Questions and Answers of Foundations of Marketing

Successful companies develop strategies for marketing their products. The strategic plan guides the marketer in making many of the detailed decisions about the attributes of the product, its pricing,
Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple Inc. has experienced many challenges throughout its business history.In 1997, the company’s share price was $3.30. By checking the price today, you can
One of the foundations of a successful marketing strategy is a thorough analysis of your company. To make the best decisions about what products to offer, which markets to target,and how to reach
Tesla has been pursuing a strategy of aggressive growth since its founding in 2003. The company’s mission is to accelerate the move to vehicles that will save energy while saving the planet. The
1: A marketing strategy is dynamic. Companies must continually monitor the marketing environment not only to create their marketing strategy, but also to revise it if necessary.Information about
1: Decisions about which market opportunities to pursue, what customer needs to satisfy, and how to reach potential customers are not made in a vacuum. The information provided by marketing research
1: Instagram is a photo-sharing app that has surpassed 500 million daily active users. In contrast, rival Snapchat has 229 million. Instagram allows its users to manipulate their photos with
Identifying and analyzing a target market is a major component of formulating a marketing strategy. A clear understanding and explanation of a product’s target market is crucial to developing a
Understanding the process that an individual consumer goes through when purchasing a product is essential for developing marketing strategy. Knowledge about the potential customer’s buying behavior
Name the types of consumer decision-making processes. List some products you have bought using each type. Have you ever bought a product on impulse?If so, describe the circumstances.
Describe the subcultures to which you belong.Identify buying behavior that is unique to one of your subcultures.
1: When developing a marketing strategy for business customers, it is essential to understand the process the business goes through when making a buying decision. Knowledge of business buying
How will USMCA affect marketing opportunities for U.S. products in North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada)?
1: Richard Liu founded JD Multimedia in 1998 as a small offline electronics store. Today, JD.com is the world’s third largest online retailer. JD.com is one of China’s largest online retailers,
Identifying the needs of consumer groups and developing products that satisfy those needs is essential when creating a marketing strategy. Successful product development begins with a clear
1: A company’s marketing strategy may be revised to include new products as it considers its SWOT analysis and the impact of environmental factors on its product mix. When developing a marketing
What if you could have a high-quality kitchen knife that would last forever? Look no further than Cutco. Cutco began manufacturing knives in Olean, New York, in 1949 when two companies, Alcoa Corp.
Setting the right price for a product is a crucial part of a marketing strategy. Price helps to establish a product’s position in the mind of the consumer and can differentiate a product from its
1: In 1993, Norwegian Air Shuttle was a tiny airline with three small planes flying to local destinations. Within a decade, the company had changed marketing direction and was beginning its ascent
One of the key components in a successful marketing strategy is the plan for getting the products to your customer. To make the best decisions about where, when, and how your products will be made
Discuss the cost and service trade-offs involved in developing a logistics system.
Distribution decisions in the marketing plan entail the movement of your product from the producer to the final consumer.An understanding of how and where your customer prefers to purchase products
A vital component of a successful marketing strategy is the company’s plan for communication to its stakeholders. One segment of the communication plan is included in the marketing mix as the
Name a retailer from which you have received personalized service, product, or promotion offerings online. What form of personalization did you receive? Did the personalization influence your
You have recently been hired by a cosmetics company in the product-development group. The firm’s brand is a top-selling, high-end line of cosmetics. The head of the development team has just
Visit and explore the website of your favorite breakfast cereal. Identify the demographics of its target customer. Evaluate the effectiveness of its marketing strategy.
A student who graduates with a marketing degree likely has a good foundation for jobs that utilize social media. Go to Monster.com and search for jobs in your area, using the keyword “social
Identify and explain the three dimensions that provide different perspectives on CSR.
Identify some of the factors that lead to the establishment of an international division as an organization increases its global business activities.
Give an example of a company that illustrates each of the four generic strategies that can lead to competitive advantage: overall cost leadership, cost focus, differentiation, and focused
How can a company measure its competitive advantage? How does a firm know if it is gaining or losing competitive advantage? Cite a global company and its source of competitive advantage.
