Marketing: Real People, Real Choices 9th Global Edition by Greg W. Marshall Solution manual

  To what does the lifetime value of the customer refer, and how is it calculated?
 
Lifetime value refers to the profit made from each customer, including every purchase made from now into the future. To calculate lifetime value, a firm estimates the amount the person will spend and then subtracts what it will cost to maintain the relationship.
 
What does it mean a firm to have a competitive advantage? What gives a firm a competitive advantage?
 
A firm has a competitive advantage when it is able to outperform the competition, providing customers with a benefit the competition cannot. A competitive advantage gives consumers a reason to choose one product over another repeatedly.
 
What is involved in market planning?
 
Firms (or individuals) that engage in marketing planning ask questions like these:
What product benefits will our customers look for in three to five years?
What capabilities does our firm have that set it apart from the competition?
What additional customer groups might provide important market segments for us in the future?
How will changes in technology affect our production process, our communication strategy, and our distribution strategy?
What changes in social and cultural values are occurring now that will affect our market in the next few years?
How will customers’ awareness of environmental issues affect their attitudes toward our manufacturing facilities?
What legal and regulatory issues may affect our business in both domestic and global markets?
 
uACTIVITIES: Apply What You’ve Learned
 
1-12.    In Class, 10–25 Minutes for Teams Assume that you are a marketing consultant employed by a large retail chain that offers consumers products in a number of brick-and-mortar stores and online. The retail organization wishes to increase its loyal customer base by engaging customers through interaction opportunities on social networks. Develop a list of at least 10 specific social network activities that will work together to increase customer engagement.
      MyMarketingLab for answers to Assisted Graded Questions.
 
1-13.      In Class, 15–25 Minutes for Teams Table 1.5 lists five well-known companies and highlights their distinctive competencies, differential benefits, and competitive advantages. First, review this table in your group and discuss how these three factors are interrelated. Then choose three other well-known companies (note: choose firms so that most of your team members have a reasonable knowledge of their marketing strategies) and construct a similar table for these companies. Finally, for each of these new firms, do you think that their competitive advantage is sustainable, or will they need to work to further improve their competitive position in the future?
 
This activity is designed to push students from a passive mode of learning to an active one. Generally, students skim through a table and indicate that they understand the connections between the various elements of the table; however, this task should encourage them to construct and identify connections on their own. Depending upon the size of the class, the instructor might wish to first get the whole class to agree on a list of three companies to construct a table with their distinctive competencies, differential benefits, and competitive advantages. This is likely to lead to a more productive class discussion and debate regarding this question. A good way to further stimulate the discussion is to identify a key competitor for each of the companies considered in the activity and then to question students about why and how the companies can protect their market share and profitability from these competitors.
 
1-14.      In Class, 10–25 Minutes for Teams As college students, you and your friends sometimes discuss the various courses you are taking. One of your friends says to you, “Marketing’s not important. It’s just dumb advertising.” Another friend says, “Marketing doesn’t really affect people’s lives in any way.” As a role-playing exercise, present your arguments against these statements to your class.
 
A good way to make this an effective assignment is to have each student or student team submit a proposal for a skit and choose the best two or three for class demonstration. 
 
1-15.      For Further Research (Individual) Over time, marketing has moved through different eras, and some organizations are have adopted a triple-bottom-line orientation; they are looking beyond just the financial bottom-line to also consider social and environmental outcomes. Review the websites of three to five well-known companies. To what extent do they highlight the importance of social and environmental activities in their overall operations? Make a list of some of the activities (or contributions that they make) in this area.