Question 1

Product classes help marketing managers understand how much market exposure will be needed in each geographic area.

Accepted Answer

The product classes help marketing managers decide how much market exposure will be need in each geographic area.

Question 2

The terms "direct marketing" and "direct distribution" mean the same thing.

Accepted Answer

Direct distribution refers to firms distributing directly to the final customer or consumer. Direct marketing refers to direct communication between a seller and an individual customer using a promotion method other than face-to-face personal selling.

Question 3

A producer who wants to reach certain customers may have no choice about which wholesaler to use.

Accepted Answer

If contractors or customers like to make all of their purchases in one convenient stop, i.e., at a local wholesaler, the only practical way to reach them is through a wholesaler.

Question 4

With the Internet, even very small specialized firms can draw customers from all over the world.

Accepted Answer

With Internet, even small specialized firms are able to establish a web page and draw customers from all over the world.

Question 5

Some firms are forced to use direct distribution when they can't find intermediaries willing to carry innovative, new products.

Accepted Answer

A firm may have to go direct if suitable intermediaries are not available or will not cooperate.

Question 6

Selling direct-to-customer is more common with business products than consumer products.

Accepted Answer

Many business products are sold direct-to-customer.

Question 7

Many business products are sold direct, but hardly any services are.

Accepted Answer

Service firms often use direct channels. If the service must be produced in the presence of customers, there may be little need for intermediaries.

Question 8

Firms that use direct marketing promotion may or may not use direct distribution.

Accepted Answer

Sometimes direct marketing promotion is coupled with direct distribution from a producer to consumers.

Question 9

Place is concerned with the selection and use of marketing specialists-intermediaries and collaborators-and making goods and services available in the right quantities and locations when customers want them.

Accepted Answer

Place is concerned with making goods and services available in the right quantities and locations, when customers want them, and selection and use of marketing specialists.

Question 10

Direct marketing is primarily concerned with Promotion, not Place.

Accepted Answer

The term direct marketing is primarily concerned with the Promotion area, not Place decisions.

Question 11

Place decisions make goods and services available in the right quantities and locations, when customers want them.

Accepted Answer

Place is concerned with making goods and services available in the right quantities and locations, when customers want them.

Question 12

A wholesaler might help a producer by reducing the producer's need to carry large inventory stocks.

Accepted Answer

Intermediaries may further reduce a producer's need for working capital by buying the producer's output and carrying it in inventory until it's sold.

Question 13

The Internet gives large firms access to repeat customers, but it does little for small firms trying to develop an initial base of customers.

Accepted Answer

With Internet, even small specialized firms are able to establish a web page and draw customers from all over the world.

Question 14

Direct-to-customer channels are rarely used in business markets because they are much more expensive and less efficient than using intermediaries.

Accepted Answer

Many business products are sold direct-to-customer. This is understandable since in business markets there are fewer transactions, orders are larger, and customers may be concentrated in one geographic area.

Question 15

A channel of distribution is a series of firms or individuals participating in the flow of products from the producer to the consumer.

Accepted Answer

A channel of distribution is any series of firms or individuals who participate in the flow of products from producer to final user or consumer.

Question 16

Consumer product companies such as Tupperware that appear to be selling direct may not be because their salespeople are independent distributors, not company employees.

Accepted Answer

Some consumer products are sold direct to consumers through company representatives. For example, Tupperware products. These "salespeople" are not company employees and usually work independently. So in a strict technical sense, this is not really direct producer-to-consumer distribution.

Question 17

Firms that use direct distribution can usually adjust their marketing mixes faster than firms that use indirect distribution.

Accepted Answer

If a firm is in direct contact with its customers, it is in a better position to adjust its marketing mix quickly because there is no need to convince other channel members to help.

Question 18

The Internet is making it possible for firms to reach customers that were impossible to reach before.

Accepted Answer

Website-based e-commerce systems give many firms direct access to customers whom it would have been impossible to reach in the past.

Question 19

Place decisions are easier to change in the short-run than Product, Price, and Promotion decisions.

Accepted Answer

Place decisions often have long-run effects. They're usually harder to change than Product, Promotion, and Price decisions.

Question 20

Aggressive, market-oriented intermediaries are almost always available and eager to handle the distribution of innovative, new products.

Accepted Answer

Sometimes intermediaries that have the best contacts with the target market may be hesitant to add unproven vendors or new products.

Quiz 10: Place and Development of Channel Systems