Objective 1.02 Marketing Functions Review Assignment

Identify the marketing function illustrated in the following situation: Martha wants a winter coat and sees a style she likes in a magazine advertisement.

• purchasing

• selling

• promotion

• pricing

Answer explanation

Promotion. The example illustrates an advertising activity that is part of the promotion function. Pricing involves determining and adjusting prices to maximize return and meet customers’ perceptions of value. Purchasing is a business activity necessary to obtain goods and services for use in the operation of a business. Selling is responding to customer needs and wants through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase decisions and enhances future business opportunities.

The marketing function that includes creating strategies to attract the target customer to a business is

• pricing

• marketing planning

• channel management

• marketing-information management

Answer explanation

Market planning aims to create strategies to attract the target customer to a business. Marketing planning includes determining activities, goals, objectives, and procedures necessary to carry out those strategies. Pricing is determining and adjusting prices to maximize return and meet customers’ perceptions of value. Marketing-information management involves gathering, accessing, synthesizing, evaluating, and dis-seminating information. Channel management involves identifying, selecting, monitoring, and evaluating sales channels, also known as channels of distribution.

Communicating information to consumers or clients about products, images, or ideas to achieve a desired outcome is the __________ function.

• promotion

• planning

• purchasing

• pricing

Answer explanation

Promotion. Promotion is done through advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and publicity. Pricing is determining the dollar amount to charge customers for goods and services. Purchasing is not a marketing function but a business activity that involves the planning and procedures necessary to obtain goods and services for use in the operation of a business or for resale. Planning involves deciding what will be done and how it will be accomplished.

Which of the following marketing functions enables businesses to have their products in the right place at the right time:

• risk management

• channel management

• selling

• promotion

Answer explanation

Channel management. Channel management involves identifying, selecting, monitoring, and evaluating sales channels. This function enables businesses to have their products in the right place at the right time. Promotion involves communicating information about goods, services, images, and/or ideas to achieve a desired outcome. Selling involves determining client needs and wants and responding through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase decisions and enhances future business opportunities. Risk management is not a marketing function.

The marketing function that is responsible for the flow of goods or services from the producer to the customer is

• product/service management

• selling

• channel management

• purchasing

Answer explanation

Channel management. Channel management is responsible for the flow of goods or services from the producer to the customer via sales channels, also known as channels of distribution. Effective channel management enables products to be in the right places at the right times. Purchasing is an operations function that involves the planning and procedures necessary to obtain goods and services for use in the operation of the business or for re-sale. Product/Service management involves obtaining, developing, maintaining, and improving a product or service mix in response to market opportunities. Selling involves determining client needs and wants and responding through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase decisions and enhances future business opportunities.

One reason the selling function is so important is because it involves

• contact with customers

• setting high prices

• feedback from vendors

• displaying products

Answer explanation

Contact with customers. The selling function is very important because it involves contact with customers. If customers are not satisfied with the sales experience, they often will not buy even if they need the product and the price is right. The selling function does not necessarily involve displaying products, setting high prices, or feedback from vendors.

Identify the marketing function in the following situation: While shopping at the mall, Susan is asked her opinion of different brands of shampoo.

• Promotion

• Behavioral segmentation

• marketing-information management.

• Specialty advertising

Answer explanation

Marketing-information management. Gathering information through surveys is an ex-ample of the marketing-information management function. Specialty advertising is categorized as “other media” such as pens and calendars embossed with a company’s name. Behavioral segmentation is the division of a market on the basis of customers’ responses to a product. Promotion communicates information about goods, services, images, and/or ideas to achieve a desired outcome.

Ryan is working with his marketing team to set goals and create a budget for the upcoming year. Which marketing function is Ryan performing?

• Marketing Planning

• Pricing

• Products/Service Management

• Selling

Answer explanation

Market planning aims to create strategies to attract the target customer to a business. Marketing planning includes determining activities, goals, objectives, and procedures necessary to carry out those strategies. This includes setting marketing goals and creating a marketing budget. Selling involves determining client needs and wants and responding through planned, personalized communication that influences purchase decisions and enhances future business opportunities. Product/Service management is a marketing function that involves obtaining, developing, maintaining, and improving a product or service mix in response to market opportunities. Pricing determines and adjusts what customers pay for products to maximize returns and meet customers’ perceptions of value.

An effective marketing-information management function enables marketers to

• select suppliers for products.

• create demand for a good or service.

• determine what products customers want.

• determine the price of a good or service.

Answer explanation

Determine what products customers want. Marketing-information management is a marketing function that involves gathering, accessing, synthesizing, evaluating, and disseminating information for use in making business decisions. It helps businesses to make the right goods/services available to satisfy customer needs and wants. The pricing function determines and adjusts prices to maximize return and meet customers’ perceptions of value. Purchasing involves selecting a supplier and ordering products, but it is not a marketing function. Selling involves responding to customer needs and wants through planned, personalized communications intended to influence purchase decisions and enhance future business opportunities.

Which marketing function can remind customers of items that they want to purchase?

• pricing

• Product/Service management

• promotion

• financing

Answer explanation

Promotion. Through the use of promotional methods, such as visual merchandising, customers can be reminded of items that they want to purchase. Product/Service management enables businesspeople to decide what combination of goods or services the company will produce or provide. Financing is not a marketing function but a business function that involves understanding the financial concepts used in making business decisions. Pricing involves determining and adjusting prices to maximize return and meet customers' perceptions of value.