Chapter 17

Relationship selling is more typical with selling situations for consumer goods.

False -Relationship selling is more typical with selling situations for industrial-type goods.

Empowerment in a CRM environment is normally a process of collecting customer information through customers' feedback on products.

False -This is learning. Empowerment is the delegation of authority to solve customers' problems quickly.

Customer relationship management initially was popularized as . a.one-to-one marketing. b.a mass marketing approach. c.total quality management. d.a customer satisfaction program. e.a differentiation strategy.

A. -Customer relationship management initially was popularized as one-to-one marketing. But CRM is a much broader approach to understanding and serving customer needs than is one-to-one marketing.

Relationship selling is a ________ process that emphasizes ___________ as a key ingredient in identifying prospects and developing them as long-term, satisfied customers. a.multistage, empathy b.popular, assertiveness c.short-term, persuasion d.win-lose, personalization e.modern, standardization

A. -Relationship selling is a multistage process that emphasizes personalization and empathy as key ingredients in identifying prospects and developing them as long-term, satisfied customers.

Which of the following statements about a CRM system is true? a.A critical component of a CRM system is the use of the appropriate technology to store and manage customer data. b.A CRM system operates on the theory that all customers are equally important. c.Due to privacy laws, a CRM system only disseminates customer information to those who are actually in day-to-day contact with customers. d.A company using a CRM system must view its customers as bits of data. e.All of these statements about a CRM system are true.

A. -The large volume of data resulting from a CRM initiative can be managed effectively only through technology. Once customer data are collected, the question of who owns those data becomes extremely salient.

Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Barneys New York offer free personal shopping, whereby consultants pull clothing they feel will fit the customer's style and specified need. This free service: a. encourages customers to develop a relationship with the store. b. puts pressure on customers to buy more. c. dissuades customers from shopping at the store. d. is a good way to sell low-cost, low-involvement products. Streamlines customer interactions, making sales easier.

A. -This free service encourages customers to continue using personal shoppers and develop a relationship with the store.

For which of the following products would its producer be more likely to choose personal selling rather than advertising or sales promotion to market it? a.Garden hose b.HD television c.Dry-cleaning d.Coffee mug e.Breakfast cereal

B. -HD televisions are complex, buyers purchase them only infrequently, and the product has a high value.

Stores carrying Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick have begun using touch-screen televisions that allow customers to see how different styles might look on their own faces without talking to a makeup artist. Which of the following statements does this new development support? a.Salespeople sell products, not advice and assistance. b.Personal selling has taken a technology turn in the last decade. c.Relationship selling promotes a win-win situation for both buyer and seller. d.Personal selling offers several advantages over other forms of promotion. e.Modern views of personal selling emphasize the relationship between a salesperson and a buyer.

B. -Stores that embrace younger shoppers' love of technology and independence can gain loyal customers.

When Burpee Gardening company collects relevant information from customers, such as date of last communication with the customer and how often the customer contacts the company, this is an example of: a.establishing marketing objectives. b.capturing relevant customer data on interactions. c.identifying customer relationships with the organization. d.understanding the interactions the company has with current customers. e.deciding on a segmentation strategy.

B. -This is an example of a company that uses a CRM approach to capture relevant customer data on interactions

Jefferson Smurfit Company is a multi-billion-dollar supplier of packaging materials. One of its salespeople rearranged production schedules at three different plants to satisfy an unexpected demand for boxes from General Electric. The salesperson's action is typical of the company's sales philosophy and indicates an emphasis on: a.consultative promotion. b.relationship selling. c.adaptive selling. d.transformational selling. e.transactional buying.

B. Relationship selling, or consultative selling, emphasizes personalization and empathy as key ingredients in identifying prospects and developing them as long-term, satisfied customers.

Consultative selling: a.uses limited sales planning. b.uses a "lone wolf" approach to selling. c.sells advice, assistance, and counsel rather than products. d.uses short-term follow-ups, which focus on product delivery. e.emphasizes closing the sale during the sales presentation.

C.

___________ in a CRM environment involves collecting customer information through comments and feedback on product and service performance. a.Uncovering b.Researching c.Learning d.Recording e.Absorbing

C.