You have the option of purchasing electronic editions of many of your college textbooks. Is this something that you are interested in doing?
Briefly outline Web design issues as they pertain to global marketing.
What key issues must be addressed by global companies that engage in e commerce?
Some industry observers think that BP should not have spent money on print and TV ads to reassure the American public. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
Identify the five steps in the strategic/consultative selling model and the outlined six-step presentation plan. Do these steps have global applicability, or can they be used only for selling in the
How does public relations differ from advertising? Why is public relations especially important for global companies?
When creating advertising for world markets, what are some of the issues that art directors and copywriters should take into account?
Briefly discuss the global issues associated with physical distribution and transportation logistics. Cite one example of a company that is making efficiency improvements in its channel or physical
What is cherry picking? What approaches can be used to deal with this problem?
Luxury goods marketers such as LVMH use distinctive logos to differentiate their brands. Discuss the risks associated with this marketing strategy
What is dumping? Why was dumping such an important issue during the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations?
Each year, the Interbrand consultancy compiles a ranking of global brands. The topranked brands for 2014 are shown in Table 10-2. Browse through the list and choose any brand that interests you.
Assess the U.S. market potential for the Smart. Do you think the car will be a success? Why or why not?
Briefly describe the various combinations of product-communication strategies available to global marketers. When is it appropriate to use each?
Which strategic options for market entry or expansion would a small company be likely to pursue? A large company?
What is meant by the phrase global strategic partnership? Discuss how this form of market-entry strategy differs from more traditional forms such as joint ventures.
What criteria should company management consider when making sourcing decisions?
Discuss why exporting from the United States is dominated by large companies. What, if anything, could be done to increase exports from smaller companies?
1. What knowledge and skills are required to be successful as an export coordinator?2. What do you think is the best part of Mikkel’s job? The worst part?3. If you were in Mikkel’s position, what
What is a high-touch product? Explain the difference between high-tech product positioning and high-touch product positioning. Can some products be positioned using both strategies? Explain.
Compare and contrast the standardized, concentrated, and differentiated global marketing strategies. Illustrate each strategy with an example from a global company.
What changes, if any, should Daniel Ek make at Spotify to compete with Apple Music?
Discuss how existing, latent, and incipient demand differ. How might these differences affect the design of a marketing research project?
Discuss some of the differences between the legal environments of countries that embrace common law and those of countries that observe civil law.
What is sovereignty? Discuss your thoughts on what is an important consideration in the political environment of global marketing.
Explain the self-reference criterion (SRC) and its significance to global marketers. Conduct exploratory research and find examples of product failures that might have been avoided through the
Discuss the contrast between the United States and Japan in terms of traditions and organizational behavior and norms.
Why are Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain sometimes referred to as the euro zone’s “peripheral countries”?
The creation of the single market in Europe has led to harmonization. What does this mean? How does harmonization affect a company’s global marketing strategies?
A manufacturer of satellite dishes is assessing the world market potential for his products. He asks you if he should consider developing countries as potential markets. Discuss what he should do.
Explain how market capitalism, centrally planned capitalism, centrally planned socialism, and market socialism differ. Give an example of a country that illustrates each type of system.
The seven criteria for describing a nation’s economy introduced at the beginning of this chapter can be combined in a number of different ways. For example, the United States can be characterized
Each July, Fortune publishes its Global 500 listing of the world’s largest companies. You can find the current rankings online at www.fortune.com/global500/. Alternatively, you can consult the
Do all products go through each and every stage of this process? Explain your answer.
Use the sports bike scenario from the previous question, describe what kinds of analysis you might conduct before deciding what growth strategies to implement?
When first introduced, BlackBerry’s PlayBook was seen as a competitor to Apple’s iPad. Visit Apple’s website (http://www.apple.com/) and the BlackBerry website (www.blackberry.com) to learn
As described in this chapter, customer relationship management is a very important aspect of value-based marketing. Pick any one of Canada’s major retailers, e.g. The Bay (http://www.hbc.com/),
For many consumers the difference between Dasani water made by Coca-Cola (http://www.dasani.com/) and Aquafina made by Pepsi (http://www.aquafina.com/) is hardly noticeable. However, both companies
Explain how customer value is created or increased when the company’s marketing department works closely with other departments within the firm as well as with the firm’s suppliers and customers.
