Krispy Kreme n IKEA

Chapter 8

Product, Services, and Branding Strategy

Individual Assignment 

1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the following questions:
1. Krispy Kreme sells doughnuts. But what are customers really buying?
2. Discuss the brand equity of Krispy Kreme versus that of Dunkin’ Donuts.
3. In a product that is meant for almost immediate consumption, how important is packaging?
4. How might Krispy Kreme extend their brand?

Share your findings with the class.

Think-Pair-Share

1. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to questions from the instructor:
1. What is a product?
2. What is a service?
3. What is an experience? How is it similar and dissimilar to a product or service?
4. How is the augmented product different from the core product?
5. What is an example of a convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought good?
6. What is social marketing?
7. What is brand equity?
8. What makes a brand name successful from a promotions standpoint?
9. What is the difference between a manufacturer’s brand and a private brand?
10. Give an example of co-branding.
11. What is a line extension? Give an example.
12. What is a product line?
13. What are the four characteristics of a service? Apply these to a dentist’s office.
14. What is interactive marketing?
15. What are the problems associated with international product and services marketing?

Outside Example

IKEA is a furniture store that is unlike most furniture stores in the world. First, it offers inexpensive furniture. It actually focuses on young people just starting out, those who can’t afford fine furniture, and frankly, those who don’t want to be saddled with expensive furniture that will last for 30 years. After all, not all of us want to see the sofa we bought when our first child was born when he or she is leaving for college!

Shopping at IKEA is an experience. They actually encourage you to bring your children, but they give you a safe place to drop them off so you can concentrate on the important task of picking out your furniture. Its “ball room” is a big hit with the little ones, and there are adults there to supervise to make sure no one gets hurt or lost.

IKEA furniture is also ready for you to take home. You need to assemble it yourself in most cases, but at these prices, who’s complaining? You can also buy your artwork, pots for your plants, rugs for your floors, utensils for your kitchen, and if all that is making you sleepy, you can go to their café and get coffee and a cinnamon roll!

In short, IKEA is unique. There is no six-week wait for your custom-built furniture; you can outfit your entire apartment or house with their goods, and they save you a lot of money. As stated above, IKEA has done what most others try to do: create a brand experience.

1. If you’ve never been to an IKEA store, and there is one local to you, visit the store. Describe the total experience.
2. Discuss the levels of products and services that IKEA offers. How does this differ from another furniture store?
3. What is IKEA’s brand positioning?
4. Could IKEA extend their brand? How?
5. IKEA started in Scandinavia. Have they adjusted their products to the United States market? Give examples.

Procter & Gamble Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning:

Building the Right Relationships with the Right Customers

Individual Assignment 

1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the following questions:
1. What is Procter & Gamble’s strategy?
2. Is their strategy really product differentiation (as opposed to market segmentation)?
3. What does their strategy do to meet competitive threats?
4. Are there weaknesses in the P&G strategy? If so, what are they?

Share your findings with the class.

Think-Pair-Share

1. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to questions from the instructor.
1. What is market segmentation?
2. How is market segmentation different from product differentiation?
3. How is target marketing linked to market segmentation?
4. What are the four levels of market segmentation? Which offers the greatest potential for doing business over the Internet?
5. How does a national company attempt to do local marketing? Individual marketing?
6. Briefly discuss behavioral and psychographic segmentation.
7. Is gender segmentation discriminatory? Explain.
8. What are the chief means for segmenting business markets?
9. What is intermarket segmentation?
10. What are the five characteristics of successful segmentation?
11. What is the best way to evaluate a target market?
12. What are the four alternative market-coverage strategies? Which is superior? How can you tell?
13. What is product positioning?
14. How is competitive advantage obtained?
15. How does a company choose the right competitive advantage to promote?

Outside Example

The concept of positioning is extremely important in marketing. Your customers define your position—according to the text, it “is the place the product occupies in the consumer’s mind relative to competing products.” Thus, a company can influence its product positioning, but it can’t really control it.

There are many discount stores in the United States today. A couple of decades ago, discount stores were where the poor and working class families shopped. Today, virtually everyone brags about the bargain they got at Wal-Mart or Target. But are these two stores really all that similar? Think about how you feel about the two stores and what you think of when you picture them.

Typically, Wal-Mart is considered to be the place where large families on tight budgets shop. Target, on the other hand, is a place for those with much higher incomes. It even has a nickname, pronounced “Tar-zhay,” so that those who shop there feel more like they are shopping at an elite, upper class store.

1. Look at the ads for the two stores. Who do you think each is targeting? How are they segmenting their markets?
2. Go to the two stores’ Web sites (http://www.target.com/ and http://www.walmart.com/). What is the look and feel of each? Does this help you understand how they might define their target segments? What about their product selection listed on each? Does that help define their target segments?
3. Draw a perceptual positioning map for discount stores. Include Wal-Mart, Target and several others that are available in your area. What axis would you use to describe these stores’ important buying dimensions?
4. How has each store chosen to communicate its chosen position?

