BA 677 Marketing Strategy Midterm

What are the four directions a firm can taken when considering its strategic focus

1) Aggressive: Many internal strengths and many external opportunities. These firms develop marketing strategies to aggressively take on multiple opportunities 2) Diversification: Many internal strengths and many external threats. These firms have a great deal to offer but external factors weaken their ability to pursue aggressive strategies 3) Turnaround: many internal weaknesses and many external opportunities. These firms find themselves in the situation, often temporary, of having too many internal problems to consider strategies that will take advantage of external opportunities 4) Defensive: many internal weaknesses and many external threats. These firms become overwhelmed by internal and external problems simultaneously

What are the four warnings to consider when conducting a situation analysis

1) Analysis alone is not a solution 2) Data are not the same as information 3) The benefits of analysis must outweigh the costs 4) Conducting a situation analysis is a challenging exersize

What are the four elements of successful objectives

1) Attainability 2) Continuity: A firm uses continuous objectives when its current objectives are similar to objectives set in previous planning periods 3) Time frame 4) Assignment of responsibility

What are the four elements of good goals

1) Attainability: Unrealistic goals can be demotivational because they show employees that management is out of touch 2) Consistency: make sure goals to contradict each other 3) Comprehensiveness: Each functional area should be able to develop its own goals that relate to the organization's goals 4) Intangibility: A goal is not some action the firm can take; rather, it is an outcome the organization hopes to accomplish

What are the four form of competitors

1) Brand competitors 2) Product competitors 3) Generic competitors 4) Total budget competitors

What are four keys to remember when considering the consumer buying process

1) Consumers do not necessarily follow the buying stages in order or at all 2) The buying process often involves a parallel sequence of activities associated with finding the most suitable merchant of the product in question 3) The choice of a suitable merchant may actually take precedent over the choice of a specific product 4) Some merchants become so well known for certain products that customers just naturally execute their buying process with those merchants.

What are the three elements that will answer the question "Who are our current and potential customers?"

1) Demographic characteristics 2) Geographic characteristics 3) Psychographic characteristics

What are the four types of primary data collection

1) Direct observation: researcher records the overt behaviors of customers, competitors, suppliers in natural settings 2) Focus groups: researcher moderates a panel discussion among a gathering of 6-10 people to openly discuss a specific sobject 3) Surveys: where the researcher asks respondents to answer a series of questions on a particular topic 4) Experiments: where the researcher selects matched subjects and exposes them to different treatments while controlling for extraneous variables

There are eight basic areas of resources in any company. Name them and give an example of each

1) Financial: cash 2) Intellectual: expertise 3) Legal: patents and contracts 4) Human: employee expertise and skills 5) Organizational: culture and values 6) Informational: customer and competitive intelligence 7) Relational: strategic alliances and relations with customers 8) Reputational: brand names and reputation

According to the textbook, what are four reasons for declining internal performance

1) Holding on to marketing goals or objectives inconsistent with the current realities of the customer or external environments 2) A flawed marketing strategy 3) Poor implementation 4) Changes in the customer or external environments beyond the control of the firm

What are the five phases of competitive analysis

1) Identification: Identify all current and potential brand, product, generic, and total budget competitors 2) Characteristics: Focus on key competitors by assessing the size, growth, profitability, objectives, strategies and target markets of each one 3) Assessment: Assess each key competitors by assessing the size, growth, profitability, objectives, strategies, and target markets of each one 4) Capabilities: Focus the analysis on each key competitors marketing capabilities in terms of its products, distribution, promotion, and pricing 5) Response: Estimate each key competitors most likely strategies and responses under different marketing and environmental situations, as well as its reactions to the firm's own marketing efforts

What is the first concept(four) that must be realized when looking at the customer environment in the situation analysis

1) Identify the firm's current and potential customers 2) Identify the prevailing needs of current and potential customers 3) Identify the basic features of the firm's and competitors products perceived by customers as meeting their needs 4) Anticipated changes in customers' needs

What are the four problems with data collection

1) Incomplete or inaccurate assessment of the situation that the gathering of data should address 2) Expense of collecting environmental data 3) The time it takes to collect data and information 4) Challenging to find a way to organize the vast amount of data and information collected during the situational analysis

What are the two biggest drawbacks to periodical sources and books

1) Information overload 2) Relevance to the specific problem at hand

What are the four basic sources of secondary data and information

1) Internal 2) Government 3) Periodicals and books 4) Commercial data sources

What are the two most common criticisms of a SWOT analysis

1) It allows firms to create lists without serious considerations of the issues 2) It becomes a sterile academic exercise of classifying data and information

Why is competitive analysis getting greater attention recently

1) More intense competition from sophisticated competitors 2) Increased competition from foreign firms 3) Shorter product life cycles 4) Dynamic environments, primarily in technological innovation

