Exam 8: Elements of Product Planning for Goods and Services

Use this information for question that refer to the Sunny Day Foods (SDF) Case. For six months Kim Wu has been working for Sunny Day Foods (SDF), a fast-growing manufacturer of organic foods. After graduating college, she worked for four years as a sales rep for a nationally known food company. But, she jumped at the chance when SDF contacted her about becoming marketing manager for its breakfast foods division, which sells dry cereals and a pancake mix. Kim spent the first few months on the job trying to better understand SDF, its product line, and marketing strategy. She reviewed the company's past marketing research, commissioned new research, and talked to both consumers and retailers. Now, the CEO of the company wants her thoughts on what the company's marketing strategy should be for the next few years. Her research indicates that among cereal customers there are at least five segments of customers who use SDF products. A. One segment, the loyalists, has a strong preference for one or two of the SDF cereals. These customers often go out of their way to visit a store with their favorite SDF cereal and buy only that product at the store. B. Another segment, the regulars, buys SDF cereals without much thought. For them it is just part of their routine and, if you ask them why they pick the cereal, they'd say it's just a habit. C. A third segment, the deal prone, sees SDF cereals as just another organic cereal. They view all organic cereals as pretty much the same and buy whichever brand seems to offer the best deal that week. D. A fourth segment, the politicos, consists of former buyers of SDF cereals. A few years ago the company took a strong stand in a presidential race - and these customers resented it. Now, they boycott all SDF foods because of that incident. E. A fifth segment, SDF who?, is made up of consumers who buy organic cereals but who don't have much awareness of particular organic brand names. In reviewing how SDF currently brands its products, Kim sees that it is using several different approaches. The Sunny Day Foods brand is used on most products the company sells. But a few years ago the company brought out an instant organic oatmeal with the Hot 'n Healthy name. SDF also makes cereal sold by a health food chain; the package for that chain uses the store's own name, Nature's Foods, as the brand name for the cereal. What best describes the level of brand familiarity that customers in "the regulars" segment have with SDF?

What type of business product is General Motors purchasing when it asks a law firm for bankruptcy advice?

Which of the following is NOT a business raw material?

Carlotta Issa is shopping for a new pair of jeans. She has had good experiences with Jordache jeans in the past and is looking for Jordache now. She probably will buy Jordache if she finds some that are at least as good-looking as competitive jeans. This is a good example of:

Allan Clapp is a purchasing agent for Deep River Mfg. Co. He regularly buys items such as nails, light bulbs, brooms, and sweeping compounds. In other words, he buys:

Consumer products which offer really new ideas that potential customers don't know about yet are new unsought products.

Sears' Kenmore brand of appliances sold in all Sears stores illustrates two kinds of brands.

Shopping products that a customer sees as basically the same and wants at the lowest price are homogeneous shopping products.

Use this information for question that refer to the Sunny Day Foods (SDF) Case. For six months Kim Wu has been working for Sunny Day Foods (SDF), a fast-growing manufacturer of organic foods. After graduating college, she worked for four years as a sales rep for a nationally known food company. But, she jumped at the chance when SDF contacted her about becoming marketing manager for its breakfast foods division, which sells dry cereals and a pancake mix. Kim spent the first few months on the job trying to better understand SDF, its product line, and marketing strategy. She reviewed the company's past marketing research, commissioned new research, and talked to both consumers and retailers. Now, the CEO of the company wants her thoughts on what the company's marketing strategy should be for the next few years. Her research indicates that among cereal customers there are at least five segments of customers who use SDF products. A. One segment, the loyalists, has a strong preference for one or two of the SDF cereals. These customers often go out of their way to visit a store with their favorite SDF cereal and buy only that product at the store. B. Another segment, the regulars, buys SDF cereals without much thought. For them it is just part of their routine and, if you ask them why they pick the cereal, they'd say it's just a habit. C. A third segment, the deal prone, sees SDF cereals as just another organic cereal. They view all organic cereals as pretty much the same and buy whichever brand seems to offer the best deal that week. D. A fourth segment, the politicos, consists of former buyers of SDF cereals. A few years ago the company took a strong stand in a presidential race - and these customers resented it. Now, they boycott all SDF foods because of that incident. E. A fifth segment, SDF who?, is made up of consumers who buy organic cereals but who don't have much awareness of particular organic brand names. In reviewing how SDF currently brands its products, Kim sees that it is using several different approaches. The Sunny Day Foods brand is used on most products the company sells. But a few years ago the company brought out an instant organic oatmeal with the Hot 'n Healthy name. SDF also makes cereal sold by a health food chain; the package for that chain uses the store's own name, Nature's Foods, as the brand name for the cereal. For which market segment would coupons be most effective?

A trademark can be a word, but cannot be a symbol.

Why might the demand for business products be INELASTIC, while the demand facing individual sellers of those products is extremely ELASTIC?

Consumer products which customers see as basically the same and want to buy at the lowest price are called:

It is usually necessary for a firm to use a family brand rather than individual brands if it plans to offer products at different quality and price levels to different target markets.

A "universal product code" (UPC):

Which of the following business products are usually treated as expense items?

A universal product code (UPC) contains the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the product on which it appears.

A large U.S. firm produces potato chips, shortening, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, shampoo, disposable diapers, and facial tissues. These are the firm's

Services

Which of the following is an "unsought product"?

Unsought products: