Discuss the three major benefits of marketing research to managers Marketing research is the process of lancing, collecting and analyzing data relevant to a marketing strategy Marketing research can help managers Improve the quality of decision making. Managers can sharpen their decision making by using marketing research to explore the desirability of various marketing alternatives Trace the problems. Managers also use marketing research to find out why a plan backfired.

Was the initial decision faulty? Did an unforeseen change in the external environment cause the plan to fail?How can the same mistake can be avoided in the future Help a manager focus on the armament Importance of keeping existing customers, aid them In better understanding the marketplace take advantage of the opportunities and alert them to marketplace trends. Long term relationship does not Just happen, they are grounded in the delivery of service and value by the company 14. Name and briefly discuss four bases that firms use for positioning or repositioning Attribute. A product is associated with an attribute, product feature or customer benefit.

For example, Kleenex offers an ant-viral tissue that contains substances to kill both viruses and germs In an effort to differentiate Its product from omitting tissues Price and quality. This positioning base may stress high price as a signal of quality or emphasize low price as an Indication of value. For example, Denmark-based Logo Building Blocks uses the high-price strategy Competitor. Positioning against competitors is part of any positioning strategy.

Emotion. Positioning using emotion focuses on how the product makes customers feel Repositioning involves changing consumers' perceptions of a brand in relation to competing brands.Brands can be repositioned by their functional characteristics rational repositioning), their symbolic characteristics (emotional repositioning) or both (complete repositioning) 13. Three strategies for selecting target markets.

Name one advantage and one disadvantage of using the strategy undifferentiated targeting: a mass-market philosophy, viewing the market as one big market with no individual segments. The firm uses one marketing mix for the entire market. A company adopts this strategy assumes that individual customers have similar need that can be met with a marketing mix; the flirts firm In the Industry often applies ItAdvantage: potential savings on production/ marketing costs Disadvantage: unimaginative product offerings Concentrated targeting: a company selects a market niche/one market segment for targeting marketing efforts, thus the firm can concentrate on understanding the needs, motives and satisfactions of that segment's members and on developing and compete effectively with much larger companies Advantage: concentration of resources, can better meet the need s of narrowly defined segment; allow some small companies to better compete with large companies; strong positioning Disadvantage: segments too small or changing; large competitor may more effective market to niche segment Multi segment targeting: a firm choose to serve two or more well-defined market segments and then develop a distinct marketing mix for each For example, Cover Girl market different lines to teen girls, teenage women, young adult women and older women Advantage: greater financial success; economic scales in production and marketing Disadvantage: high costs; centralization (a situation occurs when sales of a new product cut into sales of a company's existing products) 12.A successful segment scheme much produces segments meet four criteria Sustainability - a segment must be large enough to warrant developing and maintaining a special marketing mix; Identifiably and insurability: segments must be identifiable and their size measurable Accessibility Responsiveness: for example, if all customers are equally price conscious about a product, there is no need to offer high-medium, low-priced version to differentiate the segment.

1 1 . Three most important criteria business buyer used to evaluate alternative products and suppliers Quality: refers to technical suitability. A superior tool can do a better Job in the production process. Evaluation of quality also applies to the salesperson and the salesperson's company. Business buyers want to deal with reputable salesperson and with companies that financially responsible Service: nosiness buyers want satisfactory products as well as satisfactory service.

A purchase offers several opportunities for service.For example, a vendor is selling heavy equipment, and purchases service could include a survey of the buyer's needs, and postprocessor service could consist of installing the equipment and raining those who will be using it. Another service buyers seek is dependability of the supply. They must be able to count on delivery of what was ordered according to the delivery schedule that was agreed upon. Buyers also welcome services that help them sell their finished products Price: business buyers want to buy at low prices, at the lowest price; however, a buyer who pressure a supplier to cut prices to the point where the supplier lose money on sales almost forces shortcuts on quality and compromises service 10.

Name and describe six of the major differences between business and consumer arrests characteristic Business market Consumer market Demand organizational Individual Purchase volume Larger smaller Number of customers Fewer Many Location of buyers Geographically concentrated dispersed Nature of buying More professional More personal Use of leasing greater lesser 9. Define each level of Mascots hierarchy of needs. Describe a marketing message applying to this need level 1) Physiological: need for food, water and shelter. They need to be satisfied first since it is essential to survive 2) Safety: include security and freedom from pain and discomfort.Marketers can exploit consumers' fear and anxieties about safety to sell their products.

