Exam 8: Products, Services, and Brands: Building Customer Value

A hickory rocking chair, handmade by an Amish woodcarver in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from locally grown wood, is an example of a(n) ________.

A company that uses well-known celebrities to help sell its products is using ________.

The first step in designing support services is to ________.

Alex Smith rents storage space to college students who go home for the summer but do not want to haul all of their property home and back. The business is profitable during the summer months, but when the storage space is unoccupied in the off-season, Alex loses money. Which of the following characteristics of service is most likely the source of Alex's problem?

Within a given hotel reputed for its superior service, one registration-desk employee may be cheerful and efficient, whereas another may be irritable and slow. This exemplifies service variability.

The fundamental asset underlying brand equity is ________, the value of customer relationships that the brand creates.

Give three examples of shopping products.

Titan Inc., an automobile manufacturer based in Utah, recently added two new models to its existing line of sedans in order to increase profits and satisfy dealers. This is an example of ________.

Line extension refers to extending an existing brand name to new product categories.

Define consistency of the product mix.

A reputed cosmetic company in New York City added new product lines in order to increase its business. In other words, it ________.

________ is the differential effect that knowing the brand name has on customer response to the product and its marketing.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Herb Marks built his enterprise on the faithful patronage of four specialty shops and a large contract from Elmore Distributors. But after two years, the maker of novelty pens and pencils had to rethink his strategy when his contract with Elmore ended. Herb built a company reputation on the manufacturing and distribution of a variety of wooden writing utensils with customized engravings. Specialty shops loved to display the products in their fancy, lighted showcases, but such specialty shops alone were not profitable. Herb Marks established a brand name, known merely as Marks, and decided to expand on it. Herb extended his writing utensil lines to include quills, felt-tip pens, and multiple-cartridge pens that write in different colors. He even added a line of various grades of personalized stationery and business cards. Perhaps Herb's biggest added touch, however, was the addition of two salespeople who would work to explain the diverse array of products offered by Marks, as well as nurture existing accounts. "We make an excellent product," Herb Marks stated, "and we honor a good guarantee on everything we sell. But let's face it-we face hundreds of competitors! We need Marks representatives out there to help prospects understand what they should demand in something as simple as a writing tool." The Marks brand was fast-becoming synonymous with top-notch customer service. Part of the purchase package brought personal visits from the Marks representative, before the purchase and long after. -The new felt-tip pens, multiple-cartridge pens, and quills are examples of ________.

Which of the following is the lowest level on which marketers can position their brands in target customers' minds?

________ means that the quality of services depends on who provides them as well as when, where, and how they are provided.

For many companies, the package itself has become an important promotional medium.

Labels range from simple tags attached to products to complex graphics that are part of the packaging.

Product line filling is overdone if it results in cannibalization and customer confusion.

Name some common convenience products.

________ means that service quality depends on the quality of buyer-seller interaction during the service encounter.