Marketing CHAPTER 9

During the market introduction stage of the product life cycle, it takes time for customers to learn that a new product is available; therefore, a firm must invest heavily in ______

promotion

Late entrants who come into the market at maturity must try to take a share of an already saturated market. They attempt to do this by investing heavily in ______

promotion

True or false: the sales & profits of an individual brand always follow product life-cycle pattern

FALSE

When introducing a new product in the market introduction stage, which of the following must a marketing manager consider?

How to promote the product; which distribution channels to select; and the cost of product development

Which of the following occur in the market maturity stage of the product life cycle?

Industry profits decline, and competition gets tougher

Which of the following should impact marketing strategy planning?

Where a product is in its life-cycle stage; and how fast the product is moving to the next stage

An ongoing commitment to improving processes and products one step at a time is referred to as ______ improvement.

continuous

During the market growth stage of a product, a company will want to focus promotional efforts on _____ customers.

persuading

Products influenced by fashion typically have _____ life cycles.

short

As a market moves into the market maturity stage, which of the following might provide a firm in that market with sources of competitive advantage?

A somewhat better product; lower production costs; and successful promotion strategies

Which of these characteristics help a new product move quickly through the early stages of the product life cycle?

Comparative advantage, ease of use, and matches values of target customers

Which of the following typically occur in the market introduction stage of the product life cycle?

Customers are not seeking the product, firms inform customers about the product, and sales are low

Some companies use data and ______ to support continuous improvement.

artificial intelligence

Continuous improvement = an organization strives to _____ .

constantly make things better

In general, product life cycles, as a whole, are ______

getting shorter

If a new product has a greater comparative advantage over products already on the market, sales will tend to ______

grow more rapidly

The product life-cycle concept ______ indicates precisely how long each stage will last.

never

When a firm determines that a product will no longer be profitable enough for the firm to meet its objectives, it may need to develop a _____ strategy.

phase-out

The first company to introduce a new product to a market is known as a _____

pioneer

The cost of ______ is lost customers.

poor quality product

The four stages new-product ideas go through are known as the _______

product life cycle

The major responsibility of most product managers or brand managers is ______

promotion

Sales of an individual product or brand will ______ follow the product life-cycle pattern (Strategy planners should not expect sales of an individual product to follow the product life-cycle pattern)

rarely

A typical employee training program for a service-providing organization will include ______ .

role playing on various customer problems and requests

Direct contact between the customer and the company occurs most often among ______ organizations.

service-providing

Because introducing a new product is expensive, a marketing manager may try to _____ the market → charging a relatively high price to help pay for the introductory costs.

skim

Product life cycle patterns apply to the sales of a given product idea in a _____

specific product-market

Finding a new use for an existing product in a mature market has the potential to ______ .

stimulate sales growth

Rapidly changing _____ is one reason why product life cycles are getting shorter.

technology

Characteristics of product managers:

they often coordinate with other employees and third-party service providers; they are common in large companies with many products; and they are sometimes responsible for the entire marketing effort of a product.

A firm that attempts to provide superior customer service by focusing on quality throughout each of its activities is engaging in ______ .

total quality management (TQM)

Moments of direct contact between the customer and the firm, also known as _____ , are opportunities for the company to deliver superior value.

touch-points

A good _____ program can include role-playing on handling customer problems.

training

In service industry, ______ & ______ are two keys to improving service quality.

training, empowerment

The duration of the whole product life cycle tends to ______ .

vary greatly across products

Matthew received a pacemaker to help the arrhythmia he is experiencing with his heart. The pacemaker provides a continual stream of information that is monitored by specialists at the heart clinic and if they notice any indicators of concern, they contact Matthew and he reports to the clinic for assessment. What is helping the heart clinic improve the quality of care Matthew is receiving?

Data

Which of the following are ideas consistent with total quality management?

Everyone in the company should care about the quality; poor quality equals lost customers; and it is less expensive to do things right the first time.

True or false: marketing managers should focus on informing customers about their brand during the market growth stage of the product life cycle

FALSE (Should focus on persuading customers to buy their product instead)

Johnson Controls (JC) is finally earning a profit on a new product it introduced to business buyers a year ago. More and more customers are purchasing the product, and the product faces little serious competition. Industry competitors have begun to take notice, however, and have recently introduced competing products. In which stage of the product life cycle is Johnson Controls operating?

Market growth

Match stage of product life cycle with the characteristics of the product-market

Market introduction = Verizon introduces a phone with a 3D screen; no other firm has one Market growth = several firms sell compact fluorescent light bulbs; sales and profits are growing Market maturity = there is a battle of the brands in frozen pizza, with all brand offerings being relatively similar Sales decline = only a few firms still make disk drives for computers; sales and profits are dropping fast

product life cycle stages

Market introduction → Market growth → Market maturity → Sales decline

In what stage of the product life cycle do many firms slash prices or modify existing products to add value and maintain market share?

Maturity

Which market situation is typical of the market growth stage of the product life cycle?

Monopolistic competition

Which of the following occur in the sales decline stage of the product life cycle?

Price competition becomes vigorous, new products replace old, and strong brands can make profits

Most of Stardust Co.'s competitors have left the market because of declining sales. Stardust has introduced new products, but has continued producing the old products because a small group of loyal customers still use them. This product-market is in which product life cycle stage?

Sales decline

A common challenge faced by product managers is ______ .

conflict with the marketing efforts of product managers responsible for other related brands

At Royal Palms Resort in Hawaii, General Manager Roger Selig gives employees authority to take all necessary steps, including spending up to $1000, to fix any guest's problems without having to check with a manager. Selig is practicing ______ with his employees.

empowerment

Authorizing employees to correct a problem on their own is called ______ .

empowerment

Total quality management requires ______ to focus on quality and meeting customer needs.

everyone in the organization

A phase-out strategy should be implemented _____ .

gradually

A product idea can be in a different ______ in different markets.

life-cycle stage

TQM is based on the idea that the cost of poor product quality is ______ .

lost customers

Ultimately, the cost of a poor quality product or service is ______ .

lost customers

In one of a firm's product-markets, industry sales have leveled off and competition has been getting tougher. This product-market appears to be in the _____ stage of the product life cycle.

market maturity

During the ______ stage of the product life cycle, promotion becomes more important due to increased competition.

market promotion

Competitive advantage is especially important in _____ product-markets.

mature

Sometimes in a _____ market, a firm may find a new use for an existing product that aids in boosting sales and avoiding sales decline.

mature

Many firms respond to the increased competition of the market _____ stage of the product life cycle by slashing prices in order to maintain market share.

maturity

The ______ and ______ position oversees product promotion and often takes over the jobs formerly handled by advertising managers.

product manager, brand manager

Companies that respond quickly to products introduced by pioneers and offer a superior marketing mix are known as ______ and can be more profitable over time

second-movers