Marketing Responses Help
Tutor Instructions
Please read the instructions below for each section. Provide a 100 word substantive response for the question in red for each section. Be sure to include a “current
news” business example that relates to the topic. Chapters are attached.
Basic Marketing, Ch. 18: Implementing and Controlling Marketing Plans: Evolution and Revolution
Question 1: Catalog Marketing
A catalog is a collection of products offered for sale in book form, usually consisting of product descriptions accompanied by photos of the items. Catalogs came on
the scene within a few decades of the invention of movable type over 500 years ago, but they’ve come a long way since then.
The early catalogs Montgomery Ward and other innovators such as Sears and JC Penney pioneered targeted people in remote areas who lacked access to stores. Today, the
catalog customer is likely to be an affluent career woman with access to more than enough stores but without the time or desire to go to them. According to the DMA,
over two-thirds of U.S. adults order from a catalog at least once a year.
Catalog mania extends well beyond clothing and cosmetics purchases. PC marketers HP and Dell both aggressively send out promotional catalogs that feature their own
products along with accessories from a variety of manufacturers.
Class: Do you receive product catalogs at home or at work? If so, do you believe that catalog marketing still effective today? If not, what changes do marketers need
to make for success?
If you’re somewhere in the neighborhood of my age you will most likely remember the publicity surrounding the anticipated introduction of New Coke. Some consider this
product one of the greatest marketing blunders in history.
Question 2: New Coke: The Greatest Marketing Blunder?
There was a nation-wide debate with consumers that went on for months. Was replacing the old formula a good move for the company, or should they stick with the
original formula? It was interesting to sit back and watch the discussion.
Sales of New Coke actually surged for a brief period. At the time, some accused Coke of crafting an elaborate publicly stunt. They claimed that Coke never really
intended to seriously produce New Coke at all. But, in blind taste tests, people actually preferred the sweeter New Coke over the Old Coke and over Pepsi. These
conspiracy theorists said the intent by Coke was to regenerate new life into the old product, or Classic Coke. This may all seem quite silly, but these were seriously
considered opinions at the time.
Class: What went wrong with New Coke? Why did it not succeed? If you had been in charge of its introduction, what would you have done differently? Was it a good idea
to keep the Coke name associated with this new product?
Question #3: M-Commerce
One type of marketing is m-commerce. The “m” stands for “mobile,” and m-commerce refers to the promotions and other e-commerce activities mobile phones and other
mobile devices such as Smart phones and PDAs deliver. With over 3 billion mobile phones in use worldwide — more and more of them Internet-enabled — it just makes
sense that marketers would want to reach out and touch this very large audience
M-commerce is certainly a bid deal in the United States, and in Europe and Asia. For example, over half of Japan’s 30-million-plus Internet users gain access to the
Web by using their wireless phones because that’s a cheaper way to do it there. Young people worldwide are particularly big users of cell phones, which of course
explain why all the cell phone companies advertise aggressively on high school and college campuses.
Class: M-commerce has already achieved success for some marketers. However, m-commerce also has a potential dark side. Some unscrupulous marketers have figured out
clever new ways to invade privacy and collect information. How can legitimate marketers avoid these pitfalls and successfully use m-commerce?
Question 4: Telemarketing
Telemarketing is direct marketing an organization conducts over the telephone. It seems they always have to call during dinner. It might surprise you to learn that
telemarketing actually is more profitable for business markets than for consumer markets. When business-to-business marketers use the telephone to keep in contact with
smaller customers, it costs far less than a face-to-face sales call yet still lets small customers know they are important to the company.
The major issue on the horizon for telemarketers is whether they will be able to access more personal cell phone numbers, as many consumers fear. In fact, rumors crop
up from time to time that it’s now necessary to place your cell number on the Do Not Call lists to avoid telemarketing calls. So far, that’s not true. Especially for
many younger people, their cell phone often is their only phone, which makes the lack of penetration of this media a big hurdle for marketers desiring a telemarketing
strategy.
Class: How do you personally respond to telemarketing solicitations at work or at home? If a telemarketer leaves you a voicemail message, do you ever respond? How can
organizations that use telemarketing strategies succeed in today’s challenging economy?
Question 5: Product Warranties
Manufacturers and sellers are legally responsible for fulfilling a buyer’s normal or reasonable product expectations. Warranties are basically formal statements of
expected product performance by the manufacturer. How it most warranties work is where products still under warranty may be returned to the manufacturer or designated
repair center for repair, replacement, or for a full refund. Warranty periods typically range from 30 days up to a year. Warranties, whether expressed or implied, are
legally enforceable.
A good example of this would be the manufacturer’s warranty for Fellowes brand paper shredders in the industry I work in. Fellowes offers a limited one-year warranty
on their machines. Fellowes has a pretty liberal warranty policy with most of their models, when compared to most other competitors. Their warranty basically
stipulates that if you have any kind of trouble with their machine, they will send you a new model at no cost whatsoever.
http://fellowes.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/314/~/paper-shredder-warranty
Class: When a company develops a new product, should they give much thought to the warranty? In your estimation, does a liberal warranty give Fellowes a significant
advantage over the competition? Or, is a warranty a minor consideration for most consumers?
Basic Marketing A Marketing Strategy Planning Approach. McGraw-Hill Education; 19 edition (February 25, 2013)
Question 6: The Importance of Advertising Reach
Before developing any advertising campaign, a company must know how people perceive its products or services, how they view the competition, what brand or company
image they believe would be most credible, and what advertisements offer the greatest appeal (or best return on investment).
To get this information, companies and other organizations must follow tested advertising research methods. Marketing research provides the information necessary to
make critical marketing decisions. Additionally, advertising research uncovers the information needed for making advertising decisions.
Unfortunately, some businesses today disregard advertising research. They rush into their advertising campaign before taking the time to find out what their customers,
and prospective customers, desire. This is often manifested in ineffective ads and other related messages. Consumers typically ignore the bad advertising, or simply
avoid it, thus wasting valuable marketing dollars. This creates unnecessary profit loss for a business and undue stress on those assigned to handle the marketing
duties.
Class: With all of the above in mind, can you recall here a recent advertising campaign where it was apparent that company did their research before introducing their
new product or service? Share some examples.
Basic Marketing A Marketing Strategy Planning Approach. McGraw-Hill Education; 19 edition (February 25, 2013)
Arens, W., Weigold, M., Arens, C., (2011). Contemporary Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
