Marketing Management Questions and Answers

Answer: B

A firm seeking the largest total sales volume should use differentiated marketing.

By offering different products and appeals to several segments the firm normally wins more sales in each than it would by one offer to the whole market. Concentrated marketing aims at a large share of one small segment, which gives a limited total. Undifferentiated marketing uses a single offer for all, and homogeneous marketing is not a standard strategy of segmentation.

Answer: A

The third stage is evaluation of alternatives.

The consumer buying process runs: need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post-purchase behaviour. Information search is the second stage and the purchase decision is the fourth, so evaluation is third. The sequence matters because a buyer cannot judge brands before finding what is available, and a purchase decision cannot be made before the alternatives are compared. A purchase decision therefore follows the evaluation, and the post-purchase stage, which covers satisfaction and cognitive dissonance, comes last.

Answer: B

Manufacturers of convenience goods seek intensive distribution.

Convenience goods are bought often, with little effort, so they must be on sale in as many outlets as possible. Exclusive and selective distribution suit specialty and shopping goods that buyers search for, and restrictive distribution is not a normal term for convenience products. Intensive distribution suits goods such as soap, cigarettes, newspapers and confectionery, which buyers want close at hand and will not travel for, so the maker sells through every available shop, whereas exclusive distribution grants one dealer sole rights in an area.

Answer: D

In the decline stage sales promotion is the most cost-effective tool.

At this stage firms cut advertising to a minimum and rely on sales promotion, such as price offers, to hold the remaining buyers, which gives quick returns for a small cost. Advertising and personal selling are costly for a falling product, and public relations does little to move sales of a declining product. The reasons are cost and speed: price offers, coupons and gifts can be started and stopped quickly and need no large outlay, whereas a new advertising campaign for a product that is on the way out would cost much and add little in return.

Answer: B

The correct matching is (a) User's Manual, (b) Marketing Research, (c) Information Technology Act 2000 and (d) Information Search.

A product support service includes the user's manual, and interviewers' bias is an error studied in marketing research. On-line advertising is governed by the Information Technology Act 2000, and personal sources are a source used in the information search stage of the buying process. This gives (iv) (iii) (i) (ii), which is option B.

Answer: B

Mass media has its greatest impact at the awareness stage.

In the adoption process the consumer first becomes aware of a product, mostly through advertising in mass media. At later stages, such as evaluation and trial, personal sources and experience have more weight, and adoption is the end result. Later stages rely more on trial and on the advice of friends and experts, so the effect of advertising is strongest when the consumer is first told that the product exists. This is why the introduction of a new product usually begins with a heavy media campaign to build awareness among the target group.

Answer: D

The keyed answer is the maturity stage.

In maturity competition is at its keenest, many rivals offer close substitutes and the firm must weigh price cuts against cost and share, so pricing decisions are complex. This question follows the official key; the introductory stage (B) is often named as well, because a new product has no price history, but the key puts it at maturity. Careful reading of the other stages helps: in decline the firm may even cut prices to clear stock, in growth demand is rising and prices can hold, and in introduction a firm picks skimming or penetration, but the keyed answer places the greatest complexity at maturity.

Answer: C

Industrial buyers respond most to rational appeals.

Organisational buyers decide on specifications, price, delivery and service, with several people evaluating, so logical and economic arguments carry the most weight. Emotional and moral appeals suit consumer purchases. Cognitive appeal is not a distinct appeal in this sense. Technical specifications, delivery schedules, after-sales service and total cost are what an industrial buyer compares, and the purchase is often approved by a committee, which makes an emotional or personal appeal much less effective than a factual and logical one.

Answer: B

Public relations can be more cost-effective than advertising, so the true statement is B.

Public relations obtains publicity in the media without paying for space, which often reaches buyers at a lower cost. The sales effect of advertising is harder, not easier, to measure than its communication effect, so A is false. C is a figure of speech about aggressive selling, not a statement of what makes a salesperson successful, so D is false too.

Answer: B

Data collection is the most expensive stage of the marketing research process. It requires field work: recruiting and training interviewers, reaching respondents, conducting surveys or experiments and supervising the field staff, and it is also the stage most open to error. Developing the research plan is largely desk work, data analysis is now done cheaply with software, and report writing is limited to presenting findings, so none of these approaches the cost of gathering the data.