Download MM-class excercise Debate Questions

Exam Review
Credit Class Marketing Management
Dr. Trappey
Marketing Debate—Online Versus Off-Lone Privacy
As more and more firms practice relationship marketing and develop customer
databases, privacy issues are emerging as an important topic. Consumers and public interest
groups are scrutinizing- and sometimes criticizing the privacy policies of firms. Concerns are
also being raised about potential theft of online credit card information or other potentially
sensitive or confidential financial information. Others maintain that the online privacy fears are
unfounded and that security issues are every bit as much a concern in the off-line world. They
argue that the opportunity to steal information exists virtually everywhere and that it is up to the
consumer to protect his or her interests.
【Group 3】
Privacy is a bigger issue for the online world because information can be spread more quickly
online and security is more difficult to maintain the online data. Large investment has to be
made in computer hardware and not every firm is willing to spend money to protect the data.
It’s customer’s call whether or not to release their private information to the firms that they
choose to trust. But it’s firm’s interest to keep good customer relationship without their concern.
After all, what’s the point of building the database if the firm can’t use it for maximizes
customer loyalty!
Customer database: an organized collection of comprehensive information about individual
customers or prospects that is current, accessible, and actionable for marketing purposes.
Reaction marketing: building mutually satisfying long-term relationship with key parties, in
order to earn and retain their business.
Customer relationship management: to manage detailed information about individual
customers and carefully manage all customer “touch points” to maximize customer loyalty.
Customer privacy: customer database is also part of each customer’s privacy which should be
guarded and protected by the database owner, the company. And it’s also a moral issue.
Internet marketing: company want to expand more or survive, so internet become a kind of tool
for company to use, when internet match with marketing skill. It becomes the best weapon for
company, because there is no range to stop and let customer get message easily and
convenient.
【Group 9】
From the company’s perspective: The company can sort through the database to identify the
best prospect, then contacts them in an attempt to covert them into customers. After selling
their products and services, they can search customer database for these who most closely
1
Exam Review
Credit Class Marketing Management
Dr. Trappey
resemble the ideal type, it can set up an automatic sequence of activities, ex. One week later,
send a thank-you note; five weeks later, send a new offer, ten weeks later.
Companies can depend on customer loyalty by remembering customer preferences: by
sending appropriate gifts, discount coupons, and interesting reading material. Sending the
promotions at the celebrations by using the automatic mailing system Some companies don’t
make the best of customer database to avoid serious customer mistakes even to make more
profits. For example, a bank gave only standard service to a premium customer then may lose
a deal.
Marketing Debate—Is Consumer Behavior More of a Function of a Person’s Age or
Generation?
One of the widely debated issues in developing marketing programs that target certain
age groups is how much consumers change over time. Some marketers maintain that age
differences are critical and that the needs and wants of a 25-year-old in 2002 are not that
different from those of a 25-year-old in 1972. Others dispute that contention and argue that
cohort and generational effects are critical and that marketing programs must therefore suit the
times.
【Group 4】
A consumer buying behavior is influenced by three factors, including: culture, social, and
personal factors. According to the factors, age factor is influenced by social and personal,
generation factor is influenced by culture. But which factor is the final, most important one, it
determined by the characteristics of products. If the product in fashion or trending, high-tech
products, generation is more of function, ex: cars, clothes, technology products. If the product
belongs to daily needs, age factor influences customer behavior much more, ex: general food,
general tools, and cleaning products. And the target market is critical for promoting products.
【Group 12】
People buy different goods and services over the lifetime. For example, people will
consider to buy their own house at the age 30, even after ten years passed, a twenty years old
young boy never want to buy a house at his age. So, we think consumer behavior is more of a
function of person’s age.
2
Exam Review
Credit Class Marketing Management
Dr. Trappey
Marketing Debate—What Good is a Mission Statement?
Virtually all firms have mission statements to help guide and inspire employees as well as
signal what is important to the firm to those outside the firm. Mission statements are often the
product of much deliberation and discussion. At the same time, some critics claim that mission
statements sometimes lack “teeth” and specificity. Moreover, critics also maintain that in many
cases, mission statements do not vary much from firm to firm and make the same empty
promises. Take a position: Mission statements are critical to a successful marketing
organization versus mission statements rarely provide useful marketing value.
