1. Suppose a manufacturer of exercise equipment sets a suggested price to the consumer of $395 for a particular piece of equipment to be competitive with similar equipment. The manufacturer sells its equipment to a sporting goods wholesaler who receives 25 percent of the selling price and a retailer who receives 50 percent of the selling price. What demand-oriented pricing approach is being used, and at what price will the manufacturer sell the equipment to the wholesaler?…….
2. Suppose the president of a carpet manufacturing firm has asked you to look into the possibility of bypassing the firm’s wholesalers (who sell to carpet, department, and furniture stores) and selling direct to these stores. What caution would you voice on this matter, and what type of information would you gather before making this decision?…….
3. What type of channel conflict is likely to be caused by dual distribution, and what type of conflict can be reduced by direct distribution? Why?…….
4. In retail pricing, retailers often have maintained a markup. Explain how this maintained markup differs from original markup and why it is so important…….
5. How would you classify Walmart in terms of its position on the wheel of retailing versus that of an off-price retailer?……
6. Breadth and depth are two important components in distinguishing among types of retailers. Discuss the breadth and depth implications of the following retailers discussed in Chapter 16:
a. Nordstrom b. Walmart c. L.L. Bean d. Best Buy
……
7. According to the wheel of retailing and the retail life cycle, what will happen to factory outlet stores?
…..
8. Like the traditional marketplace, the digital marketspace offers marketers opportunities to create time, place, form, and possession utility. How do you think Internet-enabled technology rates in terms of creating these values? Take a shopping trip at a virtual retailer of your choice (don’t buy anything unless you really want to). Then compare the time, place, form, and possession utility provided by the virtual retailer to that provided by a traditional retailer in the same product category.
……….
Building Your Marketing Plan
To arrive at the final price(s) for your offering(s):
1. In Chapter 13, you considered your customers and competitors and set three possible prices. Now, modify those three prices in light of (a) pricing considerations for demand-, cost-, profit-, and competition-oriented approaches described in this chapter, and (b) possibilities for discounts, allowances, and geographical adjustments…..
2. Perform a break-even analysis for each of these three new prices……
3. Choose the final price(s).
Does your marketing plan involve selecting channels and intermediaries? If the answer is “no,” read no further and do not include this element in your plan. If the answer is “yes”:…..
4. Identify which channel and intermediaries will provide the best coverage of the target market for your product or service…..
5. Specify which channel and intermediaries will best satisfy the important buying requirements of the target market…..
6. Determine which channel and intermediaries will be the most profitable…..
7. Select your channel(s) and intermediary(ies)….
8. If inventory is involved, (a) identify the three or four major kinds of inventory needed for your organization (retail stock, finished products, raw materials, supplies, and so on), and (b) suggest ways to reduce their costs…..
9. (a) Rank the four customer service factors (time, dependability, communication, and convenience) from the most important to the least important from your customers’ point of view, and (b) identify actions for the one or two factors that are the most important in regard to your product or service.
Does your marketing plan involve using retailers? If the answer is “no,” read no further and do not include a retailing element in your plan. If the answer is “yes”:…..
10. Use Figure 16 – 8 to develop your retailing strategy by (a) selecting a position in the retail positioning matrix and (b) specifying the details of the retailing matrix……
11. Develop a positioning statement describing the breadth of the product line (broad versus narrow) and value added (low versus high)…..
12. Describe an appropriate combination of retail pricing, store location, retail communication, and merchandise assortment…..
13. Confirm that the wholesalers needed to support your retailing strategy are consistent with the channels and intermediaries you selected in Lesson 7….
Does your marketing plan involve a marketspace presence for your product or service? If the answer is “no,” read no further and do not include this element in your plan. If the answer is “yes,” then attention must be given to developing a website in your marketing plan. A useful starting point is to:…..
14. Describe how each website element – context, content, community, customization, communication, connection, and commerce – will be used to create a customer experience……
15. Identify a company’s website that best reflects your website conceptualization…..
Questions
1. After listening to a recent sales presentation, Mary Smith signed up for membership at the local health club. On arriving at the facility, she learned their was an additional fee for racquetball court rentals. “I don’t remember that in the sales talk: I thought they said all facilities were included in the membership fee,” complained Mary. Describe the problem in terms of the communication process…..
2. Develop a privacy policy for database managers that provides a balance of consumer and seller perspectives. How would you encourage voluntary compliance with your policy? What methods of enforcement would you recommend?….
3. How does competitive product advertising differ from competitive institutional advertising?….
4. A large life insurance company has decided to switch from using a strong fear appeal to a humorous approach. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such a change in message strategy?….
5. Describe a self-regulation guideline you believe would improve the value of (a) an existing form of promotion and (b) a new promotional practice…..
6. What is the significance of user-generated content when contrasted with social media and traditional media?….
7. In measuring the results of social media, what are the (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of performance measures liked directly to revenues versus costs?….
8. For the first 50 years of business, the Johnson Carpet Company produced carpets for residential use. The salesforce was structured geographically. In the past five years, a large percentage of carpet sales have been to industrial users, hospitals, schools, and architects. The company also has broadened its product line to include area rugs, Oriental carpets, and wall-to-wall carpeting. Is the present salesforce structure appropriate, or would you recommend an alternative?….
Building Your Marketing Plan
To develop the promotion strategy for your marketing plan, follow the steps suggested in the planning phase of the promotion decision process described in Figure 18 – 6.
1. You should:
a. identify the target audience
b. specify the promotion objectives
c. set the promotion budget
d. select the right promotion tools
e. design the promotion
f. schedule the promotion…
2. Also specify the pretesting and posttesting procedures needed in the implementation and evaluation phases…..
3. Finally, describe how each of your promotion tools is integrated to provide a consistent message…..
To augment your promotion strategy :
4. Use Figure 19 – 3 to select the advertising media you will include in your plan by analyzing how combinations of media (e.g., television and Internet advertising, radio and directory advertising) can complement each other…..
5. Use Figure 19 – 6 to select your consumer-oriented sales promotion activities….
6. Specify which trade-oriented sales promotions and public relations tools you will use.
Remembering the target market segments you identified in Lesson 4 for your marketing plan:……
7. (a) Identify which one of the four social media described in the chapter would be most useful and (b) give your reasons. Would you consider other social media like Pinterest? Why or why not?….
8. Briefly describe (a) how you would use this website to try to increase sales of your products and (b) why you expect target market customers to respond to it.
Does your marketing plan involve a personal selling activity? If the answer is “no,” read no further and do not include a personal selling element in your plan. If the answer is “yes”:….
9. Identify the likely prospects for your product or service…..
10. Determine what information you should obtain about the prospect…..
11. Describe how you would approach the prospect…..
12. Outline the presentation you would make to the prospect for your product or service…..
13. Develop a sales plan, focusing on the organizational structure you would use for your salesforce (geographic, product, or customer)…..
Use APA format
