mkt exam 1 mult choice

The organizational buying process is multifaceted and is demonstrated through a seven-stage process. Which of the following descriptions pertains to an activity that the purchaser would be likeliest to undertake during the last stage?

Examine the frequency of on-time delivery

All of the following are appropriate ways for a firm to measure the effectiveness of its social media initiatives except:

By measuring output

Which of the following is not part of the international political-legal environment that affects U.S. firms operating abroad?

Cultural norms

You work for a popular restaurant chain. Now your firm wants to transition into selling prepared foods to supermarkets. How is the company's form of promotion most likely to change?

From an emphasis on advertising to an emphasis on personal selling.

In your new marketing position with an international company making custom leather boots, you recognize the global environment offers a different set of challenges for you to navigate on behalf of your employer. You have been assigned to track product sales to Spain. Which of the following information should you thoroughly familiarize yourself with, to respond to Spain's political-legal environment?

Import tariffs on leather goods

You work for a multimillion-dollar supermarket chain whose executives have been strategizing around ways to enhance their relationships with customers. Which of the following steps would you take to address this need if your company is committed to the practices of the relationship era?

Institute a loyalty program that rewards regular customers through a point system.

If your company wishes to communicate a consistent message to its customers with its traditional marketing and digital strategies then it should focus on which of the following opportunities of digital marketing?

Integrated marketing

You're the marketing director for a startup firm in the snack food industry. In the past, you've sold only to small specialty stores, but now you hope to crack a major supermarket chain. As you plan your approach to this prospective new buyer, which of the following likely influences on its decision should you consider?

Interpersonal influences and organizational factors

The pyramid of corporate social responsibility states that there are four dimensions of social responsibility: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic. The socially responsible marketer accepts different responsibilities for each of these dimensions in terms of how she carries out her marketing activities. You have been asked to make a presentation to management that will highlight your company's ethical responsibilities. Which of the following topics do you plan to discuss?

It is important to recognize that corporate integrity and behavior go beyond mere compliance with laws and regulations.

Which one of the following statements best describes the basic goal of marketing?

Marketing creates value by providing different types of utility to customers.

You have entered a stage in the organizational buying process. The scenarios below indicate which stage you have entered: At this stage in the buying process, you will consider how well a particular supplier has responded to your company's needs. Because your company is so large, it uses standardized methods to judge whether a vendor has met or exceeded the company's expectations. Which of the following is an added benefit of the stage in the organizational buying process identified above?

Measurement of whether or not a vendor has reduced your employees' workloads.

Unwittingly, most consumers follow a defined process when purchasing goods and services. This process includes six steps, and the marketer must understand where the consumer is in this process in order to be successful with his or her marketing strategies. Choose the scenario that best describes the first step in the consumer buying decision process.

Michael accidentally ran over his bicycle when he backed out of his garage this morning, and he needs a bicycle for the road race he is participating in this weekend.

Business markets differ from consumer markets in several ways. Choose the correct example(s) of these differences.

Personal selling is usually emphasized more in business than consumer markets

Which of the following is true about the ethical issues marketers encounter in social media marketing?

Privacy and accountability are constant concerns.

Mercy Hospital needs to purchase a highly specialized drug that is patented and sold by only one pharmaceutical company. These constraints will primarily affect which step in the organizational buying process?

Step 3

Marketing ethics and social responsibility are important to the success of marketing strategies. Marketing ethics defines the principles and standards that define acceptable conduct in marketing. Which of the following decisions is not related to marketing ethics?

The Director of Marketing wants to withdraw a product because it is no longer profitable or competitive.

Your investment banker has presented you with the following list of business characteristics of a small company your company is considering acquiring: Market leadership Large inventories Lack of management depth Cost advantages Management turnover Excess manufacturing capacity relative to market Based on this list of characteristics, which of the following statements is true?

The list contains more weaknesses than strengths.

You are an e-business website consultant in Austin, Texas. You and professionals like you are playing an increasingly important role in helping companies optimize their e-commerce initiatives. You just signed a client who is mystified by his site's failure to generate revenue. Which of the following factors do you immediately identify as part of his problem?

There is no measure of page-loading speed.

