Exam 9: Product Management and New-Product Development

When introducing a really new product, the marketer should be concerned about building channels of distribution, but not about promotion.

Many companies look to the developing world for breakthrough new products that meet global consumer needs at low cost.

An industry's sales have leveled off and profits are declining in oligopolistic competition. Consumers see competing products as "homogeneous." Several firms have dropped out of the industry, but a new one entered recently. Firms in the industry are trying to avoid price-cutting by spending on persuasive advertising. These firms are competing in which stage of the product life cycle?

Cargill, Inc. is finally earning a profit on the unique product it introduced six months ago. Cargill's advertising is both informative and persuasive. Much money is being spent on Place development. There is little price competition, although several competitors have come out with reasonable imitations. Total industry sales and profits are both rising. In which stage of the product life cycle is Cargill operating?

In the new-product development process discussed in the text, the burden is on the new-product idea to prove itself or be rejected.

Two keys to improving service quality are:

During the various stages of the product life cycle, the attitudes and needs of target customers do not change.

Use this information for question that refer to the Wire Products Inc. (WPI) case. Rob Rose sat back to review the portfolio of products his company, Wire Products Inc. (WPI), has in its product line. The company specializes in making various products for consumer and industrial uses from hard laminated wire-coated with special paints. 1) WPI's "Wire Closet" products have been on the market for 10 years. Consumers install the wire shelves and closet rods themselves. The market leader, Closetmaid, has been selling similar products for more than 20 years, but so far the sales volume and profits for the market continue to grow. Recently, several new competitors have come into the market. 2) Three months ago, WPI entered the lawn and garden market with folding fences made with laminated wire and branded as "Wire Fold-Fence." Previously, WPI had never made fences or been a player in the lawn and garden market-although other companies have been making products in this market for years. However, Rob Rose has discovered that recent sales of wire garden fencing have leveled off and profits are declining overall. Still, WPI thinks it has some cost advantages and can grow its own sales and profits in this market. 3) WPI has just developed "Oil Wire," a new concept for the environmental cleanup market. Oil Wire is coated with a special material that cleans up oil spills. There has never been a product like this and WPI wants to quickly get the word out about its benefits. The product is now being rolled out in selective markets. 4) Another business product is "Wire Locker" used for secure storage by gymnasiums or companies. This style of locker has now gone out of fashion and most customers are finding better materials to use for lockers. Aggressive selling has helped Wire Locker's sales stay flat, but the total market for wire style lockers is only half of what it was 10 years ago. 5) WPI's "Wire Window" product is used as a security product to protect glass windows. It sells to homeowners and retailers looking for additional safety. WPI's sales of this product have dropped in recent years because competitors have introduced maintenance-free products. However, the overall market for this type of product continues to show good growth. 6) WPI is running concept tests of a new wire car-top carrier called "Wire Car Top." There are other car-top carrier products on the market, but WPI plans to include options in its carrier that will make it easier to load bikes, skis, and suitcases. "Wire Car Top" is also very easy to put on and take off of the car because of its light weight and ease-of-use features. The concept tests are helping WPI analysts develop rough estimates of costs, sales, and profits. 7) Another new product idea, tentatively called "Wire Tent," is being considered. It would use laminated wires to create a portable tent frame. This product is currently being evaluated to determine its fit with the company's objectives and external market trends. Rob is thinking about the product life cycle, where each product fits, and what he should be doing as part of his marketing plan for each of these products. In which stage of the product life cycle is "Wire Closet"?

All of the following products are in the market maturity stage of the product life cycle except:

The stage of the product life cycle characterized by informative promotion but little customer awareness of a product is:

Product managers are especially common in small, single-product companies.

When a marketing manager notices that customer reaction to a new product does not meet expectations, they need to be prepared to _____ or move to a new marketing mix.

In the idea generation stage of the new-product development process

Industry profits usually decline steadily during the market maturity stage of the product life cycle.

The more narrowly we define a product-market, the shorter the product life cycle because improved product ideas come along to replace the old.

If the prospects in some product-market are poor, a firm may need a "phase out" strategy.

The sales and profits of an individual brand always follow the life-cycle pattern.

Fad products are characterized by popular styles and they appeal to the mass market.

Which of the following activities is NOT typical of the commercialization stage?

During the market introduction stage of the product life cycle: