BUSI544 Week 8 Discussion 15 Communication Audit

BRAND: NIKE

Choose a major brand and visit their website. In addition, research other forms of the brand's promotion and prepare an informal "Communication Audit." Locate a minimum of three different promotions or communications vehicles. Who is the target market based on the communication? What message is being communicated? Are there messages related to ethics and social responsibility? Are the promotions consistent in their message? Which of the communication forms are, in your opinion, the most effective and why?

 

BUSI544 Week 7 Discussion 14 Does it Matter Where You Sell

Let's have a debate! Refer to Page 522 of your text. Marketing Debate: Does It Matter Where You Sell? In your position, include an example to support your position. Also include which position applies to your own channel strategy in your marketing plan. 

Take a position:

Channel images do not much affect the brand images of the products they sell.

Versus

Channel images must be consistent with the brand image.

 

BUSI544 Week 7 Discussion 13 Pricing Objectives

Think about the various pricing objectives described in chapter 16. Determining your pricing objective is important to product positioning and in setting an appropriate price.

Give an example of a company that is using survival, profit maximization, market share maximization, maximum market skimming, and product quality leadership. You may use different companies for your examples. In addition to the company and/or product name, briefly describe your reasoning as to why the product's price illustrates the firm's pricing objective.  Use the theories found in the textbook to back up your reasoning. Also, include what pricing objective you will use in your marketing plan.

BUSI544 Week 6 Written Assignment 2

Instructions

Read the case beginning on page 424 on Ritz Carlton. Research the company on the internet and indicate how Ritz Carlton has been able to excel in customer service. Provide specific examples. Then, discuss 3 reasons for Ritz Carlton's success, 3 areas of vulnerability, and provide a minimum of 3 recommendations to enhance and maintain the high standards of excellence this hotel provides. You must include a minimum of 3 articles not used in another assignment that support your contentions. You may also use material from the case and related material from the text as appropriate.

BUSI544 Week 4 Midterm Exam SCORE 100 PERCENT

Question 1 (2 points)In the case of ________ demand, consumers dislike the product and may even pay a price to avoid it.
Question 1 options:
1)     nonexistent
2)     overfull
3)     irregular   
4)    negative   
5)    declining

Question 2 (2 points)
Managers of ________ businesses concentrate on achieving high manufacturing efficiency, low costs, and mass distribution.
Question 2 options:   
1)     selling-oriented   
2)    product-oriented   
3)    production-oriented   
4)    marketing-oriented   
5)    consumer-oriented

Question 3 (2 points)
________ combined with affordability determines the product's value proposition.
Question 3 options:   
1)    Acceptability   
2)    Affluence   
3)    Affability   
4)    Accessibility   
5)    Awareness

Question 4 (2 points)
When companies measure the number of people who are willing and able to buy their products, they are measuring ________.
Question 4 options:   
1)    demand   
2)    price elasticity   
3)    real needs   
4)    standard of living   
5)    disposable income

Question 5 (2 points)
The marketing plan, the central instrument for directing and coordinating the marketing effort of a company, operates at the ________ levels.
Question 5 options:   
1)    functional and operational   
2)    strategic and tactical   
3)    corporate and operational   
4)    customer and expenditure   
5)    corporate and division

Question 6 (2 points)
The task of any business is to ________.
Question 6 options:   
1)    create customer needs   
2)    differentiate in terms of cost of production   
3)    deliver customer value at a profit   
4)    reduce competition   
5)    communicate similar value as provided by competitors

Question 7 (2 points)
The most frequently cited shortcomings of current marketing plans, according to marketing executives, are lack of realism, insufficient competitive analysis, and a ________ focus.
Question 7 options:   
1)    long-term   
2)    profit   
3)    short-run   
4)    product   
5)    price

Question 8 (2 points)
James Frank has been put in charge of gathering marketing intelligence, disseminating it within his organization, and eventually directing action on the information. Mr. Frank's task is best described as part of the ________ process.
Question 8 options:   
1)    market-sensing   
2)    new-offering realization   
3)    customer acquisition   
4)    customer relationship management   
5)    fulfillment management

