MKT 300 Chapter 12

You work for a Europe-based company that is interested in doing business internationally. As a top manager of the firm, you want to make sure that your services and goods meet international standards. When evaluating your company's ability to compete in an international market, which of the following would help you standardize the quality of your company's goods and services? a. ISO 9001 b. Product mix depth c. Benchmarking d. Enhanced service encounters e. Six Sigma

a. ISO 9001

The new-product development process is often costly, risky, and requires a significant amount of time on the part of the company developing the product. Your company is developing a new product. Hoping to be successful, your product development manager follows the six-step development process. The rate of new product failure averages 80 percent; however, he or she knows that a company can reduce the chances of a new product's failure by implementing and carefully proceeding through this process. Below is a description of what occurs during each of the six steps in the development process. In what order should these activities take place? Step 1: Your company runs through a checklist of standards to be met for its products. Step 2: The product is assessed to find out its likely growth and competitiveness. Step 3: The product is ready for full-scale marketing. Step 4: Your company has an idea for a new product. Step 5: Your company converts the new product idea into a visible prototype. Step 6: This step will help determine a consumer's reaction to the new product in a real-world environment. a. 5, 4, 6, 2, 3, 1 b. 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 3 c. 4, 2, 5, 1, 3, 6 d. 2, 4, 3, 5, 6, 1

b. 4, 1, 2, 5, 6, 3

As consumers opt to watch their favorite television shows and movies online via Web-streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu, the appeal of cable television seems to have dwindled. Some cable companies have gone out of business, and others have merged to ensure stability during these challenging economic times. According to the scenario presented above, at which of the following stages is cable television? a. Growth b. Decline c. Challenged d. Maturity

b. Decline

Your professional rival, Maureen, works for one of your company's competitors. You both work for companies that specialize in condiments and salad dressings. Maureen's company's major product is a seasonal salad dressing, which happens to be in the decline stage of its product lifecycle. She asks your advice about how to extend the product's lifecycle. You do not want Maureen's company to outcompete your company in the market. Which of the following steps would you tell her to take? a. Develop a campaign to encourage families to use the product year round. b. Eliminate the product and introduce a completely new one c. Repackage the product to create new interest d. List new recipes that families can try on your company website

b. Eliminate the product and introduce a completely new one

Apple products have had an exciting lifecycle, which indicates just how large and in demand the company's product lines are. While it took the iPod five years to break the 30 million units per year mark, the iPhone reached this mark in four. The iPad reached this mark in two years. Modifications of its popular products continue to sell briskly to new buyers as well as to early Apple customers, despite ever-increasing competitive pressure. Based on the details provided in the scenario above, in which of the following stages of a product lifecycle are Apple products? a. Maturity b. Growth c. Introductory d. Decline e. Developing

b. Growth

As an experienced marketer, you understand the importance of thinking critically about any proposal to add breadth or depth to your product mix. Whenever a member of your team makes such a proposal, you ask all of the following questions except: a. Are we overlooking a viable consumer segment? b. Do all of our current products make adequate contributions to our portfolio? c. Are we matching the breadth and depth of our competitors' product mixes? d. Are we at risk of ending up with too many products?

c. Are we matching the breadth and depth of our competitors' product mixes?

At which stage of the new product development process should a firm typically expect the first substantial increase in its financial outlays on the process? a. Idea generation b. Screening c. Development d. Test marketing e. Commercialization

c. Development

Over the last few years, you have seen how important social media has become in shaping people's attitudes and their purchasing behavior. You want to make sure your company takes full advantage of this new avenue for building relationships with current and potential customers. You recognize that the power of social media marketing can be magnified if marketers target the right group of users. You want to target the most influential users of social media when you market new or existing products. Which of the following groups of consumers should you target on social media if you want to generate the highest number of word-of-mouth communications about your products? a. Early majority b. Laggards c. Early adopters d. Late majority e. Consumer innovators

c. Early adopters

Your company manufactures a watch that doubles as a heart and caloric intake monitor. Company managers are excited about this innovation and have been pushing it along the product development stages quickly. You have identified the consumers that are most likely to try the new product and hopefully, ensure the product's success. You know that these early adopters will be opinion leaders for this product, and if they like the product, will tell others about the innovation. Because you understand that the rate of adoption for the product will be determined by a myriad of factors, you conduct a webinar for your marketing team on this topic. Your webinar makes all of the following points except: a. If the monitor watch appears far superior to other watches and monitors, it will have a relative advantage and a faster adoption rate. b. If potential buyers get a free two-day trial of the monitor watch, their adoption rate will increase. c. If potential buyers believe the monitor watch will deliver an experience at odds with their prior experiences, their adoption rate will increase. d. The relative difficulty of understanding how to use the monitor watch will influence the speed of its adoption.

c. If potential buyers believe the monitor watch will deliver an experience at odds with their prior experiences, their adoption rate will increase

Benchmarking involves three steps. Which of these steps requires external analysis? Step 1: Identifying processes that need improvement. Step 2: Comparing processes to those of industry leaders. Step 3: Implementing changes for quality improvement. a. None of the steps requires external analysis. b. Step 1 c. Step 2 d. All of the steps require external analysis.

c. Step 2

Below is a list of the five new-product adopter categories. In what order do these groups of consumers adopt new products? Category 1: Laggards Category 2: Late majority Category 3: Consumer innovators Category 4: Early majority Category 5: Early adopters a. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 b. 4, 2, 1, 5, 3 c. 3, 4, 1, 2, 5 d. 3, 5, 4, 2, 1

d. 3, 5, 4, 2, 1

You have been hired as the new head of development for a dessert company and have been asked to come up with strategies to expand one of your many product lines. Since the market share for cheesecake continues to increase, you are interested in enhancing the depth of this product's mix. You are aware of changing consumer demands and tastes and want to create an innovative variation that does not deviate too much from the cheesecake line. You and your staff conduct market research and collect feedback from customers. Survey responses indicate that though customers enjoy cheesecake treats, they are becoming more health conscious. You decide to come up with a sugar-free cheesecake. As an experienced marketer, you understand that though there are several general advantages to adding depth, some general drawbacks exist as well. Which of the following drawbacks is most likely to hinder sales of the new cheesecake? a. The appeal of cheesecake is decreasing. b. Consumers may only associate the company with one type of product. c. Product variations are often overpriced. d. After adding the cheesecake variation, your firm may be selling too many desserts overall.

d. After adding the cheesecake variation, your firm may be selling too many desserts overall.

You are learning about strategies that can help a friend's company extend her product's lifecycle. Your friend, Celeste, sells desserts locally and is known for her holiday cakes. Which of the following strategies is likely to be unsuccessful in extending the lifecycle of her cakes? a. Package the cakes in boxes that consumers can reuse b. Distribute the cakes in another state c. Sell cakes year round, rather than just on holidays d. Introduce a line of pies e. Change the package size and label

d. Introduce a line of pies

You are the CEO of a food manufacturer that sells only holiday candy. About 85 percent of your company's products are sold between October 15 and December 31 of each year. As the company's overhead costs increase, you need new ways to increase sales and profits. Your research confirms that if the company sold cookies or other baked sweets year round, you could better manage overhead costs and other expenses. How should your marketing managers respond to the scenario described above? a. Market development b. Cannibalization c. Market penetration d. Product diversification

d. Product diversification

Your company is experiencing technical problems and financial losses with one of its products. Which stage of its lifecycle has the product most likely reached? a. decline b. maturity c. competitive d. introductory e. growth

d. introductory