A new store opens in your city. This store opening is likely to prompt you to use social media in all of the following ways except:

To dispute your first bill from the new store

You work for a tech firm that wants to invest in some capital development projects that could potentially position the company as a multinational giant in the competitive market. One of the projects would require your company to purchase a $500 million software package. Company executives believe the investment would pay off; however, before approving such a costly purchase, they want to identify someone in the IT department who has the expertise to work with this highly specialized package. The person would play a key role within the buying center. Which role would the IT expert be likeliest to play?

User

For decades Superior Ski Hotel was a thriving New England resort, relying on families who returned faithfully year after year. Its marketers had complete confidence in the loyalty of their longtime customers, so their only promotional campaigns focused on attracting new customers by offering steep discounts on first-time stays. But as competition intensified, Superior began to lose business. Eventually the hotel was forced to close. Which of the following principles of relationship marketing did the company neglect?

While it's important to attract new customers, it's even more important to encourage current customers to keep coming back.

Decorators Inc. has recognized a trend in the spending habits of young professionals in the 25-35 age groups. About 80% of the members in this group rent a condominium or loft space, and they look for ways to furnish and decorate their homes on a budget. Moreover, they are extremely busy and don't have a lot of extra time. The majority of these consumers tend to purchase items that are modern, chic, and reflect the image that they are successful professionals in the business world. Decorators Inc. hired you to design a marketing campaign that will appeal to young professionals. You have studied the purchasing behaviors of young professionals and decided on the campaign design that you are going to implement. Which marketing campaign would effectively appeal to young professionals?

You design a Facebook page for Decorators Inc. that features the homes of young professionals well known among their peers for trendsetting taste

International retailer IKEA is known not only for value-priced furniture and home goods, but also for the unique children's playrooms and family cafeterias offered in all its stores. These amenities enhance which type(s) of utility for IKEA customers?

place

The central focus of the marketer's activities is to develop mutually beneficial relationships with customers and potential customers. If the marketer is able to convince the customer to buy the firm's products, then the customer's lifetime value to the firm is enhanced. Marketers also seek to encourage customers to _________________ the firm's products because that will ____________ the customer's lifetime value to the firm. Which of the following terms/words best express what marketers should do to enhance a customer's lifetime value to the firm?

recommend;increase

You are conducting an analysis of competitive forces facing the pharmaceutical company you work for. You're especially struck by the fact that companies in your industry generally need government patents and approvals from the US Food and Drug Agency before they can legally market many of the most profitable products. These realities primarily influence the competitive force identified in Porter's five forces model as __________, which is based on the ______ for entering a market or industry.

threat of new competitors, level of difficulty

You work for a company that manufactures and distributes home design products directly to customers. Annually, the company executives facilitate meetings with middle and supervisory-level management to ensure that all staff are on the same page. This year, you have proposed that to ensure that all company employees understand the goals of the company, each person has to go through a list of tasks and decide whether top management, middle management, or supervisory-level management is responsible for that task. Which of the following tasks would most likely be the responsibility of middle management?

-Assess infrastructural gaps in the community to determine how company can be socially responsible. -Develop a tool to help track customer complaints about lost and late shipments.

You just got hired by the Federal Trade Commission, and you're the envy of all your friends. You feel good when you overhear your roommate describe your new job to another student. However, in his enthusiasm, he made a couple of mistakes. Which of the following points about the FTC did your roommate get wrong?

-Because of its enormous power, the FTC is known informally as the Federal Power Commission. -The FTC sets safety standards for consumer products. -The FTC operates at the state level as well as the federal level.

The time and effort that a consumer spends in making a decision regarding a purchase determines whether the item is a high-involvement or low-involvement purchase. Choose the scenario(s) that illustrate(s) a low-involvement purchase.

-Desiree purchases a latte from Starbucks with cashback bonus points on her credit card. -Harrison is in the checkout line at the grocery store and puts a copy of Time magazine in his cart to buy. -Lorenzo buys his dog Iams dry food from PetSmart.

You own an expensive restaurant and have a thriving business until the economic recession hits. Sales immediately plummet as your diners disappear. Some friends argue that a big advertising campaign focused on the quality of your food would bring the customers back, but you don't agree. Choose the statement(s) you'd use to accurately explain your point of view.

