Chapter 3 - Analyzing the Marketing Environment

1) You are directed to study the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers-departments within the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer markets, competitors, and publics. What are you studying?
A) the macroenvironment
B) the microenvironment
C) the marketing environment
D) the demographic environment
E) the global environment

B

2) Which of the following terms is used to describe the factors and forces outside marketing that affect marketing management's ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers?
A) the marketing environment
B) the cultural environment
C) strategic planning
D) target markets
E) the marketing mix

A

3) You are directed to study the demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural factors that are larger societal forces affecting your company. What are you studying?
A) the macroenvironment
B) the microenvironment
C) the external environment
D) the marketing mix
E) the global environment

A

4) Which of the following is NOT a type of factor in a company's macroenvironment?
A) demographic
B) economic
C) technological
D) competitive
E) political

D

5) All of the groups within a company are called the ----- .
A) culture
B) diversity
C) internal environment
D) climate
E) range

C

6) Which type of organization helps companies to stock and move goods from their points of origin to their destination?
A) financial intermediaries
B) physical distribution firms
C) marketing services agencies
D) resellers
E) suppliers

B

7) Banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other businesses that help finance transactions or insure against the risks associated with the buying and selling of goods and services are referred to as ----- .
A) financial intermediaries
B) physical distribution firms
C) marketing services agencies
D) resellers
E) wholesalers

A

8) Currently, Diego Calabresa is employed by a firm that conducts marketing research and creates ads for other companies that help them target and promote their products to the right markets. Who is Diego's employer?
A) a financial intermediary
B) a physical distribution firm
C) a marketing service agency
D) a reseller
E) a green marketer

C

9) A ----- is defined as any group that has an actual or potential interest in, or impact on, an organization's ability to achieve its objectives.
A) team
B) competitor
C) market
D) public
E) intermediary

D

10) Which of the following is NOT an example of the type of public that is part of a company's marketing environment?
A) financial
B) media
C) government
D) citizen-action
E) marketing department

E

11) A radio station that carries news, features, and editorial opinions about your area is which type of public?
A) financial
B) media
C) citizen-action
D) local
E) government

B

12) A consumer organization, environmental group, or minority group has challenged your firm's stand on a local issue. Your firm is being challenged by a ----- public.
A) local
B) general
C) government
D) citizen-action
E) media

D

13) Workers, managers, and members of the board are all part of a company's ----- public.
A) general
B) internal
C) local
D) intermediary
E) market

B

14) Percy Original caters to a market of individuals and households that buys goods and services for personal consumption. Percy Original caters to a ----- market.
A) business
B) reseller
C) government
D) consumer
E) marketing intermediary

D

15) Which type of market buys goods and services for further processing or for use in the production process?
A) business
B) reseller
C) wholesale
D) consumer
E) retail

A

16) Which type of market buys goods and services to produce public services or to transfer them to others who need them?
A) government
B) reseller
C) wholesale
D) consumer
E) retail

A

17) Rachel Patino works for a wholesale company called Distributors Unlimited. She is responsible for buying and selling goods at a profit to small retailers. What is her market?
A) business
B) reseller
C) wholesale
D) consumer
E) retail

B

18) Your marketing department is currently researching the size, density, location, age, and occupations of your target market. Which environment is being researched?
A) demographic
B) psychographic
C) economic
D) geographic
E) cultural

A

19) The three largest generational groups in America are the baby boomers, Generation Xers, and ----- ----- .
A) seniors
B) Millennials
C) teens
D) tweens
E) toddlers

B

20) As a group, ----- _ are the most affluent Americans.
A) baby boomers
B) Generation Xers
C) the Millennials
D) echo boomers
E) seniors

A

21) Research has shown that the most important demographic trend in the United States is the ----- .
A) changing age structure of the population
B) mobility of families
C) slowing birth rate
D) increasing number of professional jobs
E) aging population

A

22) The youngest of the baby boomers are now in their ----- .
A) late 20s
B) mid-20s
C) mid-40s
D) early 50s
E) early 60s

C

23) Which of the following descriptions most accurately characterizes the baby boomers?
A) They are increasingly likely to retire early.
B) They are a shrinking market for new housing and home remodeling.
C) They are past their peak earning and spending years.
D) They hold 75% of the country's assets.
E) They are uninterested in adapting new technologies.

D

24) Which of the following descriptions most accurately characterizes Gen Xers?
A) There are more Gen Xers than Millennials.
B) They were the first generation of latchkey kids.
C) They grew up during times of great economic growth.
D) They are more interested in acquiring goods than having experiences.
E) They rarely research a product before purchasing it.