Describe the SWOT matrix

1) Offer solutions to customers' problems, don't offer just products 2) Capabilities become competitive advantages if they provide better value to customers than competing offerings 3) Invest in strategic areas and seek to convert weaknesses to strengths and threats to opportunities 4) Weaknesses that cannot be converted into strengths become the firm's limitation

What are the three basic strategies that a company can develop their capabilities and create competitive advantages on

1) Operational excellence: Focus on efficiency of operations and processes 2) Product Leadership: excel at technology and product development 3) Customer intimacy: Work to know your customers and understand their needs better than the competition

What is the major advantages of primary marketing research

1) Relevance to specific topic 2) Trustworthy nature

Describe the three issues to be considered when looking at the internal environment

1) Review of current objectives, strategy, and performance 2) Availability of resources 3) organizational culture and structure

What are the four most important values regardless

1) Self-respect 2) Having a warm relationship with others 3) Security 4) Having a sense of accomplishment

What are the five major benefits of a SWOT analysis and describe each feature

1) Simplicity: SWOT analysis requires no extensive training or technical skills to be used successfully 2) Lower costs: Because specialized training and skills are not necessary, the use of SWOT analysis can actually reduce the costs associated with strategic planning 3) Flexibility: SWOT analysis can enhance the quality of an organization's strategic planning even without extensive marketing information systems 4) Integration and Synthesis: SWOT analysis gives the analyst the ability to integrate and synthesize diverse information, both of a quantitative and a qualitative nature 5) Collaboration: SWOT analysis fosters collaboration and open information between different functional areas

What are the six directives for producing a SWOT analysis

1) Stay focused 2) Search extensively for competitors 3) Collaborate with other functional areas 4) Examine issues from the customers' perspective 5) Look for causes not characteristics 6) Separate internal issues from external issues

What three issues determine the amount of time, effort, and expense dedicated to the search for information

1) The degree of risk involved in the purchase 2) The amount of expertise or experience the consumer has with the product category 3) The actual cost of the search in terms of time and money

What are the two major characteristics that should be possessed by a value curve

1) The value curve should clearly depict the firm's strategic focus 2) The value curve should be distinctly different from competitors

Describe the issues to be considered when looking at the customer environment

1) Who are our current and potential customers 2) What do our customers do with our product 3) Where do customers purchase our product 4) When do customers purchase our product 5) Why do potential customers purchase or why do they not purchase our products

When a strength serves a customer need, what do they become

A capability

Differentiate between a want and a need

A need occurs when an individual's current level of satisfaction does not equal their desired level of satisfaction. A want is a consumer's desire for a specific product that will satisfy the need

Advantages and disadvantages of direct observation for primary data collection

Adv: accurately describes behavior without influencing target Dis: Subject to great deal of bias and researcher interpretation

What is front stage technology

Advances that are most noticable to customers

What is backstage technology

Advances that make them more efficient and effective

Why is secondary data sources preferred

Because these sources can be obtained more quickly and at less cost than collecting primary data

Define the savings of boomers

Boomers are less interested in buying second homes, cars, vacations, and other luxery items

What are some of the aspects boomers are willing to try

Boomers are much more likely to change careers, have more children, go back to school, remarry, pursue new hobbies, and inherit more money from their parents

Describe the wealth of boomers

Boomers now control 90% of our nation's net worth while controlling 78% of the financial assets. They also account for well over half of all consumer spending

What happens if external issues are ignored when assessing strengths and weaknesses

Can lead to an organization that, although efficient, cannot adapt when external changes either enhance or impede the firm's ability to serve the needs of its customers

What is the greatest drawback to commercial sources of data

Cost

According to the book, what is a good first step toward educating potential customers about the need

Creating a seed of doubt

What is the difference between data and information

Data are easy to collect and store but good information is not

What is the "where" part of identifying where our customers use our product associated with?

Distribution and customer convenience

What are the greatest advantages of government sources

Easy accessibility and low cost

What is a list of suitable alternatives that the consumer brings to mind when a need is mentioned

Evoked set

When comparing the three basic strategies for developing a competitive advantage, what was the reminder in the book?

Execute all three but choose on in which to excel

Main obstacles to experiments for primary data collection

Expense and difficulty for controlling for all extraneous variables in the test

What is the major disadvantage of primary marketing research

Extreme expense and time consumation

Differentiate between goals and objectives

Goals are general desired accomplishments while objectives provide specific, quantitative benchmarks that can be used to gauge progress toward the achievement of the marketing goals

What are cultural values

Guiding principles of every day life

Describe what will be examined when comparing what our customers do with our products

Here, the marketing manager might be interested in identifying the rate of product consumption, differences between heavy and light users of products, whether customers use complementary products during consumption, and what customers do with the firm's products after consumption

Differentiate between passive and active information search

In a passive information search, the consumer becomes more attentive and receptive to information. In an active information search, the consumer actively and purposely seeks additional information

