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Marketing Plan Handbook 5th Edition Solution Manual

Marketing Plan Handbook 5th Edition Solution Manual is your study companion, providing answers to textbook exercises and reinforcing key concepts.

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    Marketing Plan Handbook , 5th ed. Discussion Questions and Sample Answers Chapter 1 – Marketing Planning: New Pace, New Possibilities 1. How can a company hold marketing managers accountable for results when so many elements in the marketing situation are beyond their control? Sample answer: Although marketing managers can’t control the economy or many other elements in the marketing environment, they can and should be alert to changes and trends and carefully analyze potential opportunities and threats as they create and implement their marketing plans. Marketing managers also have the advantage of being “close to the customer,” being in touch with customers’ needs and watching for changes in behavior and attitudes that drive shifts in purchasing and brand lo yalty. Marketers must have the ability to notice, interpret, and react to changes in the marketing environment so they can adjust marketing plans and achieve their objectives despite the many uncontrollable elements they face. 2. In what ways might an internal marketing strategy benefit a nonprofit organization? A government agency that deals with the public? Sample answer: A nonprofit would benefit from using internal marketing to solidify support and reinforce the loyalty of employees, volunteers, contributors, and others inside the organization. These groups need to stay informed about and maintain a positive attitude toward the nonprofit’s marketing activities and results. In turn, these groups would be encouraged to actively support external marketing programs through their personal connections and their behavior and communications. Similarly, a government agency could use internal marketing to build internal support for public contact programs, educate employees about the agency’s mission and marketing, and improve understanding of the people served by the agency. 3. A typical marketing plan covers a calendar year. Given the rapid pace of change in today’s environment, should companies switch to preparing marketing plans for shorter periods, such as three or six months? Sample answer: Students who favor a shorter period may say that this will force marketers to reevaluate the marketing situation and results more often and give them momentum to move quickly in the event of significant changes. It will also force marketers to focus on the immediate consequences of their planned activities. Students who do not favor a shorter period may say that marketers need to balance short - and long - term results because building relationships and loyalty can take time. They may also say that a marketing plan must cover sufficient time to allow for situational analysis, research if needed, planning for implementation, and evaluation of interim results. Marketers who create a plan for a calendar year should be reassessing the situation on a regular basis and tracking results so they can apply marketing control at any point. 4. What role do key performance indicators play in preparing for marketing plan implementation? Sample answer: To use key performance indicators, marketing managers select a few

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    indicators that will show whether a marketing plan is effective in achieving the organization’s strategic goals and marketing plan objectives. For example, a company might determine that customer retention is a key performance indicator when the marketing plan is intended to reinforce customer loyalty; if retention goes up, the plan is having the desired effect — but if retention goes down, performance is not meeting expectations. Ask students to suggest other key performance indicators related to common marketing objectives. Chapter 2 – Analyzing the Current Situation 1. What clues about strengths and weaknesses might you find in a competitor’s annual report to shareholders? Identify at least three specific types of information and explain how you would use such data in a competitive SWOT analysis. Sample answer: Students may identify a variety of types of information, including: revenues and profits (changes over time can indicate financial strength or weakness); markets served (reduction in markets served can indicate insufficient resources or changes in strategy that can be exploited); product lines and mix of products (multiple introductions may indicate strength in product development, whereas elimination of multiple products may indicate weaknesses in market share). 2. Why do marketers need to understand business relationships (as part of the internal environment) when planning to address opportunities and threats in the external environment? Sample answer: Although business partners are not, strictly speaking, inside the organization, the relationships with these partners (including suppliers and resellers) are an important part of the internal environment. Often a company’s ability to take advantage of an opportunity or defend against a threat depends, in large part, on the resources, products, staffing, or supply networks of its partners. If the company outsources certain functions (such as production), its marketing plan must take into account the capabilities and responsiveness of the partners that handle those functions. [Suggest that students refer to the discussion about alliances (in Chapter 1) for more about the importance of business relationships.] 3. Do companies that market products only in their home countries need to be concerned with the political - legal environment in other parts of the world? Explain your answer. Sample answer: Such companies should monitor major political - legal developments in areas where their suppliers are located (or where their raw materials come from), to be prepared for changes that could affect their ability to obtain inputs. They should also be aware of political - legal movements that can potentially spread to other countries, such as increase d regulation of environmentally sensitive activities. Finally, these companies should watch how political - legal trends elsewhere may be affecting other elements in the external environment that could eventually influence the home country. 4. From a marketing perspective, what do you think a company can do to correct inaccurate perceptions of greenwashing if, in fact , its products are ecologically friendly? Sample answer: The company should be able to demonstrate, through tests or certification, that its products are truly green. Publishing the results of these tests and mentioning certification on product labels, on the brand’s website and/or in the annual report, will help

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    refute inaccurate perceptions. The company can also use social media to discuss and showcase the product’s eco - friendly properties or enlist the assistance of influential opinion leaders in correcting misperceptions of greenwashing. Chapter 3 – Understanding Markets and Customers 1. How might a company define the market for a pioneering, innovative product that is unlike anything previously available? Sample answer: The company can focus on broad but specific customer needs and interests in initially defining the potential market, then narrow the definitions for the available and qualified market prior to defining the target market. Also , the marketer might consider modeling the market definition partly on an existing product that addresses similar needs or interests. As an example, for an innovative electronic gadget that delivers entertainment content, the marketer might use the market definitions for an iPad as a starting point for thinking about the potential, available, and qualified available market definitions. 2. In what ways are social media such as Facebook and YouTube likely to affect a consumer’s social connections, cultural considera tions, and personal factors , all of which influence individual buying behavior? Sample answer: Clearly, social media can have a very direct effect on social connections through friending and status updates (Facebook), following individuals and lists (Twitter), forwarding links to amusing or informative videos/commercials (YouTube), etc. Even people who rarely see each other in person may be in touch via social media on a regular basis and can potentially influence how their contacts view favored or disliked brands, make recommendations about brands to buy, and so on. Social media are also helping to shape and change culture (think of all the news references to Twitter, for instance), which in turn affects buying behavior. Finally, social media are reshaping lifestyle patterns and attitudes as people become accustomed to checking for friends’ updates, posting their own updates, watching videos posted by friends, and seek out social media content regarding products they’re thinking of buying. 3. During the planning process, how can B2B marketers determine specific ways in which the principle of derived demand applies to their marketing situations? Sample answer: First, B2B marketers should list every product in which their own goods or services is a component, tracing forward through the value chain until a comprehensive listing of consumer products has been prepared. Next, consider how c hanges in demand for each of tho se consumer products will affect demand for the B2B product being marketed. Then project the likely course of demand and supply for each of the consumer products for the period covered by the marketing plan. Based on this information, B2B marketers can estimate shifts in demand for their business products and plan accordingly. 4. Why would a marketer find online behavioral tracking useful in understanding consumer behavior and decision - making priorities? Sample answer: Behavioral tracking allows marketers to see what consumers do when they visit a website, including what they click on and how long they remain on a page before clicking away. This kind of research helps marketers understand what consumers research,

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