Question 1

Which element of the marketing mix is most affected by the fact that services are intangible?

Accepted Answer

Services being intangible primarily affect how they are promoted. Since customers cannot see, touch, or try a service before purchasing, marketers must use different strategies to build trust and demonstrate the value of the service.

Question 2

Which of the unique characteristics of a service has the greatest effect on the development of promotional strategies?

Accepted Answer

Intangibility has the greatest effect on the development of promotional strategies for services because it makes it challenging to convey the service's benefits and quality through traditional advertising, requiring more creative and trust-building approaches.

Question 3

Which of the following promotional strategies is the best one for a company attempting to overcome the problem that services are intangible?

Accepted Answer

The best strategy for overcoming the intangibility of services is to offer tangible evidence of the service quality, as demonstrated by a car repair center loaning cars to customers. This provides a physical, tangible benefit related to the service being offered.

Question 4

In order to portray the benefits to be derived from a service, a services marketer could use all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Collaboration is not typically used to portray benefits; it involves working together, not illustrating benefits.

Question 5

As a means of portraying the benefits to be derived from a service, visualization:

Accepted Answer

Visualization involves showing people benefiting from the service to help potential customers imagine themselves experiencing the benefits.

Question 6

Promotion for a new cancer treatment center emphasizes the fact the center does not look like a sterile, impersonal hospital. Which promotional strategy does this exemplify?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of visualization because the promotion is creating a mental image of what the center looks like by emphasizing its non-sterile, more personal appearance, helping potential patients imagine the setting.

Question 7

The National Survival Training Center in Spokane, Washington, teaches people how to save themselves if they were ever taken hostage. Its promotional strategy uses the testimonies of previous customers who have successfully used the techniques they learned at the Spokane center. What type of promotional strategy is being used?

Accepted Answer

Visualization is the correct promotional strategy being used here because it involves creating a mental image or scenario in the minds of potential customers, allowing them to see themselves benefiting from the service through the success stories of previous customers.

Question 8

An advertisement for a service that will visit your house and make sure it is childproof shows a toddler playing happily and safely in the living room while a nearby babysitter talks on the phone, watches television, and pays little attention to what the child is doing. The childproofing service is using a(n) _____ strategy to promote its service.

Accepted Answer

The advertisement uses visualization by depicting a scenario where the service's benefits are shown through a visual representation of a safe environment for the child, despite the babysitter's inattention.

Question 9

Virgin Atlantic ran ads in which the airline showed a traveler sleeping in the airline's new seat and emphasized features such as six feet of space, an individual TV and game console, electric seat controls, lights, and laptop power connection. Virgin Atlantic is using a(n) _____ to show the benefits of flying on its airplanes.

Accepted Answer

Virgin Atlantic is using a visualization strategy by creating a mental image or scenario that highlights the benefits and features of flying with them, such as the comfort and amenities provided by their new seat. This helps potential customers imagine the experience of flying with Virgin Atlantic.

Question 10

A picture of a Mardi Gras parade float with people obviously enjoying themselves has been an effective promotional device for the Tourist Board in New Orleans. The photo helped the city overcome intangibility by using and showing how much fun Mardi Gras attendees have. The technique used was:

Accepted Answer

Visualization is the technique used here, as the photo helps potential tourists imagine or "visualize" themselves enjoying the Mardi Gras festivities, overcoming the challenge of selling an intangible experience.

Question 11

As a means of portraying the benefits to be derived from a service, association:

Accepted Answer

Association connects the service with a tangible good, person, object, or place to convey its benefits.

Question 12

If you look at your Discover card, you will see that the word Discover is colored so as to represent the image of a distant horizon. The "O" contains a stylized sun. The intended message is that Discover credit cards can make the discovery of new horizons possible. Which strategy is Discover using?

Accepted Answer

Discover is using the strategy of association by creating a visual connection between the word "Discover" and the image of a distant horizon and a stylized sun to convey the message that their credit cards can make the discovery of new horizons possible.

Question 13

Until his death, actor Danny Thomas was closely connected with St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The man and the organization were united in their goal to help sick children. In terms of a promotional strategy, St. Jude's was using:

Accepted Answer

St. Jude's was using association as a promotional strategy by linking the hospital's image and mission with the well-known and beloved actor Danny Thomas, thereby leveraging his popularity and public image to promote the hospital's cause and attract support.

Question 14

When BP and Amoco merged, the BP shield and the Amoco torch were replaced with a new green sun-like logo at BP Connect stores. BP hopes this new logo will enhance its corporate image as an environmentally friendly company through the use of:

Accepted Answer

The new green sun-like logo is intended to create an association in the minds of consumers between BP and environmentally friendly practices.

Question 15

Florafax Wire Service is a service used by florists. When someone in Dallas, Texas, calls a florist and orders flowers sent to his mother in Minot, North Dakota, the Dallas florist can submit the order to Florafax. For a small fee, Florafax will find a Minot florist to fill and deliver the order. Florafax uses a single perfect red rose in all of its ads indicating quality, freshness, and style. With its use of a single long-stem red rose, Florafax is using _____ to cope with the intangibility of its service.

Accepted Answer

Florafax uses a single perfect red rose in all of its ads indicating quality, freshness, and style. This is an example of association, where a tangible object (the rose) is used to represent an intangible concept (the quality of the service).

Question 16

When Matthew and Patricia returned to their hotel room after dinner, they found the bed turned down and a piece of Godiva chocolate laying on each pillow. The hotel was using the bed turndown and chocolate as a way to indicate the quality of service provided by the hotel. The hotel is using _____ in its promotional strategy.

Accepted Answer

The hotel is using physical representation in its promotional strategy by providing tangible items (Godiva chocolate) and services (bed turndown) that represent the quality and type of service customers can expect, making the intangible aspects of their service more tangible and perceivable.

Question 17

The Sheraton Hotel chain is replacing its outdated shag carpeting and flowered bedspreads with pinstripes and sleigh beds. It will place library-like furnishings, ergonomically designed chairs, and two-line phones in all of its rooms. The goal is to restore its reputation for reliability and comfort and to avoid looking tacky and dated. By presenting these changes in its advertising, the hotel is using _____ in its promotional strategy.

Accepted Answer

The hotel is using physical representation in its promotional strategy by highlighting tangible changes and improvements in its facilities, such as the new decor and furnishings, to communicate its commitment to reliability and comfort.

Question 18

One reason Julie and Alinga like to stop at Happy Face convenience stores when they are traveling is the clean restrooms. They have never been in one that wasn't spotless. A promotion that featured this cleanliness would be based on:

Accepted Answer

Physical representation refers to the tangible evidence of a service's quality, in this case, the cleanliness of the restrooms, which directly reflects the overall service quality of Happy Face convenience stores.

Question 19

Some photo-processing centers like to have the film processing equipment in the front of the store for everyone to see how efficiently and steadily its employees can process film. Consumers have proof when they see advertising that tells how quickly the centers can turn film into pictures. This shows how _____ can be used by services.

Accepted Answer

Physical representation is used by services to demonstrate their efficiency and reliability by showcasing the film processing equipment in action, providing tangible proof to consumers.

Question 20

Everyone who waits tables at Outback Steakhouses is instructed to visit with customers as much and as often as possible. It is not unusual for your waitress or waiter to sit down at your table and start a conversation. The friendliness of the restaurant is promoted in its ads. The behavior of its food servers is a _____ of that service.

Accepted Answer

The behavior of the food servers, as described, acts as a physical representation of the service's friendliness, which is promoted in the restaurant's ads. This means they embody or manifest the service quality being advertised.

Quiz 11: Services Marketing