-During a recession, consumers are more likely to respond to discount deals than to ads touting the quality of a purchase that isn't a necessity. -During a recession, consumers limit expenditures on items that aren't necessary, like restaurant meals.

Companies that decide to pursue global marketing efforts have a choice of several ways to initiate building international business organizations. These alternatives give ample choices for the firm to match financial resources, envisioned outcomes, and comfortable risks. Which of the following descriptions of global marketing alternatives is(are)accurate?

-In a joint venture, the company shares risks, costs, and management with partners. -An exporter markets domestically produced merchandise to customers in other countries.

Choose any of the following types of B2B segmentation that is(are) incorrectly described.

-In buyer decision segmentation, a company may deal with one or multiple individuals involved in the purchase decision. -End-use application segmentation deals with the way in which the product or service is engineered and manufactured.

Select all the statements that are true about social media's role in marketing.

-It is primarily a communication medium. -Most companies are increasing their social media presence.

Procter & Gamble wants to determine both the market share of Iams and the customer lifetime value of Iams buyers. These measurements are calculated based on different variables. Customer lifetime value calculations are complex, but are usually based on the frequency and dollar amounts of an individual customer's purchases, how long the relationship endures, how purchasing patterns change over the course of the relationship, the cost of servicing customers, the profitability of each customer over time, and whether existing customers bring in new customers through word of mouth or other means. A number of possible measurements are listed below. Choose those answers that are not focused on customer lifetime value.

-Percentage of industrywide annual sales represented by Iams products. -Number of competitors and how much pet food each competitor sells per year.

The legal and regulatory forces in the marketing environment consist primarily of laws that are enforced by a variety of agencies operating at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Which of the following laws and agencies is (are) incorrectly linked to an area of regulatory responsibility?

-The CPSA sets standards for business-to-business products. -The FDA prohibits adulteration of food, drugs, and additives.

From the following list of six marketing questions, choose those related to the Environmental & SWOT Analysis element of the marketing plan:

-What other products will my chips be competing with in the marketplace? -What are the most popular chip snacks in my area, and how are tastes changing?

Choose the scenario(s) below where the consumer behavior is a function of a social factor.

-You buy your fiancé an engagement ring because this is the tradition where you live. -You purchase a new smartphone from Verizon on the basis of your aunt's recommendation. -You buy a ticket to a movie you've already seen because people you work with are going to the movie.

Fill in the words from the drop-down list that would best complete the passages. It is estimated that, on average, marketing costs account for ______ % of overall product costs. These costs are not associated with manufacturing, product design, or any of the other ______ functions. Instead, the expenditures go toward the performance of ____ universal functions of marketing.

50%, production, eight

Content marketing 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 for an effective SMM campaign has the following qualities except which one?

A focus on product sales

Marketers must pay attention to changes in sociocultural forces in order to send effective marketing messages to their target market. Sociocultural forces occur incrementally, making it easy to miss the shift until it is fully integrated. These can include a change in population characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, income, education, and marital and parental status. The degree to which these changes take place determines the amount of diversity present in a particular market, which, in turn results in different consumer buying behaviors. Cultural values affect the way people think about and make purchases, and largely result from one's family. Consumerism is a movement to protect consumers' rights, whose values can be heard from individuals, organizations, or groups. Which of the following statements provides a correct example of consumerism?

A snack and beverage company is reacting to consumer complaints about high sugar content in their products.

You are the head of the corporate acquisitions team at a major biotech company in Atlanta, Georgia. Your team has identified a couple of attractive acquisition targets that you would like to recommend to the Board of Directors for consideration. However, before you make a recommendation, you want to make sure that none of the acquisitions will raise any regulatory issues. In order to evaluate all potential regulatory issues, which one of the following analytical actions should you have your team complete prior to making any recommendations?

A thorough analysis of the provisions of the Celler-Kefauver Act, the Clayton Act, and the Sherman Antitrust Act

Marketers are concerned with the behaviors consumers exhibit and the decisions they make when purchasing a product or service. Likewise, they are concerned with the decision-making processes that change over time. A consumer's self-concept is also important to marketers. Choose the situation that involves self-concept theory.

A woman purchases a brightly colored dress she saw in a fashion magazine despite the fact that she normally wears conservative clothing.

