individual customer's purchases, how long the relationship endures, how purchasing patterns change over the course of the relationship, the cost of servicing customers, the profitability of each customer over time, and whether existing customers bring in new customers through word of mouth or other means. A number of possible measurements are listed below. Choose those answers that are not focused on customer lifetime value.

Number of competitors and how much pet food each competitor sells per year Percentage of industrywide annual sales represented by Iams products.

Your company makes skiing equipment and apparel. You recently launched a number of new features and capabilities on your website that are aimed at the active skier target market. One of the most popular features is the one that sends an alert to skiers when forecasted weather conditions at their favorite ski venues are most favorable for skiing. There are also alerts that contain information about the size of daily crowds at these venues. Which of the following digital capabilities are you directing your head of marketing to base the strategy on?

Personalization

---- uses email or pop-up messages that falsely claim to be from familiar organizations in order to obtain personal information such as passwords, credit card, and bank account numbers.

Phishing

International retailer IKEA is known not only for value-priced furniture and home goods, but also for the unique children's playrooms and family cafeterias offered in all its stores. These amenities enhance which type(s) of utility for IKEA customers?

Place

-------- is probably the most regulated aspect of marketing strategy.

Pricing

You are the head of purchasing for a large automobile manufacturing firm in Detroit, Michigan. You are responsible for sourcing and purchasing hundreds of components, parts and other supplies from hundreds of different vendors around the world. You are leading a company-wide project with the primary objective of improving your firm's ability to collaborate with its vendors on projects and to share information with them more efficiently. Which of the following forms of e-business in the B2B market should you implement to achieve the objective of this project?

Private Exchanges

You are taking a crash course in e-business in order to compete for a plum job opening in the field. However, you missed the class on popular B2B e-business tools and asked a friend to give you her notes. Which of the following points were made during the session?

Private exchanges offer the ability to collaborate on projects and share information.

Marketers must continually assess changes in the competition and make changes in their own competitive strategy because the competitive environment often determines success or failure of a product. Which of the steps below can a marketer for a large retail discount store (e.g., Target, Walmart, Sears) implement as part of the store's competitive strategy as children are headed back to school? Choose the step that you think will be most profitable.

Run Early Bird Special discounts on end-of-summer weekends for local school supply lists, toiletries, and clothing.

Shutterfly is an Internet-based image publishing service based in Redwood City, California, and is mostly known for its photo book line. Like other business firms, Shutterfly conducts a SWOT analysis of its internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. Choose the SWOT analysis element that represents a Shutterfly strength.

Shutterfly constantly upgrades its digital technology and apps.

A summer intern has been assigned to help you draft your firm's marketing plan. You are pleased, until you overhear her tell a coworker: "I'd like to work on either strategies or tactics, since there's no real difference between them." When you meet with the intern, you correct her mistake. Which of the following statements do you make?

Strategies are longer-term courses of action, while tactics are shorter-term actions.

Venmo is a mobile application that enables people to send and receive money for free as long as they have a bank account, supported debit card, or a Venmo balance to fund payments. Venmo also allows the use of credit cards for a fee. To ensure security, the company uses bank-grade security systems and data encryption to prevent unauthorized transactions or access to personal information. Venmo operates as a mobile wallet, and though it provides services comparable to Western Union and PayPal, it can be managed through smartphones, thus appealing to a wide audience of retailers and others who depend on efficient money exchange. In an analysis of Venmo for your marketing class, you argue that it exemplifies how technological change creates marketing opportunities. What is the core of your argument?

Technological change often enables companies to greatly improve customer service.

Check My Work The legal and regulatory forces in the marketing environment consist primarily of laws that are enforced by a variety of agencies operating at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Which of the following laws and agencies is (are) incorrectly linked to an area of regulatory responsibility?

The CPSA sets standards for business-to-business products.

Your investment banker has presented you with the following list of business characteristics of a small company your company is considering acquiring: Market leadership Large inventories Lack of management depth Cost advantages Management turnover Excess manufacturing capacity relative to market Based on this list of characteristics, which of the following statements is true?

The list contains more weaknesses than strengths

Your best friend is a contestant on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He just exercised one of his "lifelines" by calling you for help with a marketing-related question. Your friend reads the following question to you: Which one of the following statements about Porter's five forces model is true?

The model does not include government power.

During their planning process, the staff at a well-known resort decide to try something they have never tried before. The director of marketing and the operations manager decide that it would be vital to have input from as many people and as many diverse perspectives in the planning process as possible. Thus, the company invites a mixture of loyal customers, community members, suppliers, and employees from different departments, and other partners to a town hall to discuss the company's next steps. Moreover, those who could not physically attend the meeting are asked to participate via a discussion set up through the company's social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, and via teleconferencing. During the meeting the facilitators discussed previous goals and how those goals could be achieved. Some of the strategies they had been using in the past to reach their targets did not work; consequently, they needed to outline new milestones to support the company's vision for the next 10 years. According to the scenario, which of the following is true?

The scenario outlines a tactical planning process because the meeting facilitators are focused on developing objectives that support the company's 10-year vision.

Check My Work For decades Superior Ski Hotel was a thriving New England resort, relying on families who returned faithfully year after year. Its marketers had complete confidence in the loyalty of their longtime customers, so their only promotional campaigns focused on attracting new customers by offering steep discounts on first-time stays. But as competition intensified, Superior began to lose business. Eventually the hotel was forced to close. Which of the following principles of relationship marketing did the company neglect?

While it's important to attract new customers, it's even more important to encourage current customers to keep coming back

You have been hired by a successful but somewhat old-fashioned retailer with a new CEO who is anxious to get involved in B2C e-commerce. However, he needs to convince the board of directors that online shopping is more than just a fad. All of the following arguments are valid for him to use except which one?

While most consumers still prefer traditional brick-and-mortar shopping, analysts predict that this preference will change in the coming decade.

Changes in a population's ----- characteristics, like age and ethnicity, help define individual behavior.

demographic

Dick's Donut Shop faced ---- competition when a Dunkin Donuts franchise opened across the street.

direct

Nicolai, the owner of Emerita's Pizzeria, informs you that during the ---- process, company stakeholders asked themselves the following question: Where do we want the company to be in five years? The ---- staff decided to focus on recruiting new clientele, increasing profitability and productivity, and finding ways to give back to the community. To achieve these goals, all of the company's staff, stakeholders, and customers needed to be on board. You realize that as a ---- employee on the frontlines, your interaction with customers is going to be especially important because you are a representative of the company. You also realize that during ---- , it will be critical to figure out ways to monitor customer satisfaction on a day-to-day basis. Perhaps, it would be useful to use social marketing as a tool to engage customers. Nicolai informs you that he will be meeting with ---- staff to decide on the best ways to support larger company goals. One of the items Nicolai hopes that his staff will focus on during ---- is coming up with new tools to expedite the pizza-making process and procedures that cut costs.

strategic planning; top level; low level; operational planning; mid level; tactical planning