Name: Class: Date: ID: A Chapter 5 Marketing Information and Research True/False Indicate whether the statement is true or false. 1. When products have limited differences, businesses try to compete for sales emphasizing such things as their name, availability, or price. 2. As businesses develop an international focus, differences among customer groups and the number of distinct market segments tend to diminish. 3. Competition is becoming much more intense for most businesses. 4. Many companies keep a complete record of all transactions they have with a customer. Such records are examples of internal marketing information. 5. The Wall Street Journal is probably the main source of internal information for most businesses. 6. A marketing information system is an organized method of collecting, storing, analyzing, and retrieving information to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing decisions. 7. The process of summarizing, combining, or comparing information so that decisions can be made is called input. 8. For managers and other decision makers, the most important part of an MkIS is the output. 9. Random sampling ensures that everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected in the sample. 10. Non-numerical data is much easier for researchers to analyze than numerical data. 11. The most important part of a marketing research report is the presentation of the results of the research. 12. In most cases, the marketing researchers completing the study are the ones who make final decisions about solutions for a business. 13. Open-ended questions are often used when researchers are attempting to identify the problem or are completing a situational analysis. 14. Observation research usually results in greater accuracy and objectivity, and it is also the easiest way to gather information from large numbers of participants. 15. A population is a specific city or geographic area in which marketing experiments are conducted. Multiple Choice Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 16. Most businesses today a. have a production emphasis. c. believe customers will buy a product simply because it is available. b. recognize that different customers have different wants and needs. d. think that all customers basically want the same thing. 17. Type of competition, economic regulations, and government regulations are all considered information about a. consumers. c. the business environment. b. the marketing mix. d. all of the above. 1
Name: ID: A 18. Effective marketing information a. reduces the risk of decision making. c. guarantees that a business will be successful. b. is too costly for a small business to worry d. eliminates all business risk. about. 19. What is the first step a business usually takes in the process of gathering marketing information? a. Enter the information into a marketing information system. c. Select the information sources that best meet the identified needs. b. Determine the available sources of each type of information. d. Identify the types of information needed. 20. The most important performance measure for a company is a. to compare actual performance with expected or planned performance. c. to compare current performance with past performance. b. to compare performance with that of similar businesses. d. to compare employee and customer perceptions of performance. 21. Which of the following is not an external information source for a business? a. an invoice recording the details of a c. the Dun & Bradstreet business database recent sale made by the company b. Forbes magazine d. the U.S. Census Bureau 22. Which MkIS element answers the question, Which methods should be used to organize and study the information in order to make effective marketing decisions? a. storage c. output b. decision making d. analysis 23. The first step in implementing a marketing research study is to a. develop a data-collection procedure. c. define the problem. b. analyze the situation. d. develop an MkIS. 24. Which of the following is an example of a closed-ended question? a. What are this product s most important features? c. What did you like most about this product? b. Rate this item on a scale of 1 to 10. d. How does the durability of this product compare to other products you have used? 25. A carefully designed and controlled situation in which all important factors are the same except the one being studied is called a(n) a. survey. c. interview. b. hypothesis. d. experiment. Numeric Response 26. A research company selects a sample of 510 people out of a population of 6,000. What percentage of the population makes up the sample? 2
Name: ID: A 27. Customers were asked to rate a product on a scale of 1 (terrible) to 5 (perfect). The following results were obtained: 5 people rated the product a 1 25 people rated the product a 2 45 people rated the product a 3 30 people rated the product a 4 15 people rated the product a 5 What is the product s average rating? (Round your answer to one decimal place.) 28. In question 2, what is the mode? 29. Of the 3,500 people who responded to a product survey, 72 percent had a favorable reaction to the product. What is the total number of people who liked the product? 30. An observational study showed that the average four-year-old could assemble a toy in 15 seconds. The average five-year-old could assemble the same toy 40 percent faster. How many seconds did it take the average five-year-old to assemble the toy? Completion Complete each statement. 31. Marketing information developed from activities that occur within the organization is called information. 32. information provides an understanding of factors outside of the organization. 33. The information that goes into a marketing information system that is needed for decision making is called. 34. involves the resources used to maintain information, including equipment and procedures, so that it can be used when needed. 35. The result of analysis given to decision makers is called. 36. Marketing is a procedure designed to identify solutions to a specific marketing problem through the use of scientific problem solving. 37. Information already collected for another purpose that can be used to solve the current problem is data. 38. data is obtained through data collection designed specifically in response to current needs of the company. 39. A(n) group is a small number of people brought together to discuss identified elements of an issue or problem. 40. collects information by recording actions without interacting or communicating with the participant. Short Answer 41. What is a discretionary purchase? 3