3) Social: love and a sense of belonging, become the focus Market message: teens consider pod to be not only their favorite brand but also defined their generation 4) Esteem: acceptance base on one's contribution to the group. Self-esteem include self-respect and a sense of accomplishment 5) Self-actualization: finding self-fulfillment and self-expression, reach the point in 8. Trace the steps of your decision process for purchasing your new TV. 1) Need recognition: consumers face imbalance between actual and desired states.

He old portable TV cannot satisfy me anymore now I want a flat-screen TV with surround sound 2) Information search.Consumers search for information about various alternatives available to satisfy it. I could use either internal info search or external info search or both to find alternatives for my current TV, such as flat-screen, high- definition, big screen or by brand Sony Samsung 3) Evaluate of alternatives 4) purchase 5) Postprocessor behavior: consumers by to reduce dissonance by Justifying their decision. They seek new information that reinforces positive ideas about the arches, avoid information that contradict the their decision 7. Six variables of the external environment that are not directly under the control of marketing managers 1) Competition 2) Demographic factors 6.

Corporate social responsibility lecture.Describe pyramid theory and its components CARS: a business' concern about for society's welfare Pyramid of CARS: CARS is composed of economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibility and that the firm's economic performance supports the entire structure and are the foundations for other three responsibilities 1) Economic: be refutable, it is the foundation for the rest three 2) Legal: obey the law. Law is the society's of right and wrong. Play by the rules of games 3) Ethical: be ethical, do what is right, Just, fair and avoid harm 4) Philanthropic: be a good corporate citizen, contribute resources to community; improve quality of life 5.

Insofar strategic opportunity matrix.And give an example of a firm following the strategy Present product New product Present market Market penetration Product development New market Market development diversification promotion that include TOY'S Teeny Beanie 2) Market development: attract new customers to existing products. McDonald opens store in China and expand to eastern European countries 3) Product development: entail the creation of new products for present markets. Introduce premium salads and Macerate to offer the existing customers more healthy options 4) Diversification: increase sales by introducing new products into new market. McDonald introduces a line of children's clothing 4.

Introduce three types of competitive advantages and then discuss how company can establish or maintain at least one of the three.Competitive advantage: a set of unique features of a company and its products that are perceived by the target market as significant and superior to the competition 1) Cost competitive advantage: being the low-cost competitor in an industry while maintaining a satisfactory profit margin. Cost leadership can result from inexpensive raw materials, efficient plant operation, control overhead costs, outsourcing an vertical integration, and avoid marginal customers 2) Product/service differentiation: provides a long-lasting competitive advantage. It exists when a firm provides something unique that is label to buyers besides simply offering a low price.Example: brand name(Lexus) 3) Niche: a focus advantage or strategy, seeks to target and effectively serve a single segment of the market.

A market segment that has good potential but is not crucial to the success of major competitors is a good candidate for developing a niche strategy TAB is a very successful restaurant chain but is found only in Windsor Ontario Sustainable competitive advantage is an advantage that cannot be easily copied. To create sustainable advantage, build your own rather than copy someone else. The resources of competitive advantages are the skills, and assets of the organization. Assets include patents, copyright, locations, equipment and technology that are superior to those of the competition and better people.Skills are functions such as customer service, and promotion that the firm performs better than its competitors 3.

Discuss the differences between sales and market orientation What is the org focus? What business are you in To whom the product is directed What is your primary goal How do seek to achieve your goal? Sales orientation Inward on the org needs Selling goods and services Profits through maximum sales volumes Primary through intensive promotion Market Outward on wants and preferences of customers Satisfying customers wants and need and delivering superior value Specific group of people Profits through customer satisfaction Through coordinated marketing and inter-functional activities 2.Marketing concept and market orientation; three areas they involve Marketing concept: social and economic Justification for an org existence is the satisfaction of customer wants and needs while meeting organizational objectives. Marketing concept includes the followings 1 . Focus on customers wants and needs so that org can distinguish its products from competitors' offering 2. Integrate all orgy's activities, including production to satisfy customer wants 3. Achieve long term goal for org by satisfying customer wants and needs legally and responsibly Market orientation: a sale does not depend on aggressive sales force efforts but rather on a customers' decision to purchase a product.

It is synonymous with the marketing concept Marketing orientation involves: 1 .