Questions and Answers of Marketing Strategy Planning

What advantages does a retail chain have over a retailer who operates with a single store? Does a small retailer have any advantages in competing against a chain? Explain your answer.
Apply the wheel of retailing theory to your local community. What changes seem likely? Will established retailers see the need for change, or will entirely new firms have to develop?
Discuss a few changes in the market environment that you think help to explain why telephone, mail-order, and Internet retailing have been growing so rapidly.
Distinguish among discount houses, price-cutting by conventional retailers, and mass-merchandising. Forecast the future of low-price selling in food, clothing, and appliances. How will the Internet
What sort of a “product” are specialty shops offering? What are the prospects for organizing a chain of specialty shops?
ProtoCompany has been producing various items made of plastic. It recently added a line of plain plastic cards that other firms (such as banks and retail stores) will imprint to produce credit cards.
If a retailer operates only from a website and ships all orders by UPS, is it freed from the logistics issues that face traditional retailers? Explain your thinking.
Clearly differentiate between a warehouse and a distribution center. Explain how a specific product would be handled differently by each.
Discuss the distribution center concept. Is this likely to eliminate the storing function of conventional wholesalers? Is it applicable to all products? If not, cite several examples.
When would a producer or intermediary find it desirable to use a public warehouse rather than a private warehouse? Illustrate, using a specific product or situation.
Indicate the nearest location where you would expect to find large storage facilities. What kinds of products would be stored there? Why are they stored there instead of some other place?
Explain which transportation mode would probably be most suitable for shipping the following goods to a large Los Angeles department store: a. 300 pounds of Maine lobster. b. 15 pounds of
Discuss some of the ways that air transportation can change other aspects of a Place system.
Discuss why economies of scale in transportation might encourage a producer to include a regional merchant wholesaler in the channel of distribution for its consumer product.
Explain the total cost approach and why it may cause conflicts in some firms. Give examples of how conflicts might occur between different departments.
Review the list of factors that affect PD service levels in Exhibit 11-3. Indicate which ones are most likely to be improved by EDI links between a supplier and its customers.
Discuss the problems a supplier might encounter in using a just-in-time delivery sy s tem with a customer in a foreign country.
Explain why a just-in-time delivery system would require a supplier to pay attention to quality control. Give an example to illustrate your points.
Discuss some of the ways computers are being used to improve PD decisions.
Give an example of why it is important for different firms in the supply chain to coordinate logistics activities.
Discuss the types of trade-offs involved in PD costs, service levels, and sales.
Briefly describe a purchase you made where the customer service level had an e f fect on the product you selected or where you purchased it.
Briefly explain which aspects of customer service you think would be most important for a producer that sells fabric to a firm that manufactures furniture.
Explain how adjusting the customer service level could improve a marketing mix. I l lustrate.
Hydropump, Inc., produces and sells high-quality pumps to business customers. Its marketing research shows a growing market for a similar type of pump aimed at final consumers—for use with
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches to international market entry discussed in this chapter.
Discuss the promotion a new grocery products producer would need in order to d e velop appropriate channels and move products through those channels. Would the nature of this job change for a new
Explain the present legal status of exclusive distribution. Describe a situation where exclusive distribution is almost sure to be legal. Describe the nature and size of competitors and the industry,
Why would intermediaries want to be exclusive distributors for a product? Why would producers want exclusive distribution? Would intermediaries be equally anxious to get exclusive distribution for
How does the nature of the product relate to the degree of market exposure desired?
What would happen if retailer-organized channels (either formally integrated or a d ministered) dominated consumer products marketing?
Find an example of vertical integration within your city. Are there any particular a d vantages to this vertical integration? If so, what are they? If there are no advantages, how do you explain the
Explain how a channel captain can help traditional independent firms compete with a corporate (integrated) channel system.
Give an example of a producer that uses two or more different channels of distribution. Briefly discuss what problems this might cause.