Which of the following is not true of traditional personal selling methods? a.They often attempt to persuade the buyer to accept a point of view. b.The objectives of the salesperson are frequently at the expense of the buyer. c.They have disappeared in the wake of relationship selling. d.They entail making a one-time sale and then moving on to the next prospect. e.They sometimes create a win-lose outcome.

C. -Although traditional sales approaches have not disappeared entirely, they are being used less and less often by professional salespeople.

Which of the following professions likely requires an individual to make sales? a.Salesperson b.Chemist c.Marketing manager d.Engineer e.All of the above.

C. -An individual may become a plant manager, a chemist, an engineer, or a member of any profession and yet still have to sell. During a job search, applicants must "sell" themselves to prospective employers in an interview.

When compared to other forms of promotion, personal selling: a. is more important as the number of potential customers increases. b. is more effective in selling frequently purchased products. c. can use a message customized to the immediate needs of the customers. d. is best for selling simple, low-involvement products. e.is less expensive.

C. -Generally speaking, personal selling becomes more important as the number of potential customers decreases, as the complexity of the product increases, and as the value of the product grows. The sales message can be varied according to the motivations and interests of each prospective customer.

Personal selling is more important than advertising and sales promotion if: a. the products being sold are standardized. b. there are many customers for the product being sold. c. the product being sold has a low value. d. the buyers of the product are extremely dispersed. e. the products being sold are technically complex.

C. -Personal selling becomes more important as the complexity of the product increases.

How can personal selling costs be controlled? a.By increasing the time that the sales force spends on personal selling. b.By adjusting the size of the sales force en masse. c.By offering the sales force benefits such as stock options. d.By dropping and replacing the entire sales force. e.By adjusting the size of the sales force in one-person increments.

C. -Personal selling costs can be controlled by adjusting the size of the sales force (and resulting expenses) in one-person increments

To initiate the CRM cycle, a company must first: a.establish marketing objectives. b.capture relevant customer data on interactions. c.identify customer relationships with the organization. d.understand the interactions the company has with current customers. e.decide on a segmentation strategy.

C. -To initiate the CRM cycle, a company must first identify customer relationships with the organization.

All of the following statements characterize the traditional personal selling approach EXCEPT: a.Traditional selling focuses on closing sales. b.Traditional selling uses short-term follow-ups that focus on product delivery. c.Traditional personal selling takes a team approach to the account. d.Salespeople sell products, not advice and assistance. e.Proposals and presentations used emphasize pricing and product features.

C. -Traditional personal selling takes a "lone wolf" approach to the account, whereas relationship or consultative selling takes a team approach.

As a manufacturer of jams and jellies, Smucker's sells a highly standardized product to consumers all over the United States. You would expect Smucker's to rely on to promote its product. a.public relations b.personal selling c.advertising and sales promotion d.publicity and direct marketing e.product innovation

C. -With a standard product of low value and widely dispersed customers, the producer should rely on advertising.

Relationship selling is also called: a.long-term selling. b.win-win selling. c.consultative selling. d.experiential selling. e.interactive selling.

C. Relationship selling is also called consultative selling.

Boeing is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world. The company sells aircrafts to airlines around the world, such as Delta, China Air, and AirFrance. You would expect Boeing to rely on to promote its vessels. a.publicity b.advertising and sales promotion c.sales promotion d.personal selling e.product innovations and direct marketing

D -Boeing is selling a complex, high-value product to a few customers

___________ is the ultimate goal of a new trend in marketing that focuses on understanding customers as individuals instead of as part of a group. a.Organizational optimization b.Consumer relationship marketing (CRM) c.Total quality management (TQM) d.Customer relationship management (CRM) e.Market aggregation

D.

Using technology provided by Smart Button software, the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks have implemented a new system that gathers information about its best customers, season ticket holders, and rewards those customers in many ways, including free tickets to Sparks home games and cash prizes. This is an example of a(n) ___________ system. a.organizational optimization b.corporate relationship marketing (CRM) c.total quality management (TQM) d.customer relationship management (CRM) e.call response marketing (CRM)

D. -CRM is a company-wide business strategy designed to optimize profitability, revenue, and customer satisfaction by focusing on highly defined and precise customer segments.

