Marketing Essentials

BA 345: MARKETING ESSENTIALS

Study Guide for Exam #3 - Final Exam (Monday, December 12)

Fall 2005

The fine print says that I am doing my best to include everything that you will see on the exam in this study guide. However, I cannot guarantee this to be true since I am not done writing the exam. Because every part of the course is an important component of your learning process, information from our lectures, Charlie Jordan's talk, and the Kotler text may appear on the exam.

Final Exam Material: Chapters 9 - 15, Charlie Jordan's talk

Final Exam Date and time: Monday, December 12th, 10:20 to 12:10

CH9 New Product Development and Product Life Cycle Strategies

1. What is a new product? What makes up the most "new" products?

2. Why do so many new products fail?

3. What can you do to help improve your chances of developing a successful product? We discussed this in class and I also provided you with a recent brandchannel.com article addressing a few ways.

4. What are ways companies can promote innovation?

5. Starbucks coffee liqueur: An example of what branding strategy? What are the marketing concepts highlighted in the brandchannel.com article? What is Starbucks doing to help ensure success?

6. The 8 stages in new product development - What are they? Be able to describe each stage.

7. What are major ways companies generate new product ideas?

8. Product idea and product concept - what are these and how do they differ?

9. On what do companies rate new product ideas?

10. Concept testing - What? How? Advantages? Disadvantages? When?

11. Test marketing - What? Advantages? Disadvantages? When? Types?

12. Product testing - What? When?

13. What are the differences between concept testing, test marketing, and product testing?

14. Considerations when launching a new product (when, where, how)?

15. PLC - What? Key considerations? Characteristics of each stage? How might your marketing mix/strategy change with each stage?

CH10 Pricing Considerations and Approaches

1. Price - What is it? Why is it important?

2. What are the perceptions that come along with price?

3. Why is setting the "right" price so important?

4. OTA (out of the air) pricing versus scientific pricing: What? How?

5. What does "profit margin" mean?

6. What is the difference between "cost" and "price"?

7. What are some major considerations in setting your price? Who comes up with prices in companies? Why is setting the right price more than an accounting function?

8. When is the price of something of less importance to consumers?

9. Why is it usually not a good thing for all parties when companies are not able to increase their prices (lack pricing power), even though their own costs are increasing?

10. How has the Internet impacted pricing strategies?

11. CPI, PPI: What? Importance? Current trends?

12. Pricing power: What? Importance to companies? Current trends (past 2 years, future)

13. Types of company "costs"?

14. Apply some of your basic economics knowledge to pricing from a marketing perspective (supply, demand, price elasticity).

15. What are some ways consumer psychology impacts pricing decisions?

CH11 Pricing Strategies

1. What can we learn from Coca-Cola and Amazon and their pricing mistakes?

2. What are some possible ethical implications that come along with price setting? In addition to Coke and Amazon, we discussed hospital and textbook pricing in class.

3. The price of your product or service is very visible. What are some implications of this?

4. What would your first steps be when determining your pricing strategy?

5. Compare the 3 general pricing approaches: cost-based, value-based, and competition-based.

6. Value-price relationship - Is value the same as low price? Why or why not?

7. For each pricing strategy discussed (see below) -- What is it, when would you use it, advantages, disadvantages, and examples.

Cost plus; EDLP, high-low, skimming; penetration; product line; optional-product; captive product; by-product; product bundling;

Discount & Allowances: cash discount, quantity discount, functional discount, promotional allowance, trade-in allowance, seasonal discount;

Promotional pricing; segmented; psychological

8. When a product is part of a product line, pricing strategies need to be evaluated carefully. Why? What considerations would you need to make, with respect to pricing the products within the line? What are your overall goals/objectives with pricing within the line?

9. What is a loss leader?

10. When is segmented pricing most effective? When is it legal?

11. Why do companies sometimes reduce prices? Raise prices? How might you react to price increases by your competitors?

12. Prior to increasing your price, you should consider what?

13. If you need to increase your price, what considerations might you make? What are some price increasing strategies? What are some alternative to increasing your price?

14. Basics of price fixing, price discrimination, predatory pricing, and various forms of deceptive