Question 9 (2 points)
________ measures the impact of a set of causal factors (such as income, marketing expenditures, and price) on the sales level.
Question 9 options:   
1)    Time-series analysis   
2)    Statistical demand analysis   
3)    Econometric analysis   
4)    Cost effectiveness analysis   
5)    Exponential smoothing

Question 10 (2 points)
Suppose Concrete Express, a cement manufacturing firm, finds that its sales have increased by 3 percent this year, while industry sales have increased by 5 percent. This implies that ________.
Question 10 options:   
1)    Concrete Express has acquired additional market share in relation to the cement industry   
2)    Concrete Express is losing its relative standing in the cement industry   
3)    other players in the industry are losing market share   
4)    the absolute market share of Concrete Express has declined   
5)    Concrete Express's position in relation to the industry has remain unchanged

Question 11 (2 points)
With an increase in marketing expenditure, market demand ________.
Question 11 options:   
1)    continues to rise at an increasing rate   
2)    initially increases and then declines   
3)    increases first at an increasing rate, then at a decreasing rate   
4)    decreases first and then spikes   
5)    continues to increase at a decreasing rate

Question 12 (2 points)
Mandatory recycling laws have boosted the recycling industry and launched dozens of new companies making new products from recycled materials. Which of the following most closely resembles this situation?
Question 12 options:   
1)    Government makes reforestation mandatory for lumbering firms leading to a rise in timber production.   
2)    Government restricts industries from purchasing farmland thereby increasing agricultural produce.   
3)    Government subsidizes export of beef to promote production of beef cattle.   
4)    Government pollution control norms increase the production of pollution control equipment.   
5)    Government restricts unfair trade practices to promote international trade.

Question 13 (2 points)
________ for a product is the total volume that would be bought by a defined customer group in a defined geographical area in a defined time period in a defined marketing environment under a defined marketing program.
Question 13 options:   
1)    Company demand   
2)    Area market potential   
3)    Market demand   
4)    Company sales potential   
5)    Total market potential

Question 14 (2 points)
Which of the following is considered to be the last step in the marketing research process?
Question 14 options:   
1)    presenting findings   
2)    analyzing information   
3)    controlling the environment   
4)    arriving at a decision   
5)    drafting the report

Question 15 (2 points)
The ________ phase of marketing research is generally the most expensive and the most prone to error.
 Question 15 options:   
1)    contact   
2)    research planning   
3)    questionnaire design   
4)    interview design   
5)    data collection

Question 16 (2 points)
________ research is designed to capture cause-and-effect relationships by eliminating competing explanations of the observed findings.
Question 16 options:   
1)    Experimental   
2)    Behavioral   
3)    Observational   
4)    Focus group   
5)    Descriptive

Question 17 (2 points)
A ________ scorecard records how well the company is doing year after year based on measures such as the average perception of the company's product quality relative to its chief competitor.
Question 17 options:   
1)    customer-performance   
2)    stakeholder-performance   
3)    marketing balanced   
4)    vendor   
5)    generic

Question 18 (2 points)
Which of the seven main metaphors in the ZMET reflects a sense of mastery, vulnerability, and well-being?
Question 18 options:   
1)    Balance   
2)    Transformation   
3)    Journey   
4)    Container   
5)    Control

Question 19 (2 points)
LifeTime Insurance screens its customers and tries to get unprofitable customers to buy services from competitors. This is an example of ________.
Question 19 options:   
1)    trying to increase the retention rate for low-profit customers   
2)    terminating the relationship with low-profit customers   
3)    enhancing the growth potential of each customer through up-selling   
4)    increasing the longevity of the customer relationship   
5)    reducing the rate of customer defection

Question 20 (2 points)
A profitable customer yields a ________.
Question 20 options:   
1)    cost stream that exceeds by an acceptable amount his revenue stream   
2)    revenue stream that exceeds the company's cost stream   
3)    cost stream that exceeds the company's revenue stream   
4)    revenue stream that exceeds by an acceptable amount his cost stream

Question 21 (2 points)
Cable TV operators and cellular carriers suffer from high levels of ________, or customer defections.
Question 21 options:   
1)    customer retention   
2)    customer churn   
3)    detraction   
4)    share-of-wallet   
5)    customer complaints

Question 22 (2 points)
Which of the following is NOT a touch point for a hotel?
Question 22 options:   
1)    reservations   
2)    frequent-stay programs   
3)    room service   
4)    laundry service   
5)    All of these are touch points.

