Question 1

A planning manager visiting a company's health and beauty aids division discovers the division has no effective method for allocating resources,nor for evaluating actual results against planned results.His suggestion to the division would likely be to prepare a:
A) marketing audit
B) contingency plan
C) service audit
D) market share analysis
E) series of tactical evaluations

Accepted Answer

A marketing audit is a thorough,systematic,periodic evaluation of the objectives,strategies,structure,and performance of the marketing organization.

Question 2

DeFeet International
DeFeet International started as a cyclist sock company. The founder, Shane Cooper, said that the existing socks for cyclists were just not of great quality, so he made socks for his cycling team by knitting them inside out. The socks were of special materials aimed at giving the cyclist the most comfortable fit. These socks were not the traditional white socks but were bright, bold, and flashy colored socks with cool graphics. These high-tech socks were priced around $10 a pair. Their Web site says "DeFeet Is Made for Driven Soles." Soon, cycling elites like Lance Armstrong and Greg LeMond were sporting the DeFeet brand. The company branched into running, hiking, and snow gear. Products include socks, armskins, calfskins, boxer briefs, gloves, and shirts for the serious athlete. DeFeet has a custom department where socks, armskins, and gloves can be personalized with any motif, including sponsor types of logos like Michelin, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or BP. Even kids can enjoy DeFeet's high-quality socks. DeFeet's products can be found in retailers across the world--in more than 20 countries like Israel, Australia, Belgium, and the United States. More than two dozen online retailers also carry DeFeet products.
-Refer to DeFeet International.DeFeet branched from making socks for cyclists to making apparel for skiing,hiking,corporate sponsors,and kids.This is an example of which of Ansoff's strategic alternatives?
A) Market penetration
B) Market development
C) Product development
D) Diversification
E) Concentration

Accepted Answer

DeFeet made new products for new markets.

Question 3

Compass is a United Kingdom-based catering company that has developed a marketing plan designed to make it the largest caterer in China within the next two decades.As part of _____,it has already begun serving meals on trains that run between Shanghai and Beijing.
A) policy
B) implementation
C) evaluation
D) control
E) strategy

Accepted Answer

Implementation is the process that turns marketing plans into action assignments.

Question 4

An international company that needs to develop a way to compare its actual marketing results with planned results must engage in:
A) external market research
B) implementation
C) comparative analyses
D) planning
E) control

Accepted Answer

Control involves the mechanism for evaluating results and correcting actions in the planning and implementation phases.

Question 5

Apple,Inc.is now offering the iPhone 3G for half its original price.This new strategy reflects a change in the _____ element of its marketing mix.
A) price
B) production
C) product
D) distribution
E) target market

Accepted Answer

Apple changed the price element of the marketing mix,which is often the quickest element to change.

Question 6

General Motors Corporation has a goal of launching an electric vehicle soon.The car has been in test-drives,and GM is in the process of working out any bugs that may occur.GM also is in the process of working toward mass production of the vehicle.The company is in which stage of the marketing plan?
A) Product planning
B) Mechanistic organization
C) Synergistic control
D) Strategic diversification
E) Implementation

Accepted Answer

GM is turning its marketing plan into action,so the company is in the implementation stage.

Question 7

DeFeet International
DeFeet International started as a cyclist sock company. The founder, Shane Cooper, said that the existing socks for cyclists were just not of great quality, so he made socks for his cycling team by knitting them inside out. The socks were of special materials aimed at giving the cyclist the most comfortable fit. These socks were not the traditional white socks but were bright, bold, and flashy colored socks with cool graphics. These high-tech socks were priced around $10 a pair. Their Web site says "DeFeet Is Made for Driven Soles." Soon, cycling elites like Lance Armstrong and Greg LeMond were sporting the DeFeet brand. The company branched into running, hiking, and snow gear. Products include socks, armskins, calfskins, boxer briefs, gloves, and shirts for the serious athlete. DeFeet has a custom department where socks, armskins, and gloves can be personalized with any motif, including sponsor types of logos like Michelin, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or BP. Even kids can enjoy DeFeet's high-quality socks. DeFeet's products can be found in retailers across the world--in more than 20 countries like Israel, Australia, Belgium, and the United States. More than two dozen online retailers also carry DeFeet products.
-Refer to DeFeet International.If you were to define DeFeet's mission,which would be most appropriate?
A) DeFeet makes socks.
B) DeFeet makes clothes for athletes.
C) DeFeet creates high-tech products for the serious athlete.
D) DeFeet provides the highest-quality apparel for customers who demand the best.
E) DeFeet covers the world.