【Group 5】
We believe that mission statement is critical to a marketing organization. Organization
develops “Mission Statement” to share with managers, employees and customers. A clear,
thoughtful mission statement provides employees with a shared sense of purpose, direction
and opportunity. Resources of marketing organization are often limited, it’s important for
marketing organization to have clear mission statement, thus, these will not be any waste of
resources and time. Mission statement can be used by the management team to be on the
right track, therefore, the chance of a success mission increased.
【Group 10】
We agree in consensus that mission statements are critical to a successful marketing
organization. A clear and well-though corporate mission statement can lead the whole
company working hard toward the same dream and goals. Whatever the do, they contribute
their talents for the same belief. Thus, if the mission is fully communicated and realized, better
performance will be induced. Delicately-designed and well-known mission statement can
convey a specifically good company image to consumers, like LG’s “Life’s Good” make
consumers feel happy about life. Consumers are very likely to choose the company product
when facing so many varieties of offerings.
Marketing Debate—Is Target Marketing Ever Bad?
As marketers increasingly develop marketing programs tailored to certain target market
segments, some critics have denounced these efforts as exploitative. For example, the
preponderance of billboards advertising cigarettes, alcohol, and other voices in low-income
urban areas is seen as taking advantage of a vulnerable market segment. Critics can be
especially harsh in evaluation marketing programs that target African Americans and other
minority groups, claiming that they often employ clichéd stereotypes and inappropriate
depictions. Others counter with the point of view that targeting and positioning is critical to
3
Exam Review
Credit Class Marketing Management
Dr. Trappey
marketing and that these marketing programs are an attempt to be relevant to a certain
consumer group.
【Group 1】
Consumer behavior is influenced by three factors: (1) culture (2) social (3) personal.
When consumer received marketing stimuli, they will react to the marketing stimuli and
psychological process. Marketers can select the same market segment according to the
consumer’s background. Consumers with the same demand will become a certain consumer
group. For example the U.S. defined 7 level of social class; each social class may have similar
view. Therefore, marketers can use different marketing programs to satisfy different
consumers. From Maslow’s theory, people first have to fulfill their psychological needs, then is
safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and the final is self-actualization needs. Marketers
can also according to each consumers level to develop the product that can satisfy each
needs of each level.
Using target marketing may be easily to find the right product to promote the right
consumer, and make a lot of money. But from the view of “Holistic Market”, there is an
important factor- socially responsible marketing. It means that when you know one guy get low
pay, and you can’t promote him to go to the casino. Tobacco companies know that smoking is
bad for people’s health and they shouldn’t try to shape a man-looklike to attract more people to
smoke. Has target marketing ever bad? Of course, you have to think about the stakeholder all
the time.
【Group 11】
Target marketing is good and correct because we have to attractive customers to buy our
product in a short time. In order to reduce the cost (ex: advertising, market survey. etc) and to
make the best profit. So we need to use resource more effective. If we use target marketing,
we can get our company’s goal very soon. Otherwise, we may waste time on market
development, and lose money in the extra market survey. But we must be careful about the
“Target marketing”, if we can’t define the right target marketing, we may lose the other
potential customer.
Marketing Debate—What is The Best Type of Marketing Research?
Many marketing researchers have their favorite research approaches or techniques,
although different researchers often have different preferences. Some researchers maintain
that the only way to really learn about consumers or brands is through indepth, qualitative
research. Others contend that the only legitimate and defensible form of marketing research
4
Exam Review
Credit Class Marketing Management
Dr. Trappey
involves quantitative measures.
【Group 7】
 Marketing Research process as below:
First step: Define the problem, the decision alternatives and the research objectives.