B

25) Which demographic group is also referred to as the echo boomers?
A) Generation X
B) Millennials
C) Generation Z
D) baby boomers
E) baby busters

B

26) Large tween and teen markets belong to which demographic group?
A) Generation X
B) Millennials
C) baby busters
D) baby boomers
E) Generation Z

B

27) Which of the following descriptions most accurately characterizes Millennials?
A) They are children of baby boomers.
B) They are less ethnically diverse than Gen Xers.
C) They have reached their peak earning and spending years.
D) They were once labeled "the MTV generation."
E) They have graduated from college and are taking over positions of power in the business world.

A

28) Which demographic group is characterized by a total fluency and comfort with computer, digital, and Internet technology?
A) Generation X
B) Millenials
C) the elderly
D) Generation Z
E) baby boomers

B

29) Which of the following demographic groups has NOT seen a percentage increase in the past 50 years?
A) women staying at home with their children
B) men staying at home with their children
C) nontraditional households
D) nonfamily households
E) women working outside of the home

A

30) Ameriprise Financial has published a Dream Book guide, one of the first steps in their Dream > Plan > Track approach to financial planning, as part of their strategy to attract ----- as customers.
A) baby boomers
B) Gen Xers
C) echo boomers
D) Millennials
E) professionals

A

31) "Dreams don't retire" is the theme of a(n) ----- marketing campaign aimed at baby boomers.
A) financial services
B) anti-aging products
C) travel and entertainment
D) fitness products
E) technological products

A

32) In 1950, women made up under 40 percent of the workforce; now they make up ----- percent.
A) 35
B) 40
C) 43
D) 46
E) 59

E

33) Which of the following is a trend that depicts the increasingly nontraditional nature of today's American family?
A) working women making up a smaller percentage of the workforce
B) the falling percentage of married couples with children
C) dual-income families declining in number
D) stay-at-home dads declining in number
E) the declining reliance on convenience foods and services

B

34) Over the past two decades, the U.S. population has shifted most heavily toward the ----- states.
A) Midwestern
B) Northern
C) Sunbelt
D) Southeastern
E) Northeastern

C

35) Which of the following geographical areas has NOT seen a recent population increase?
A) micropolitan areas
B) suburbs
C) the West
D) the Northeast
E) the South

D

36) In the 1950s, the American population began shifting from large cities to ----- .
A) farming communities
B) rural areas
C) foreign countries
D) suburbs
E) coastal towns

D

37) Which of the following is the most reasonable to assume as more and more Americans move to "micropolitan areas"?
A) Geographic segmentation may be less critical to marketers.
B) Rural populations will offer an expanding market.
C) Micropolitan areas are likely to offer the same advantages as metropolitan areas.
D) Congested areas are likely to become more ensnarled.
E) Crime rates in metropolitan areas will increase.

C

38) Nearly 10 percent of American workers currently work out of their homes with technological conveniences such as PCs, Internet access, and fax machines. These workers are referred to as the ----- ----- market.
A) micropolitan
B) SOHO
C) mobile
D) independent
E) contract

B

39) Which of the following groups of workers is projected to become smaller over the next ten years?
A) white collar workers
B) manufacturing workers
C) managers
D) telecommuters
E) professional workers

B

40) Because of increasing ----- , Americans will demand higher quality products, books, magazines, travel, personal computers, and Internet services.
A) numbers of nontraditional families
B) family size
C) levels of education
D) social class awareness
E) ethnic diversity

C

41) Which of the following is an accurate statement about the diversity of the American population?
A) African Americans represent the largest non-white segment of the population.
B) More than 12 percent of people living in the United States were born in another country.
C) The Asian American percentage of the population is expected to remain steady in the next 50 years.
D) In terms of ethnic diversity, the United States is about average in comparison to other countries with populations of a comparable size.
E) American ethnic populations are expected to slowly increase in the next few decades.

B

42) Of the following, which is the fastest-growing ethnic minority in the United States?
A) African Americans
B) Asian Americans
C) Hispanics
D) Native Americans
E) Arab Americans

C

43) With an expected increase in ethnic populations, marketers are likely to place a greater emphasis on ----- .
A) geographic segmentation
B) targeted advertising messages
C) mass marketing
D) mainstream advertising
E) cause-related marketing

B

44) Members of which of the following groups are more likely than the average American to have a professional job, have a household income over $250,000, own a vacation home, own a notebook computer, and own individual stocks?
A) Gen Xers
B) gays and lesbians
C) Millennials
D) echo boomers
E) environmentalists

B

45) Of the following diversity segments in the American population, which is currently the largest?
A) adults with disabilities
B) Hispanics
C) African Americans
D) telecommuters
E) Asian Americans

A

46) The ----- environment consists of factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns.
A) cultural
B) political
C) technological
D) economic
E) natural