Accepted Answer

The mission statement should not be so broad as answer E,as "covers" could be blankets or car covers.Yet answers A,B,and C would limit DeFeet's business to socks,clothes,and athletic products.From the discussion above,we know that DeFeet products are made for kids,corporate sponsors,and athletes,so answer D would be the best choice.

Question 8

For the first several years it was available,Apple's iPhone could only be purchased through AT&T cell phone distributors and the Apple retail store.This limitation on the _____ element of its marketing mix supported the product's competitive advantage.
A) planning
B) product
C) promotion
D) distribution
E) production

Accepted Answer

Distribution strategies make products available when and where customers want them.

Question 9

There is an overabundance of apartments in Atlanta.Post Properties,the owner of many of the metropolitan area's largest apartment complexes,has reduced its rent so it can fill vacant apartments.Which marketing mix element did Post change to create more demand for its apartments?
A) Production
B) Personnel
C) Distribution
D) Product
E) Price

Accepted Answer

The firm tried to increase demand by altering its pricing strategies.This is often the only element of the marketing mix that is capable of quick and easy change.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about marketing audits is true?
A) Marketing audits only need to be performed once.
B) The main purpose of the marketing audit is to develop a full profile of a company's marketing effort.
C) Marketing audits are only necessary after a major crisis.
D) Marketing audits simply examine the external environment in which a company operates.
E) The marketing audit should only be performed by outside accounting firms.

Accepted Answer

Marketing audits should be performed periodically by an inside or outside party who is independent enough to have top management's confidence and has the ability to be objective.Marketing audits examine all facets of an organization's internal and external marketing environments.

Question 11

_____ is the process that turns a marketing plan into action assignments and ensures that these assignments are executed in a way that accomplishes the plan's objectives.
A) Mechanistic control
B) Strategic analysis
C) Implementation
D) Strategic planning
E) Strategic design

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of implementation.

Question 12

Which of the marketing mix elements is often the most flexible?
A) Product
B) Promotion
C) Publicity
D) Place
E) Pricing

Accepted Answer

The only element that is often subject to quick and easy change is price.

Question 13

SoBe nutritional beverages uses twin lizards on every bottle of its products and in all of its promotion efforts.It even has its own Team Lizard made up of skateboarders,mountain bike riders,and in-line skaters that it sponsors.The lizard is used to remind consumers of the product and its benefits.To which of the four Ps does this represent?
A) Promotion
B) Price
C) Publicity
D) Place
E) Product

Accepted Answer

Promotion covers a wide range of communication vehicles.

Question 14

DeFeet International
DeFeet International started as a cyclist sock company. The founder, Shane Cooper, said that the existing socks for cyclists were just not of great quality, so he made socks for his cycling team by knitting them inside out. The socks were of special materials aimed at giving the cyclist the most comfortable fit. These socks were not the traditional white socks but were bright, bold, and flashy colored socks with cool graphics. These high-tech socks were priced around $10 a pair. Their Web site says "DeFeet Is Made for Driven Soles." Soon, cycling elites like Lance Armstrong and Greg LeMond were sporting the DeFeet brand. The company branched into running, hiking, and snow gear. Products include socks, armskins, calfskins, boxer briefs, gloves, and shirts for the serious athlete. DeFeet has a custom department where socks, armskins, and gloves can be personalized with any motif, including sponsor types of logos like Michelin, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or BP. Even kids can enjoy DeFeet's high-quality socks. DeFeet's products can be found in retailers across the world--in more than 20 countries like Israel, Australia, Belgium, and the United States. More than two dozen online retailers also carry DeFeet products.
-Refer to DeFeet International.What kind of competitive advantage would you say DeFeet has?
A) Low cost
B) Niche
C) Product/service differentiation
D) Product development
E) Diversification

Accepted Answer

A product/service differentiation competitive advantage exists when a firm provides something unique and valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a low price.DeFeet has high-tech apparel for a variety of target groups and is not a low-cost provider,so answer C would be the best choice.

