Q&A Hero

Q: A launch cycle is an expansion of the _____ of the product life cycle into substages. A. maturity stage B. introductory stage C. growth stage D. evaluation stage

Q: In a penetration price strategy, the price of a product is clearly low and is designed to buy one's way into the market.

Q: Skim is a very low price, intended to stay that way, with no clear product differentiation.

Q: Selective distribution is typically used for products with low relative advantage and low compatibility with buyers' experiences.

Q: For products with low relative advantage and low compatibility with buyers' experiences, promotion should aid in risk reduction by offering money-back guarantees, warranties, or tie-ins to existing products.

Q: A key requirement for a new product trial is that it must have some cost associated with it for the firm.

Q: The trial phase in the adoption of new products is the stumbling point for most products that fail; and it is the cause of winning products not winning a great deal more.

Q: In most cases, repeat purchase is the last step toward adoption of a new product.

Q: A customer-based sales organization requires more of the hard-sell pushing that product-based sales forces can provide.

Q: Service firms and direct-selling manufacturers usually have a very complex communications task because they involve a host of resellers.

Q: When a new product launch involves a defensive addition, the appropriate tactics include a broad product assortment, a new brand name and distribution channels, and a higher price.

Q: The launch cycle of a new product typically begins with the beachhead phase.

Q: In a product launch setting, beachhead refers to the heavy expenditures necessary to overcome sales inertia.

Q: The conditions during the beachhead phase of a launch cycle are highly conducive to good management.

Q: Preannouncement of an upcoming product can be used to block a competitive entry.

Q: Indirect network externalities exist if product sales are dependent on the number of people that have adopted it.

Q: What is brand equity? Discuss its importance.

Q: Discuss the crossing the chasm model proposed by Geoffrey Moore.

Q: In the context of micromarketing and mass customization, list David Olson's classification of food buyers.

Q: With the help of examples, briefly describe the alternative ways to segment a market.

Q: Describe the various types of demand sought based on the different levels of product newness.

Q: A package design strategy that uses key designs or some other packaging elements to integrate the packaging of several individual items is best known as _____. A. uniform packaging B. family packaging C. customized packaging D. retail packaging

Q: Which of the following contradicts the concept of an umbrella brand strategy? A. Mass brand strategy B. Generic brand strategy C. Corporate brand strategy D. Individual brand strategy

Q: Businesses are using a(n) _____ when they put their corporate name on every product they make. A. customized brand strategy B. umbrella brand strategy C. flagship brand strategy D. individual brand strategy

Q: Brand names are important assets that provide value to both a firm and its customers, as they communicate quality, build positive brand images, and encourage customer loyalty. This value is known as _____. A. liquid asset B. brand mark C. brand equity D. capital gain

Q: Which of the following statements is true of a trademark? A. A word string such as "just do it" is a trademark. B. The last user of a trademark has exclusive rights over the trademark. C. Technically speaking, services have trademarks. D. Trademark is a description of product attributes in detail.

Q: Which of the following would help a firm keep a trademark forever, even if another firm later displays proof of prior use? A. Bona fide intent B. Registration C. Service mark D. Private branding

Q: One of the methods to position a product in the marketplace is to use attributes. In this context, which of the following is an attribute? A. Benefits B. Surrogates C. Expert opinions D. Metaphors

Q: A dog food is positioned as "the one with as much protein as 10 pounds of sirloin." This is an example of a(n) _____. A. opinion B. feature C. function D. benefit

Q: During innovation diffusion, the _____ are the last customers in the market to try an innovation. A. light users B. laggards C. late majority D. rotators

Q: The first 5 to 10 percent of customers who adopt a new product are referred to as the _____. A. innovators B. early majority C. early adopters D. laggards

Q: In the context of the product characteristics suggested by Everett Rogers, _____ refers to how easy it is for a user to see the benefits of using a product. A. divisibility B. trialability C. communicability D. adaptive complexity

Q: With reference to the classic diffusion theory of Everett Rogers, the _____ of a product indicates how easy it is for a customer to purchase and use the trial portions of the product. A. complexity B. compatibility C. observability D. divisibility

Q: How is continuity of innovation for new products related to learning by customers? A. The more continuous the innovation, the more learning is required. B. The more continuous the innovation, the less learning is required. C. The degree of customer learning remains constant, irrespective of the level of continuity. D. The degree of customer learning first decreases and then increases as the continuity of innovation increases.

Q: Some firms capitalize on the end-user penchant by just launching a product and following up to see who the buyers are, then focusing their promotions accordingly. This is an example of a(n) _____. A. wildcat operation B. rollout strategy C. enhancement strategy D. butt-on operation

Q: Which of the following best describes broaden the market fallacy? A. Within the same market segment, there exists customers who have varying purchasing power. B. What makes a product appealing for one customer segment may not be the same for another. C. A product that does not come in attractive packaging is initially rejected by its target market. D. A promotional strategy is highly successful when it is targeted to diverse groups of customers.

