MKT 301

List some social media platforms and social media tools.

1. Platforms: Social networking sites, bookmarking sites, social news sites, blogging sites and forums, and microblogs. Tools: Media sharing, blog and microblogging postings, apps, QRcodes.

Which of the following is true regarding the marketing concept?

A firm's survival and growth are built into the marketing concept.

Which of the following refers to marketing myopia?

A management's failure to recognize the scope of its business

What is a strategic alliance?

A strategic alliance is a partnership formed between two organizations to create a competitive advantage.

What are the three different types of competition? Give an example of each.

A. Direct competition occurs among marketers of similar products (examples: GE vs. Sony clock radios, Kenmore vs. Sharp microwaves, Time vs. Newsweek, Cannondale vs. Trek bicycles). B. Indirect competition involves products that can be easily substituted (examples: designer apparel vs. knock-off imitation, butter vs. margarine, copper pipe distributor vs. PVC pipe distributor). C. The last type is competition among all organizations that compete for consumer purchases (examples: frozen vs. canned sweet corn, Barcalounger recliner vs. Ikea chaise lounge, backyard swimming pool vs. Disney World vacation).

Overstock.com is an online shopping store that sells a wide variety of products. The company saves the shipping information of customers when they place orders to save time during future purchases. The company sends an email to the customer after the purchase of the product and provides a tracking number that allows them to track their order. All these strategies have helped the company to increase the sale of their products online. Which of the following features of online shopping is attracting consumers to the website in the above scenario?

Access and Convenience

Describe how firms can alleviate some of the privacy concerns of online shoppers.

Answer: A Do Not Track list would allow consumers request online sellers to not track their online habits. Search engines can also avoid behavioral targeting. By displaying logos such as TRUSTe (Internet privacy organization) on their websites, companies could indicate that they have promised to disclose how they collect personal data and what they do with the information. Prominently displaying a privacy policy is an effective way to build customers' trust. E-marketing sites involving personal information require passwords as a form of authentication. Electronic signatures have become a way to enter into legal contracts policies online.

Why is it so important for a firm to identify its core competencies?

Answer: A company's strengths reflect its core competencies—what it does well. Core competencies are capabilities that customers value and competitors find difficult to duplicate. Matching an internal strength with an external opportunity produces a situation known as leverage. To make the most of any opportunity, firms must make sure to take advantage of their core competencies.

What is the difference between a firm's mission and its objectives? Why is it important that both are conveyed clearly to employees and to customers?

Answer: A firm's mission is the essential purpose and philosophy that differentiates it from other companies. Adjustments in this statement reflect changing business environments and management philosophies. A firm's objectives are its organizational goals, including specific intentions that guide development of marketing objectives and plans, often stated in the company's mission statement. These objectives guide development of supporting marketing objectives and plans. The conveying of the mission and vision clearly to the customers is required in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. Employees need to know them so that they put their efforts for the realization of these objectives.

Why is it important for the goals of a social media marketing campaign to be both clear and flexible?

Answer: A successful social media marketing campaign starts with clear goals. Once goals are established, marketers are better able to develop strategies and choose the right platforms or outlets for their messages. Clear goals also help everyone involved in the campaign to aim their efforts in the right direction.Goals should also be flexible. Conditions in the marketing environment may change, and marketers should be able to adapt their goals without scrapping an entire plan. Upon measuring the results of a campaign, marketers may determine that a change is necessary. A social media effort might be so successful that a firm wants to expand its goals. Unexpected customers may appear, in which case marketers could tweak the message or add another type of social media to the mix in order to serve them.

How can companies benefit from blogs and avoid their downsides?

Answer: Blogs are Web pages that serve as publicly accessible journals for companies. Unlike email, they allow readers to post comments or ask questions, so they're much more interactive than other Web formats. They often include wikis, Web pages that any reader can edit and change, and podcasts, audio or video recordings posted to the site and downloaded by visitors. The incorporation of blogs into e- marketing has allowed firms to have a more personal relationship with customers, providing one-on-one communications and daily updates. They can strengthen relationships, build brand trust, and gather honest and offhand customer feedback. However, if not presented properly, a corporate blog can come off as a phony PR device that features only the positive side of the company, a vehicle for product endorsements, or a thinly disguised catalog.

Describe the importance of consumer rights in today's marketing activities.

