Exam 8: Developing and Managing Products and Services

Give three examples of convenience products.

Which of the following is/are examples of product mix depth?

________ means that services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before they are bought.

A very high number of new products fail each year.

What do industrial supplies and consumer convenience products have in common? How do they differ?

A ________ consists of all the product lines and items that a particular seller offers for sale.

Which theory suggests that new products sometimes fail because they are unable to cross the gaps between the different market segments of innovators, early adopters, early majority, and late majority?

________ are those products purchased for further processing or for use in conducting a business.

Customer retention is perhaps the best measure of quality-a service firm's ability to hang on to its customers depends on how consistently it delivers value to them.

According to the product life cycle theory, the sales of a typical product follow a(n)________ curve.

Profits rise during the growth stage of the PLC because promotion costs are spread over a large volume and unit manufacturing costs fall.

Although products that remain in the maturity stage of the PLC seem unchanged, the most successful ones actually evolve to meet changing consumer needs.

To differentiate themselves, many companies go beyond offering products and services; they are also developing and delivering customer ________.

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 two-year 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 honour 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 is now 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. -Explain Herb's augmented product in this scenario.

A company might stretch its product line upward to add prestige to its current products.

The potential sales, costs and profits are being determined for a new-product idea at Art for Kids. In what stage of the new-product development process does this occur?

________ are consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or knows about but does not normally think about buying. These products require a lot of advertising, personal selling, and other marketing efforts.

A company can stretch its product either upward or downward, but not both directions.

You have an upset stomach. Your spouse rushes to the corner convenience store for a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. This product is a(n)________ product.

Sales for the time-tried household cleansers made by Brite and New, Inc., have been declining for some time. If these products are typical, sales are declining because of technological advances, shifts in consumer tastes, and lack of raw materials from foreign suppliers.