D

47) A country with a(n) ----- economy consumes most of its own agricultural and industrial outputs and offers few market opportunities.
A) industrial
B) service
C) technological
D) subsistence
E) rural

D

48) A country with a(n) ----- economy has rich markets for many different kinds of goods.
A) industrial
B) service
C) developing
D) subsistence
E) multicultural

A

49) Which of the following factors has NOT contributed to today's age of the "tapped-out consumer"?
A) rising incomes in the upper class
B) debt repayment
C) increasing household expenses
D) savings for college tuition
E) savings for retirement

A

50) Value marketing is the strategy of offering consumers _ ----- .
A) high quality at a high price
B) luxury quality at a high price
C) lesser quality at a low price
D) reasonable quality at a fair price
E) little quality at a low price

D

51) Which of the following statements about income distribution in the United States is NOT true?
A) In recent decades, the rich have gotten richer.
B) In recent decades, the middle class has grown.
C) In recent decades, the poor have remained poor.
D) The top 10 percent of American earners account for almost half of all American income.
E) The top one percent of American earners receive a higher percentage of the nation's total income than do the bottom 50 percent of American earners.

B

52) In a tiered market, companies target which of the following?
A) affluent consumers only
B) consumers of modest means only
C) the middle class only
D) consumers at all levels of income distribution
E) professionals only

D

53) Which of the following groups of expenses uses up the most household income?
A) food, housing, retirement planning
B) housing, insurance, taxes
C) food, housing, transportation
D) housing, taxes, transportation
E) food, travel, savings

C

54) Ernst Engel's laws generally have been supported by recent studies. He discovered that as family income rises, the percentage spent on ----- declines and the percentage spent on ----- remains about constant.
A) food; clothing
B) clothing; recreation/entertainment
C) food; transportation
D) food; housing
E) recreation/entertainment; savings

D

55) The natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities are referred to as the ----- _.
A) raw material market
B) natural environment
C) endangered environment
D) green movement
E) factors of production

B

56) Which of the following American government agencies is charged with setting and enforcing pollution standards?
A) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
B) the Federal Trade Commission (FT
C) C) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
D) the Consumer Product Safety Commission
E) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

A

57) Which of the following has encouraged marketers to pursue environmentally sustainable strategies?
A) the EPA
B) the black market
C) the green movement
D) deregulation
E) green intervention

C

58) Which of the following is a result of regulations set up by the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission?
A) The time between new product ideas and their introduction to the market has decreased.
B) Spending on research and development has decreased.
C) Research costs for companies have grown.
D) More companies have failed to meet safety standards.
E) Companies are more focused on making practical, affordable versions of products.

C

59) Marketers should be aware of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence or limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. This is most accurately described as the ----- environment.
A) socio-legal
B) cultural
C) political
D) legal-technological
E) economic

C

60) Even the most liberal advocates of free-market economies agree that the system works best with ----- regulation.
A) private
B) maximum
C) intermittent
D) at least some
E) no

D

61) Legislation affecting business around the world will continue to ----- .
A) become standardized
B) increase
C) remain steady
D) decrease
E) threaten the American domestic economy

B

62) The legislation created to limit the number of commercials aired during children's programming is called the -----
A) Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
B) Child Protection Act
C) Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
D) Children's Television Act
E) Consumer Product Safety Act

D

63) Business legislation has been created for three basic reasons: to protect companies from each other, to protect consumers, and to ----- .
A) protect the interests of society
B) regulate prices
C) increase world trade
D) regulate monopolies
E) promote social responsibility

A

64) The recent rash of business scandals and increased concerns about the environment have created fresh interest in the issues of ----- and ----- .
A) ethics; promotion responsibility
B) ethics; social responsibility
C) finances; employee discrimination
D) management ethics; insider trading
E) promotion; pricing

B

65) Cause-related marketing is a(n) ----- .
A) response to customer needs
B) primary form of environmental awareness
C) primary form of corporate giving
D) response to corporate legislative problems
E) attempt to influence consumers' core beliefs

C

66) A society's basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors are all part of its ----- environment.
A) social
B) cultural
C) political
D) cultural-economic
E) natural

B

67) Marketers should understand that a society's core beliefs and values have a high degree of ----- .
A) persistence
B) flexibility
C) similarity
D) ethnocentrism
E) conformity

A

68) Your company is making negotiations to enter a market in Lower Albania. You would most likely discover that ----- beliefs and values are open to change in this country.
A) inherited
B) secondary
C) primary
D) core
E) traditional

B

69) A society's ----- are expressed in how people view themselves, organizations, society, nature, and the universe.
A) social codes
B) cultural values
C) demographics
D) public policies
E) economies