Main disadvantage of surveys for primary data collection

Increasing difficulty with getting people to participate

On a strategy canvas, what does the vertical axis represent

Indicates the offering level that firms offer to buyers across these factors

What is the leading characteristic of buyer behavior

Irrational

How does a thorough analysis empower the marketer

It encourages both analysis and synthesis of information

What is one of the biggest problems with internal data

It is often not in a readily accessible form for planning purposes

What is the fastest growing form of distribution today

Nonstore retailing such as vending machines, direct marketing through catalogs, home sales or infomercials, and electronic retailing through the internet, interactive television, and video kiosks

What is the comparison between Boomers and Gen X

Only 50 million Gen X are following the boomers

Define a competitive advantage

Real differentiation between competing firms

Reminder: Stepping beyond core strengths is a bad idea

Reminder

Main disadvantage of focus groups for primary data collection

Requires a highly skilled moderator to help limit the potential for moderator bias

Special note: Because consumers maintain the perception that the iPad is better than competing products, competing products have a difficult time breaking through

Special note

Special note: Depending on the types of products sold by the firm, purchase influencers or users, rather than actual purchasers, may be important as well

Special note

Special note: Goals without objectives are meaningless because progress is impossible to measure

Special note

What is a tool for visualizing a firm's strategy relative to other firms in a given industry

Strategy canvas

While all four types of competition are important, which one receives the greatest attention

The brand competitors because customers see different brands as direct substitutes for each other. Strategies aimed at getting customers to switch brands are a major focus in any effort to beat brand competitors

What perspective should be used when making a SWOT analysis

The customer perspective

What does the book refer to as the "black box of consumer behavior"

The evaluation of alternatives

What are the best source on data for curent objectives, strategy, performance, and available resources

The firm's own records if available

What is the internal environment

The objectives, strategy, performance, allocation of resources, structural characteristics, and political climate

What is the most important aspect of the situation analysis

The ongoing effort

What is a brief synopsis of the five stages of activity a consumer goes through in buying goods and services

The process begins with the recognition of a need, then passes through the stages of information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and postpurchase evaluation

What is ethnography

The qualitative research technique designed to understand cultural phenomena such as communication, shared meanings, and personal interest

What does the "when" in "when do our customers purchase our products" refer to

The when question answers any situational influences that may cause customer purchasing activity to vary over time

What are the age span of the current boomers

The youngest boomers are now 50 or older, with the oldest boomers now 70 or older

Define goals

These are expressed in general terms and do not contain specific information about where the organization presently stands or where it hopes to be in the future

What are strengths and weaknesses

These exist either because of resources possessed by the firm, or in the nature of the relationships between the firm and its customers, its employees, or outside organizations

What are opportunities and threats

These exist outside the firm, independently of internal strengths, weaknesses, or marketing options

Define objectives

These provide specific and quantitative benchmarks that can be used to gauge progress toward the achievement of the marketing goals

What are sociocultural factors

These social and cultural influences that cause changes in attitudes, beliefs, norms, customs, and lifestyles

Describe total budget competitors

They compete for the limited financial resources of the same customers

Describe product competitors

They compete in the same product class but with products that are different in features, benefit, and price

Describe brand competitors

They market products with similar features and benefits to the same customers at similar prices

Describe generic competitors

They market very different products that solve the same problem or satisfy the same basic customer need

On a strategy canvas, what does the horizontal axis represent

This identifies the key factors that the industry competes on with the products that are offered to customers

What is the strategic focus

This is the overall concept or model that guides the firm as it weaves various marketing elements together into a coherent strategy

Within the consumer buying process, define demand

This only occurs when the consumer's ability and willingness to purchase a specific product backs up their want for the product

What is the major drawback to government data

Timeliness

What is the major strength of book and periodical sources

Timeliness

Describe the purpose of the situation analysis

To describe current and future issues and key trends as they affect three key environments: the internal environment, the customer environment, and the external environment

What is an additional post-consumption consideration for how customers use the products

Today, marketers have become increasingly interested in how customers dispose of products such as whether customers recycle the product or its packaging. Another post-consumption issue deals with the need for reverse channels of distribution

What is perhaps the most challenging element of the situation analysis

Tracking all three environments simultaneously

What is the graphic representation of a firm's relative performance across its industry's factors

Value curve

When does data become informative

When a person or process transforms or combines them with other data in a manner that makes them useful to decision makers

What makes analysis valuable

When it is combined with intuition and judgement

When does the buying process begin

When the consumer realizes that they have an unmet need

When are strengths meaningful

When they serve to satisfy a customer need

What is derived demand

Where the demand for one product depends on the demand of another product--the market must also examine the consumption and usage of the complementary product

Should the situation analysis always begin with an examination of secondary data sources first

Yes

When examining issues from a customer's perspective, are the employees included as well?

Yes, they are our internal customers

What is the basic analysis that will cover the External Environment

the PESTLE analysis