Midterm 306
Which of the following is the first step in the marketing research process?
defining the problem and objectives of the study
Which of the following is NOT a market-oriented business definition?
"We make high-quality consumer food products."
Companies that take a proactive stance toward the marketing environment are most likely to ________.
. develop strategies to change the environment in their favor
________ analysis is an overall evaluation of the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
A SWOT
Which of the following companies has a market-oriented business definition?
A cosmetic company, whose business definition is: "We sell hope and self-esteem."
Which of the following companies has a product-oriented business definition?
A shoe manufacturer, whose business definition is: "We manufacture affordable and long-lasting shoes for all."
Harley-Davidson promotes its motorcycles with images of independence, freedom, and power. Harley-Davidson has created a ________.
brand personality
________ are minor stimuli that determine where, when, and how a person responds to an idea.
Cues
Which of the following is true with regard to e-procurement?
E-procurement hastens order processing and delivery
Marketers should understand that people's core beliefs and values tend to be ________.
Fixed
________ consists of inviting 6 to 10 people to meet with a trained moderator to talk about a product, service, or organization.
Focus group interviewing
Which of the following is most likely a disadvantage of focus group interviewing?
Focus group interviewing involves small samples to keep time and costs down, which makes it hard to generalize from the results.
In several major cities in the U.S, the ________ operates business service centers with staffs to provide a complete education on the way government agencies buy, the steps that suppliers should follow, and the procurement opportunities available.
General Services Administration
Which of the following is an advantage of using an internal database?
Internal databases can be accessed more quickly and cheaply than other information sources.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of using information from internal databases?
Internal information may be incomplete or in the wrong form for making marketing decisions.
________ is a person's pattern of living as expressed in his/her psychographics, and it includes the individual's activities, interests, and opinions.
Lifestyle
________ is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an organization.
Marketing research
Wholesome Soups, a maker of organic soups, is starting a new marketing campaign emphasizing the ease of preparing and eating Wholesome Soups. Print, television, and Internet ads feature college students enjoying Wholesome Soups in between classes and during study breaks. Wholesome Soups' new marketing campaign is most likely aimed at which of the following?
Millennials
Which of the following is true with regard to the diversity segment of U.S. adults with disabilities?
Most individuals with disabilities are active consumers.
Which of the following terms refers to a specific mix of human traits that may be attributed to a particular brand?
brand personality
________ refers to the stage of the business buying process in which the buying organization decides on and specifies the best technical product characteristics for a needed item.
Product specification
Which of the following is a disadvantage of using secondary data?
Relevant secondary data can be difficult to locate.
________ means that consumers are likely to remember good points made about a brand they favor and forget good points made about competing brands.
Selective retention
________ are society's relatively permanent and ordered divisions whose members share similar values, interests, and behaviors.
Social classes
Which of the following is NOT part of the business market?
Sue shops for her family's groceries at the local Whole Foods store.
Which of the following is true about survey research?
Survey research is the most widely used method for primary data collection
Which of the following is true of the Millennials?
They are the children of baby boomers and were born between 1977 and 2000.
Which of the following is true with regard to cash cows?
They can be used to help finance the company's question marks and stars.
Which of the following is true of the baby boomers?
They control an estimated 70 percent of the United States' disposable income.
Which of the following is true of Gen Xers?
They were the first to grow up in the Internet era
Which of the following is true with regard to media publics?
This group carries news, features, and editorial opinion
Which of the following questions is an example of a closed-end question?
Would you like to try our new ice cream flavor?
