Exam 2: Developing Marketing Strategies and Plans

With respect to core business processes, the ________ process includes all the activities involved in gathering external information, disseminating it within the organization, and acting on the information.

While viewing businesses in terms of customer needs can suggest additional growth opportunities, a ________ definition tends to focus on selling a product or service to a current market.

Which of the following can be considered a primary activity in the value chain process?

The value delivery process can be divided into three phases, out of which "choosing the value" implies ________, which is the essence of strategic marketing.

Through its cutting-edge point-of-sale inventory management technology and highly efficient shipping practices, Walmart is able to keep its inventory expenditure extremely low and to pass these savings on to consumers in the form of low prices. Walmart's strategy is best described as ________.

A clear, thoughtful mission statement provides employees with a shared sense of purpose, direction, and ________.

Abbot Laboratories warehouses and delivers 3M's medical and surgical products to hospitals across the United States. The best description of this form of alliance would be a(n) ________.

Apex Corporation is one of the best in its industry in terms of costs and performance. Many companies in its industry will probably consider Apex as a ________.

Pegasus writes about its target market and demographics in the ________ section of its marketing plan.

Good marketing plans are usually short and to the point.

The last step in the value creation and delivery sequence is ________ the value where the sales force, sales promotion, advertising, and other communication tools announce and promote the product.

Briefly list the contents of a marketing plan.

Today, the "mass market" is actually splintering into numerous segments, each with its own wants, perceptions, preferences, and buying criteria. This implies that ________.

A strategy is a game plan for achieving what the business unit wants to achieve.

Once Starbucks established its presence in thousands of cities internationally, the company sought to increase the number of purchases by existing customers with a ________ strategy that led to new in-store merchandise, including compilation CDs and high-speed wireless access.

Mission statements that express unrealistic visions are usually unable to inspire employees to achieve their targets.

A firm that is always working to improve its product offerings such that consumer needs are addressed more efficiently is following a differentiation strategy.

"What will we do if it happens?" is a question that managers typically ask while conducting a scenario analysis.

A(n) ________ is when a company might seek new businesses to purchase that have no relationship to its current technology, products, or markets.

During the planning process, if there is a gap between future desired sales and projected sales, corporate management will need to develop or acquire new businesses to fill it. Identify and describe the three strategies that can be used to fill the strategic gap.