Choose a fast-food restaurant chain that does business in your area. Describe the company's target market, and explain how its marketing mix is designed to appeal to this target market.
Why does loyalty segmentation make so much sense? Describe how a local pizza restaurant could employ loyalty segmentation.
UPS, FedEx, DHL, and the United States Postal Service are four major competitors in the private package delivery market. Choose one of the four firms and describe its positioning efforts.
How do you create and use a perceptual map? What positioning criteria might toothpaste manufacturers use in creating a perceptual map?
A firm must evaluate segments based on their attractiveness: identify the five criteria and explain how a firm would use this information to establish if a segment is worth pursuing.
Online reviews of the Paradise Motel by its customers indicate that the motel offered stale food, it advertised babysitting services that were not readily available, and had an assistant manager with a poor attitude. If you were the new manager of the Paradise Motel, how would you use the five dimensions of service quality to identify and correct the problems?
Flora wants to develop a zone of tolerance analysis for her veterinary practice. What is a zone of tolerance in service quality? What types of questions would she need to ask to conduct her analysis?
Most retail stores in the United States do 60 percent or more of their business in the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. What can these stores do to get sales staff to provide "service with a smile" during this stressful part of the year?
The Crystal Beach Resort has a five-star rating and wants to keep it that way. The resort has specific standards for service and has trained its employees to deliver service according to these standards, but even one unhappy customer could endanger the resort's reputation. What can the manager do to ensure that frontline employees offer consistent, excellent service to every visitor?
When visiting a museum, you would expect to find knowledgeable museum guides who would be able to give you historical information on the museum's collections and special exhibitions. If you did not find any trained museum guides to assist you, then the museum has which type of gap? Explain why you chose your answer.
Imagine you are shopping for a specific item (such as a sweater, a toaster, etc.). What type of general merchandise retailer will you first seek? Using a specific item, select one type of general retailer, and in broad terms, describe the breadth and depth of its merchandise, the level of anticipated customer service, and general pricing.
Describe an extreme value retailer. Who is their target customer and what does this customer seek?
Carol manages a cell phone store and is debating how much personal selling and customer service she should utilize as part of her promotion strategy. What would you recommend and why?
Compared to the Internet channel, what are the main benefits provided by physical stores?
Omnichannel retailing has many potential advantages, but it also has challenges. What are they?