Exam 13: Marketing: Helping Buyers Buy

Overheard Communications just wrapped up a phone survey of several of their current customers. In addition, they also plan to hold detailed personal interviews with about 15 additional customers. Both the phone survey and the interviews are sources of primary data for Overheard.

Mini-Case Briana, a successful executive, is also a cardio queen. For years she worked out at Forever Fitness Gym, the only gym in her small hometown. However, she felt that the environment at Forever Fitness was too masculine, and discovered that her female friends agreed. They disliked the small, smelly locker room, and the limited selection of cardio equipment. Most of them eventually quit going to Forever Fitness. Briana talked to Jim Nasium, the owner of Forever Fitness, about things he could do to attract more women, but he had little interest in making any changes. "I've got all the business I can handle," he told Briana. "Why should I spend a bunch of money to redecorate and add extra equipment? Besides, lots of the guys who work out here tell me they like the simple, no-frills atmosphere." Frustrated by Jim's indifference, Briana began looking into the possibility of starting a gym to appeal to young, well-educated women. After visiting gyms in other towns and talking to several friends to get ideas, she came up with a detailed plan for her gym. She then described her ideas to women in the community to see how much interest there was in this type of facility. The extremely positive response encouraged her to go ahead with her plans. It took a while, but she ultimately obtained the financial backing to go into business. Briana calls her new health club ShapeUP. It offers a spacious and attractive locker room, better cardio equipment, a child care area so young mothers can have someone watch their toddlers while they work out, and exercise classes designed to appeal to young women. When a woman joins her club, Briana schedules a free session with a personal trainer who works with the new member to design a personalized workout program. Briana tries hard to keep close to her customers by maintaining a social media presence, sending them a monthly e-mail newsletter, and routinely sending surveys asking what they like and don't like about ShapeUP. She wants to please her existing customers and keep them coming back. In fact, now that ShapeUP has a strong membership base, Briana believes it is more important to keep existing customers loyal than to attract new customers. In addition to the comments from her own customers, Briana also spends a lot of time tracking economic, social, and competitive trends in the fitness industry, trying to identify factors that can affect the marketing success of her club. She subscribes to several journals and magazines that cover trends and report on research findings related to the business. She has found that these publications provide her with an inexpensive source of useful information. -When Briana developed a detailed description of her ideas for a gym and asked for feedback from women about the proposal, she was engaging in

Which of the following describes the marketing era immediately after the development of mass-production assembly lines?

The marketing team at Classic Creatives emphasizes marketing the goods that will earn the company a profit. This focus on profit orientation shows that Classic Creatives has not yet adopted the marketing concept that emphasizes a customer orientation rather than a profit orientation.

Price is the determining factor as to whether a good is classified as a consumer product or a B2B product.

Enrollment at Mountain Top Community College has been in decline for five years. In the past the college has relied strictly on enrollment from newly graduated high school students. In order to identify other potential markets, the school would benefit from

In an effort to increase profits, Hunan Kitchen is attempting to appeal to a specific segment of the market by offering an all-you-can-eat buffet. These efforts, designed to identify specific groups that can be profitably served, represent an example of

Why is market segmentation important? Describe three ways firms can segment consumer markets.

Which of the following statements about marketing is the most accurate?

Effective marketing research involves listening to customers, employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders.