Certified Marketing Management Specialist (CMMS) Review Flashcards

Flashcard study set covering core principles, frameworks, and vocabulary from the CMMS 2026 handbook.

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), what is the definition of marketing?

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

What five conditions must exist for an exchange to take place?

1. There must be at least two parties.
2. Each party has something that might be of value to the other party.
3. Each party is capable of communication and delivery.
4. Each party is free to accept or reject the exchange offer.
5. Each party believes it is appropriate or desirable to deal with the other party.

What is the main focus of a production orientation management philosophy?

A production orientation focuses on the internal capabilities of the firm rather than on the desires and needs of the marketplace.

What is the core belief underlying a sales orientation?

A sales orientation is based on the belief that people will buy more goods and services if aggressive sales techniques are used and that high sales result in high profits.

What is the core premise of the marketing concept in a market orientation?

It states that the social and economic justification for an organization's existence is the satisfaction of customer wants and needs while meeting organizational objectives.

How does a societal marketing orientation extend the marketing concept?

It acknowledges that some customer-wanted products may not be in their best interests or society's long-term best interests, stating that an organization must preserve or enhance individuals' and society's long-term best interests.

How is customer value defined in marketing?

Customer value is the relationship between benefits and the sacrifice necessary to obtain those benefits.

What are the four basic categories of customer needs identified in the sales and market orientation comparison?

1. Functional (saving time, reducing risk/effort)
2. Emotional (reducing anxiety, fun, aesthetics)
3. Life-Changing (providing hope, motivation, self-actualization)
4. Social Impact (self-transcendence, giving back)

What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is the managerial process of creating and maintaining a fit between the organization's objectives and resources and the evolving market opportunities.

What are the key characteristics of a Strategic Business Unit (SBU)?

1. A distinct mission and a specific target market
2. Control over its resources
3. Its own competitors
4. A single business or a collection of related businesses
5. Plans independent of the other SBUs in the total organization

What are the four strategic alternatives in Ansoff's strategic opportunity matrix?

1. Market penetration (increase market share among existing customers)
2. Market development (attract new customers to existing products)
3. Product development (create new products for present markets)
4. Diversification (introduce new products into new markets)

What three levels of innovation are outlined in the Innovation Matrix?

1. Core Innovation (changes using existing assets to serve existing customers)
2. Adjacent Innovation (taking company strengths into new markets)
3. Transformational Innovation (creating brand-new markets, products, and businesses)

What dimensions are used in the General Electric Model to evaluate strategic options?

Market Attractiveness (vertical axis) and Business Position (horizontal axis).

What are the three types of competitive advantage?

1. Cost competitive advantage
2. Product/service differentiation competitive advantage
3. Niche competitive advantage

What is a market opportunity analysis (MOA)?

The description and estimation of the size and sales potential of market segments that are of interest to the firm and the assessment of key competitors in these market segments.

How are owned, earned, and paid media defined in digital marketing?

Owned media includes brand-controlled channels (websites, social profiles, blogs). Earned media is word-of-mouth or buzz created online (viral videos, retweets, reviews). Paid media includes paid advertising efforts (display ads, paid search, sponsored posts).

What is crowdsourcing in marketing?

Crowdsourcing is using the input of many people to make decisions, develop products, or design marketing campaigns that were traditionally based on the input of only a few.

What seven types of social media users are identified by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff?

1. Creators
2. Conversationalists
3. Critics
4. Collectors
5. Joiners
6. Spectators
7. Inactives

What are the five stages of the Consumer Decision-Making Process Model?

1. Need Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation of Alternatives
4. Purchase Decision
5. Post-Purchase Behavior

What are the three main types of consumer buying decisions based on involvement and effort?

1. Routine Response Behavior
2. Limited Decision Making
3. Extensive Decision Making

What are the four major types of business markets in B2B marketing?

1. Industrial Markets
2. Reseller Markets
3. Government Markets
4. Institutional Markets

What roles constitute a Buying Center in B2B purchasing decisions?

Initiators, Influencers, Deciders, Buyers, and Users.

What are the four primary market targeting strategies?

1. Undifferentiated (Mass Marketing)
2. Differentiated (Segmented) Marketing
3. Concentrated (Niche) Marketing
4. Micromarketing (Personalized Marketing)

What is the key difference between descriptive research and causal research?

Descriptive research aims to describe the characteristics of a population or phenomenon ('what is'), whereas causal research determines cause-and-effect relationships between variables ('why and how').

What are the three levels of a product concept?

1. Core Product (fundamental benefit or service)
2. Actual Product (tangible features, design, brand, packaging)
3. Augmented Product (additional services and benefits like support and warranty)

What are the four categories of consumer products?

1. Convenience Products
2. Shopping Products
3. Specialty Products
4. Unsought Products

What are the four stages of the Product Life Cycle (PLC)?

1. Introduction Stage
2. Growth Stage
3. Maturity Stage
4. Decline Stage

How does the BCG Matrix classify products based on market growth and market share?

1. Stars (High market share, high growth)
2. Cash Cows (High market share, low growth)
3. Question Marks (Low market share, high growth)
4. Dogs (Low market share, low growth)

What are the four unique characteristics of services?

1. Intangibility
2. Inseparability
3. Variability
4. Perishability

What elements make up the 7 Ps of Service Marketing?

Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Evidence.

What five key dimensions are measured using the SERVQUAL model?

1. Reliability
2. Assurance
3. Tangibles
4. Empathy
5. Responsiveness

What is keystoning in pricing?

Keystoning is the practice of marking up prices by $100\%$ or doubling the cost.

How is Return on Investment (ROI) calculated?

$$\text{Return on Investment (ROI)} = \frac{\text{Net profit after taxes}}{\text{Total assets}}$$

What is predatory pricing?

Predatory pricing is the practice of charging a very low price for a product with the intent of driving competitors out of business or out of a market.

What is price skimming?

Price skimming is a pricing policy where a firm charges a high introductory price, often coupled with heavy promotion, before gradually lowering it as competition increases.