NutriOats, an oatmeal cookie product, has been in the market for more than seven years and is now in its decline stage. In this case, which of the following strategies would be successful in marketing NutriOats?

a. Lengthen the product line.

b. Focus on adding new users.

c. Spend heavily on advertising to educate consumers about the product's benefits.

d. Eliminate all nonessential marketing expenses and let sales decline.

Answer: d. Eliminate all nonessential marketing expenses and let sales decline.

The beginning of which stage of the product life cycle is signaled by a long-run drop in a product's sales?

a. Introductory stage

b. Growth stage

c. Maturity stage

d. Decline stage

Answer: d. Decline stage

Atwood Furnishers is experiencing a period when their sales are increasing at a slower rate. The company realizes that new users cannot be added indefinitely and that, sooner or later, its market will approach saturation. Which stage is the company now entering?

a. End of the decline stage

b. End of the introductory stage

c. Beginning of the growth stage

d. Beginning of the maturity stage

Answer: d. Beginning of the maturity stage

Magnira Corp. is an apparel company. After a slow start, it saw a steep rise in the number of its customers and a remarkable increase in its profits. However, with the launch of competing apparel manufacturers in the market, the profits of Magnira have started declining. To sustain its growth in the market, the managers of Magnira should

a. focus on primary demand stimulation rather than advertising the brand.

b. shift to aggressive brand advertising and open new branches of its stores.

c. advise top management to reduce the number of employees in the company.

d. distribute the company's products at limited outlets.

Answer: b. shift to aggressive brand advertising and open new branches of its stores.

A new range of organic confectionary was introduced by Bounty Foods. The company is forced to give its dealer high margins and also needs to invest heavily in advertising. Their production costs are also high. In which PLC stage is the company most likely to be?

a. Introductory stage

b. Growth stage

c. Maturity stage

d. Decline stage

Answer: a. Introductory stage

Marketing costs are high in the introductory stage of the product life cycle because

a. product design changes become stylistic rather than functional.

b. high dealer margins are often needed to obtain adequate distribution.

c. manufacturers scramble to sign up dealers and distributors.

d. emphasis is given to communicating the differences among brands in the market

Answer: b. high dealer margins are often needed to obtain adequate distribution.

Which is a limitation of the PLC concept?

a. It does not tell managers the length of a product's life cycle or its duration in any stage.

b. It can only dictate marketing strategy with forecasts of events depending on life cycle length.

c. It only tells managers the length of a product's life cycle based on past and currently running cycles.

d. It cannot help marketers forecast future events and suggest appropriate strategies

Answer: a. It does not tell managers the length of a product's life cycle or its duration in any stage.

Which is a characteristic of fads?

a. They can move through the entire cycle in weeks.

b. They typically register a gradual and unpredictable spike in sales.

c. They peak slowly but then register a rather abrupt decline.

d. They stay in the maturity stage for decades.

Answer: a. They can move through the entire cycle in weeks.

The PLC for a brand that was the first and last competitor in a product form market is ______.

a. said to be zero or nil

b. longer than that of the product form

c. shorter than that of the product form

d. as long as that of the product form

Answer: d. as long as that of the product form

Which of the following provides an accurate contrast of product life cycle lengths?

a. The PLC for a product form is usually longer than the PLC for any one brand.

b. The PLC for a product category is usually shorter than the PLC for any one product form.

c. The PLC for a product form is usually equal to the PLC for the corresponding product category.

d. The PLC for a product category is usually shorter than the PLC for any one brand.

Answer: a. The PLC for a product form is usually longer than the PLC for any one brand.

Which of the following products has the highest trialability?

a. An airline

b. A condominium

c. A toothpaste

d. An investment app

Answer: c. A toothpaste

Comparably speaking, which of the following would have the highest observability in terms of its rate of acceptance and diffusion?

a. A new line of trousers

b. A musical instrument

c. A medicinal tea

d. A social media app

Answer: a. A new line of trousers

When predicting or explaining the rate of acceptance and diffusion of a new product, the degree to which it can be sampled on a limited basis is its ______.

a. compatibility

b. trialability

c. observability

d. complexity

Answer: b. trialability

When predicting or explaining a new the rate of adoption and diffusion of a new product, relative advantage refers to the degree to which that product is ______.

a. free of difficulty relating to its usage

b. consistent with existing values

c. perceived as superior to existing substitutes

d. available to be tried on a limited basis

Answer: c. perceived as superior to existing substitutes

When considering a product's characteristics and the rate of adoption, complexity refers to the degree to which a new product is ______.

a. difficulty to understand and use the new product

b. consistent with existing values

c. perceived as superior to existing substitutes

d. available to be tried on a limited basis

Answer: a. difficulty to understand and use the new product

When considering the diffusion of innovation, which group is least motivated by advertising or personal selling?

a. Laggards

b. Innovators

c. The late majority

d. The early majority

Answer: a. Laggards

Which of the following describes the late majority?

a. They adopt a new product because most of their friends have already adopted it.

b. They do not rely on group norms and their adoption is free from pressure to conform.

c. They tend to be younger and above average in income as well as education.

d. They depend mainly on mass media rather than on word-of-mouth communication.

Answer: a. They adopt a new product because most of their friends have already adopted it.

Which of the following describes laggards?

a. They have the shortest adoption time and the lowest socioeconomic status.

b. They have the longest adoption time and the highest socioeconomic status.

c. They have the longest adoption time and the lowest socioeconomic status.

d. They have the shortest adoption time and the highest socioeconomic status.

Answer: c. They have the longest adoption time and the lowest socioeconomic status.

Identify a similarity between laggards and innovators.

a. Neither relies on group norms.

b. Neither is rooted in tradition.

c. Both are eager to try new products.

d. Both exhibit short adoption time.

Answer: a. Neither relies on group norms.

Jason bought his first color television set after flat screen televisions were already widely diffused. He is most likely to be one among the ______.

a. early adopters

b. early majority

c. late majority

d. laggards

Answer: d. laggards