Exam 11: Product Management and New-Product Development

Which of the following functions is generally outside the purview of brand managers?

Regarding product life cycles,which is TRUE?

Industry profits are largest in which of the following product life cycle stages?

Which of the following is less likely to happen as a product moves through the later stages of the product life cycle?

Which of the following statements is FALSE of the product life cycle?

If an individual is injured by a defective or unsafely designed product,the seller's legal obligation to pay damages is called product liability.

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 have continued 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. Based on the text's recommendations for different stages in the product life cycle,for which product does WPI most need to consider developing different markets?

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?

Sales of a producer's wax paper food-wrap are declining fast.The advertising manager-looking for a way to attract attention to the brand-suggests changing the package somewhat and promoting it as a "new" product.The Federal Trade Commission would ______.

The product life cycle is divided into four major stages.They are ______.

When a large firm has several different kinds of products,product managers or brand managers may be put in charge of each one.

As a product moves into the market maturity stage of its life cycle,the marketing manager should ______.

The product life cycle ______.

Pfizer Corp.is introducing a truly new product idea.Pfizer is spending a lot of money to inform potential customers and intermediaries about the availability and advantages of the new product.Although sales are rising slowly,Pfizer doesn't expect the product to become profitable for at least another year.Pfizer's new product is in which stage of the product life cycle?

The _____ step in the new-product development process could involve research and development as well as engineering to design and build the physical part of the product.

The length of each stage in the product life cycle is set.

Persuasive promotion is especially important in which product life cycle stage?

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

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

Which of the following scenarios illustrates how really new product ideas disrupt the old ways of doing things?