Marketers must continually acquire information about trends, events, and societal dynamics occurring in the marketing environment outside of the firm in order to identify and interpret potential positive and negative forces that may impact the firm's marketing strategies. The following statements provide examples of trends related to environmental forces. Which of these examples is correct?

Advances in biotechnology, cosmetic surgery, and cancer drugs are related to technological forces.

After spending time in the marketing department of a cookware company based in Ohio, you've been told to prepare for a move to a new international division. Your boss hasn't specified its location—only that it will be outside the most mature markets for many U.S. consumer products. Based on that information, you can assume the move will not take you to:

Canada

Rebecca buys low-heeled shoes for a job interview at an accounting firm because low heels have been worn by every woman accountant she's met. Rebecca's shoe choice is primarily influenced by a:

social factor

You work in the stock market. Stock markets allow businesses to raise additional funds for new projects, business expansions, and capital investment plans. Moreover, they enable the public trading and selling of market shares of a company. Major purchases of stock typically require input from various parts of the organization, including senior management and accounting. One of your colleagues, Amos, works in the IT department of one of the U.S.-based tech firms for which you are trading. Amos is in charge of receiving information about new technologies from commercial sources, universities, and Web-based sources, to name a few, and then working with other IT professionals to find solutions. Which of the following statements is true about the buying center described above?

Amos has a dual role as a gatekeeper and influencer

There's Nothing Like Knitting is a unique new shop that sells unusual varieties of wool. Thanks to heavy advertising leading up to its grand opening, the shop was crowded with eager knitters during its first two weeks. But suppliers were late in shipping their products, so TNLK soon ran short of merchandise. The owners brought backup goods from their warehouse, but the ceiling of the flimsy storage building had leaked and the wool was wet and moldy. Angry customers demanded refunds and didn't come back. Now TNLK is on the brink of bankruptcy. TNLK's problems reflected breakdown in which of the functions of marketing?

Buying, transporting, and storing

Your company manufactures consumer electronics products. Historically, you have acted primarily as a wholesaler of these products. However, you now recognize there is a huge opportunity to market your products directly to customers via your own marketing website. You have decided to move forward with this strategy but you want to take steps to minimize any issues with your supply chain partners. In order to avoid any issues, which of the following do you need to take steps to mitigate?

Channel conflicts

You are an analyst in the sales and marketing department. You are currently working on a project to determine, which one of two social networking sites your company should advertise on. You suggested to your boss that the company should try both sites for three months then select one of the two based on some measure of website effectiveness. Your boss agreed to place an ad on each site then evaluate the effectiveness of the ads, in terms of percentage of visitors who see them, after three months. In this situation, which of the following measures of website effectiveness would be most appropriate?

Click-through rate

Scenario: You are a respected industry authority on social media tools and platforms used in marketing. You have been asked to write an article about these tools and platforms and how companies are using them in their social media marketing efforts. You have decided that a case study approach would work best to convey your thoughts about how social media tools and platforms are used in social media marketing by different firms. In your article, you will describe what five hypothetical companies would like to accomplish with social media. Your five hypothetical companies are as follows: Company A wants to create a virtual community where its customers share their daily experiences with the company's products and post their opinions about related topics. Company B intends to use Tumblr as a social bookmarking site. Company C wants to allow its customers and other users to post a steady stream of updates of varying lengths on products, services, and related subjects. Company D wants its customers to be able to save and manage links to other online resources. Company E wants to create a social media platform where its product experts can discuss features and planned enhancements to its current and future products. The following statements describe how these hypothetical companies should use social media platforms to meet their needs. Which statement is not accurate?

Company B is right to choose Tumblr for this purpose.

The Marketing Objectives section of the marketing plan provides critical guidance for the organization's marketing activities. However, this section cannot stand alone; marketers also need the insights contributed by other sections. Which of the following statements describes information that the Marketing Objectives section of the marketing plan leaves out?

Competitors to watch

You work for a music CD distributor that specializes in rare albums that many other distributors do not carry. Because of mp3s, mp4s, and online music streaming and downloading sites, sales have decreased significantly. You realize that the Internet can either help your company or further hinder its mission and goals. You use Porter's five forces as a model to assess the impact of the Internet on your business; you look at potential new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitute products, and rivalry among competitors. Choose the impact of the Internet likely to make your business more challenging.