Discuss the Place objectives and distribution arrangements that are appropriate for the following products (indicate any special assumptions you have to make to obtain an answer): a. A postal scale
Insurance agents are intermediaries who help other members of the channel by providing information and handling the selling function. Does it make sense for an insurance agent to specialize and work
Explain the four regrouping activities with an example from the building supply i n dustry (nails, paint, flooring, plumbing fixtures, etc.). Do you think that many specialists d e velop in this
Explain discrepancies of quantity and assortment using the clothing business as an example. How does the application of these concepts change when selling steel to the automobile industry? What
Discuss some reasons why a firm that produces installations might use direct distribution in its domestic market but use intermediaries to reach overseas customers.
Give two examples of service firms that work with other channel specialists to sell their products to final consumers. What marketing functions is the specialist providing in each case?
Review the Dell case at the beginning of the chapter and then discuss the compet i tive advantages that Barnes & Noble would have over a small bookshop. What advantages does a small bookshop have?
AgriChem, Inc., has introduced an innovative new product—a combination fertilizer, weed killer, and insecticide that makes it much easier for soybean farmers to produce a profitable crop. The
What are the major advantages of total quality management as an approach for improving the quality of goods and services? What limitations can you think of?
If a firm offers one of its brands in a number of different countries, would it make sense for one brand manager to be in charge, or would each country require its own brand manager? Explain your
Discuss how you might use the new-product development process if you were thinking about offering some kind of summer service to residents in a beach resort town.
What is a new product? Illustrate your answer.
What characteristics of a new product will help it to move through the early stages of the product life cycle more quickly? Briefly discuss each characteristic— illustrating with a product of your
Discuss the life cycle of a product in terms of its probable impact on a manufacturer’s marketing mix. Illustrate using personal computers.
Explain why individual brands may not follow the product life-cycle pattern. Give an example of a new brand that is not entering the life cycle at the market introduction stage.
Explain how you might reach different conclusions about the correct product life-cycle stage(s) in the worldwide automobile market.
Cite two examples of products that you think are currently in each of the product life-cycle stages. Consider services as well as physical goods.
Explain how industry sales and industry profits behave over the product life cycle.
Wholesteen Dairy, Inc., produces and sells Wholesteen brand condensed milk to grocery retailers. The overall market for condensed milk is fairly flat, and there’s sharp competition among dairies
For the kinds of business products described in this chapter, complete the following table (be brief, use one or a few well-chosen words). 1. Kind of distribution facility( ies ) needed and functions
How do raw materials differ from other business products? Do the differences have any impact on their marketing mixes? If so, what specifically?
What kinds of business products are the following: ( a ) lubricating oil, ( b ) electric motors, and ( c ) a firm that provides landscaping and grass mowing for an apartment complex? Explain your
Would you expect to find any wholesalers selling the various types of business products? Are retail stores required (or something like retail stores)?
Explain why a new law office might want to lease furniture rather than buy it.
Cite two examples of business products that require a substantial amount of service in order to be useful.
What kinds of consumer products are the following: ( a ) watches, ( b ) automobiles, and ( c ) toothpastes? Explain your reasoning.
In what types of stores would you expect to find ( a ) convenience products, ( b ) shopping products, ( c ) specialty products, and ( d ) unsought products?
Give an example of a product that is a new unsought product for most people. Briefly explain why it is an unsought product.
How would the marketing mix for a staple convenience product differ from the one for a homogeneous shopping product? How would the mix for a specialty product differ from the mix for a heterogeneous
Give an example where packaging costs probably ( a ) lower total distribution costs and ( b ) raise total distribution costs.
You operate a small hardware store with emphasis on manufacturer brands and have barely been breaking even. Evaluate the proposal of a large wholesaler that offers a full line of dealer-branded
What does the degree of brand familiarity imply about previous and future promotion efforts? How does the degree of brand familiarity affect the Place and Price variables?
