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

________ are consumer products and services that customers usually buy frequently, immediately, and with minimal comparison and buying effort.

Which of the following exemplifies a service?

Marketing mix planning begins with ________.

The first step in designing support services is to ________.

Give three examples of shopping products.

________ refers to the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied customer needs.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s). Ruben Delgado 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. Ruben 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. Ruben Delgado established a brand name, known merely as Delgado, and decided to expand on it. Ruben 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 Ruben's biggest added touch, however, was the addition of two salespeople who would work to explain the diverse array of products offered by Delgado, as well as nurture existing accounts. "We make an excellent product," Ruben Delgado stated, "and we honor a good guarantee on everything we sell. But let's face it-we face hundreds of competitors! We need Delgado representatives out there to help prospects understand what they should demand in something as simple as a writing tool." The Delgado brand was fast-becoming synonymous with top-notch customer service. Part of the purchase package brought personal visits from the Delgado representative, before the purchase and long after. -Unsought products are products that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort.

Tourism Australia's global marketing campaign, "There's nothing like Australia" is an example of ________ marketing.

Which of the following strategies involves weeding out weaker brands and focusing marketing dollars only on brands that can achieve the number one or number two market share positions with good growth prospects in their categories?

Erica wants to replace her old washing machine with a new one. In order to get the maximum value for her money, she plans to spend substantial time and effort in gathering information and making product comparisons before making the actual purchase. In this instance, Erica is planning to buy a(n) ________ product.

Product mix ________ refers to the number of versions offered for each product in the line.

Gainville Inc. manufactures Android phones. Each new Gainville phone launch advances the cause of democratizing technology. Gainville, an expert in fostering customer community, engages customers at a deep, emotional level, and has been ranked one of the Breakaway Brands by the brand consultancy Kendell Associates. Gainville is most likely positioned on ________.

Product planners need to consider products and services on three levels. At the third level, product planners must build ________.

Tristan and Juliet, a newly married couple who intend to go to Egypt for their honeymoon, bought a Europe travel package on Jizo Inc., an online travel site. As they have never seen Europe or used the services of Jizo before, they were largely dependent on other customers' feedback and signals for service quality. Which of the following characteristics of service is highlighted in this instance?

Which of the following is true with regard to services?

In a service business, the customer and the front-line service employee interact to co-create the service.

Define interactive marketing. Why is it considered an important skill for service marketers?

Costco's Kirkland Signature products are an example of a ________.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following question(s). Ruben Delgado 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. Ruben 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. Ruben Delgado established a brand name, known merely as Delgado, and decided to expand on it. Ruben 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 Ruben's biggest added touch, however, was the addition of two salespeople who would work to explain the diverse array of products offered by Delgado, as well as nurture existing accounts. "We make an excellent product," Ruben Delgado stated, "and we honor a good guarantee on everything we sell. But let's face it-we face hundreds of competitors! We need Delgado representatives out there to help prospects understand what they should demand in something as simple as a writing tool." The Delgado brand was fast-becoming synonymous with top-notch customer service. Part of the purchase package brought personal visits from the Delgado representative, before the purchase and long after. -For few companies, the package itself has become an important promotional medium.

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?