UPS Chapter 6

Individual Assignment

Chapter 6

Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior

Business Markets and Business Buyer Behavior

1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the following questions:

a.       How well does UPS cover the business market in both the United States and around the world?

b.      Why would a small company choose UPS over another delivery service? Why would a large corporation choose UPS?

c.       How does UPS use systems selling to win the marketplace?

Share your findings with the class.

Think-Pair-Share

1. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to questions from the instructor.
1. What are the primary differences between the consumer market and the business market?
2. List four primary characteristics of the business market.
3. What are the similarities and differences between the business model of buyer behavior and the consumer buying model? Be specific.
4. What are the differences between the straight rebuy, the modified rebuy, and the new task buy?
5. What is systems buying?
6. What is the key to supplier selection?
7. What are the advantages to business buying on the Internet?
8. Why is the government market an important one?

Outside Example

Thomas Register has long been the industrial buyer’s bible. Its familiar green books lined the shelves of purchasing departments for decades. With the advent of the Internet, like virtually every other business, Thomas Register went online. Their Web site, found at http://www.thomasregister.com/, provides a comprehensive listing of companies in the United States and Canada. You can use the information online for free, or buy CDs, DVDs, and even the familiar green books if you are so inclined.

Visit the Thomas Register Web site to learn about the service and what it offers business buyers. Register for the service—it’s free, and they don’t spam you. Then answer the questions below:

1. One of the characteristics of business markets is that the purchases tend to be large. If a consumer needs a screw, he or she might go to Home Depot or Lowe’s to buy a package of screws. If you are the buyer for Home Depot, you need to have virtually any kind of screw the consumer will come in to buy. How might that buyer use Thomas Register to buy the assortment of screws they need to stock?
2. Business buying decisions can also be very complex. How has Thomas Register enabled the business buyer to ease that complexity?
3. What type(s) of business situation(s) would Thomas Register be best for? Explain your answer.
4. Thomas Register obviously can help the business buying process in terms of supplier search. Are there other stages of the process in which it can help? Be specific.

Harley-Davidson Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior

Individual Assignment 

1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the following questions:
1. What was Harley-Davidson’s old strategy?
2. Who is Harley-Davidson’s new market?
3. How has Harley changed its media strategy?
4. What psychological feelings does Harley-Davidson wish to tape in a potential owner? In an existing owner? How do these feelings match you or your situation?
5. Evaluate Harley-Davidson’s strategy.

Think-Pair-Share

1. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to the questions from the instructor.
1. As briefly as possible, explain the “black box” concept of buyer behavior.
2. What are the most important “cultural” influences on consumer behavior?
3. What are the most important “social” influences on consumer behavior?
4. How is lifestyle used in marketing products?
5. How can a marketer shape your beliefs and attitudes? How can this be done over the Internet?
6. What is cognitive dissonance? How do marketers attempt to reduce it?

Outside Example

When asked about their least favorite aspect of TV viewing, most people say it’s the commercials. Although most consumers understand that commercials support free programming, they are bothered by the growing number of commercial interruptions. One way to avoid all the clutter is to channel surf and bypass commercials. But digital video recorders (DVRs) offer another solution—skip commercials altogether while still watching your favorite show on your own schedule.

Consumers are discovering DVRs and love the freedom they find through services like TiVo. The service allows consumers to automatically record shows and skip commercials during playback. Statistics show that DVR users watch more TV, channel surf less, enjoy their DVR almost as much as their cell phone, and move many prime-time week shows to the weekend, when they have more leisure time. Many advertising agencies believe that DVRs will be the end to commercial dominance and put the consumer in the driver’s seat as never before.

Now that satellite TV companies and cable companies alike have joined in by offering DVRs as part of their service, market penetration should be rapid.

1. How would the elimination of traditional television advertising affect the Buyer Decision Process?
2. What social and personal factors might influence you to buy this product? How might they keep a consumer from buying this product?
3. Describe the buyer decision process for this new product. Who might have adopted this technology 3 years ago? What group of buyers will be purchasing it now?
4. How would you market this product so that you created a need in the consumer’s mind? How would you aid in the consumer’s information search and evaluation of alternatives?

Coca-Cola Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Managing Marketing Information

Individual Assignment 

1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the follow­ing questions:
1. What mistakes did Coca-Cola make with its introduction of New Coke?
2. Why were the mistakes made?
3. What intangibles did Coke’s research fail to take into account?
4. If Coke were to learn one things from past research failures, what would it be?

Think-Pair-Share

1. Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to questions from the instructor.
1. In simple terms, what is a marketing information system?
2. How can a company use an internal database in its marketing efforts?
3. What is an example of marketing intelligence?
4. What is a data warehouse? What is data mining?
5. How is marketing research different from marketing intelligence?
6. What is the difference between exploratory, descriptive, and causal research?
7. What are the four contact methods in marketing research? Which is best if cost is an issue?
8. What is the value of single-source data systems?
9. What is the most important step in the marketing research process? Why?
10. What does a focus group do?
11. What is the objective of customer relationship management?
12. What do you think is the greatest problem today with respect to ethical business practices on the Internet? What solution would you offer? Explain.