Worthington's Farm is an old poultry farm in Mount Prospect, Illinois. For years, it has used wooden coops to haul its poultry to the market. The owner of the farm needs to buy some replacement coops and is considering buying plastic coops that are slightly more expensive than wooden ones but much easier to clean after use. Consequently, the owner of Worthington's Farm ordered 100 customized coops from its regular supplier. This exemplifies ________.
a modified rebuy
A person's buying choices are influenced by four major psychological factors. Which of the following is NOT one of these factors?
association
Which of the following is the first step in strategic planning?
defining the organizational mission
Many marketers use the self-concept premise that people's possessions contribute to and reflect their identities-that is, "we are what we consume." According to this premise, consumers ________.
buy products to support their self-image
Experimental research is best suited for gathering ________ information.
causal
A consumer organization in Ohio has challenged the marketing decision of a local firm alleging it to be against the larger social interest. In this instance, the firm is challenged by a(n) ________ public.
citizen-action
A company's marketing decisions may be questioned by consumer organizations, environmental groups, minority groups, and others. These organizations and groups are also known as ________.
citizen-action publics
When a customer feels uneasy about losing out on the benefits of a brand not purchased, she is likely to experience ________.
cognitive dissonance
Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s). Jason West, owner of A1 Cleaning, started his enterprise in 2001. Jason's primary focus had been on office cleaning for large corporations. But in recent months, Jason has seen a decline in demand for his office cleaning services. Surprisingly, the competitive environment appeared relatively stable with no new competitors. However, Jason knew that office cleaning was a high-frequency service that is usually performed daily; therefore, competitors must have been doing something to attract his customers. Building a competitive advantage seemed to be the only option to offset competition. But as Jason pondered over his dilemma, he realized that prior to building his competitive advantage he needed to better understand how customers assessed service quality and what they look for in a superior cleaning service. Jason developed a research plan. First, he gathered information about his competitors, primarily through pamphlets and Web sites, as well as through a few phone calls in order to find out exactly what the competitors offered in their cleaning packages. In addition, Jason obtained from the Chamber of Commerce an updated list of local corporations. He planned on sending written questionnaires to them. Though the list of corporations contained 141 local company names, Jason chose to survey 75 of them. To better understand customer service expectations between both small and large corporations, Jason divided his surveys into two categories. The survey questions were designed to extract specific data from respondents with regard to service quality expectations in correlation to service frequency and price. Jason awaited the results. Though his primary focus had been on large corporations, he was flexible and would aim his efforts differently if needed.
collecting data about competitors
Which of the following is an organizational factor that influences business buyers?
company procedures
The marketing department of a reputed firm wants to improve strategic decision making, track the actions of other players in the market, and provide early warning of opportunities and threats. Which of the following would help the firm achieve its objectives?
competitive marketing intelligence
A firm dumping chemical wastes in the local lake is ________.
contributing to increased pollution
Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s). Alpha Stampings Inc. produces 14 metal stampings for the automotive industry. Due to industry design changes and consumer demands, for the next financial year, six of those stampings will require a slight change: two will have an extra hole punched through the side, two will require an extra plating process, and two will require an additional weld operation. In the meantime, purchasing agent Richard Koehl has been asked to reduce the number of Alpha's steel suppliers in an effort to cut costs. After obtaining updated price quotations and steel samples from his current suppliers, Richard faced a dilemma. Until now, he had selected his suppliers based on quality and price, but the major consideration had been the type of steel required and the specialized production processes of his respective suppliers. Not all of Alpha's suppliers could produce the exact grades of steel needed; some suppliers were better at producing certain types of steel than others. Richard contacted several employees at Alpha who had worked with the various types of steel in the past. The quality control manager and line inspector, for example, could help to determine which suppliers had the capabilities of producing specific types of steel. The production control manager could provide input regarding which types of steel worked best in which presses. The warehouse foreman gave inputs regarding how long various types of steel could be held in inventory before rust spots began to form on their surfaces. Each person contributed the necessary information to help Richard in making his decision. In this instance, Richard plays the role of a(n) ________.
decider
All of the following steps pertain to the marketing control process EXCEPT ________.