Answer: Consumer rights are a result of consumerism—the social force within the environment that aids and protects consumers by exerting legal, moral, and economic pressures on business and government. Consumer rights in the U.S. include the right to choose freely, to be informed, to be heard, and to be safe. Marketers must consider all of these when making decisions or creating strategies, since they form the legal and ethical framework for consumer protection and safety. Informing consumers, listening to their concerns and ideas, giving them choices, and protecting their safety come into play in almost any marketing strategy. But while worrying about satisfying consumers, marketers must also carefully weigh their demands and wishes against profit objectives and the need to maintain a financially healthy organization.

List the reasons consumers give for why they shop online.

Answer: Consumers shop online for many reasons, including convenience, fun and relaxation, 24-hour access, lack of geographic limitations (can shop at global markets from home), low prices, comparison shopping, increased availability of broadband Internet connections, and more secure credit card transaction systems.

How is wireless access changing e-marketing?

Answer: One factor having a significant influence on the growth of online shopping is the increased availability of wireless access via laptops, cell phones, and smart phones. More than two-thirds of U.S. adults use cell phones and PDAs for purposes other than voice communication, including Internet use, and access is now both fast and more reliable than before. According to research on cell phone trends by Nielsen Mobile, 6.5 million mobile phone users have sent text messages to retailers and service providers to make online purchases.

What is purchase fraud?

Answer: Purchase fraud, or payment fraud, refers to credit card purchases in which merchandise is shipped, and then the buyer claims to have never placed the order or received the merchandise and cancels the payment. Some of these claims may be legitimate, but most are fraudulent. Because online purchase doesn't require a signature or credit card imprint, the merchant bears the liability in most fraud cases. So many e-tailers are investing in software that spots fraud before it happens or using payment verification systems offered by credit card companies.

How can social responsibility benefit a firm as well as the society in which it operates?

Answer: Social responsibility involves accepting the obligation to consider several broad and sometimes conflicting elements—profit, customer satisfaction, and societal well-being—as being equal in value when evaluating the performance of the firm. It allows a firm to demonstrate its philosophies and values by supporting a not-for-profit firm, donating to a cause, or showing respect for the environment. While contributing to society, social responsibility benefits a firm by building its reputation as a trusted institution, creating positive PR and media attention, and winning public support.

What is a portfolio analysis? What purpose does it serve for marketers?

Answer: The business portfolio analysis evaluates a company's products and divisions, including strategic business units (SBUs) in order to determine which business units are the strongest and which are the weakest.

What are the three essential features of social media marketing?

Answer: The three essential features of social media marketing: It creates a buzz.It creates ways for customers or fans to engage in conversations with each other and the organization.It allows customers to promote the firm's messages themselves.

State whether each of the following illustrates strategic or tactical planning: a.Global automakers begin setting up manufacturing plants in India; b.The merging of Play N Trade Video Games and Dimensions Games Corporation; c.The Washington Redskins trade multiple draft picks to draft Baylor QB Robert Griffin III; d. A regional airline looks for ways to expand to other areas of the country.

Answer: a. strategic planning; b.strategic planning; c.tactical planning;d.tactical planning

Suppose you have been hired as a marketer by an online retailer, like Bluefly or Amazon, to help develop a new marketing mix. State one thing you would do to improve the retailer's position through each of the four strategic elements: product, distribution, promotion, and pricing.

Answer:Product: Add more variety by including more services; Distribution: Start operations in more countries, or in more cities of existing countries; Pricing: Placing the product competitively in the market with the help of price discount;s Promotion: Focus on social media marketing

Which is larger, B2B or B2C e-marketing?

B2B e-marketing is significantly larger. According to estimates of the U.S. Census Bureau, 91 percent of all e-marketing activity consists of B2B transactions.

What are Blog and microblogging postings:

Blogging allows people to communicate in greater detail than microblogging does. Marketers use blog postings to educate consumers and business customers about new products, to ask for feedback about particular goods and services, to notify the public about social responsibility initiatives, and to manage public relations crises.

What are Bookmarking sites:

Bookmarking platforms give people a place to save, organize, and manage links to websites and other resources on the Internet.

_____ involves creating and distributing relevant and targeted material to attract and engage an audience, with the goal of driving them to a desired action.

