Marketing Questions
Gathering Information and Scanning the Environment
GENERAL CONCEPT QUESTIONS
Multiple Choice
1. The major responsibility for identifying significant marketplace changes falls to the ________.
a. U.S. Department of Labor
b. company’s marketers
c. American Marketing Association
d. industry lobby groups found in Washington, D.C.
e. marketing research industry
2. Marketers have extensive information about how consumption patterns vary across countries. On a per capita basis within Western Europe, the ________ smoke the most cigarettes.
a. Swiss
b. Greeks
c. Irish
d. Austrians
e. French
3. All of the following questions EXCEPT ________, would be considered to be forms of information needs probes.
a. What decisions do you regularly make?
b. What information do you need to make decisions?
c. What data analysis programs would you want?
d. What magazines and trade reports would you like to see on a regular basis?
e. What products would be most closely matched to consumer needs?
4. ________ consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers.
a. A marketing information system
b. A marketing research system
c. A marketing intelligence system
d. A promotional campaign
e. A marketing database
5. The company’s marketing information system should be a cross between what managers think they need, what managers really need, and ________.
a. what the marketing research department is able to do
b. what consumers are willing to share
c. what the competition is doing
d. what is acceptable industry practice
e. what is economically feasible
6. Marketing managers rely on internal reports. By analyzing this information, they can spot ________.
a. micro-markets
b. opportunities and problems
c. macro-markets
d. competitive strategies
e. consumer demographic units
7. The heart of the internal records system is the ________.
a. database
b. asset acquisition process
c. order-to-payment cycle
d. service consideration
e. information liquidity ratio
8. When a marketer “mines” his or her company’s database, fresh insights can be gained into neglected customer segments, ________, and other useful information.
a. recent customer trends
b. long-term competitive trends
c. possible new inventions
d. possible new technologies
e. new primary data possibilities
9. The internal records system supplies resultsdata, but the marketing intelligence system supplies ________ data.
a. concurrent
b. secondary
c. research
d. happenings
e. premium
10. A ________ is a set of procedures and sources managers use to obtain everyday information about developments in the marketing environment.
a. marketing research system
b. marketing information system
c. product management system
d. marketing intelligence system
e. vertical system
11. A company can take several steps to improve the quality of its marketing intelligence. If the company purchases competitive products for study, attends open houses and trade shows, and reads competitors’ published reports and stockholder information, the company is using ________ to improve the quality of its marketing intelligence.
a. sales force surrogates
b. intermediaries
c. external networks
d. advisory panels
e. customer feedback systems
12. All of the following would be considered to be steps to improve the quality of marketing intelligence in a company EXCEPT ________.
a. a company can train and motivate the sales force to spot and report new developments
b. a company can use guerrilla tactics such as going through a competitor’s trash
c. a company can motivate intermediaries to pass along important information
d. a company can network externally
e. a company can purchase information from outside suppliers
13. The 2000 U.S. census provides an in-depth look at the population swings, demographic groups, regional migrations, and changing family structure of 281+ million people. Which of the following steps to improve the quality of company marketing intelligence system would be most closely associated the above illustration?
a. A company can purchase information from outside suppliers.
b. A company can take advantage of government data sources.
c. A company can use online customer feedback systems to collect data.
d. A company can network externally.
e. A company can use its sales force to collect and report data.
14. There are four main ways that marketers can find relevant online information on competitors’ products and weaknesses, and summary comments and overall performance rating of a product, service, or supplier. ________ is(are) a type of site that is concentrated in financial services and high-tech products that require professional knowledge.
a. Independent customer goods and service reviews
b. Distributor or sales agent feedback sites
c. Combo-sites offering customer reviews and expert opinions
d. Customer complaint sites
e. Shopping bot service sites
15. A ________ is “unpredictable, short-lived, and without social, economic, and political significance.”
a. fad
b. fashion
c. trend
d. megatrend
e. style
16. A ________ is a direction or sequence of events that has some momentum and durability; the shape of the future is revealed and many opportunities are provided.
a. fad
b. fashion
c. trend
d. megatrend
e. style
17. ________ have been described as “large social, economic, political and technological changes [that] are slow to form, and once in place, they influence us for some time—between seven and ten years, or longer.
a. Fads
b. Fashions
c. Trends
d. Megatrends
e. Styles
18. Which of the following minority groups in the United States has been associated with one of the ten megatrends shaping the consumer landscape?
a. African Americans
b. Asian Americans
c. European Americans
d. Hispanic Americans
e. Middle Eastern Americans
19. The beginning of the new century brought a series of new challenges. All of the following would be considered to be among those challenges EXCEPT ________.