Question 23 (2 points)
The 80-20 rule reflects the idea that ________.
Question 23 options:   
1)    20 percent of the company's profits are generated by the top 80 percent of customers   
2)    the top 20 percent of customers are highly satisfied and 80 percent of customers will recommend the company to a friend   
3)    20 percent of customers are unprofitable, and 80 percent make up a company's profits   
4)    the top 20 percent of customers often generate 80 percent of the company's profits   
5)    any new product will be accepted by 20 percent of the customers immediately, but 80 percent of the customers will be up for grabs throughout the product's life cycle

Question 24 (2 points)
When a marketer tries to alter a consumer's beliefs about a company's brand to get the consumer to rethink a purchase decision, the marketer is using ________.
Question 24 options:   
1)    psychological repositioning   
2)    competitive depositioning   
3)    positioning   
4)    repositioning   
5)    biased positioning

Question 25 (2 points)
A(n) ________ puts people into a frame of mind, such as liking or disliking an object, moving toward or away from it.
Question 25 options:   
1)    attitude   
2)    belief   
3)    feeling   
4)    position   
5)    stance

Question 26 (2 points)
Of key interest to marketers are the major informational sources to which the consumer will turn and the relative importance of each. Which of the following can be considered an experiential information source?
Question 26 options:   
1)    consumer-rating organizations   
2)    mass media   
3)    acquaintances   
4)    Web sites   
5)    personal handling and examination

Question 27 (2 points)
Gordon Jones is considering purchasing a computer from Best Buy. He has created a scale for rating eight different computers on three different characteristics. He plans to make a short list of only those computers that score at least a 7 on his scale on all three characteristics. Which of the following choice heuristics has he chosen?
Question 27 options:   
1)    elimination-by-aspects heuristic   
2)    lexicographic heuristic   
3)    conjunctive heuristic   
4)    anchoring and adjustment heuristic   
5)    representativeness heuristic

Question 28 (2 points)
Which of the following is true about industrial buying decisions?
Question 28 options:   
1)    They are purely rational.   
2)    They are purely emotional.   
3)    They service both the organization's and the individual's needs.   
4)    Top executives are never insecure about buying products.   
5)    Individual needs legitimate the buying process and its outcomes.

Question 29 (2 points)
Which of the following is a form of cheating or undersupply relative to an implicit or explicit contract which usually takes place when buyers cannot easily monitor supplier performance?
Question 29 options:   
1)    institutional sale   
2)    business buying   
3)    opportunism   
4)    vertical integration   
5)    contractual transactionism

Question 30 (2 points)
Sometimes a rise of only 10 percent in consumer demand can cause as much as a 200 percent rise in business demand for products for the next period. This is an example of ________.
Question 30 options:   
1)    inelastic demand   
2)    direct purchasing   
3)    fluctuating demand   
4)    derived demand   
5)    a straight rebuy

Question 31 (2 points)
If you performed the role of the ________ in a buying center, you would be the person that has the power to prevent sellers or information from reaching other members of the buying center.
Question 31 options:   
1)    initiator   
2)    influencer   
3)    decider   
4)    gatekeeper   
5)    approver

Question 32 (2 points)
According to Patrick J. Robinson, the eight stages in the business buying-decision process are known as ________.
Question 32 options:   
1)    buyphases   
2)    buybacks   
3)    buyouts   
4)    buyables   
5)    buyoffs

Question 33 (2 points)
Which of the following statements about Gen Yers is true?Question 33 options:   
1)    They are selective, confident, and impatient.   
2)    They are more likely to associate retirement with "the beginning of the end."   
3)    They are more pragmatic and individualistic.   
4)    They were born between 1964 and 1978.   
5)    They were the first generation to find surpassing their parents' standard of living a serious challenge.