Which marketing orientation would most likely help a company build strong customer relationships that are profitable? Why?
Give reasons that you think understanding customer needs and wants is fundamental to marketing success. How can marketers go about understanding customer needs and wants?
Today, many marketers are not interested in selling their products and services to everyone who wants it, but only to selected target markets. What do you think the main reasons are for targeting
Generally, all companies are in business to generate profits and increase shareholder value. Yet, the Canadian Marketing Association definition of marketing does not explicitly mention profits or
1. Using the framework for ethical decision making presented in the chapter (Exhibit 18.4), analyze Lauren’s dilemma. Should she go to the company’s ethics officer and report what she knows
Perhaps no sub discipline of marketing receives more scrutiny regarding ethical compliance than direct marketing, a form of non-store retailing in which customers are exposed to and purchase
Consumers who were unhappy about the Canadian seal hunt expressed their displeasure by promoting an international boycott of Canadian seafood. While this action might prompt the sealing industry to
A women’s clothing retailer has been found guilty of misleading pricing practices. In spite of significant fines, its pricing practices remain unchanged. Explain how consumerism could force the
The granola company described in the last question is thinking about starting an advertising campaign directed at children that would air on Saturday morning television. Explain why you think it
A clothing company gives generously to charities and sponsors donation drives to help lower-income teen girls get reasonably priced prom dresses. It also locates its manufacturing plants in countries
An insurance company gives generously to charities and sponsors cancer awareness programs. It also makes it difficult for elderly consumers to make claims on policies that they have owned for years.
Develop an argument for why a pharmaceutical firm should build and maintain an ethical climate.
Why are marketers likely to be faced with more ethical dilemmas than members of other functional areas of the firm, like finance, accounting, or real estate?
Many marketers have developed programs to help consumers dispose of their products after use in safe and environmentally responsible ways, either through recycling or by taking the used product to a
Many commentators suggest that socially responsible marketing is not only a fad but can actually enhance the revenues and profitability of a firm. Explain how socially responsible marketing may
Problems can arise when businesses from one culture (the United Sates) operate in another culture (China) that has vastly different ethical standards. Google can be seen as trying to impose its
Is it ever possible to eliminate or reduce the social and ethical criticisms of marketing? What actions might help in this regard?
What is consumerism? Name two organizations that you think are at the forefront of consumerism in Canada. How has consumerism helped foster ethical behaviour and good CSR in Canadian companies?
Is it possible for companies that have a code of ethics to behave unethically? Why and how might this happen?
Explain how the use of sustainability scorecard could add value to a company in the eyes of its consumers.
Describe how firms can integrate ethics and corporate social responsibility into their marketing strategy.
List four factors that determine whether an individual or firm will act ethically. List the different ways firms could demonstrate their commitment to corporate social responsibility.
Explain the meaning of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in marketing. What are the main differences between ethics and social responsibility?
1. Assess China as a potential market for luxury cars. If you worked for a luxury car manufacturer, such as Volvo, would you enter or attempt to increase your presence in China? What entry
McCain is now a global brand, yet in each country, it alters its products and promotions to accommodate local tastes. Go to www.mccain.ca and visit the Canadian site. Now click through to the South
For many small businesses, the idea of entering a foreign market is frightening. The Government of Canada, as well as most provincial and territorial governments, now offers assistance designed
Lululemon has expanded its global retail operations through company-owned stores. In what instances might it consider using joint ventures as its global market entry strategy into new markets?
Assume you work for a Canadian-based financial services firm that claims to offer experts who personally manage clients’ accounts. The clients are unaware that most of the tax preparation work, the
Many Canadian and U.S. firms are relocating their production facilities and services overseas (outsourcing or offshoring). Why do you believe they are doing so? Do the benefits outweigh the potential
Provide an example of a potentially ethically troubling practice by a foreign firm doing business in Canada.

Showing 300 - 400 of 1032