Content marketing

_____ are software used by online companies to automatically collect data from Internet browsers in order to track their customers' shopping and viewing pattern.

Cookies

Describe an industry or firm that you think might be able to weather an economic downturn and explain why.

During economic downturns, consumers usually focus on basic necessities and functional products while putting off purchases related to travel, vacations, entertainment, or restaurant meals. Though this is not a hard-and-fast rule, it would indicate that firms providing basic goods are more likely to weather an economic storm than those offering high-end goods or nonessential services. Based on this theory, firms that would maintain profits even during recessions might include certain grocery, pharmaceutical, apparel, and hardware manufacturers and retailers, as well as those in industries that supply basic necessities such as oil companies, gas and electric utilities, or transportation systems.

What is the major distinction between the production era and the sales era?

During the production era, businesspeople believed that quality products would sell themselves. But during the sales era, emphasis was placed on selling—persuading people to buy.

Explain how a Web presence can improve the performance of traditional brick-and-mortar operations.

E-marketing to have a Web presence can lead to many benefits, including the following: global reach (geographic limitations are eliminated); personalization (products are assembled only as orders are placed; so inventory is sharply reduced); interactive marketing (customers control amount and type of information received); right-time marketing (products are provided when and where customers want them); and integrated marketing (all promotional activities are coordinated).

Define ethics.

Ethics are moral standards of behavior expected by a society.

T/F Production orientation is a business philosophy that stresses on the importance of quantity of products rather than the quality of products.

False

Identify the four types of utility, and give an example of each.

Form utility—raw materials and inputs are converted into finished goods (example: manufacturer combining glass, plastic, metals, and circuits to create a digital camera). Time utility— goods or services are available when consumers want them (example: pizza places adding delivery cars on Super Bowl Sunday). Place utility—goods or services are available where consumers want them (example: vending machines making snacks available in office lunch rooms). Ownership utility—title to goods or services is transferred (example: music fan buying a concert ticket online).

Why are interactive and social marketing important tools for marketers?

Interactive marketing technologies create direct communication with customers, allow larger exchanges, and put the customer in control. Social media also allow larger exchanges in which consumers communicate with one another using email or social networking sites.

What three factors have forced marketers to embrace a global marketplace?

International agreements are negotiated to expand trade among nations. The growth of technology is bringing previously isolated countries into the marketplace. The interdependence of the world's economies is now a reality.

Correct the true statement about monopoly.

It is enjoyed by an organization who is the sole suppliers of a good or service.

Which of the following is an example of a bookmarking site?

Linkswarm.com, that allows users to save, organize, and manage links to their favorite websites

Which of the following statements about marketing is true?

Marketing encompasses such a broad scope of activities and ideas that settling on one definition is often difficult.

Define "marketing" and explain how it creates utility.

Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. It creates time, place and ownership utilities.

What are Blogging sites and forums:

Members hold conversations by posting messages on online forums. Blog postings and comments are attached to blogging sites and typically focus on specific topics—such as favorite travel destinations, support for military veterans, or parenting experiences.

What might be some of the benefits of mobile marketing for firms that use it to reach out to consumers?

Mobile marketing offers the technology to send marketing messages via wireless Internet connections—through laptops, computers, PDAs, and now smart cell phones. Firms might benefit from a number of related factors—increasing speed and efficiency, lowering costs, delivering messages instantly, projecting a high-tech image with the latest cutting-edge ideas, and reaching younger or more technically savvy audiences.

For what purposes do not-for-profit organizations turn to social media marketing?

Not-for-profit organizations create social media marketing campaigns to expand their reach. They use social media to market themselves to individuals as well as to other organizations. They also turn to social media for the following purposes:To generate donations or other types of funding,To spur action such as signing online petition or emailing government officials or legislators,To promote an event for fundraising or educational purposes, To educate the public about a situation or cause,To encourage and showcase partnerships with other organizations.

What are Social news sites:

People post news items or links to outside articles on a social news site, then vote on which postings get the most prominent display—and viewed by the most readers.

How does relationship marketing give companies a competitive edge?

Relationship marketing can move customers up a loyalty ladder, generating repeat sales and long-term relationships.

Define "relationship marketing" and describe how it fits into the marketing concept.