Consumers can now find rare music online.

A major element of a consumer's buying decision process is the level of problem solving that the consumer exhibits in the process. The level of involvement is higher for some purchases than for others. The marketer will want to tailor the marketing message according to the perceived level of involvement the consumer will have. Choose the scenario that illustrates routinized response behavior.

Customer A just stopped at the grocery store to pick up some paper towels for his kitchen.

All these statements are true about the benefits of B2C digital marketing except which one?

Customers can exchange products and services with other customers.

You work for an automobile manufacturing company whose sales have been low as a result of the economic downturn. Company executives are strategizing as to how to stimulate sales. Which of the following steps should they take to improve business?

Decrease prices and offer more promotions

Scenario: You are the head of sales and marketing for a consumer products company. You delegated responsibility for developing a social media marketing (SMM) campaign to one of your best managers because you thought she understood what is required. You asked her to develop some guidelines for how the campaign should be developed and meet with you to discuss her recommended approach. The manager emailed you the following list of guidelines: Developing the campaign should begin by choosing platforms and sites. Social media posts can be used for more than promotion and publicity. Potential customers exposed to social media promotions will be ready to buy as soon as they learn what your company offers. In the event of a public relations crisis, social media can be effectively applied to help defuse it. Which of the following statements should you make to correct the manager's mistakes?

Developing a campaign should begin by establishing specific goals, not by choosing platforms and sites.

The director of marketing at your company has asked an intern to determine if the firm's Facebook advertising is profitable. Being unfamiliar with the different measures of e-commerce profitability and success, the intern has come to you for advice. What should you advise her to do?

Divide the cost per click on your Facebook ad by your conversion rate.

You have been hired to advise a food company that is considering whether it should sell one, both, or neither of its two breakfast brands. Here are the facts you are given: Brand A commands a market-leading share in the oatmeal category. A has a large and stable base of loyal customers. However, this category is unlikely to grow in the foreseeable future, as oatmeal preparation takes time and consumers are increasingly focused on convenience. Brand B is a market leader in the small but rapidly expanding category of grab-and-go breakfast wraps. However, it won't be easy to stay ahead of the competition; unless B is sold, the company will need to invest heavily in research and development of healthy fillings and innovative packaging. What is your best advice?

Do not sell either Brand A or Brand B

If the government agency that you work for wishes to implement a system that allows for computer-to-computer information exchanges between buyers and sellers, which of the following forms of e-business in the B2B market would be most appropriate?

Electronic Data Interchange

Your company just attended a symposium on sustainability; and as company president, you are interested in raising the level of social responsibility in all that the company does, whether manufacturing goods, marketing, or offering services that improve the lives of individuals in the communities you serve. Which of the following steps can your company take to ensure that its practices are socially responsible?

Eliminate the use of paper-based circulars and rely solely on Web-based and social marketing strategies to promote products.

You work for a new company in an emerging market, the 3D printer industry. With about 200 employees, your company is undoubtedly growing, and order requests have doubled within the last year. Because of the size of your company, you are not quite ready to compete with industry giants. You do, however, understand that there is a huge potential for success because a 3D printer can potentially be used for a wide range of activities, including printing products within the home, printing organs for transplant that can be used in operating rooms across the world, and printing and filling small orders for local businesses. Which of the following types of business-to-business market segmentation would you use in the scenario described above?

End-use application segmentation

You work for a fabric company that sources unique materials from around the world. In the past, you have focused solely on the business of supplying fashion designers with fabric they make into dresses. However, you've recently recognized an opportunity to expand the business by supplying stores like Jo-Ann Fabrics that sell sewing and craft goods to consumers who sew at home. If you pursue this opportunity, in which direction would your company be expanding?

From a commercial market into a reseller market

Delectable Foods develops foods for the modern family that are nutritious and go easily from refrigerator to table. Their market research studies have shown that the goal of the modern family after a long day of work or school is to sit down together to a tasty and healthy meal that doesn't take long to prepare. Delectable Foods has marketed their newest dinner line to appeal to the modern family when they're shopping for groceries. Duran is shopping at the supermarket for groceries after work. He remembers that he needs to pick up dinner for his family, and while trying to be conscious of their caloric intake, he wants to make sure he buys something that his small children will like. Which of Delectable Food's new dinner options would most likely catch Duran's attention?

