Question 1

A marketing plan should contain specific information like costs and sales forecasts, but not background information about customers, competitors, or the company's resources.

Accepted Answer

A marketing plan should provide information about marketing mix decisions, customers (including segmenting dimensions), competitors' strategies, other aspects of the market environment, and the company's objectives and resources.

Question 2

Firms can manipulate consumers to buy anything the company chooses to produce.

Accepted Answer

The idea that firms can manipulate consumers to buy anything the company chooses to produce simply isn't true.

Question 3

A good S.W.O.T. analysis helps a manager focus on a strategy that takes advantages of the firm's opportunities and strengths while avoiding its weaknesses and threats to its success.

Accepted Answer

Careful analysis helps the manager focus on a strategy that takes advantage of the firm's strengths and opportunities while avoiding its weaknesses and threats to its success.

Question 4

A S.W.O.T. analysis identifies the "special weapons or tactics" used by the competitor in a product-market that has the most profitable marketing mix.

Accepted Answer

A S.W.O.T. analysis identifies and lists the firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Refer to Chapter 2.

Question 5

Monopolistic competition is caused by customer preferences, not business manipulation of markets.

Accepted Answer

In monopolistic competition, a number of different firms offer marketing mixes that at least some customers see as different. Consumers have choices and they exercise those choices.

Question 6

Monopolistic competition may result in high costs-and therefore it does not do a good job of serving consumers the way they want to be served.

Accepted Answer

Monopolistic competition is sometimes accompanied by high prices for new products. But consumers have choices. They don't have to buy the new product unless they think it is a better value. The old products are still available and their prices usually drop to meet the new competition.

Question 7

The letters in "S.W.O.T. analysis" are an abbreviation for the first letters of the words "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats."

Accepted Answer

The name S.W.O.T. is simply an abbreviation for the first letters in the words strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Refer to Chapter 2.

Question 8

Advertising can increase demand for the product resulting in economies of scale in manufacturing, distribution, and sales.

Accepted Answer

Advertising can increase demand for the product, resulting in economies of scale in manufacturing, distribution, and sales.

Question 9

According to the text, the proper function of marketing is to persuade consumers to buy what firms want to sell.

Accepted Answer

Marketing's job is not just to satisfy consumer wants as they exist at any particular point in time but also to keep looking for new and better ways to create value and serve consumers.

Question 10

A marketing plan usually spells out the time schedule for a marketing strategy as well as the time-related details.

Accepted Answer

Some time schedule is implicit in any strategy. A marketing plan simply spells out this time period and the time-related details.

Question 11

S.W.O.T. analysis is based on the idea that one of the best ways to develop a strategy is to identify and copy the marketing "strategies, weapons, outlook, and tactics" of the firm's most effective competitor.

Accepted Answer

A S.W.O.T. analysis identifies and lists the firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Refer to Chapter 2.

Question 12

People have always been materialistic, even in the most primitive societies.

Accepted Answer

Even in the most primitive societies, people want to accumulate possessions.

Question 13

A firm usually has more different strategy possibilities than it can pursue, so it must use screening criteria to help eliminate those strategies not well-suited to the firm.

Accepted Answer

Developing a set of specific qualitative and quantitative screening criteria can help eliminate potential strategies that are not well suited to the firm.

Question 14

Advertising is probably the most criticized of all micro-marketing activities.

Accepted Answer

Advertising is the most criticized of all micro-marketing activities.

Question 15

Blending the four Ps is easy since fully understanding the needs and attitudes of a target market is a straightforward process.

Accepted Answer

Marketing manager must creatively blend the four Ps so that the firm can develop the best mix for its target market since understanding the needs and attitudes of a target market is not an easy process. Each decision must work well with all of the others to make a logical whole.

Question 16

The job of integrating the four Ps strategy decisions is the responsibility of the company controller since the money to do so must be available.

Accepted Answer

The job of integrating the four Ps strategy decisions is given to the marketing manager.

Question 17

The text argues that the plight of the homeless is a result of the forces of market competition in our market-directed economies.

Accepted Answer

The forces of competition stimulate economic growth and spreads income among more people. A market-directed economy makes efficient use of resources. However, it can't guarantee that government aid programs are effective.

Question 18

A marketing manager who is willing to spend enough on persuasive promotion can usually get consumers to buy anything the company chooses to produce.

Accepted Answer