Deck 6: Customers, Segmentation, and Target Marketing

Question 1

Although a market segment can meet all criteria for viability, a firm may choose to not pursue the segment. Which of the following is a reason why this might occur?

A) a competitor has already targeted the segment
B) targeting the segment could lead to antitrust concerns
C) the segment has no synergy with the firm's mission
D) the segment is difficult to reach via communication and/or distribution
E) the segment's members are not easily identifiable

Answer 1

C

Question 2

After enrolling in the MBA program at Minor State University, Sheri began having second thoughts. Although MSU seemed to be a good choice based on location, reputation, and price, Sheri was not convinced she had made the right choice. Sheri is suffering from:

A) too many opportunity costs.
B) dissatisfaction.
C) choice insufficiency.
D) cognitive dissonance.
E) poor product quality.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Firms engage in _____ when their intimate knowledge and expertise in one market allows them to offer customized marketing programs that not only deliver needed products but also provide needed solutions to customers' problems.

A) single segment targeting
B) market specialization
C) selective targeting
D) product specialization
E) mass market targeting

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One of the most successful and well-known tools of _____ segmentation is VALS™ developed by Strategic Business Insights.

A) psychographic
B) geographic
C) demographic
D) geoclustering
E) emotional

Question 5

The consumer buying process begins when:

A) marketing research discovers a new, untapped market segment.
B) consumers recognize that they have unsatisfied needs.
C) merchants offer goods and services for sale.
D) a manufacturer develops a new product.
E) consumers begin to seek information about an upcoming purchase.

Question 6

_____ is/are the primary reason why the consumer buying process varies across customers, products, and situations.

A) Individual influences
B) Situational influences
C) The cost of the product
D) Social influences
E) The complexity of the purchase

Question 7

Which of the following IS NOT an example of mass customization?

A) A college creates a custom degree program to match your unique needs.
B) A customer orders a custom teddy bear from Build-A-Bear Workshop.com.
C) Dell offers fully customized computers based on your needed
Configuration.
D) A bank employee logs into the e-procurement system to browse a fully customized catalog of office supplies.
E) You order a customized vase of flowers from 1-800-Flowers.com.

Question 8

Which of the following IS NOT a typical basis used to segment business markets?

A) type of organization
B) organizational characteristics
C) benefits sought
D) organizational culture
E) relationship intensity

Question 9

The basic assumption of _____ is that all customers in the market have similar needs and wants that can be reasonably satisfied with a single marketing program.

A) holistic marketing
B) mass marketing
C) market concentration
D) focused marketing
E) single segment marketing

Question 10

From the viewpoint of the consumer buying process, what is the difference between a need and a want?

A) Needs are absolute necessities, whereas wants are discretionary.
B) Needs are related to specific products, whereas wants occur only when the consumer has the ability to purchase the product.
C) Needs are based on discrepancies between actual and desired satisfaction, whereas wants occur relative to specific products that can fulfill a need.
D) Needs focus on specific elements of a product's quality, whereas wants are related to the "extras" that add value to the product.
E) Needs and wants are essentially the same, except that consumers will pay more for products they need.

Question 11

With respect to the consumer buying process, _____ is perhaps the most important factor that affects the time, effort, and expense dedicated to the search for information.

A) the degree of risk
B) the consumer's expertise
C) the consumer's brand loyalty
D) the degree of competition
E) the extent of product differentiation

Question 12

Advances in supply chain management now allow companies to customize products to meet the needs of individual customers on a mass scale. This individualized approach to market segmentation is called:

A) individualization.
B) one-to-one marketing.
C) mass customization.
D) customized marketing.
E) permission marketing.

Question 13

The main advantage of _____ is specialization, as it allows the firm to focus its resources toward understanding and serving a single segment.

A) focused marketing
B) unidimensional marketing
C) mass marketing
D) multisegment marketing
E) market concentration

Question 14

Each of the following statements describes a unique characteristic of the business buying process EXCEPT:

A) Business buyers have an easier time identifying their needs as compared to consumers.
B) Business buyers must be keenly aware of both hard and soft costs.
C) Groups of people, rather than individuals, often make purchase decisions.
D) Business buyers are less likely to be dependent upon each other.
E) Business buying is sometimes based on reciprocity where each firm buys products from the other.

Question 15

Only the largest firms can execute _____, which involves the development of multiple marketing programs to serve all customer segments simultaneously.

A) single segment targeting
B) market specialization
C) selective targeting
D) product specialization
E) mass market targeting

Question 16

If a researcher were to ask consumers to quickly name the top 3 brands of computers they might consider purchasing, the most common brands in the _____ would most likely be Dell, Apple, and HP.

A) brand set
B) purchase set
C) evoked set
D) target group
E) shopping list

Question 17

What type of segmentation divides consumer markets into segments using individual factors such as gender, age, income, and education?

A) psychographic segmentation
B) demographic segmentation
C) benefit segmentation
D) behavioral segmentation
E) lifestyle segmentation

Question 18

What is the key to using behavioral segmentation successfully in consumer markets?

A) The firm must clearly link behavioral characteristics with risk profiles.
B) The firm must clearly link behavioral characteristics to demographic characteristics.
C) The firm must determine whether consumers see their behaviors as being distinct from other behavioral segments.
D) The firm must clearly link behavioral information with geography.
E) The firm must clearly understand the basic needs and benefits sought by different consumer groups.

Question 19

_____ segmentation is the most powerful form of segmentation in consumer markets because it uses actual product usage to make distinctions among market segments.

A) Demographic
B) Behavioral
C) Psychographic
D) Lifestyle
E) Geographic

Question 20

Firms that sell luxury products, custom-made products, and services often take the time to significantly modify their products in an effort to precisely match the needs of individual customers. These firms are pursuing what type of approach to market segmentation?

A) individualized marketing
B) niche marketing
C) pinpointed marketing
D) focused marketing
E) one-to-one marketing

Question 21

Identify and explain the five stages of the consumer buying process. Give examples of marketing activities designed to influence each stage.

Question 22

Explain the five different target marketing strategies and give examples of firms that use each one. Also, discuss how firms might approach the targeting of noncustomers.

Question 23

Identify and discuss the various traditional market segmentation strategies. Include in your answer a discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.

Question 24

Although the stages of the consumer buying process are typically discussed in a linear fashion, consumers do not always follow the stages in sequence. Explain why this often occurs.

Question 25

Describe how the business buying process differs from the consumer buying process. Include an explanation of the unique characteristics of business markets.