Exam 4: The Marketing Environment

Blogs created by consumers can be used to assess customer attitudes toward new products as well as customer perceptions of new products.Marketers' ability to search for key words used in the blogs is an example of a change in the _____ factor of the external environment.

Susan is the director of marketing for a company that sells recreational vehicles and is developing a marketing plan to cover the next five years of business. Which of the following is an uncontrollable factor Susan must consider in her plan?

China's new 5 percent tax on disposable wooden chopsticks,reflecting concerns about deforestation,has been praised by environmentalists.The move is hitting hard at the Japanese who consume 25 billion sets of wooden chopsticks annually.Almost all of the chopsticks used in Japan come from China.The requirement for Chinese manufacturers of wooden chopsticks to pay the 5 percent tax is a _____ factor in their external environment.

One component of the external environment marketing managers must understand and react to is the economic environment.Briefly describe the four economic areas of greatest concern to U.S.marketers and the marketing implications of trends in these four areas.

When a company engages in _____,it is implementing strategies that attempt to shape the external environment in which it operates.

E-cigarettes Smoking inflames non-smokers and claims the lives of more than 400,000 smokers each year, so the electronic cigarette is a welcomed alternative. Electronic cigarettes, called e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that emit a vapor from nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. It looks like a cigarette and allows smokers to inhale the nicotine vapor in places where smoking is not allowed. The product has been touted as a means to quit smoking as well. However, critics, especially the Food and Drug Administration, claim that "vaping" poses risks. In fact, the FDA claims its tests revealed a toxic chemical that is found in anti-freeze as well as other carcinogens. The FDA blocked a shipment of the product from China and banned the sale of this product in the United States. In addition to the safety issue, the FDA is concerned that children might be attracted to this product because they come in flavors other than traditional menthol, such as bubble gum, chocolate, and strawberry. The FDA wants this product to go through the same rigorous testing that drugs must go through before being marketed. However, the FDA's authority over this product is questioned. While Congress has recently given the FDA authority over tobacco products, this is not a tobacco product and the Electronic Cigarette Association is fighting the ban. -Refer to E-cigarettes. The e-cigarette has been heralded as an innovative product that serves a need for smokers by helping them quit the habit. This innovative product was developed from changes in which environment?

What do self-sufficiency,upward mobility,work ethic,and conformity have in common?

One of the results of the Americans with Disabilities Act is an increase in the numbers of disabled travelers.Publications like Emerging Horizons,a California-based,25,000-circulation magazine focus on accessible travel,and businesses,such as Mobility Challenged Vacations Ltd.,see that disabled tourists are a growing market.One can argue the increase in tourism by the disabled was due to:

There are several federal laws that affect marketing regarding the competitive environment,pricing practices,and false advertising. Name and briefly describe three of these federal laws.

All of the following are segments into which baby boomers have been subdivided into EXCEPT?

The phenomenon of working women has had a greater effect on marketing than has any other social change.

A multicultural society is characterized by:

What is the CPSC? How does it affect marketing?

The competitive environment of a business encompasses the number of competitors the firm must face,the relative size of these competitors,regulatory agencies,and the degree of interdependence within the industry.

Marketing managers cannot control _____,but they can sometimes influence it.

Compare and contrast Generation Y and Generation X. Which generation is of more interest to marketers? Why?

E-cigarettes Smoking inflames non-smokers and claims the lives of more than 400,000 smokers each year, so the electronic cigarette is a welcomed alternative. Electronic cigarettes, called e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that emit a vapor from nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. It looks like a cigarette and allows smokers to inhale the nicotine vapor in places where smoking is not allowed. The product has been touted as a means to quit smoking as well. However, critics, especially the Food and Drug Administration, claim that "vaping" poses risks. In fact, the FDA claims its tests revealed a toxic chemical that is found in anti-freeze as well as other carcinogens. The FDA blocked a shipment of the product from China and banned the sale of this product in the United States. In addition to the safety issue, the FDA is concerned that children might be attracted to this product because they come in flavors other than traditional menthol, such as bubble gum, chocolate, and strawberry. The FDA wants this product to go through the same rigorous testing that drugs must go through before being marketed. However, the FDA's authority over this product is questioned. While Congress has recently given the FDA authority over tobacco products, this is not a tobacco product and the Electronic Cigarette Association is fighting the ban. -Refer to E-cigarettes.E-cigarette manufacturers claim they are not trying to sell this product to children. Rather,they are offering an alternative to combustible tobacco for committed smokers. These smokers comprise the manufacturers':

A(n)_____ is a defined group that managers feel is most likely to buy a firm's product.

Name and describe one federal law that has been passed to protect consumers from identity theft.

Dog Spa Kelly Tumlin wants to open a dog grooming salon that will offer healthy, natural pet care and holistic pet products. All of the products sold at the salon will be of the highest quality and made of all-natural ingredients.. Tumlin wants to pamper pets just like a spa pampers their owners. To determine the feasibility of the grooming salon, Tumlin hired a marketing researcher who studied all the market information available and determined that single, white-collar workers between the ages of 30 and 60 were the most likely people to use the services proposed by Tumlin. The researcher also determined the west side of the city offers the best location for the enterprise even though zoning regulations are much stricter in that area. -Refer to Dog Spa.Tumlin is developing a strategic marketing plan to cover the first five years of the salon's business.She must be sure to consider which of the following uncontrollable factors in her plan?