Question 34 (2 points)
All of the following are benefits of following the ________ approach to target market selection: a strong knowledge of the segment's needs, a strong market presence, operating economies through specializing in production, distribution, and promotion.
Question 34 options:   
1)    single-segment concentration   
2)    selective specialization   
3)    product specialization   
4)    market specialization   
5)    full market coverage

Question 35 (2 points)
If a marketing manager employs such marketing techniques as online buzz, student ambassadors, cool events, and street teams to reach target markets, the manager is most likely appealing to the ________ market.
Question 35 options:   
1)    Generation Z   
2)    Generation X   
3)    Generation Y   
4)    Silent generation   
5)    Baby boomers

Question 36 (2 points)
Which of the following statements accurately describes what demographers are calling the "boom-boom effect"?
Question 36 options:   
1)    Consumers are demanding more "bang for their buck."   
2)    Baby boomers still rule the marketplace.   
3)    Generation Y and their concern about environmental issues will dominate the market in the future.   
4)    Products that appeal to 21-year-olds also appeal to baby boomers.   
5)    Companies must gain success quickly.

Question 37 (2 points)
The ________ defines which other brands a brand competes with and therefore which brands should be the focus of competitive analysis.
 Question 37 options:   
1)    consumer profitability analysis   
2)    competitor indexing   
3)    service blueprint   
4)    competitive frame of reference   
5)    cluster analysis

Question 38 (2 points)
Which of the following statements about brand mantras is true?
Question 38 options:   
1)    They guide only major decisions, they have no influence on mundane decisions.   
2)    Their influence does not extend beyond tactical concerns.   
3)    They must economically communicate what the brand is and avoid communicating what it is not.   
4)    They can provide guidance about what ad campaigns to run and where and how to sell the brand.   
5)    They leverage the values of the brand to take the brand into new markets/sectors.

Question 39 (2 points)
Nivea became the leader in the skin cream class on the "gentle," "protective," and "caring" platform. The company further moved into classes such as deodorants, shampoos, and cosmetics. Attributes like gentle and caring were of no value unless consumers believed that its deodorant was strong enough, its shampoo would cleanse, and its cosmetics would be colorful enough. This is an example of ________.
 Question 39 options:   
1)    competitive points-of-parity   
2)    competitive points-of-difference   
3)    category points-of-parity   
4)    category points-of-difference   
5)    competitive points-of-presence

Question 40 (2 points)
The three criteria that determine whether a brand association can truly function as a point-of-difference include desirability, ________, and differentiability.
 Question 40 options:   
1)    discrimination   
2)    customerization   
3)    implementation   
4)    deliverability   
5)    demand   
5)    revenue stream that equals the company's cost stream

BUSI544 Week 3 Written Assignment 1

Read the excerpt on page 144 in the textbook and research Harley Davidson on the Internet. Use content in Table 5.5, on page 145, to address the following questions:

1. How does Harley Davidson deliver value and customer satisfaction to its customers?
2. How have they successfully forged their brand to create lifetime value to consumers?
3. How does the company reach the "soul" of its customers; discuss how that image contributes to cultivate strong customer relationships.

Find a minimum of three articles online related to the issues Harley Davidson has faced as it related to its competition, and how its strategy and brand equity has led to its continued value in the market. Be sure to look for its presence in social media and how it utilizes this marketing tool.

BUSI544 Week 3 Discussion 6

Chapter 7 discusses B2B marketing. Visit GE's Medical Systems® Web site (www.gehealthcare.com). In the context of the major points of this chapter:

1. Discuss how GE is addressing the needs of their hospital customers by the design of this Web site.
2. Provide one example of what is GE doing right, and one example of an opportunity for improvement for GE. Provide your reasoning in your examples.
3. Based on Marketing Insight: Establishing Corporate Trust, Credibility, and Reputation (page 209), does GE's website illustrate corporate credibility? Use specific examples.
4. List 2 specific tactics you will implement to establish corporate credibility in your marketing plan.