In the past, Sears emphasized its own dealer brands. Now it is carrying more well-known manufacturer brands. What are the benefits to Sears of carrying more manufacturer brands?
Explain family brands. Should Best Buy carry its own dealer brands to compete with some of the popular manufacturer brands it carries? Explain your reasons.
List five brand names and indicate what product is associated with the brand name. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the brand name.
Suggest an example of a product and a competitive situation where it would not be profitable for a firm to spend large sums of money to establish a brand.
Is a well-known brand valuable only to the owner of the brand?
Is there any difference between a brand name and a trademark? If so, why is this difference important?
Explain some of the different aspects of the customer experience that could be managed to improve customer satisfaction if you were the marketing manager for: ( a ) an airport branch of a rental car
Consumer services tend to be intangible, and goods tend to be tangible. Use an example to explain how the lack of a physical good in a pure service might affect efforts to promote the service.
Identify the determining dimension or dimensions that explain why you bought the specific brand you did in your most recent purchase of a ( a ) soft drink, ( b ) shampoo, ( c ) shirt or blouse, and (
What products are being offered by a shop that specializes in bicycles? By a travel agent? By a supermarket? By a new car dealer?
Discuss several ways in which physical goods are different from pure services. Give an example of a good and then an example of a service that illustrates each of the differences.
Texmac, Inc., has an idea for a new type of weaving machine that could replace the machines now used by many textile manufacturers. Texmac has done a telephone survey to estimate how many of the
Go to the library (or get on the Internet) and find (in some government publication or website) three marketing-oriented “facts” on international markets that you did not know existed or were
CompuTech, Inc., makes circuit boards for microcomputers. It is evaluating two possible suppliers of electronic memory chips. The chips do the same job. Although manufacturing quality has been
Submag, Inc., uses direct-mail promotion to sell magazine subscriptions. Magazine publishers pay Submag $3.12 for each new subscription. Submag’s costs include the expenses of printing, addressing,
Explain what is meant by a hierarchy of needs and provide examples of one or more products that enable you to satisfy each of the four levels of need.
The marketing manager for Audiotronics Software Company is seeking new market opportunities. He is focusing on the voice recognition market and has narrowed down to three segments: the Fearful
A marketing manager is considering opportunities to export her firm’s current consumer products to several different countries. She is interested in getting secondary data that will help her narrow
Marketing research involves expense—sometimes considerable expense. Why does the text recommend the use of marketing research even though a highly experienced marketing executive is available?
Explain how you might use different types of research (focus groups, observation, survey, and experiment) to forecast market reaction to a new kind of disposable baby diaper, which is to receive no
Would a firm want to subscribe to a shared cost data service if the same data were going to be available to competitors? Discuss your reasoning.
Prepare a table that summarizes some of the key advantages and limitations of mail, e-mail, telephone, and personal interview approaches for administering questionnaires.
Define response rate and discuss why a marketing manager might be concerned about the response rate achieved in a particular survey. Give an example.
Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative approaches to research—and give some of the key advantages and limitations of each approach.
Explain why a company might want to do focus group interviews rather than individual interviews with the same people.
If a firm were interested in estimating sand and clay production in Georgia, how could it proceed? Be specific.
If a firm were interested in estimating the distribution of income in the state of California, how could it proceed? Be specific.
With so much secondary information now available free or at low cost over the Internet, why would a firm ever want to spend the money to do primary research?
Distinguish between primary data and secondary data and illustrate your answer.
How is the situation analysis different from the data collection step? Can both these steps be done at the same time to obtain answers sooner? Is this wise?
Explain the key characteristics of the scientific method and show why these are important to managers concerned with research.
Discuss some of the likely problems facing the marketing manager in a small firm who plans to search the Internet for information on competitors’ marketing plans.
Discuss how output from a marketing information system (MIS) might differ from the output of a typical marketing research department.
In your own words, explain why a decision support system (DSS) can add to the value of a marketing information system. Give an example of how a decision support system might help.

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