Which segmentation variables does Home Depot appear to be using to reach consumer markets? Why are these appropriate?
> Discuss how the marketing concept contributes to company’s long-term success.
> How has New Belgium implemented the marketing concept?
> How does New Belgium’s focus on sustainability as a core value contribute to its corporate culture and success?
> How would you apply Dale Carnegie’s methods if you were trying to make a sale to a company with a large buying center?
> Which concerns of business customers should Dale Carnegie’s marketers pay close attention to when selling training services to a company like American Express?
> What function does an industrial classification system help marketers perform?
> What are the major components of a firm’s buying center?
> How does demand for business products differ from consumer demand?
> What has Kim Jordan done to create success at New Belgium?
> Why do buyers involved in straight rebuy purchases require less information than those making new-task purchases?
> List several characteristics that differentiate transactions involving business customers from consumer transactions.
> Identify the stages of the business buying decision process. How is this decision process used when making straight rebuys?
> What are the commonly used methods of business buying?
> What are the primary concerns of business customers?
> Why might business customers generally be considered more rational in their purchasing behavior than ultimate consumers?
> Identify, describe, and give examples of the four major types of business markets.
> How do environmental, business, interpersonal, and individual factors affect business purchases?
> Why is GE’s involvement with the Olympics a good way to show that the company understands the primary concerns of business customers?
> In which stage of the business buying decision process is GE’s reputation likely to have the most influence on a railroad that is considering the purchase of new locomotives?
> How can an organization implement the marketing concept?
> How does derived demand apply to the demand for passenger-jet engines? What are the implications for GE’s marketing efforts?
> Why would Starbucks want customers to know that it believes in social responsibility?
> In terms of situational influences and level of involvement, what are the benefits of mobile pay?
> With Evolution Fresh, which psychological influences on consumer buying decisions does Starbucks seem to be addressing?
> In what ways does social class affect a person’s purchase decisions?
> How does an opinion leader influence the buying decision process of reference group members?
> In what ways do lifestyles affect the consumer buying decision process?
> How do marketers attempt to shape consumers’ learning?
> What is consumer misbehavior? Describe the various forms of consumer misbehavior.
> What are reference groups? How do they influence buying behavior? Name some of your own reference groups.
> What is the focus of all marketing activities? Why?
> What are family influences, and how do they affect buying behavior?
> How do roles affect buying behavior? Provide examples.
> Why are marketers concerned about consumer attitudes?
> What is selective exposure? Why do people engage in it?
> What are the categories of situational factors that influence consumer buying behavior? Explain how each of these factors influences buyers’ decisions.
> Name the types of consumer decision-making processes. List some products you have bought using each type. Have you ever bought a product on impulse? If so, describe the circumstances.
> How does a consumer’s level of involvement affect his or her choice of decision-solving process?
> What are the major stages in the consumer buying decision process? Are all of these stages used in all consumer purchase decisions? Why or why not?
> What is culture? How does it affect a person’s buying behavior?
> Which situational influences on the buying decision process are particularly important to Disney’s marketing efforts?
> What is marketing? How did you define the term before you read this chapter?
> Which social influences on the buying decision process do Disney marketing activities take into account?
> Which psychological influences on the buying decision process does Disney address with its marketing efforts?
> What role do geographic variables play in Ski Butternut’s segmentation and targeting?
> How is Ski Butternut applying behavioristic variables in its segmentation strategy? Explain your answer.
> Of the four categories of variables, which seems to be most central to Ski Butternut’s segmentation strategy, and why?
> What hypothesis do you think the product designer formulated before he began researching how consumers use buckets? Do you agree with his decision to use observation rather than another method of collecting primary data? Why?
> Do you think Home Depot is segmenting the contractor market using only business variables or a combination of business and consumer variables? Explain your answer.
> Is Home Depot using differentiated targeting, undifferentiated targeting, or concentrated targeting? How do you know?
> What dimensions are used to segment business markets?
> Why is marketing important in our society? Why should you study marketing?
> Under what conditions might a firm use multiple forecasting methods?
> Under what conditions are market tests useful for sales forecasting? What are the advantages and disadvantages of market tests?
> What are the two primary types of surveys a company might use to forecast sales? Why would a company use an outside expert forecasting survey?
> What is a sales forecast? Why is it important?
> Why is selecting appropriate target markets important to an organization that wants to adopt the marketing concept philosophy?