B

70) Trends in people's views of organizations indicate that which of the following has increased in the past twenty years?
A) employees' loyalty to their employers
B) confidence in American political organizations
C) distrust in big American businesses
D) distrust in small, local businesses
E) employees' view of work as a source of satisfaction

C

71) Watching the cultural trends of how people view society, observers have noted that since September 11, 2001, marketers responded to the increased ----- of Americans with special products and promotions.
A) loyalty
B) patriotism
C) distrust
D) foreign intolerance
E) belligerence

B

72) Which of the following is a potential downside to using patriotic themes in marketing programs?
A) Patriotism has been on the decline in the past decade.
B) Levels of patriotism fluctuate rapidly.
C) Such promotions can be viewed as attempts to gain from others' triumph or tragedy.
D) Americans are less confident in political organizations.
E) Few marketers currently use this technique.

C

73) Cultural forecasters have noted a renewed American interest in ----- .
A) dominating and taming nature
B) the fine arts
C) work as a source of satisfaction and self-definition
D) spirituality
E) reforming social classes

D

74) Marketers can take a(n) ----- by taking aggressive action to affect the publics and forces in their marketing environments.
A) environmental stance
B) proactive stance
C) natural perspective
D) natural-management perspective
E) relationship-building perspective

B

75) Which of the following explains why few companies have been successful in shutting down critics who post complaints on the Web?
A) The criticism is usually interpreted as protected speech.
B) The courts have typically refused to hear any cases against individual critics.
C) Web sites using "I hate" or "sucks" in the title along with a company's name can be easily confused with the company's actual Web site.
D) Registering domain names to prevent critical Web sites is a lengthy process.
E) Companies have found that it is more effective to respond in kind with attacks against critics.

A

76) Today's marketers must successfully build relationships to connect effectively with customers, others in the company, and external partners.

TRUE

77) When the marketing manager Suzie Kwan discusses factors and forces outside marketing, such as political that affect marketing management's ability to build and maintain successful relationships with target customers, she is talking about the external marketing concept.

FALSE

78) The microenvironment consists of larger societal forces that affect a company, such as demographic, economic, political, and cultural forces.

FALSE

79) The macroenvironment consists of the factors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers, such as suppliers, customer markets, competitors, and publics.

FALSE

80) Trudie Jones works for a distribution channel firm that helps several electronics companies find customers or make sales to them. Trudie works for a reseller.

TRUE

81) Marketing research firms, advertising agencies, media firms, and marketing consulting firms are all referred to as marketing services agencies.

TRUE

82) Today's successful marketers recognize the importance of working with their intermediaries as channels through which they sell their products rather than as full-fledged partners.

FALSE

83) Consumer organizations such as environmental and minority groups that may questions a company's marketing decisions are referred to as local publics.

FALSE

84) A company markets wild and crazy games for teens to play at parties. This company's customer market is a business market.

FALSE

85) The demographic environment is of major interest to marketers because it involves people, and people make up markets.

TRUE

86) The single most important demographic trend in the United States that marketers should understand is the changing family structure.

FALSE

87) As baby boomers reach their peak earning and spending years, they become lucrative markets for financial services, travel, and entertainment.

TRUE

88) Once thought of as slackers, Gen Xers are now displacing the lifestyles, culture, and materialistic values of the baby boomers.

TRUE

89) Millennials comprise the most commercially influential group in America today.

FALSE

90) Millennials represent a larger demographic segment than the baby boomers or Gen Xers.

TRUE

91) Marketers must increasingly consider the needs of traditional households because this segment of the population is growing more rapidly than nontraditional households.

FALSE

92) The American workforce today is better educated but less white-collar than it was a generation ago.

FALSE

93) Companies in several industries have recognized the buying power of the gay and lesbian segment of the U.S. population and have begun explicitly targeting these consumers with gay- specific marketing efforts.

TRUE

94) According to Engel's laws, consumers tend to spend a larger percentage of income on savings as income rises.

TRUE

95) Significant trends in the natural environment include shortages of raw materials, increased pollution, and decreased government intervention.

FALSE

96) More government legislation and the green movement are the likeliest causes of a general decline in environmental concerns in the past decade.

FALSE

97) The introduction of new technologies is beneficial to all industries, as new markets and opportunities are created.

FALSE

98) Cause-related marketing is a slowing trend as companies have abused the practice, using it more to increase sales than to support worthwhile causes.

FALSE

99) In the cultural environment, core values and beliefs and secondary values and beliefs differ in that the former are more open to change.

FALSE

100) When a company hires lobbyists to influence legislation affecting its industry, it is taking a reactive approach to the marketing environment.

FALSE