Name: ID: A 42. Marketers need information from three basic categories in order to make effective marketing decisions. Name them. 43. Name the three categories of important types of internal information. 44. Name the three major credit reporting agencies for consumer credit. Would the information a business obtains from one of these agencies be considered internal or external information? 45. What is the purpose of a marketing information system? 46. In data collection, what is the difference between a population and a sample? Essay 47. What are the three sources of marketing information? Describe the process a business typically follows as it collects marketing information. 48. What is a customer club? How are businesses using customer clubs as information tools? 49. Describe the precautions that must be taken when collecting primary data for a market research study. 50. When a marketing research report is being prepared, two items are especially important. Name them and briefly explain why they are so crucial. 4
ID: A Chapter 5 Marketing Information and Research Answer Section TRUE/FALSE 1. ANS: T 2. ANS: F 3. ANS: T 4. ANS: T 5. ANS: F 6. ANS: T 7. ANS: F 8. ANS: T 9. ANS: T 10. ANS: F 11. ANS: T 12. ANS: F 13. ANS: T 14. ANS: F 15. ANS: F MULTIPLE CHOICE 16. ANS: B 17. ANS: C 18. ANS: A 19. ANS: D 20. ANS: A 21. ANS: A 22. ANS: D 23. ANS: C 24. ANS: B 25. ANS: D NUMERIC RESPONSE 26. ANS: 8.5% 8.5 percent 0.085 27. ANS: 3.2 1
ID: A 28. ANS: 3 29. ANS: 2,520 30. ANS: 9 seconds COMPLETION 31. ANS: internal 32. ANS: External 33. ANS: input 34. ANS: Storage 35. ANS: output 36. ANS: research 37. ANS: secondary 38. ANS: Primary 39. ANS: focus 40. ANS: Observation 2
ID: A SHORT ANSWER 41. ANS: A discretionary purchase is a purchase that is not essential, so consumers can decide whether or not to purchase it. 42. ANS: The categories are consumers, marketing mix, and business environment. 43. ANS: Three categories of important types of internal information are customer records and sales information, production and operations reports, and performance information. 44. ANS: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are the three major credit reporting agencies for consumer credit. The information a business obtains from one of these agencies would be considered external information. 45. ANS: The purpose of a marketing information system is to improve decision making. 46. ANS: All of the people in the group the company is interested in studying are known as the population. A smaller group selected from the population is a sample. ESSAY 47. ANS: Marketing information can come from one of three sources: internal sources, external sources, and marketing research. As a business determines what information it needs and where to obtain it, it typically goes through the following process: (1) Identify the types of information needed. (2) Determine the available sources of each type of information. (3) Evaluate each source to determine if it meets the organization s needs in terms of accuracy, time, detail, and cost. (4) Select the sources that best meet the identified needs. (5) Enter the information into a marketing information system. 3
ID: A 48. ANS: Businesses sometimes offer special incentives such as discounts and bonuses to persuade prospective and current customers to join a customer club. In order to join, the consumer completes a detailed profile form. Based on that profile, each consumer is sent regular mailings or e-mail messages providing new product information, special purchase opportunities and discounts, and promotional information for products and services the company believes the customer will want to buy. Some companies use consumer clubs to develop a consumer database of thousands of people. 49. ANS: Research procedures should be carefully planned in advance to ensure that needed information is obtained and that the collection and review of information is done objectively. Procedures for primary data collection are particularly important. When gathering information directly from other people, researchers must be careful to maintain the privacy of the individual and treat the person ethically. A great deal of consumer research is conducted by telephone calls to people s homes. The number of calls and the time of day when people are called may upset many people. Businesses should not tell consumers that they are conducting a research study when they are really collecting personal information or attempting to sell a product or service. 50. ANS: First, the people preparing the report must know who will be receiving and studying the report. Just as a marketing mix should respond to the needs of customers, the research report must be prepared to meet the needs of its users. Second, the report must clearly describe the purpose of the study and the research procedures followed to collect the information. Without an understanding of the problem being studied and the methods used, those receiving the report may misunderstand or misinterpret the results. 4