Outside Example

You are now the Chief Marketing Officer of a company that wants to help families stay in touch in this fast-paced world we live in. You don’t have a product yet, but you do have an idea: allow communications among family members to be fast, easy, and device-independent; that is, you want Junior, who has a cell phone, to be able to message Dad on his Blackberry, Mom on her computer at work, and Sis, who is away at college. You want all their interfaces to be the same, no matter what type of interactive device they are working with. And, just to be certain everyone gets the message, you want to make sure it gets posted on the view screen of your new Internet-enabled refrigerator at home, because whenever anyone gets home, they go to the kitchen first.

There are lots of technology issues to deal with in this scenario, but your technical team will take care of them. Your charge is to understand the need in the marketplace—and if there even is one—and identify your target audience (who would use this). You want to further start defining how you will reach this audience to let them know about the service once it is available.

Using Figure 4.2 in the textbook as a guide, answer the following questions:

1. What is the problem you are trying to solve here?
2. Would you propose to use exploratory research, descriptive research, or causal research?
3. What should the specific research objectives be?
4. Develop a research plan outline that explains where you might be able to get existing data, whether you need to collect primary data, and if so, how you will contact potential respondents and what research instruments you might use. Table 4.1 could be useful in answering this question.

McDonald Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Marketing Environment

Individual Assignment 

1.      Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about the answers to the follow­ing questions:

a.       How might increasing levels of education have impacted McDonald’s growth?

b.      What in McDonald’s turnaround plan addressed changing income levels?

c.       Was McDonald’s being reactive or proactive in its approach to its changing marketplace?

Share your findings with the class.

Think-Pair-Share

1.      Consider the following questions, formulate and answers, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to questions from the instructor.

a.       What is the difference between the microenvironment and macro­environment with respect to marketing?

b.      What does a marketing intermediary do?

c.       How many publics can you name for your college or university?

d.      What generation are you in? How would you describe your generation?

e.       If you were going to attempt to sell to the 65+ generation, what would be a key to selling successfully to this generational group?

f.        Which technological force will impact marketing the most in the near future? What technological force has impacted you the most? Comment.

g.       Do you think the Internet should be regulated? Why or why not? Do you buy online? Why or why not?

h.       List five cultural values in our society. Why are these values important to our society? (If you are from a foreign society, list five cultural values from that society. What are the differences?)

NASCAR Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationships

Individual Assignment 

1. Read the opening vignette to the chapter. Think about answers to the following questions:

a.       How does NASCAR develop and maintain relationships with its custom­ers, when over 200,000 could attend a single event?

b.      How has NASCAR proven that it is a family-friendly organization?

c.       How has NASCAR utilized technology to extend its relationships?

Share your findings with the class.

Think-Pair-Share

Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to the questions from the instructor. These questions could also be given as out-of-class assignments.

1. How is marketing different than selling or advertising?
2. How many companies or brands do you feel you have a relationship with? Describe them.
3. Think about your “need” when you were exploring which college to attend. What was the marketing “offer” at your school that attracted you?
4. What type of company or organization might be required to practice “demarketing,” other than the examples in the text?
5. How is your college positioned in the marketplace?

Outside Example

The textbook talks about how Lexus delights their customers. But Lexus isn’t the only luxury brand to do that; it isn’t even the only Japanese luxury brand that focuses on delighting customers. Infiniti®, a brand of Nissan, is also concerned about its customer relationships. You can visit their Web site at http://www.nissanusa.com/ to read more about the philosophy of the company.

For instance, on the Web site you will find that the original creed of the company, way back in 1959 on its first introduction to the United States, was “Love cars, love people, love life.” This doesn’t sound much like an auto company, does it? But that creed seems to still be in effect today, and customers feel it.

A woman who recently bought an Infiniti did have a Zen-like experience as described in the original Nissan creed. Certain she wanted an Infiniti because of its good looks, she drove almost 90 miles to the closest Infiniti dealer. What she experienced there not only encouraged her to buy her vehicle from them, but to also have it serviced at that dealer.

Remember that dealer was 90 miles away from her home; that would normally be considered a major inconvenience. Would you drive that far to get your car serviced? What if, in doing so, you were given a free loaner car of a higher and more expensive model than the one you had purchased? If your car was washed and vacuumed even though it was only in there for an oil change? If you were given a long-stemmed red rose on leaving the dealership after your car was serviced? Many Infiniti dealers go above and beyond what constitutes normal service for automobiles in this country.

1. Does it make sense for Infiniti and Nissan, its parent, to provide such a high level of service to its customers? Why or why not?
2. What would be the best way for Infiniti to communicate this level of service to those it wishes to target?
3. Why do you think the parent company, Nissan, is not mentioned in Infiniti’s customer communications?
4. How has Infiniti grown its share of customer?
5. Describe how Infiniti both creates value for the customer and captures value from them.