Healthy chicken nuggets in fun shapes with fresh fruit.

When setting goals for a social media marketing (SMM) campaign, a firm should:

Identify their target audience before producing any content.

You are browsing through job listings for global marketing-related jobs on Monster.com. One job catches your attention because it lists the following major responsibilities that closely match your experience: The candidate will be involved in purchase decisions of robotic manufacturing firms in Asia. The candidate will be involved in setting up an independent division with responsibility for robotic equipment production and marketing. The candidate's major focus will be on evaluating the performance of robotic manufacturing activities and incorporating strategies for effectiveness and efficiency. The candidate should have an international customer value orientation. Which of the following terms best describes the focus of this job?

International direct investment

Nike has been able to capitalize on its relationship with basketball star LeBron James, not only by endorsing him, but by also developing a LeBron James Collection composed of T-shirts, socks, basketball apparel, and sneakers. The LeBron X shoe line has been especially successful: When released, the base shoe was priced at about $180, while a version embedded with Nike-plus sensors—which track how high a player can jump and how far he or she can run—sold for $260. Which of the following statements about the LeBron X shoe line is NOT accurate?

Nike's effort to sell the line is primarily an example of person marketing.

The United States places first in a number of categories of global marketing and trade opportunities. For example, the United States is the world's largest exporter of services and retailing. More than $600 billion is spent annually in U.S. service exports. Twenty percent of that $600 billion—more than $120 billion—comes from travel and tourism. Which of the following customer descriptions identifies a buyer of this U.S. service export?

Parisian Cecile, driving a convertible up the West Coast from California to Washington.

Scenario: Your company makes skiing equipment and apparel. You recently launched a number of new features and capabilities on your website that are aimed at the active skier target market. One of the most popular features is the one that sends an alert to skiers when forecasted weather conditions at their favorite ski venues are most favorable for skiing. There are also alerts that contain information about the size of daily crowds at these venues. Which of the following digital capabilities are you directing your head of marketing to base the strategy on?

Personalization

In a memo giving the time and date for your company's marketing strategy session, you see that the only topic on the agenda is "Promotion." Knowing that promotion is only one variable in the marketing mix, you contact the memo writer to suggest additional topics that will cover all the relevant variables. What topics do you suggest?

Price, Product, and Distribution

Scenario: You are the head of purchasing for a large automobile manufacturing firm in Detroit, Michigan. You are responsible for sourcing and purchasing hundreds of components, parts and other supplies from hundreds of different vendors around the world. You are leading a company-wide project with the primary objective of improving your firm's ability to collaborate with its vendors on projects and to share information with them more efficiently. Which of the following forms of e-business in the B2B market should you implement to achieve the objective of this project?

Private Exchanges

You are taking a crash course in e-business in order to compete for a plum job opening in the field. However, you missed the class on popular B2B e-business tools and asked a friend to give you her notes. Which of the following points were made during the session?

Private exchanges offer the ability to collaborate on projects and share information.

You recently assumed the role of head of digital marketing at one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Your mission is to fully harness the power and potential of digital marketing to enhance the automobile purchasing experience of your customers. The first project you are working is code-named "You design it and we build it." The project entails giving the customer the ability to design their own vehicle on the company's marketing website. Specifically, the customer will be able to do the following: Choose the color of the car. Choose the engine size. Choose the upholstery. Choose the tires and the rims. Choose when and where the car will be delivered Which combination of digital marketing capabilities are you providing to your customers with this "You design it and we build it" project?

Right-time marketing and personalization

Marketers must continually assess changes in the competition and make changes in their own competitive strategy because the competitive environment often determines success or failure of a product. Which of the steps below can a marketer for a large retail discount store (e.g., Target, Walmart, Sears) implement as part of the store's competitive strategy as children are headed back to school? Choose the step that you think will be most profitable.

Run Early Bird Special discounts on end-of-summer weekends for local school supply lists, toiletries, and clothing.

There are three categories in the consumer's problem-solving behavior: routinized response behavior, limited problem solving, and extended problem solving. You are at the grocery store and realize you need to buy cheese for your mom's famous black-bean lasagna recipe. You typically purchase Kraft cheddar cheese, but you're wondering if you should buy the generic brand because it is a few dollars cheaper. If you use limited problem solving, which of the following actions would you take?

