WGU D373 Marketing in the Digital Era D373 OA ACTUAL exam: QUESTION AND ANSWERS UPDATED 2026 LATEST

Target customers

Customers based on a predefined geographic boundary

Market segmentation

Dividing a market through variables such as age, gender, education level, family size, occupation, income, and more

Psychographic

Focus on the intrinsic traits the target customer has, such as values, personalities, interests, attitudes, conscious and subconscious motivators, lifestyles, and opinions

Behavioral

The way customers go through their decision making and buying processes, including attitudes towards the brand, the way they use it, and their knowledge base

What is marketing?

The set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offers that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society

Marketing Coordinator

Entry-level marketing position responsible for planning, executing, and managing a variety of functions to deliver value to the customer and the organization (1-3 years).

Marketing Director

Mid-level marketing position responsible for planning, executing, and managing a variety of functions to deliver value to the customer and the organization, with 7-10 years of experience

Vice President

Senior-level marketing position responsible for planning, executing, and managing a variety of functions to deliver value to the customer and the organization, with 11-15 years of experience

Chief Marketing Officer

Top-level marketing position responsible for planning, executing, and managing a variety of functions to deliver value to the customer and the organization, with 20+ years of experience

Who is responsible for ROI? (return on investments)

Chief marketing officer

What is the traditional marketing mix?

Product, price, place, promotion

What is the expanded marketing mix?

Product, price, place, promotion people,process, physical evidence

Strategy

Represents what the company intends to do

Execution

Represents how the company intends to do it

Prospects

Potential customers who haven't bought from the company yet

Customers

People who have bought from the company

Positioning

The culmination of the products, services, and experiences that a brand provides to convey value and meet customer wants, needs, and expectations

Conflict

Occurs when different companies or competitors have conflicting goals

Buyer's Journey

The process a buyer goes through from recognizing a need or opportunity to making a purchase decision and evaluating the post-purchase experience

Brand

An identifiable and differentiated product, service, person, movement, etc.

Brand promise

What a brand promises to deliver to a customer

Brand awareness

Awareness of the existence of a brand

Brand positioning

The unique place the brand occupies in the consumer's mind, linked to benefits received

Brand relevance

Occurs when there is only one relevant choice, making all other brands irrelevant

Brand purpose

The reason the brand exists, goes beyond just selling

Brand storytelling

Expressing the mission, vision, values, and passion of a brand through a narrative that draws in the audience

Brand differentiation

How a brand or brand family is delineated, including line extension, brand extension, flanker brands, down market and up market extensions, co-branding, etc.

Brand experience

The totality and quality of the interactions and engagements a customer has with a company, informing their perception and opinion of the brand

Purchase decision

Factors influencing a customer's decision to purchase a product or service, including loyalty and rewards, ordering ease and convenience, user experience, interaction, transparency, and purpose

Demographics

Variables such as age, gender, education level, family size, occupation, income, etc.

Psychographics

Intrinsic traits of a target customer, such as values, personalities, interests, attitudes, conscious and subconscious motivators, lifestyles, and opinions

Lifestyle

The way a person lives and behaves, including their activities, interests, and opinions

AIO

Activity, interest, and opinion - factors used in psychographic segmentation

Buying process

The process a business goes through when making a purchase, including the buying center, influencers, decision makers, buyers, and gatekeepers

Persona

A semi-fictional representation of an ideal customer

What is Ingredient branding?

a Brand features Another brand in its product

Why do we buy?

Functional, habitual, cost, emotional, social, self expressive benefits

What is an upmarket extension?

Involves introducing a brand at a higher price point

What is equal pay cobranding?

Both brands are featured prominently

What is sponsorship branding?

Two or more brands sponsor an event such as sports for shared exposure and goodwill

Consumer buying process

Recognize problem, information, search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, purchase, post purchase evaluation.

What is a line extension?

Add a new product to an existing line

What is a Brand extension?

When a brand is extend it to a completely new product category.

What is a flanker brand?

When a company already offering a brand in that product market introduces a new brand to serve a different segment of that market.

What is a down market extension?

The companies introducing a Brand target at an audience, looking for a lower price point

What is a holistic marketing concept?

Looks at the interconnectedness between marketing and other aspects and departments of the business.

What is a societal marketing concept?

Looks at the benefit of the product or service to society as a whole noches the individual consumer.

What is a marketing concept?

Focused on meeting the needs and wants of the market and seek feedback from the market

What is a production concept?

Companies using this concept believe that success comes from making products that are readily available in highly affordable

What is a product concept?

Focuses on efficient and cost-effective mass production profits primarily from a low cost unit

What is a Selling concept?

That left alone consumers will not buy and need to be pushed to purchase through more aggressive, promotional efforts

What is channel conflict?

This occurs when the same or competing channels have conflicting goals

What is customer experience?