defining the company's mission
Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s). Alpha Stampings Inc. produces 14 metal stampings for the automotive industry. Due to industry design changes and consumer demands, for the next financial year, six of those stampings will require a slight change: two will have an extra hole punched through the side, two will require an extra plating process, and two will require an additional weld operation. In the meantime, purchasing agent Richard Koehl has been asked to reduce the number of Alpha's steel suppliers in an effort to cut costs. After obtaining updated price quotations and steel samples from his current suppliers, Richard faced a dilemma. Until now, he had selected his suppliers based on quality and price, but the major consideration had been the type of steel required and the specialized production processes of his respective suppliers. Not all of Alpha's suppliers could produce the exact grades of steel needed; some suppliers were better at producing certain types of steel than others. Richard contacted several employees at Alpha who had worked with the various types of steel in the past. The quality control manager and line inspector, for example, could help to determine which suppliers had the capabilities of producing specific types of steel. The production control manager could provide input regarding which types of steel worked best in which presses. The warehouse foreman gave inputs regarding how long various types of steel could be held in inventory before rust spots began to form on their surfaces. Each person contributed the necessary information to help Richard in making his decision. The demand for Alpha Stampings' products is ultimately based on the demand for new automobiles in the consumer market. This is an example of ________ demand.
derived
Beth Williams works for a marketing research company in Chicago. Her current research involves finding the market potential for a client's new line of sports apparel. Given her objective, which of the following types of research is the most suitable for Beth?
descriptive research
Which of the following types of research would be best suited for understanding the attitudes of consumers who buy a particular brand of soft drink?
descriptive research
When consumers are highly involved with an expensive, infrequent, or risky purchase but see little difference among brands, they most likely will exhibit ________.
dissonance-reducing buying behavior
Total government spending is determined by ________.
elected officials
Which of the following is NOT a step in the strategic planning process?
evaluating members of the company's value chain
Which of the following is the adoption process stage at which the consumer considers whether trying the new product makes sense?
evaluation
Which of the following groups influences the company's ability to obtain funds?
financial publics
Paul, a purchasing agent for Kiel Inc., has the authority to prevent salespersons from seeing the decision makers in his organization. Which of the following best describes Paul's position?
gatekeeper
With the recent explosion of information technologies, ________.
most marketing managers are overloaded with data and often overwhelmed by it
The physical environment affecting marketing activities is referred to as the ________ environment.
natural
A manager in a garment manufacturing company decided to replace the plastic shopping bags currently used in his company with bags made of recyclable material. Consequently, he asked the operations officer to gather relevant information and send a list of alternatives to him. In the business buying process, the manager is preparing a(n) ________.
general needs description
Which of the following consumer buying behaviors is related to conditions of low-consumer involvement and little significant brand difference?
habitual buying behavior
Many managers think that "doing things right," or ________, is as important as, or even more important than, "doing the right things."
implementation
Eric Mason, an employee of Huntington Steelworks, is responsible for defining product specifications and providing relevant information for evaluating alternatives in his organization's buying center. Eric, whose opinions affect the buying decisions of his organization to a great extent, is most likely a(n) ________.
influencer
Opinion leaders are also referred to as ________.
influentials
Secondary data consist of ________.
information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose
Which of the following factors influencing the business buying process do marketers typically find most difficult to assess?
interpersonal
Which of the following is the final step of the marketing research process?
interpreting and reporting the findings
Which group includes neighborhood residents and community organizations?
local publics
Maria Ramirez is conducting research to determine consumers' personal grooming habits. Because of the personal nature of many of the survey questions, Maria wants to select the contact method that is most likely to encourage respondents to answer honestly and that will allow her to easily collect large amounts of data. Which of the following is best suited to meet Maria's requirements?
mail questionnaires
FencePro, a local company, has developed an entirely new mounting system for chain link fences. After acquiring a distributor, FencePro now has the ability to market its products nationwide. FencePro is most likely following a ________ strategy.
market development
The managers of Arrow, an American retail chain, are currently reviewing new demographic markets to sell the firm's current products. This is an example of ________.
market development
Crocus, a gift store, specializes in serving customer segments that major competitors overlook and ignore. Which of the following best describes Crocus?