Sample the generic brand and buy it because it's on sale.

Shutterfly is an Internet-based image publishing service based in Redwood City, California, and is mostly known for its photo book line. Like other business firms, Shutterfly conducts a SWOT analysis of its internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. Choose the SWOT analysis element that represents a Shutterfly strength.

Shutterfly constantly upgrades its digital technology and apps

Social media platforms differ in the advantages they offer to marketers. Which of the following platforms is effective for distributing messages to influential users but ineffective for bringing users directly to an online store?

Social bookmarking site

You work for a digital timepiece company which started its entry into the global market a year ago. Your predecessor assumed that the company could use the same product and preexisting marketing campaign materials in nations that shared the same language. Sales never got off the ground. You were brought on board to make strategic changes and continue the fight for customers. Which strategy are you most likely to change?

Straight extension

A summer intern has been assigned to help you draft your firm's marketing plan. You are pleased, until you overhear her tell a coworker: "I'd like to work on either strategies or tactics, since there's no real difference between them." When you meet with the intern, you correct her mistake. Which of the following statements do you make?

Strategies are longer-term courses of action, while tactics are shorter-term actions.

Venmo is a mobile application that enables people to send and receive money for free as long as they have a bank account, supported debit card, or a Venmo balance to fund payments. Venmo also allows the use of credit cards for a fee. To ensure security, the company uses bank-grade security systems and data encryption to prevent unauthorized transactions or access to personal information. Venmo operates as a mobile wallet, and though it provides services comparable to Western Union and PayPal, it can be managed through smartphones, thus appealing to a wide audience of retailers and others who depend on efficient money exchange. In an analysis of Venmo for your marketing class, you argue that it exemplifies how technological change creates marketing opportunities. What is the core of your argument?

Technological change often enables companies to greatly improve customer service.

Hiram's company fills over-the-phone catalog requests taken by its customer service center located in India. During a recent customer survey of U.S.-based consumers, the company became aware that many of its consumers had negative experiences when calling the customer service center with questions, concerns, or to place an order. The complaints have resulted because consumers have difficulty understanding customer service representatives because of language barriers. What is the best course of action for Hiram's company?

The company could create a website that allows its consumers the option to order items online.

Scenario: The CEO of your company sent you an email last week in which he praised you and your marketing team's efforts and success in utilizing social media to drive sales revenue increases in the last fiscal year. In the email, he admitted that he did not know much about social media. However, he believes it is a technological trend the company needs to embrace to create a competitive advantage. He wants to meet with you to discuss how you think social media will impact the company's customers and their buying behavior in the years to come, and what strategies can be used to take full advantage of this new paradigm. In preparation for the meeting, he would like for you to come prepared to discuss the following social media facts and figures he has gathered through his conversations with other CEOs in the industry: The majority of online consumers start with search engines when they are gathering information for a potential purchase decision. Sites like Facebook and YouTube can play an effective role in introducing new products. Consumers are increasingly sharing information about products and services on blogs and social networking sites. Online reviews are taken very seriously by a large majority of consumers. The impact of social media on buying behavior once varied by age, but is now the same across age groups. Which of the following statements would you make to the CEO in reference to errors within his social media facts and figures?

The impact of social media on buying behavior no longer varies by age.

Your best friend is a contestant on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He just exercised one of his "lifelines" by calling you for help with a marketing-related question. Your friend reads the following question to you: Which one of the following statements about Porter's five forces model is true?

The model does not include government power

You have been hired as a marketing director for Terraineous, a hiking apparel and footwear company. Your most urgent problem is that sales of its newest product, a hiking boot, are failing to meet projections. In analyzing the situation, you learn that the company is falling short in customer service; no one has been designated to answer buyers' questions about how to clean and care for the boot. When you meet with the CEO, you want to pinpoint exactly which variable of the marketing mix is at the root of this problem. What should you tell her?

The problem stems from the product variable, because this variable may involve decisions about customer service.