Generally speaking, personal selling becomes more important as the number of potential customers and as the value of the product a.increases; grows b.increases; shrinks c.decreases; shrinks d.decreases; grows e.None of the above.

D. -Personal selling becomes more important as the number of potential customers decreases, as the complexity of the product increases, and as the value of the product grows.

___________ is a sales practice that involves building, maintaining, and enhancing interactions with customers in order to develop long-term satisfaction through mutually beneficial partnerships. a.Networking b.Adaptive selling c.Stimulus-response selling d.Relationship selling e.Needs-dependent selling

D. -Relationship selling is a multistage process that emphasizes personalization and empathy as key ingredients in identifying prospects and developing them as long-term satisfied customers.

What role does technology play in personal selling? a.Technology used to play a large role in personal selling, but its impact is diminishing. b.Technology is the most important aspect of personal selling. c.Technology plays an important role, especially in regards to social media. d.Technology is completely irrelevant to personal selling. e.Technology plays a small role in personal selling, but experts expect its importance to rise over time.

D. -Technology now plays an important role in personal selling through the use of social media like LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as the use of blogs and Twitter to establish expertise within a field.

The knowledge that most businesses depend on repeat sales is the basis of: a.traditional personal selling. b.direct marketing. c.all trade promotions. d.relationship selling. e.product-oriented selling.

D. -The goal of relationship selling is to develop long-term satisfied customers.

When did marketers move away from making one-time sales and toward relationship selling? a.Marketers have always focused on relationship selling. b.During the Industrial Revolution. c.In the wake of the Great Depression. d.Just after World War II. Very recently

D. -Until recently, marketing theory and practice concerning personal selling focused almost entirely on a planned presentation to prospective customers for the sole purpose of making the sale.

Relationship selling: a.is also called adaptive selling. b.is most concerned with making a sale. c.is more typically used when selling low-involvement products in the consumer market. d.is more concerned with developing customer trust than with making a sale. e.is declining in popularity among businesses because the costs are becoming prohibitive.

D. Relationship selling is also called consultative selling. It is more concerned with developing customer trust than with making a sale. Typically, industrial-type goods are sold using relationship selling.

Best Buy instituted a system in all of its stores that customizes their product offerings for the five key customer segments it has identified: affluent professional males, young entertainment enthusiasts, upscale suburban moms, families who are practical technology adopters, and small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. This focus implies that Best Buy is: a.ethnocentric. b.demand based. c.sales-centric. d.supply based. e.customer-centric.

E. -A customer-centric focus is an internal management philosophy to the marketing concept.

Research has shown that positive customer-salesperson relationships result in: a.win-lose situations. b.decreased customer trust. c.customers who purchase from the company just once. d.higher costs for the company. e.None of the above.

E. -Positive customer-salesperson relationships contribute to trust, increased customer loyalty, and the intent to continue the relationship with the salesperson.

With relationship selling, the salesperson would spend most of his or her contact time with the prospect talking about the product because the salesperson does not want to waste the customer's time.

False -With relationship selling, the salesperson spends most of his or her time attempting to build a problem-solving environment with the customer.

Customer relationship management requires that organizations develop relationships with their customers through touch points and data mining.

True

Customer-centric is an internal management philosophy similar to the marketing concept.

True

Dave is in charge of finding sponsors for the 2015 Riverbend Festival. He is meeting with marketing representatives from Wrangler jeans and First Tennessee National Bank, attempting to convince them to sponsor the event. Dave is engaged in personal selling.

True

The interaction between a customer and the organization is the foundation on which a CRM system is built.

True

To initiate the CRM cycle, a company must first identify customer relationships within the organization.

True

With relationship selling, the objective is to build long-term branded relationships with customers, not just to sell products.

True

Personal selling becomes a more important promotional tool as product value and complexity and increase.

True -Generally speaking, personal selling becomes more important as the number of potential customers decreases, as the complexity of the product increases, and as the value of the product grows.