Q: Under _____, customers build the desired product, get an assessment of the resulting price, and state their likelihood of making a purchase. A. virtual product testing B. wildcat operation C. benchmarking D. situation analysis

Q: Planters sell the same peanuts to all final customers, but modify the packaging depending on the size of the distributor. This is an example of _____. A. mass production B. product differentiation C. lean production D. mass customization

Q: Leo Burnett advertising agency uses scanner data to cluster food buyers into six groups. Which of these groups consists of people who buy all major brands, always on deals? A. Loyalists B. Price-driven C. Light users D. Rotators

Q: BlueBeak Corp. deliberately seeks out very small targets markets with unique purchase patterns. The firm targets _____. A. macromarkets B. capital markets C. micromarkets D. commodity markets

Q: _____ information in combination with brand perceptions can be very helpful in developing a product positioning strategy. A. End-use segment B. Geographic segment C. Demographic segment D. Benefit segment

Q: Markets segmented based on variables like values, activities, and lifestyles can be best described as using _____. A. end-use segmentation B. geographic and demographic segmentation C. behavioral and psychographic segmentation D. benefit segmentation

Q: Under the _____ of market replacement, a continuous positive image is created for the new item being upgraded. A. butt-on strategy B. side-by-side strategy C. rollout strategy D. aggressive strategy

Q: Zircon Motors Inc. destroyed its prior branding as a manufacturer of economy automobiles when it planned to introduce Zircon Mova, a premium car, targeted at the high-income customer group. This is an example of a(n) _____ of market replacement. A. bait-and-switch strategy B. aggressive strategy C. butt-on strategy D. rollout strategy

Q: Gloria, a marketing manager at Big Three Inc., is preparing for the launch of a new product. The company's top management wants to keep its spending strategy low key. To convince the top management that the new product needs an aggressive entry, Gloria should promote the marketing cost associated with the launch as a(n) _____. A. investment B. expense C. liability D. tariff

Q: When a firm chooses an aggressive entry to launch a new product: A. most of the promotional dollars are spent early. B. most of the resources go to stimulating repeat purchases. C. the firm's spending strategy is too stingy. D. the firm maybe uncertain about the capability of its sales force.

Q: For a new product entry or line addition in an established market, the emphasis is on stimulation of: A. trial purchase, which is a precursor to adoption. B. joint demand for the new product as well as an existing product. C. repeat purchases for an existing product. D. derived demand for the new product as well as an existing product.

Q: Which of the following seeks to assure new product success by encouraging existing consumers to switch to the new offering? A. Bait marketing B. Market Skimming C. Customer migration D. Consumer movement

Q: America First Electronics Inc. (AFE) is preparing to launch a set of new-to-the-world medical devices that are based on the same technology. These devices promise to revolutionize the healthcare industry. AFE must ideally attempt to stimulate: A. primary demand for the product category. B. joint demand for the product category. C. selective demand for the product category. D. replacement demand for the product category.

Q: The cash-to-cash metric was first used by _____. A. supply chain managers B. product launch managers C. advertisers D. creditors

Q: Which of the following is a product level performance measure used for individual products? A. Market share B. Unit volume C. Product use D. Time to launch

Q: Which of the following is a customer acceptance measure used during the strategic launch planning of a new product? A. Profitability B. Market share C. Product cost D. Time to launch

Q: Which of the following metrics is used to assess the financial performance of individual products? A. Customer satisfaction B. Competitive effect C. Profitability D. Market share

Q: The most expensive and risky stage of the new product development process is often _____. A. product prototyping B. product use testing C. product ideation D. product commercialization

Q: If a firm decides to be very aggressive at the time of launching a new product, it is an example of a(n) _____. A. platform decision B. action decision C. tactical decision D. operational decision

Q: In product commercialization, _____ define how the strategic decisions will be implemented. A. strategic action decisions B. tactical launch decisions C. strategic platform decisions D. competitive strategies

Q: Bulk packaging that holds a product's secondary packages for shipment is referred to as primary packaging.

Q: A dominant brand in a product category is known as a flagship brand.

Q: Typically, courts permit private brands absolute rights to copy a well-known brand's trade dress.

Q: FALSE

Q: The role of a new product is usually to build gross margin dollars, dollars that come primarily from the values it has over its price.

Q: According to Geoffrey Moore's crossing the chasm model, people belonging to the early majority and late majority group fall under the category of the visionaries.

Q: A continuous innovation requires little learning by customers, as compatibility with prior experiences and values is high.

Q: Virtual product testing is an extension of mass customization.

Q: Mass media marketers use tighter market segments than direct marketers and online marketers.

Q: Markets today are so complex that one product cannot come close to meeting all needs and desires of the customers.

Q: The launch plan for a new-to-the-world product is expected to stimulate replacement demand rather than primary demand.

Q: The cash-to-cash metric shows the time between the initial cash investment and the time of payment for a finished product.

Q: Product cost is one of the common customer acceptance measures used by firms as goals for individual products.

Q: Strategic givens are more easily modified as compared to tactical decisions.

Q: Tactical launch decisions are marketing mix decisions such as communication and promotion, distribution, and pricing of a new product.

Q: Describe the four types of product use tests.

Q: What are the various user groups available for product testing?

Q: Describe case-based research.

Q: Describe alpha, beta, and gamma testing.

Q: What are the various disadvantages of copying an innovator's product?

Q: Which of the following is true of a surrogate product use test? A. It requires considerable amount of money. B. It requires a large amount of time. C. It gives most accurate results among all product use tests. D. Constructive evaluation is a surrogate product use test.

Q: A certain industrial firm found that users were making a particular change to aid a product's function. In the context of special problems associated with a product use test, this illustrates the act of _____. A. being alert to changed conditions B. sticking to faulty data C. utilizing good use testing D. using retrospective testing

Q: A user reviewing videos of conventional product using testing previously done is an example of _____. A. retrospective testing B. the introspection method C. the think aloud method D. constructive evaluation

Q: When a respondent uses an item, describes activities, and explains problems encountered, it is known as: A. retrospective testing. B. the introspection method. C. the think aloud method. D. constructive evaluation.