The totality and quality of the interactions and engagement. A customer has with a company there by informing the perception in opinion of the brand.

What is the buyers journey?

The buyers journey includes the awareness, stage consideration stage and decision stage

What is the business buying process?

Recognize problem, opportunity, conduct information, church on products and suppliers, develop need specifications document, request for proposals from vendors, vendor, selection, performance review.

What are the roles in the business buying center?

Includes users, influencers, decision, makers, buyers, and gatekeepers

What is a user

Users are those who use the product often initiate the purchase and provide post. Purchase feedback.

What is an influencer?

Influencers are those who developed the specifications and RFPs they also evaluate alternative products

What is a decision maker?

Decision makers are often those that have the power to make the final purchase decision. They are typically mid-level or upper management.

What is a gatekeeper?

Those that control the flow of information to and from the buying group. They might include administrative or tech personal.

What is a product?

What the buyers getting in the exchange with the seller

What is a core benefit?

The core benefit represents the fundamental need met buy the product

What is a generic product?

A simplified version of the product providing only the basic features for functionality. This is also known as the minimum viable product.

What is an expected product?

The expected product takes the generic product up a notch and includes features that most buyers expect when making a purchase.

What is an augmented product?

The augmented product includes additional features when differentiate it from competitors.

What is a potential product?

The potential proud of represent the future version of the product as companies consider opportunities to fuel growth

What is product management?

Product managers design, and develop products

What is product marketing?

Product marketers, stimulate demand through positioning messaging, and the overall marketing strategy

Why do products fail?

It may be because the products benefits and value are difficult to convey. The product might be creating a new category and perspective. Buyers need to be educated. There are also instances where the product is marketed to the wrong target market or the product design is an adequate.

Why do we buy?

Customer perceived value, economic benefits, functional benefits, psychological benefits, and are also influenced by emotional or rational reason

How and where we buy?

Omni channel(purchasing can take place through multiple channels, online in-store, or both), social media, pop-ups, proud of drops, flash sales.

What is the Ansoff Matrix?

Looks at four possible combinations that fuel growth which include new markets, existing markets, existing products, and new products

What are porters five forces?

Threat of new entrance, bargaining, power of buyers, threat of substitute, products, and bargaining power of suppliers

What is a SWOT analysis?

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

How is product research conducted?

Sources of data, off-line research methods, online research methods.

What is the product development process?

Ideation, research, planning, prototyping, sourcing, costing, and production.

What is agile methodology?

Breaks development into shorter faces with redesign occurring continuously throughout the development process

What is minimum viable product?

Creation of a generic product with the intent of improving based on user feedback.

What are the stages of the product life cycle?

introduction, growth, maturity, decline

What are innovators

This represents the first 2.5% of the market to purchase the product. Innovators our product enthusiasts who enjoy being the first to try and master a new product

What are early adopters?

Early adopters are the next 13.5% of the market to purchase. These are product opinion leaders who seek out new products consistent with their personal self image. This group is not price sensitive and is willing to pay the price premium for a product.

What is the early majority?

This group is considered critical to long-term success as they take the product into the main stream. These buyers are product watchers, who want to be convinced of the products claims.

What are the late majority?

These buyers are product followers, who are price, sensitive and risk adverse. They purchase, older generation or discontinued models with lower prices, or fewer product features.

What are laggards?

This group makes up the last 16% of adopters. These are product of waiters and want to avoid adoption as long as possible. they are resistant to change.

What is a product line stretch?

The equivalent of adding new offerings, either up market down market or in both directions.

What is marketing communications?

How a company reaches and interact with perspective and existing customers to educate, inform and entertain.

What are the objectives of marketing communication?

Create awareness, elicit a response and stimulate the man leading to a purchase

What are integrated marketing communication tactics?

TV, press, releases, websites, direct mail, festivals, coupons, direct selling.

What is digital marketing?

Uses all digital media, including the Internet and mobile and interactive channels, to develop communication and exchanges with customers

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization

What is inbound marketing?

Pulling consumers to your brand, true value added content that is relevant, contextual, and personalized.

What is paid media?

Print advertising, partnerships, television, banners, radio, sponsorships, media deals, and paid search.

What is owned media?

Websites, SEO, apps etc

What is earned media?

Search engine optimization, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and forums

What is the awareness stage in a buyers journey?

Prospect is experiencing, and expressing symptoms of a problem or opportunity

What is the consideration stage any buyers journey?

Prospect is now clearly defined, and given name to their problem or opportunity

What is the decision stage in a buyers journey?

Prospect has now decided on their solution strategy, method or approach

What is the fly wheel concept?

This model developed by HubSpot is a tool designed to reinforce the importance of our existing customers in fueling growth

What is a creative brief?

An internal document, identifying the campaign strategy, the execution, in deliverables of the campaign, and responsible parties.

What is the ABLE framework?

Attention, benefit, linkage, and equity