market nicher
Teenagers are expected to respond in a similar way to a set of marketing efforts. In other words, this group represents a ________.
market segment
Each company must divide up the total market, choose the best segments, and design strategies for profitably serving chosen segments. This process involves market segmentation, ________, differentiation, and positioning.
market targeting
Which of the following is a component of a firm's microenvironment?
marketing intermediaries
Maria works for Sigma Inc., a firm that helps companies target and promote their products to the right markets. Sigma is most likely a ________.
marketing services agency
By harvesting its SBU, a company would most likely be ________.
milking the SBU's short-term cash flow regardless of the long-term effect Correct
In a ________ situation, the "in" suppliers may become nervous and feel pressured to put their best foot forward to protect an account and the "out" suppliers may see the present situation as an opportunity to make a better offer and gain new business.
modified rebuy
In a(n) ________ situation, the buyer wants to revise product specifications, prices, terms, or suppliers.
modified rebuy
The purpose of ________ is to ensure that the company achieves the sales, profits, and other goals set out in its annual marketing plan.
operating control
Marketing stimuli consist of the four Ps. Which of the following is NOT one of these?
packaging
People vary in their attitudes toward their society-while ________ defend it, malcontents want to leave it.
patriots
LandPort Transportation and Omega Warehousing help companies move and stock goods from their manufacturing plants to their destinations. These two businesses are examples of ________.
physical distribution firms
In the context of a company's marketing mix, ________ includes company activities that make the product available to target consumers.
place
Jake Adams works for a marketing research firm and is currently conducting research for a company that wants to investigate multiple international markets for the possibility of expansion. Internet-based survey research would be the most attractive research option for Jake if his client ________.
places a high emphasis on speed
A particular automobile company works to keep its customers happy after each sale, aiming to delight each one of them in order to increase their customer lifetime value. Which of the following steps of the buyer decision process does the company exemplify?
postpurchase behavior
After the purchase of a product, consumers will be either satisfied or dissatisfied and engage in ________.
postpurchase behavior
Marketing stimuli include which of the following?
price stimuli
Rather than assuming that strategic options are bounded by the current environment, firms adopting a(n) ________ to the marketing environment develop strategies to change the environment
proactive stance
In the beginning of the buying process, Timothy Perry, a product development manager, noticed that the raw materials that were being procured from his company's regular supplier were of poor quality. Consequently, he decided to change the existing supplier as a remedial measure. The stage of the buying process in which Timothy identified the quality breach represents the ________ stage.
problem recognition
Which of the following Ps in the marketing mix describes the goods-and-services combination the company offers to the target market?
product
Sunny Brews is a coffeehouse chain based in Boston. It recently introduced Eva, a mild roast, which became immensely popular. This exemplifies ________.
product development
Which of the following product characteristics refers to the degree to which the innovation appears superior to existing products?
relative advantage
In ________, companies put their purchasing requests online and invite suppliers to bid for the business.
reverse auctions
People cannot focus on all of the stimuli that surround them each day. A person's tendency to screen out most of the information is called ________.
selective attention
Most standard portfolio analysis methods evaluate SBUs on the ________.
strength of the market or industry position
Members of the buying center at Kid's World, a store for children's clothing, are drawing up a list of desired supplier attributes and their relative importance. Next, they intend to compare several suppliers' proposals to these attributes. In which step of the business buying process is the buying center at Kid's World involved in?
supplier selection
Many companies use RFID product labels on their goods, which exemplifies the ________ environment in business.
technological
In a straight rebuy, ________.
the "in" suppliers try to maintain product and service quality to keep the business
In business markets with inelastic demand ________.
the total demand for products is not much affected by short-term price changes
What is the purpose of a data warehouse?
to gather and integrate data in a central, accessible location Correct
Carrie tends to purchase various brands of bath soap. She has never been loyal to a specific brand; instead she does a lot of brand switching. Carrie exhibits ________.
variety-seeking buying behavior