practice

Introduction to Marketing - COMM 204

MIDTERM REVIEW

  • The exam will consist of:
    • 30 multiple-choice questions
    • A few short answer/long answer questions totaling 25 marks.
  • One question will ask you to describe something in detail.
  • Required exam materials:
    • Bring a pencil for the multiple-choice questions.
    • The other questions can be answered with either pen or pencil.
    • Know your NSID (student ID), which is important for the exam.

HOW TO MANAGE TIME

  • The exam consists of different sections:
    • 30 multiple choice questions (Total of 30 marks, 60% of the exam)
    • Recommended time: 20-30 minutes
    • 3 short answer questions (Total of 12 marks, 24% of the exam)
    • Recommended time: 20-30 minutes
    • 1 longer answer question (Total of 8 marks, 16% of the exam)
    • Recommended time: 20-30 minutes
  • Total: 50 marks, 100%, with 80 minutes to complete the exam.
  • Exam instructions:
    • The exam will take place in this room, and nothing should be left blank; marks require input.
    • It is advised to do the readings, make notes, and compare with class notes.
    • Focus on understanding concepts and ideas rather than memorizing specific examples, as personal experiences can also be valid.

A NOTE ABOUT THE BUBBLE SHEETS

  • Remember to fill out your name and student information on the top of both the exam and the bubble sheet.
  • Hand in both the exam sheet and the bubble sheet together when completed.

EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

  1. Considering markets can involve:

    • A. Demographics
    • B. Psychographics
    • C. Geography
    • D. All of the above

  2. The four Ps are:

    • A. Price, Promotion, Placement, Process
    • B. Promotion, Product, Process, Predictive
    • C. Promotion, Product, Price, Placement
    • D. Process, Price, Placement, Policy

  3. ____ is the act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return.

    • A. A value proposition
    • B. Exchange
    • C. Bribery
    • D. Value

  4. The ____ concept calls for aggressive selling and promotional effort.

    • A. Marketing
    • B. Production
    • C. Product
    • D. Selling

SAMPLE SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Each worth four marks

  1. Name and describe one of the social criticisms of marketing.
  2. What are the four primary reasons for developing a SWOT analysis?
  3. Briefly describe why a SWOT analysis is important in developing a business plan.
  4. What are the four steps in market research?

ANSWERS TO SAMPLE SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

  1. Social Criticisms of Marketing: High prices can arise due to high distribution costs and/or advertising costs leading to excessive markups. Other criticisms include deceptive practices, high-pressure selling, unsafe products, or planned obsolescence.
  2. SWOT Analysis Reasons: Capitalize on strengths; exploit opportunities; avoid areas of weakness; minimize threats.
  3. Importance of SWOT Analysis: Defining the problem and research objectives, developing a research plan, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting and presenting findings are crucial to comprehensive business planning.

EXAMPLE LONG ANSWER QUESTION

You will be able to choose one of two questions:
Using examples from class, from the textbook, or from your own life, explain what it means to create value and cultivate relationships in business.
Notes: Worth 8 marks, so include 8 key points. There is no exact right answer; it is about logically organizing concepts and ideas.

NOW LET'S TALK PRODUCTS

Product Definition

  • Products can refer to:
    • Goods
    • Services
    • Ideas
    • People
    • Places
    • A combination of goods & services.
Product Types

  1. Non-Durable Goods

    • Consumed quickly.
    • Often entail low cognitive involvement from the consumer.

  2. Durable Goods

    • Consumed slowly over time due to their durability.
    • Typically involve higher cognitive involvement when making purchases, often larger financial investments.

  3. Services

    • Include activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale, such as banking, medical visits, vacations, or movies.
    • Four elements unique to services:
      • Intangibility: Services cannot be held, touched, or seen before purchase.
      • Inconsistency: Service experiences can vary based on the provider, making them harder to standardize.
      • Inseparability: Services cannot be separated from their provider; the consumer is often involved in their production.
      • Inventory: Services are subject to fluctuating demands and cannot be stored for later.
Service Continuum
  • Most product offerings are not purely goods or purely services; they typically exist on a continuum ranging from tangible to intangible.
Total Product Concept
  • Products can be analyzed in three layers:
    1. Core Product: The primary benefit derived from the product by the consumer.
    2. Actual Product: The physical product including branding, design, and features.
    3. Augmented Product: Additional attributes that accompany the product like warranties, service contracts, and delivery options.