Second step: Develop the research plan as below:
a
Data sources.
b
Research Approaches
c
Observational Research
d
Survey Research
e
Behavioral Research
f
Experimental Research
g
Reach Instruments:
(1.) Questionnaires (2.) Qualitative Measures (3.) Sampling Plans
(4.) Contact Methods (5.) Mail Questionnaires (6.) Telephone Interviews
(7.) Personal Interviews (8.) Online Interviews
Third step: Collect the information. The data collection phase of marketing research is
generally the most expensive and most prone to error.
Fourth step: To analyze the information. The next-to-last seep in the process is to extract
findings from the collected data. The researcher tabulates the data and develops frequency
distributors.
Fifth step: To make the decision. The manager who commissioned the research needs to
weigh the evidence.
 Measuring Marketing Productivity as below:
a
Measuring Marketing Plan Performance
b
Market-share Analysis
c
Marketing Expense-to-Sales Analysis
d
Financial Analysis
e
Profitability Analysis
f
Marketing Profitability Analysis
g
Marketing Mix Modeling
【Group 8】
We have to define our problems and objects before start to do marketing research. For
example, if we want to make the marketing research of “Pet Hotel” we’ll define our target
consumers, market strategies including our brands. After that we have to develop the research
5
Exam Review
Credit Class Marketing Management
Dr. Trappey
plans, such as above five approaches. In order to have quality researches, we use “Extreme
user interviews” and” Consumer Journey”, therefore, we can collect the information that we
need. Through these researches, we can easily gain what the consumers’ needs and wants.
Besides, we can know consumers’ point of view about branding as well. After analyzing all
information that we get, we should compare whole the findings and the relationships among
them. According these results, we can easily make the decisions and set up the right
strategies.
Our group thinks that a great marketing research must include great characteristics as
using “Scientific method” like the formulation of hypotheses prediction and testing, of course,
“Interdependence of models and data” can make the research closer to the realistic situation.
Finally our group think “Multiple methods” is the most important that can increase confidence
in the results.
Marketing Debate—Does Marketing Create or Satisfy Needs?
Marketing has often been defined in terms of satisfying customers’ needs and wants.
Critics, however, maintain that marketing does much more than that and creates needs and
wants that did not exist before. According to these critics, marketers encourage consumers to
spend more money than they should on goods and services they really do not need.
【Group 2】
Marketing is deal with identifying and meeting human and social needs. One of the
shortest definitions of marketing is “meeting needs profitably” The marketer must try to
understand the target market’s needs wants and demands. Needs are the basic human
requirements. Demands are wants for specific products backed by an ability to pay. These
distinctions shed light on frequent criticism that”marketers create needs “or” marketers get
people buy things they don’t want “. Marketers do not create needs: Needs preexist marketers.
Marketers, along with other societal factors influence wants.
However, understanding customer needs and wants is not always simple. Some
customers have needs of which they are not fully conscious, or they cannot articulate these
needs, or they use words that require some interpretation. Hence, “responding to customer
needs” is more important than create needs. Studying customer needs and making a product
that fit these needs on the average. For example, Dell computer does satisfy customers’ needs.
Dell prepares a perfect computer for the target market. Rather Dell provides product platforms
on which each person can customize the features their desires in the computers.
6
Exam Review
Credit Class Marketing Management
Dr. Trappey
【Group 6】
Marketers satisfy consumers’ basic or intangible needs, for example, Maslow’s theory. After
that marketer manages these “needs” and sometimes create an innovative new need. That
could also be a kind of demand. Marketers are good at identifying and meeting humans’ needs.
In other words, marketing professionals transfer our needs become ‘profitably”. Take Maslow’s
theory as our principle, we must satisfy our basic level 1 and level 2, marketers will produce
the basic products. After that, we have higher-level product to satisfy level 3 to 5. Ex, Lexus’s
slogan: We could have left well enough alone. If consumers can’t target the high level need,
they could choose cheaper product to satisfy basic desire (ex, Toyota, Ford). In conclusion,
marketing satisfies needs and then classify different marketing segments. Create value to
customers, even improve self esteem.
5. Self actualization needs
Ex, Lexus, BMW, Benz
4. Esteem needs
3. Social needs
Ex, Toyota, Ford
2. Safety needs
1. Physiological needs
7