Relationship marketing involves developing long-term, value-added connections to customers and suppliers over time. It includes strategic alliances and partnerships among manufacturers, retailers, and suppliers. The marketing concept is a companywide consumer orientation with the objective of achieving long-term success. Relationship marketing has impacted the marketing concept by stressing ways to understand and satisfy customers rather than just trying to sell them certain goods.

What are Media sharing:

Services like YouTube and Flickr allow people to upload and share media such as photos and video. Marketers realize that a viral video can translate to a jump in demand—and sales—for their products.

What are QR codes:

Short for "quick response," QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes that can be read by some mobile phones with cameras. Once a mobile phone snaps a picture and "reads" the code, the information contained in the code is shared with the user—it might lead to a video, give details about a product, or offer a coupon.

What are Apps:

Short for application, an app is a paid or free software download that links users to a wide range of goods and services, media and text content, social media platforms, search engines, individual businesses or organizations—just about anything you can think of. Marketers know that potential and existing customers use all kinds of apps, and they want to tap into the opportunities created by this phenomenon.

What is social responsibility?

Social responsibility involves marketing philosophies, policies, procedures, and actions whose primary objective is the enhancement of society.

What are sustainable products?

Sustainable products are those that can be produced, used, and disposed of with minimal impact on the environment.

What is the function of the Federal Trade Commission? The Food and Drug Administration?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the broadest powers of any agency to influence marketing decisions—it regulates unfair business practices, stops false and deceptive advertising, can require firms to provide additional information or give a refund to consumers, and (along with the U.S. Justice Department) has the power to stop mergers. The Food and Drug Administration has the authority and responsibility to regulate food, dietary supplements, drugs, and cosmetics, plus medical biological devices.

What is the marketing concept?

The marketing concept is a companywide consumer orientation with the objective of achieving long-term success.

Describe the relationship era of marketing.

The relationship era focuses on building long-term, value-added relationships over time with customers and suppliers.

What are Social networking sites:

These are websites (such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) that provide virtual communities for people to share daily activities, post opinions on various topics (ranging from politics to recipes), increase their circle of online friends, and more.

What are Microblogs:

Through microblogs, subscribers get a steady stream of brief updates from anyone ranging from a high-school friend to a celebrity.

T/F A mission can be defined as an essential purpose that differentiates one company from others.

True

T/F Bill buys a car for himself. Bill has created ownership utility.

True

T/F During an economic recession, marketers look to emphasize value in their offerings by reducing prices in order to help consumers stretch their budget dollars.

True

T/F Form utility refers to conversion of raw materials and components into finished goods and services.

True

T/F The United States is becoming culturally more diverse and subculture populations are rising.

True

The utility of a product or service is its

Want-satisfying power

Channel conflicts can be defined as conflicts:

among manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.

The basic objective of place marketing is to:

attract visitors or new businesses to a particular area.

Not-for-profit organizations use social media to:

connect with the general public, the business community, and each other.

What are A social media tool

enables users to communicate with each other online.

As an official sponsor of the NASCAR, Geico insurance company engages in _________ marketing.

event

Operational planning:

is used to determine departmental rules and procedures.

In the relationship era, firms focus on:

long-term relationships with customers and suppliers

Marketers' standards of conduct and moral values is termed as _____.

marketing ethics

Blunk is a service that allows users to send updates through posts that contain only a few words. These updates are sent to the users who have signed up to receive them. Blunk can be regarded as a(n) _____.

microblog

NIKEiD is a service provided by Nike allowing customers to customize footwear purchased from Nike. Customers become designers as they change and complete design to suit their individual tastes.

personalization

Indirect competition occurs among marketers of:

products that can be easily substituted.

In Australia, consumer spending in the past few months has seen an upward trend, and buyers are willing to spend more on premium brands. From this pattern, we can say that Australia is in the _____ stage of the business cycle.

prosperity

Eons.com is a website for baby boomers that allows members to find friends, share experiences on various topics, and post photos and videos. It also provides information on health, fitness, retirement and insurance, and access to various special interest groups. Eons.com is an example of a _____.

social networking site

An example of a threat to a firm discovered by a SWOT analysis might be:

the entry of new competitors in the industry.

The marketing website of a company differs from its corporate website as the marketing website is established:

to increase the purchase of products by visitors by engaging them in interactions that will lead to purchase of the product.

The first step of the marketing planning process involves:

writing the mission statement.