PRODUCT LINES AND MIXES

  1. Product Line: A group of similar products closely related because they fulfill a similar need and are marketed to the same target audience.
  2. Product Mix: The total range of product lines offered by a company.
P&G's Product Categories

P&G's product offerings span various categories:

  • Baby Care
  • Feminine Care
  • Family Care
  • Fabric Care
  • Home Care
  • Hair Care
  • Skin & Personal Grooming
  • Oral Care
  • Personal Health Care

PRODUCT CLASSIFICATIONS

  1. Consumer Products

    • Convenience Products: Items purchased frequently with minimal effort.
    • Shopping Products: Items consumers compare on quality, price, and suitability.
    • Specialty Products: Items with unique characteristics that consumers are willing to make special efforts to purchase.
    • Unsought Products: Items consumers do not actively seek out or are unaware of.

  2. Business-to-Business (B2B) Products

    • Includes materials and parts, capital items, and supplies and services necessary for operations.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE (PLC)

  • The product life cycle consists of four main stages:
    1. Introduction Stage:
    • Sales grow slowly; profits are minimal.
    • Aim: Create consumer awareness and encourage trial.
    • Challenges include distribution and establishing stakeholder relationships.
    1. Growth Stage:
    • Marked by increased competition and substantial sales growth.
    • Profits peak due to economies of scale and heightened demand.
    • Focus on brand differentiation and product features.
    1. Maturity Stage:
    • Slowdown in the growth rate; increased price competition.
    • Promotional efforts focus on price, as markets become saturated.
    • Weaker competitors exit the market.
    1. Decline Stage:
    • Sales begin to fall along with market exits.
    • Minimal promotional efforts, typically restricted to pricing strategies.
MANAGING THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
  • Techniques to manage products through their life cycle include:
    • Modifying Products: Improvements or extensions to compete in the evolving market.
    • Modifying Markets: Targeting current or new users to increase their purchase frequency or volume per episode.
    • Repositioning: Refreshing a product's appeal to meet shifting consumer demands after reaching maturity.
    • Introducing New Products: Launching new products can rejuvenate interest in existing products, pushing them through the life cycle again.

INNOVATION CATEGORIES

  1. Continuous Innovations: Minor improvements that do not require significant changes in consumer behavior.
  2. Incremental Innovations: Minor product enhancements that necessitate minimal consumer adjustments.
  3. Radical Innovations: Entirely new products that typically require extensive marketing efforts.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BRANDS

For Organizations
  • Brands are crucial as they:
    • Establish customer loyalty.
    • Protect against competition.
    • Lower marketing costs over time.
    • Offer legal protection for brand identity.
    • Aid in market segmentation.
    • Enable the opportunity to build brand equity.
For Consumers
  • Brands simplify decision-making processes for consumers who have experienced satisfaction with a brand, leading to brand loyalty, and suggesting products that resonate with their identity.

BRANDING DEFINITIONS

  • Brand: A name, term, sign, symbol, or design (or a combination of these) intended to identify the goods or services of one seller and differentiate them from those of competitors.
  • Brand Perception: As defined by Callen (2010) - "A brand is perception, and perception is reality for customers.”
TYPES OF BRANDS
  1. Individual Brands: Focused on singular product lines; e.g., Tide detergents.
  2. Family Brands: Cover a broader product mix; e.g., Crest encompasses various dental care products.
  3. Manufacturer Brands: Often known as national brands.
  4. Private/Store Brands: Brands owned by retailers.
BRAND MEANING
  • Effective brand communication hinges on getting consumers to associate a brand with a single word, thus owning that word in terms of brand positioning.
    • Examples of brands and their associated words:
    • Volvo: Safety
    • Coors Light: Cold
    • Red Bull: Extreme

BRANDING STRATEGY DECISIONS

Three main decisions that inform branding strategies include:

  • Brand Name Selection: Choosing memorable and relevant brand names.
  • Brand Positioning: Establishing a brand's place in the market.
  • Brand Sponsorship: Deciding how a brand interacts with other brands.
BRAND NAME REQUIREMENTS
  • Descriptive and relevant.
  • Easily recognizable and distinctive.
  • Extendable to future products.
  • Translatable and legally protected.

PEOPLE AS BRANDS

  • Celebrities and public figures can develop brand power, likening personal brands to corporate brands, which can be damaged just as easily as they are built.
BRAND PERSONALITY & EQUITY
  • Brand Equity: The financial value of a brand based on its intangible qualities.
  • Brand Personality: The set of human traits and emotions associated with the brand.
  • Brand Elements: These include the name, logo, and colors that shape brand identity.

EMOTIONAL BRANDING

  • Emotional branding focuses on intervening narratives that resonate with consumer lifestyles, goals, and aspirations, aiming to forge genuine emotional connections between the consumer and the brand.