a. a deterioration of innovative ideas
b. steep decline of the stock market
c. increasing unemployment
d. corporate scandals
e. the rise of terrorism
20. With the rapidly changing global picture, the firm must monitor six major forces. All of the following would be among those forces EXCEPT ________.
a. demographic
b. economic
c. social-cultural
d. natural
e. promotional
21. The main demographic force that marketers monitor is(are) ________.
a. suppliers
b. competitors
c. communication (such as advertising)
d. government reports dealing with birth rates
e. population
22. The population explosion has been a source of major concern. Unchecked population growth and consumption could eventually result in all of the following EXCEPT ________.
a. insufficient food supply
b. depletion of key minerals
c. overcrowding
d. restrictions on competition
e. pollution
23. One impact of explosive population growth is illustrated by the case of China. The Chinese government passed regulations limiting families to one child. One consequence of these regulations is that ________.
a. the children are so fussed over and spoiled that they become “little emperors”
b. school enrollments are dropping
c. the fledgling automotive business in China will not have customers in a few years
d. open rebellion is being preached
e. “child-oriented businesses” have few customers
24. A significant fact about population growth and population shifts is that in 2004 or 2005, ________.
a. the youth market will exceed that of the adult market
b. people over the age of 60 will outnumber those under five years of age
c. baby boomers will be eclipsed by Gen X young adults
d. most age group segments will be about equal
e. Gen Y young adults will surpass the baby boomers as the largest age segment
25. Which of the following age groups is thought to control three-quarters of the country’s wealth?
a. 0–20 age segment
b. 60+ age segment
c. 20–30 age segment
d. 30–40 age segment
e. 40+ age segment
26. At one time the United States was called a “melting pot” society because of the number of different cultures that were integrated into the U.S. culture. Today, the United States is described as a ________ society because many ethnic groups are maintaining their ethnic differences, neighborhoods, and cultures.
a. “boiling pot”
b. “salad bowl”
c. “banana split”
d. “doubled up”
e. “non-communicative”
27. According to the 2000 census, the U.S. population of 276.2 million was 72 percent white and ________ percent African American. The remainder consisted of Hispanic Americans and other minorities.
a. 20
b. 18
c. 15
d. 13
e. 11
28. Diversity goes beyond ethnic and racial markets. More than ________ million Americans have disabilities, and they constitute a market for home delivery companies (and others).
a. 50
b. 40
c. 30
d. 20
e. 10
29. Which of the following countries is known for having 99 percent of its population literate?
a. England
b. Germany
c. France
d. United States
e. Japan
30. The ________ household consists of a husband, wife, and children (and sometimes grandparents).
a. “traditional”
b. “extended”
c. “diversity”
d. “modern”
e. “revised”
31. Married couple households—the dominant cohort since the formulation of the United States—has slipped from nearly 80 percent in the 1950s to around ________ percent today.
a. 70
b. 60
c. 50
d. 40
e. 35
32. The twenty-first century saw ________ markets grow more rapidly again due to a higher birth rate, a lower death rate, and rapid growth from foreign immigration.
a. suburban
b. urban
c. rural
d. coastal
e. secondary
33. The movement by population to the ________ has lessened the demand for warm clothing and home heating equipment and increased demand for air conditioning.
a. Grainbelt
b. Pacific Northwest
c. Sunbelt
d. Mid-Coastal areas
e. Heartland
34. Marketers look at where consumers are gathering. Almost one in ________ people over the age of five (120 million) moved at least one time between 1995 and 2000, according to a Census 2000 brief.
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five
e. ten
35. In which of the following economies would we expect to find few opportunities for marketers?
a. Industrializing economies.
b. Land-locked economies.
c. Raw-material-exporting economies.
d. Industrial economies.
e. Subsistence economies.
36. According to information presented in the text, which of the following countries is surprisingly a very good market for Lamborghini automobiles (costing more than $150,000) because of the number of wealthy families that can afford expensive cars.
a. Greece
b. Switzerland
c. Holland
d. Russia
e. Portugal
37. Over the past three decades in the United States, the rich have grown richer and the middle class has ________.
a. stayed about the same
b. shrunk
c. increased slightly
d. matched the rich in terms of relative growth
e. been ignored because of problems with the poorer classes
38. ________ shapes the beliefs, values, and norms that largely define the tastes and preferences.
a. Marketing
b. The mass media
c. Government
d. Production innovation and engineering
e. Society
39. If a consumer lives the lifestyle of a “pleasure seeker” or goes on a “self-realization” quest, he or she is expressing what is called ________.
a. views of others
b. views of society
c. views of themselves
d. views of organizations
e. views of the universe
40. According to the information found in the social-cultural environment, with respect to views of others, ________ are considered to be things that allow people who are alone to feel they are not (e.g., television, home video games, and chat rooms on the Internet).
a. social surrogates
b. subliminal fantasies
c. relationship avoidance
d. primary products
e. secondary products
41. Today, corporations need to make sure that they are good corporate citizens and that their consumer messages are honest. Such a view would be consistent with which of the following views?
a. Views of others.
b. Views of organizations.
c. Views of themselves.
d. Views of the universe.
e. Views of society.