Question 15

_____ is the process of gauging the extent to which marketing objectives have been achieved during the specified time period.
A) Implementation
B) Control
C) Heuristic measurement
D) Evaluation
E) Mechanistic compliance

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of evaluation.

Question 16

_____ provides the mechanisms for evaluating marketing results in light of the plan's objectives and for correcting actions that do not help the organization reach those objectives within the budget guidelines.
A) Control
B) Implementation
C) Reengineering
D) Planning
E) Budgeting

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of control.

Question 17

What is the most critical element in successful strategic planning?
A) Creativity
B) Top management support and participation
C) Continual attention
D) The use of a BCG portfolio matrix
E) A stringent and narrow mission statement

Accepted Answer

Effective strategic planning requires continual attention,creativity,and management commitment.However,the most critical element is top management's support and participation.

Question 18

All of the following are common reasons why companies fail to achieve a marketing objective EXCEPT:
A) unrealistic marketing objectives
B) poor implementation
C) plan not formalized
D) inappropriate marketing strategies
E) changes in the environment after the objective was specified and the strategy was implemented

Accepted Answer

Even a formalized plan can fail.

Question 19

Le Feast is a catering company that has developed a marketing plan designed to make it the largest caterer in the country within the next two decades.Which of the following will be useful to the company to evaluate how successful its efforts have been at the end of the first decade?
A) SWOT analysis
B) Environmental scan
C) Competitive analysis
D) Marketing audit
E) Comprehension sales analysis

Accepted Answer

A market audit is a thorough,systematic,periodic evaluation of the objectives,strategies,structure,and performance of the marketing organization.

Question 20

A marketing audit is a(n):
A) thorough, systematic, periodic evaluation of the objectives, strategies, structure, and performance of the marketing organization
B) financial examination of the firm's marketing performance
C) financial examination of the firm's accounting records performed by outside consultants
D) evaluation of the effectiveness of advertising
E) evaluation of pricing strategies across all the relevant competitors in an industry

Accepted Answer

This is the definition of a marketing audit.

Quiz 3: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

A planning manager visiting a company's health and beauty aids division discovers the division has no effective method for allocating resources,nor for evaluating actual results against planned results.His suggestion to the division would likely be to prepare a:

Compass is a United Kingdom-based catering company that has developed a marketing plan designed to make it the largest caterer in China within the next two decades.As part of _____,it has already begun serving meals on trains that run between Shanghai and Beijing.

An international company that needs to develop a way to compare its actual marketing results with planned results must engage in:

Apple,Inc.is now offering the iPhone 3G for half its original price.This new strategy reflects a change in the _____ element of its marketing mix.

General Motors Corporation has a goal of launching an electric vehicle soon.The car has been in test-drives,and GM is in the process of working out any bugs that may occur.GM also is in the process of working toward mass production of the vehicle.The company is in which stage of the marketing plan?

For the first several years it was available,Apple's iPhone could only be purchased through AT&T cell phone distributors and the Apple retail store.This limitation on the _____ element of its marketing mix supported the product's competitive advantage.

There is an overabundance of apartments in Atlanta.Post Properties,the owner of many of the metropolitan area's largest apartment complexes,has reduced its rent so it can fill vacant apartments.Which marketing mix element did Post change to create more demand for its apartments?

Which of the following statements about marketing audits is true?

_____ is the process that turns a marketing plan into action assignments and ensures that these assignments are executed in a way that accomplishes the plan's objectives.

Which of the marketing mix elements is often the most flexible?

_____ is the process of gauging the extent to which marketing objectives have been achieved during the specified time period.

_____ provides the mechanisms for evaluating marketing results in light of the plan's objectives and for correcting actions that do not help the organization reach those objectives within the budget guidelines.

What is the most critical element in successful strategic planning?

All of the following are common reasons why companies fail to achieve a marketing objective EXCEPT:

Le Feast is a catering company that has developed a marketing plan designed to make it the largest caterer in the country within the next two decades.Which of the following will be useful to the company to evaluate how successful its efforts have been at the end of the first decade?

A marketing audit is a(n) :