Marketing strategy and product development 7.1 Fill in the missing letters. 1 Data collected by market research can be ’qu_ _ _ itative’ (= factual and numerical), or ’qu_ _ _ _ _ _ _ve’ (= opinions and attitudes that are difficult to measure). 2 Another word for the final consumer of a product is the ’e_ _-u_ _ _’. 3 The relationship between quality and price is referred to as ’v_ _ _ _-for-m_ _ _ _'. This phrase often has the word good in front, to mean 'cheap’ ('cheap’ can have a negative connotation). 4 Marketers tend to emphasize 'be_ _ _its' (= advantages for the customer) rather than ’fea_ _ _es' (from a product design point of view). 5 A name or symbol that has legal protection is called a ’registered tr _ _ _ _ _ _'. 6 Two key concepts in pricing are ’m_ _ _-up’ (= the % added to the cost to give the selling price) and ’br_ _ _even volume' (= the sales volume at which the product starts to make a profit). 7.2 Complete the text with the words in the box. brand awareness brand names brand loyalty market leader market share product lines product mix profitability Proctor & Gamble is a very well—known company in the household and personal goods sector. It has 22 different ______________________ including baby care, cosmetics, household cleaners, laundry, oral care, etc. The combination of all these makes up P&G’s _____________________ (= product range). P&G has many well-known _______________________ such as Ariel, Pampers, Pantene, but notice that the brand is not the same as the company name (although in other companies it is). P&G spends a very large marketing budget maintaining the ________________________of its customers — it wants them to be satisfied and committed to further purchases. But even larger sums are needed when it launches a new product - ______________________ (= brand recognition) has to be built up from zero. What about P&G’s pricing policy? Well, they are a ____________________________ so they don’t have to set artificially low prices to gain sales volume and ______________________. Instead, they can focus on _________________________ - maximizing revenue and minimizing costs. 7.3 Complete the text with the words in the box. advertising budgets consumer tastes differentiate products early adopters making a loss reaches saturation similar offerings withdrawn from the market The classic product life cycle is Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. In the Introduction stage the product is promoted to create awareness. It has low sales and will still be ____________________. If the product has few competitors, a skimming price strategy can be used (a high price for _____________________ which is then gradually lowered). In the Growth phase sales are rising rapidly and profits are high. However, competitors are attracted to the market with ____________________ . The market is characterized by alliances, joint ventures and takeovers. _____________________ are large and focus on building the brand. In the Maturity phase sales growth slows and then stabilizes. Producers attempt to __________________ and brands are key to this. Price wars and competition occur as the market ___________________. In the Decline phase there is a downturn in the market. The product is starting to look old-fashioned or __________________ have changed. There is intense price-cutting and many products are ____________________. 7.4 Make phrases and then complete the text below. 1 carrying out sample of people 2 gaps in the a survey 3 consumer of competitors 4 published needs 5 a representative market 6 statistically sources 7 the activity reliable Market research is the process by which a company collects information about ____________________ and preferences. The information helps to identify market trends and spot ____________________. The easiest data to collect is that from existing _______________________ such as government reports. Other valuable information can be obtained by studying consumer behaviour in more developed markets, or looking at ______________________ (benchmarking). Primary data, collected for the first time, is more difficult to obtain. First, _____________________ has to be carefully chosen — it has to be large enough to be ____________________, and also checked for factors such as age, sex, and occupation. Common research methods include ______________________ using a questionnaire, or face-to-face interviews with existing customers. Interview with a Marketing Director 1. What are the differences between the U.S. and Europe in terms of what customers want and like? 2. Why? 3. What lines does the company supply to the construction sector? 4. How much does the company earn on the lines supplied to the construction sector? 5. How many models do they have? 6. Why? 7. What happens every: a) 2 years? b) 3-4 years? c) 6-7 years? 8. The interviewer asks if the new generation of products are __________________ or ____________________. What is the answer? 9. What determines the pricing level of their products? 10. What adds most value? 11. The MD says in Europe a kitchen is a status symbol. How does he demonstrate that? 12. How does the company carry our market research? 13. What does the company sometimes realize after an advertising campaign? 14. Why and how often do they change advertising agencies? 15. What example of direct marketing does he give? 16. The MD says they do not increase the amount of _____________________ because ....... (?)