Mercedes-Benz: Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes-Benz automobiles, is planning to launch a new line of downsized luxury vehicles in the United States by 2012. Daimler has experienced a recent drop in global sales attributed to its product mix that focuses on larger luxury automobiles.
With increasing fuel prices and stricter U.S. fuel-economy standards coming down the pipeline, Daimler doesn't want to be left behind. Daimler is behind its competition, though. Its German rivals, Audi and BMW, have been relatively successful in the United States. BMW's Mini Cooper, demanding as much as $34,000, has already driven away with some of Daimler's potential sales. While Daimler already offers the Smart car in the United States, the new offerings will not be going after the same consumers.
- Refer to Mercedes-Benz. Baby boomers have money to burn and will be the primary target for the downsized luxury vehicles offered by Mercedes. Many of them will want this type of car to feel young again. This group is considered a(n):
a. consumer advocacy group
b. income-ready group
c. market
d. population
e. market maven
ANSWER: c
- Refer to Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz's baby boomers are a useful segment because they meet certain criteria. Which of the following is not one of those criteria?
a. Substantiality
b. Identifiability and measurability
c. Accessibility
d. Responsiveness
e. Niche creativity
ANSWER: e
- Refer to Mercedes-Benz. Daimler plans to introduce the downsized luxury vehicles in major U.S. cities, such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago because market research has shown that these metropolitan areas have the greatest potential with respect to the consumers able to purchase a $30,000+ smaller luxury vehicle. Which type of psychographic segmentation does this represent?
a. Geodemographic
b. Personality
c. Benefit
d. Usage rate
e. Demographic
ANSWER: a
- Refer to MercedesBenz. One potential problem is that some of the purchasers of Daimler's downsized luxury vehicles could be consumers who would have purchased a larger, higher-priced Mercedes-Benz. This situation is called:
a. subjugation
b. cannibalization
c. sabotage
d. benefit transference
e. marginal sales
ANSWER: b
- Refer to Mercedes-Benz. Which positioning base will Daimler be using if the company emphasizes the type of people who buy Mercedes-Benz automobiles in its promotional efforts?
a. Product user
b. Emotion
c. Price and quality
d. Attribute
e. Use or application
ANSWER: a
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Marketing Chapter 8
- In the ________ stage, a firm most likely faces a trade-off between high market share and high current profit.
- Which of the following is true about the introduction stage of a new product?
- In which stage of the product life cycle will promotional expenditures be significantly high in an attempt to create consumer awareness of a product and its features?
- When a product hits the ________ stage, profits level off or decline because of increased marketing outlays to defend the product against competition.
- Flurrbies, a line of winter accessories by a leading fashion label, quickly fell in and out of favor with customers. Flurrbies represents an example of a(n) ________.
- Which of the following would most likely have the longest duration in a market and be characterized by several periods of renewed interest?
- Fads are characterized by their ________.
- Some products that have entered the decline stage can be cycled back to the growth stage through ________.
- Which of the following is true of the product life cycle (PLC)?
- A product life cycle has five distinct stages: product development, introduction, growth, maturity, and ________.
- Which of the following statements is most likely true about the product life cycle?
- ________ is used to study the course of a product's sales and profits for the duration that it is produced and sold in the market.
- An innovation management system would most likely be used by ________.
- When an end user's problems and experiences define a new product, the approach is called ________.
- The team-based new product development approach saves times because departments work closely together in ________.
- Under a ________ product development approach, one company department works to complete its stage of the product development process before passing the new product along to the next department and stage.
- Under a ________ new product development approach, company departments work closely together in cross-functional groups, overlapping the steps in the product development process to save time and increase effectiveness.
- Using ________, researchers measure consumer responses to new products and marketing tactics in laboratory stores or virtual online shopping environments.
- ________ is the stage where a product and its proposed marketing program are introduced into realistic market settings.
- Evans and Hills, a beverages manufacturing company, has developed a new line of specialty teas and is seeking regular input from the test marketing process. To facilitate this process, the firm uses BuyerScan, a software that generates store-by-store, week-by-week reports on the actual sales of tested products and the impact of in-store and in-home marketing efforts. Which of the following approaches does this scenario illustrate?
- In which of the following cases is little or no test marketing most likely recommended for a new product?
- Wayne Industries, a retail and home improvement store, is developing a new lawnmower. The marketing strategy for the product has already been developed and presented. A prototype has also been developed by the company's R&D team. The prototype is now being tested rigorously to ensure that there are no product liability issues. Once the prototype of the lawnmower passes product tests, the next step is most likely to be ________.
- If a product passes both the concept test and the product test, the next step is most likely to be ________.
- In a sequential new product development process, once a product or service passes the business test, it moves into ________.
- In a sequential new product development process, which of the following is true of the product development step?