Exam 2: Strategic Planning in Contemporary Marketing

Each Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in a diversified firm shares managers, resources, objectives, and competitors with other SBUs of the same firm.

As part of the communication link between buyers and sellers, organizations may communicate promotional messages directly through salespeople or indirectly using advertisements and sales promotions.

A shoe manufacturer has multiple suppliers for leather. Based on this information, which statement best describes the situation faced by the manufacturer?

Marketers seek to rid themselves of their cash cows because those products require too much cash to be successful.

Sony's introduction of a new MP3 player available in green, yellow, and red would be considered a strategic decision.

Which of the following describes the term marketing mix?

What is the third step in the corporate-level marketing planning process?

Adjustments in the mission statement of an organization reflect changing business environments and management philosophies.

Which of the following best represents a mission statement?

Matching an external opportunity with an internal weakness produces a situation known as leverage.

As the technological environment moves at a fast pace, economic and political-legal environments remain static.

What do product lines, pricing decisions, selection of appropriate distribution channels, and decisions relating to promotional campaigns all depend on?

A marketing mix should be an ever-changing combination of variables to achieve success.

The third step of the planning process involves a back-and-forth assessment of the strengths, risks, and available opportunities facing the organization at the marketing department level.

What does each strategic business unit (SBU) within a firm have?

Middle management would be the logical group to handle the responsibility of revising the firm's strategic plan due to their proximity to the customer.

One reason for organizing into SBUs is to help a company make decisions about which product lines warrant commitment of additional resources and which should be removed from the firm's portfolio.

What term refers to a SWOT analysis that is designed to reveal, among other things, a firm's core competencies?

A company notices that its customers enjoy the chicken burger with meals but often only purchase fries at mid-day for a snack. A decision is taken to provide a mini-chicken burger for the purpose of snacking to these customers. Which of the following best describes the strategic growth opportunity that is being used?

With increased availability of information, rivalry heats up among competitors who try to differentiate themselves from the crowd.