During their planning process, the staff at a well-known resort decide to try something they have never tried before. The director of marketing and the operations manager decide that it would be vital to have input from as many people and as many diverse perspectives in the planning process as possible. Thus, the company invites a mixture of loyal customers, community members, suppliers, and employees from different departments, and other partners to a town hall to discuss the company's next steps. Moreover, those who could not physically attend the meeting are asked to participate via a discussion set up through the company's social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, and via teleconferencing. During the meeting the facilitators discussed previous goals and how those goals could be achieved. Some of the strategies they had been using in the past to reach their targets did not work; consequently, they needed to outline new milestones to support the company's vision for the next 10 years. According to the scenario, which of the following is true?

The scenario outlines a tactical planning process because the meeting facilitators are focused on developing objectives that support the company's 10-year vision.

Regarding the major ways of measuring an e-commerce website's success, all of the following statements are true except:

Total number of visitors to a site is a more accurate measure of potential revenue than total number of unique visitors.

The business-to-business (B2B) market can be grouped into four major categories: commercial, reseller, government, and institutional. Organizations can fall into one of the business market categories. Choose the organizations that are part of the reseller market.

Toys "R" Us purchases Barbie dolls from the toy manufacturer Mattel.

You would like to invest in one of the profitable business units of a multinational corporation. In a meeting with management, you explain that you'll only consider a unit categorized, according to the BCG matrix, as a question mark. Here are your choices: Unit A has revenue of $27 billion and a profit of $6 billion. While its product is based on a new technology that is rapidly increasing in sales, the product currently lags the market share of competitors. Unit B has revenue of $30 billion and a profit of $7 billion. Its market share is strong and growing. While its product is based on an outdated technology, the product has a loyal following for now. Which of the corporation's two profitable units meets your criterion?

Unit A

From the list below, select any incorrect statements.

Viral videos are not effective at generating sales or demand for a product.

After interviewing candidates for the job of business marketing specialist, Fred decided to eliminate one—despite her strong paper credentials. Explaining his decision to you, Fred quoted a comment that betrayed the candidate's misunderstanding of B2B market segmentation. Which comment did Fred quote?

When I segment customers demographically, I believe in concentrating on how they use my product.

You have been hired by a successful but somewhat old-fashioned retailer with a new CEO who is anxious to get involved in B2C e-commerce. However, he needs to convince the board of directors that online shopping is more than just a fad. All of the following arguments are valid for him to use except which one?

While most consumers still prefer traditional brick-and-mortar shopping, analysts predict that this preference will change in the coming decade.

You have been working as an intern for your father's construction company and have been asked to sit in on the company re-visioning meeting. Because this is your first time in a marketing planning meeting, you are somewhat confused about the jargon being used. One of the employees explains to you the difference between strategic planning and tactical planning, and asks you to provide examples so she can make sure you understand the concepts. Which of the following is an example of a strategic plan?

Within the next 10 years, we want to open 20 locations

You just moved into a new home and are in the market to purchase Internet services. Because you are in a hurry to set up your home office, you enter into a contract with the first provider whose commercial you see on television for your area, though you know there are at least three providers in the area. After the first month, you are unhappy with the service because your signal is continually low. Which of the following statements best describes what went wrong?

You failed to evaluate different alternatives

Last year, you left a job in consumer marketing to take one in business marketing. The shift required you to become accustomed to all of the following changes except:

You have more potential buyers than before

You head a marketing team preparing to launch a revised global marketing campaign for a high-end jewelry and accessory company. You review the previous strategies your team has implemented: You started with selling delicate, antique-looking jewelry across all international markets, with the same theme of "Looking Your Feminine Best." Then your team experimented with some countries using the same jewelry, but with a theme of "Investing in Your Best Self." For other countries, your team used the same theme of "Investing in Your Best Self" to sell jewelry-encrusted purses. Buoyed by that success, your team plans a dramatic marketing change: An award-winning designer recrafted the profile of the jewelry to be chunky, rather than delicate. Your team came up with the slogan of "Be Visibly Lovely." Choose the international product and promotional strategy that does not illustrate a form of adaptation.

You started with selling delicate, antique-looking jewelry across all international markets, with the same theme of "Looking Your Feminine Best."

You have just graduated from college and are searching for jobs online. Your ideal position would be in cause marketing. Which of the following positions would come closest to your ideal?

Your state's Department of Environmental Protection is seeking a candidate who will plan an ad campaign to promote the theme "Save Our Trees: Don't Waste Paper."