Exam 6: Target Markets, Segmentation and Evaluation

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a consumer market?

You have just been promoted to vice president of marketing for your firm. Unlike your predecessor, you believe the firm can increase its sales in a market by focusing on more than one segment of the market. You recognize to do this means your firm will incur higher production costs. Based on this information, which of the following targeting strategies are you advocating?

Beats by Dr. Dre (Beats) is a leading audio brand founded in 2006 by Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine and was acquired by Apple Inc. in 2014. Beats has become a favorite brand among consumers who enjoy listening to music. It is also somewhat of a status brand. The company markets a variety of products including headphones, earphones, speakers, and accessories. The product managers for the Beats product groups are involved in the sales forecast processes for their products, which is important to ensuring strong support for retailers and customers as well as to achieve sales objectives. The product managers hire experts to create initial forecasts, submit them to the company for averaging, and have the results returned to them so they can make individual refined forecasts. The procedure is iterative and may be repeated several times until the experts who are working independently reach a consensus. The process typically results in a very reliable sales forecast. What type of sales forecasting method do the product managers of Beats use?

How do business markets differ from consumer markets?

A lumber firm sells wood products to both the construction industry and the retail industry. The company has the same sales representatives for both industries and often offers discounts for buying in bulk. The lumber firm sells different types of wood for each industry based on its unique characteristics. For instance, wood used for large construction projects must have a higher grade and quality than wood used for home improvement projects. Which type of segmentation is the lumber firm most likely to use?

In developing a company sales forecast, the forecasting methods are limited to surveys and correlation methods.

Which of the following is the biggest drawback to using psychographic variables?

Sherwin Williams Company provides paint and supplies to businesses and individuals through its network of company-owned retail outlets. Sherwin Williams employs outside sales representatives who make personal calls with prospects and customers in order to gain insight about their needs and persuade them to utilize Sherwin Williams for their painting projects. Typically, a Sherwin Williams sales representative will focus his or her efforts on specific customers such as hospital facility managers, apartment complex managers, painting contractors, or education institution facility managers. Sherwin Williams is utilizing the ______ variable for segmenting business markets.

Why is it important for marketers to assess competitors before entering a market segment?

The sales forecasting method that consists of making a product available to buyers in one or more locations and measuring purchase response is

A targeting strategy in which an organization targets a single market segment using one marketing mix is called a(n) ____ strategy.

What are the conditions under which an undifferentiated targeting strategy is effective? Why are these conditions essential?

Relying on executive judgment for forecasting may be adequate when

Scenario 6.2 Use the following to answer the questions. GE Transportation produces locomotive engines for sale in countries around the world. After looking at the total market for locomotive engines, the company found that various rail lines wanted different types of engines. Major rail lines in the U.S. and South America wanted engines to haul heavy freight. Rail lines in Sweden and Germany were interested in a cleaner, greener locomotive engine. Rail lines operated by several Eastern European countries wanted locomotive engines for running short distances between cities in their own country. GE Transportation is currently manufacturing its GE 4400 for heavy freight, its Hybrid Eco-Engine, and its Dash 9, suited for short line transport. Refer to Scenario 6.2. If a GE Transportation researcher analyzes monthly sales data for a four-year time frame, looking for periodic fluctuations, the researcher is doing a ____ analysis.

Volkswagen markets its Routan to large families, its R32 race car to men, and its Jetta to young singles. What targeting approach is Volkswagen using?

It is likely that during the fifth step of the target market selection process, marketers will decide not to enter and compete in any market segments.

There are only two basic strategies for selecting target markets: the undifferentiated targeting strategy and the concentrated targeting strategy.

Generally speaking, individuals who are unemployed would not be considered a target market for lawn care services because

A market segment profile describes the similarities among potential customers within a segment and explains the differences among people across market segments.

When using personality characteristics as a market segmentation variable, marketers generally