> Why is a marketer concerned about sales potential when trying to select a target market?
> Describe the important factors that marketers should analyze to evaluate market segments.
> What is a market segment profile? Why is it an important step in the target market selection process?
> Define geodemographic segmentation. Identify several types of firms that might employ this type of market segmentation, and explain why.
> Identify and describe four major categories of variables which can be used to segment consumer markets. Give examples of product markets that are segmented by variables in each category.
> What is customer relationship management? Why is it so important to “manage” this relationship?
> List the differences between concentrated and differentiated strategies, and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each.
> What is market segmentation? Describe the basic conditions required for effective segmentation. Identify several firms that use market segmentation.
> What is an undifferentiated strategy? Under what conditions is it most useful? Describe a present market situation in which a company is using an undifferentiated strategy. Is the business successful? Why or why not?
> Outline the five major steps in the target market selection process.
> What is a market? What are the requirements for a market?
> Is Mattel using an undifferentiated, concentrated, or differentiated strategy for targeting? How do you know?
> What factors do you think were particularly influential in Mattel’s decision to select Hispanic-American mothers as a target market?
> Identify the categories of variables used by Mattel to segment the market for Max Steel action figures. Can you suggest additional variables that Mattel might use in this market?
> Why are Baby Boomers such a lucrative market?
> How have stores used marketing research findings to tailor their stores and products to appeal to Baby Boomers?
> What are the four variables of the marketing mix? Why are these elements known as variables?
> How has the marketing research process been used to understand how Baby Boomers shop and interact in stores?
> How does marketing research in other countries differ from marketing research in the United States?
> How can marketers use online services and the Internet to obtain information for decision making?
> What is big data? Why is it important to marketing research?
> Define a database. What is its purpose, and what does it include?
> If a survey of all homes with listed telephone numbers is conducted, what sampling design should be used?
> What is the difference between defining a research problem and developing a hypothesis?
> Describe the five steps in the marketing research process.
> What is a marketing information system, and what should it provide?
> Describe some marketing problems that could be solved through information gained from observation.
> Discuss the basic elements of the marketing concept. Which businesses in your area use this philosophy? Explain why.
> From a marketing perspective, why would people who work for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs be as interested in taking a Dale Carnegie course as people who work for American Express?
> What is corporate governance? Listed companies in some countries are required to disclose information about their corporate governance practices. Why might investors and analysts find such information useful?
> Why are forecasts of revenues and income relatively uncommon?
> From the perspective of a securities market regulator, is more required disclosure always better than less? Why or why not?
> What are the two broad objectives for investororiented markets? Which of these do you think is more important? Present reasons for your response.
> Do you expect to observe more or less voluntary disclosure by companies in emergingmarket countries than in developed countries? Why? Do you expect to observe more or less regulatory disclosure requirements in emerging-market countries than in developed
> What is triple-bottom-line reporting, and why is it a growing trend among large multinational corporations? There are now few requirements for this type of reporting. Is more regulation necessary? Why or why not?
> What is the difference between voluntary disclosure and mandatory disclosure? Provide at least two explanations for the differences in managers’ voluntary disclosure practices. Provide at least two explanations for the differences in managers’ mandatory
> Should foreign companies seeking to issue securities in the United States be required to disclose as much as U.S. companies issuing securities in the United States? Critically evaluate the arguments presented in this chapter.
> Tyler Poland is a stock picker responsible for recommending Mexican securities for his brokerage firm’s clients. He is often frustrated about the lack of credible information on companies in Mexico. “Everything is always so top secret,” he says. “Any tim
> O.J. Sanders works in the financial reporting section of a large U.S. pharmaceutical company. The company has recently committed to “go green” and O.J.’s boss wants to add some environmental disclosur
> Over time, national governments in many countries have sold shares in state-owned financial institutions to nongovernmental entities. Discuss how these privatizations might affect the capital markets as well as the accounting systems of these companies.
> The following are financial ratios used by analysts: • Liquidity: current ratio; cash flow from operations to current liabilities • Solvency: debt to equity; debt to assets • Profitability: return on
> Accounting standard setting in most countries involves a combination of private- and public-sector groups. The private sector includes the accounting profession and other groups affected by the financial reporting process, such as users and preparers of
> The following describes Chinese accounting in the late 1990s: Financial statements consist of the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in financial position (or cash flow statement), notes, and supporting schedules. Consolidated financia