42. People vary in their attitudes toward their society. ________ usually live more frugally, drive smaller cars, and wear simpler clothing.
a. Makers
b. Escapers
c. Seekers
d. Changers
e. Developers
43. People vary in their attitudes toward society and react accordingly. ________ are a major market for movies, music, surfing, and camping.
a. Makers
b. Preservers
c. Escapers
d. Changers
e. Developers
44. All of the following have been cited by the text as being among Americans’ core values EXCEPT ________.
a. they believe in work
b. they believe in getting married
c. they believe in giving to charity
d. they believe in being honest
e. they believe in sexual permissiveness
45. Which of the following would be the best illustration of a secondary belief or value?
a. Belief in work.
b. Belief in giving to charity.
c. Belief in getting married.
d. Belief in getting married early.
e. Belief in being honest.
46. Which of the following is by far the most popular American leisure activity in that it is preferred by 59 percent of adults who participate in such activities?
a. Gardening.
b. Walking for exercise.
c. Swimming.
d. Photography.
e. Jogging or running.
47. Each society contains ________, groups with shared values emerging from their special life experiences or circumstances.
a. demographic segments
b. cliques
c. consumer bundles
d. subcultures
e. behavioral niches
48. Which of the following would be the best illustration of a subculture?
a. A softball team.
b. A university alumni association.
c. Teenagers.
d. A Boy Scout troop.
e. Frequent flyers.
49. All of the following EXCEPT ________ have been found to influence young people today and cause a shift of secondary cores values for this group.
a. U2’s Bono.
b. Elvis Presley.
c. The NBA’s LeBron James.
d. Golf’s Tiger Woods.
e. Skateboarder Tony Hawk.
50. Although core values are fairly persistent, cultural swings do take place. ________ caused such a swing in the 1960s.
a. Ford Motor Company
b. George McGovern
c. G.I. Joe action characters
d. The infomercial
e. The Beatles
51. Marketers need to be aware of threats and opportunities associated with four trends in the natural environment. All of the following are among those trends EXCEPT ________.
a. the shortage of raw materials
b. the increased cost of energy
c. near 90 percent corporate support for “green causes”
d. increased pollution levels
e. the changing role of governments
52.With respect to the shortage of raw materials, air and water are classified as ________ resources. However, as we know, problems are beginning to plague both our air and water quality.
a. infinite
b. near finite
c. finite renewable
d. finite nonrenewable
e. absolute
53.One finite nonrenewable resource, ________, has created serious problems for the world economy. Because of anticipated shortages, investment and commodity markets have had wild swings.
a. water
b. air
c. sugar
d. coffee
e. oil
54. From a branding perspective, “green marketing” programs have not been entirely successful. ________ has been cited as one of the obstacles that must be overcome for “green marketing” programs to be more successful.
a. Overexposure and lack of credibility
b. High cost
c. Poor promotions
d. Resistance by the youth segment in the marketplace
e. Lack of support by governmental agencies and concerns
55. Which of the following countries is noted for their “green movement” and support within its government for environmental quality enhancement?
a. Mexico
b. China
c. Germany
d. England
e. Italy
56. The marketer should monitor the following trends in technology, EXCEPT ________, if progress is to be made in business.
a. the pace of change
b. the difficulties found in sharing information
c. the opportunities for innovation
d. varying R&D budgets
e. increased regulation
57. According to some industry analysts and inventors, ________ will eventually eclipse the PC as our most important technological device.
a. iPod
b. HDTV
c. holographic television
d. the mobile phone
e. solar-powered car
58. All of the following will most likely be among the advantages for a society that embraces telecommuting as an employment/communication alternative EXCEPT ________.
a. reduction of auto pollution
b. bringing the family closer together
c. increased bonuses and compensation perks
d. creating more home-centered shopping
e. entertainment centered on the home environment
59. ________ legislation has as its purposes to protect companies from unfair competition, to protect consumers from unfair business practices, and to protect the interests of society from unbridled business behavior.
a. Business
b. Consumer
c. Bi-partisan
d. Activist
e. Global
60. An important force affecting business is the ________—a movement of citizens and government organized to strengthen the rights and powers of buyers in relation to sellers.
a. lobbyist movement
b. consumerist movement
c. environmental movement
d. self-rights movement
e. ethical reform movement