Exam 2 Study Guide Marketing Management- Close
Review the class notes, chapters 6-10, and pay attention especially to the following:
Competition/Products/Branding
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What are some examples of mass customization?
What are some approaches that businesses use to mass customize?
What describes product combinations of features within each product type?
What are generics?
What are private labels?
What is a competitor? (Remember: think outside the box!)
Other than competitor analyses, what types of analyses should be done in marketing
management?
What is product category management?
Know the PLC stages and what they represent.
Which PLC stage is it easiest to gain market share? Hardest?
What are the purposes of a product test?
What is the purpose of a brand?
Are strategies different for tech products (vs non-tech products) in terms of the PLC? If
so, how?
New Product Development
 What kind of corporate culture fosters NPDs?
 Who really comes up with the new product ideas? Examples of external sources?
 What are some approaches to NPD?
 How is the cost differential approach different from the target costing approach?
Advertising
 Stages of ad decision-making process
 The advertising myths
 IMC includes which components?
 The role of likeability, believability, and understanding a product in product
demonstrations
 Types of ad appeals and when they should be used
 Ad approaches commonly used include: scare-tactics, testimonials, machismo, and
value/price driven.
 What do concept tests actually do?
 Is advertising increasing relative to other forms of IMC? Promotions? Why?
 What are the stages of the advertising response process model?
 W-O-M marketing is so important because consumers rely on trusted sources rather than
biased advertisers
 How is advertising measured?
Logistics/Channels
 The INTERNET has many strengths in terms of serving the consumer and is changing the
classic channel structure
 Historically, manufacturers had all of the power in the channel due to the
scarcity and popularity of many products.
 Today, the power in most consumer channels is held by discount mass
merchandise retailers—like Wal-Mart, and Target—and category
focused retailers (also known as category killers)—such as Toys "R" Us, Lowe's, Office Depot,
AutoZone, and Best Buy.
 Category Killers Competitive Advantage
 Alternative channel systems (in B2C) (e.g., manufacturer ->, ?, -> ?)
 What is a hybrid channel system?
 What do retail category managers do?
 Distribution and supply chain management are two components:
Marketing channels: an organized system of marketing institutions, through which
products, resources, information, funds, and/or product ownership flow from the point of
production to the final user.
Physical distribution: coordinating the flow of information and products
among members of the channel to ensure the availability of products in the
right places, in the right quantities, at the right times, and in a costefficient manner.
 The most basic benefit of marketing channels is contact efficiency, as channels reduce the
number of contacts necessary to exchange products.
 The key effectiveness issue is whether the channel provides exceptional time, place, and
possession utility.
 In a traditional marketing channel, each channel member has as its main concern
how much profit it makes, or the size of their piece of the pie.
 In a supply chain, the main concern is the share of the market the entire
channel captures. The focus shifts from the size of each individual piece to the size of the whole.
 The goal of channel integration is to create a seamless network of
collaborating suppliers, vendors, buyers, and customers.
 True supply chain integration requires a fundamental change in how channel
members work together.
 What is a VAR?
 Conflict arises because each firm possesses different resources, skills, and
advantages.
 What is an OEM?
 What is CRM?
 Consumer demands for convenience, as well as increased pressures on
channel members to cut distribution expenses, have been the primary sparks for the growth in
channel technologies.