MarketingManagement.pdf

CONCEPTS

1.Each of the following questions appears on a paper questionnaire that respondents
fill out and return to a research firm. Rephrase or reformat each question so that
the respondent is more likely to provide the research firm with the information it
needs.
a.Which brand do you like best?
b.Can you tell me how many children you have, whether they are girls or boys,
and how old they are?
c.How much say do you have regarding the charities that your church con-
tributes to?
d.With what frequency have you experienced this phenomenon of late?
e.Are auto manufacturers making satisfactory progress in controlling auto emis-
sions?

2.Levi Strauss’s marketing team has determined that the men who buy Levi’s jeans
fall into five categories:
■ Utilitarian jeans customer: The Levi loyalist who wears jeans for work and play
■ Trendy casual:High-fashion customers who come to life at night
■ Price shopper:Buys on the basis of price at department stores and discount stores
■ Mainstream traditionalist:Over 45 years old and shops in a department store ac-
companied by his wife
■ Classic independent:Independent buyer, shops alone in specialty stores, and wants
clothes that make him “look right” (the target in this case)

The marketing team wants to develop a product for the “classic independent” seg-

ment. Should the Levi name be used on the new product? Can this product be

marketed successfully through Levi’s current channels of distribution? What kinds

of formal market research should the company conduct to help it make a sound

decision on whether to pursue this segment and how?

3.Suggest creative ways to help companies research the following issues:

a.A liquor company needs to estimate liquor consumption in a legally dry town.

b.A magazine distribution house wants to know how many people read a spe-

cific magazine in doctors’ offices.

c.A men’s hair tonic producer wants to know at least four alternative ways to

research how men use its products.

4.A children’s toy manufacturer is developing its sales forecast for next year. The
company’s forecaster has estimated sales for six different environment/strategy
combinations (see Table 1.9).

Gathering Information

and Measuring

Market Demand^129

APPLICATIONS

Sales Forecasts

TABLE 1.9 High Medium Low

Marketing Marketing Marketing

Budget Budget Budget

Recession