Assignment

This exercise will give you some practice in determining the ideal degree of market exposure for a company. Read each case carefully and then indicate:

1. the product class which is involved,
2. the degree of market exposure (intensive, selective, or exclusive) which you think would be ideal, and
3. explain why you think the indicated degree of market exposure would be ideal. State any assumptions that you have made.

Note:Ideal here means the degree of market exposure which will satisfy the target customers' needs (but not exceed them) and alsowill be achievable by the producer. For example, a new producer of homogeneous cookies might desire intensive distribution, but agree to sell to only a few food chains because it knows it will not be able to obtain intensive distribution with its undifferentiated cookies. So its ideal is selective distribution, and it will adjust the rest of its marketing mix accordingly.

1. Ciao Footwear designs and manufactures a highquality line of fashionable shoes that are popular among young professional women. The line is quite expensive-and it is sold through specialty shops that handle only this type of fashion shoe (including competing brands). Ciao will only work with retailers who agree to stock a large variety of sizes and colors of Ciao shoes. They also must agree to promote the Ciao line very aggressively. In return, Ciao agrees not to distribute its line to other retailers within the specialty shop's immediate trading area. Since continuing promotion seems to be necessary in this highly competitive market, advertisements for Ciao shoes appear regularly in fashion magazines targeted at professional women and on select cable TV broadcasts, including broadcasts of women's tennis tournaments.

Product class (convenience, shopping, specialty, unsought) _______________

Why this product class ____________________________________________

Degree of market exposure (intensive, selective, or exclusive) _____________

Why this market exposure is ideal ___________________________________

1. Domicile Designs, Ltd. manufactures decorative items for the home. It recently added beaded bamboo curtains to its product line. Designed for use in open doorways or as room dividers, the curtains are available in several colors and can be mounted easily on curtain rods. They are priced at $20 per set and measure six feet long by three feet wide. Like most of the company's products, the curtains are sold in gift shops, hobby shops, and specialty shops. Initial sales for the curtains have been quite promising. The product seems to have good eye appeal, according to one shop owner. Apparently, the early customers hadn't planned to buy anything like bamboo curtains, but once they saw them displayed in the store, they couldn't resist buying them.

Product class (convenience, shopping, specialty, unsought) _______________

Why this product class ____________________________________________

Degree of market exposure (intensive, selective, or exclusive) _____________

Why this market exposure is ideal ___________________________________