roshan d - cengage learningsolutions.cengage.com/uploadedfiles/solutionscengagecom/... · web...

TOPIC I. PRODUCT AND DISTRIBUTION 3ED 5

Douglas K. RossFranklin University

THE CHOCOLATE CANDY BRANDING EXERCISE

I have used this exercise in classes ranging from Principles of Marketing to MBA level Marketing Management. This is a fun small group exercise that fits will when discussing brands and branding or when discussing the marketing mix variables. I use this after discussing what constitutes a good brand name and how the target market, packaging, etc. must be considered. It usually takes approximately 40-45 minutes but can be accomplished in as little as 30 minutes.

Break the class into small groups - three or four students per group works best. On an overhead or PowerPoint I have a small paragraph explaining that each group is a marketing team that works for a company that has developed a new chocolate. The chocolate is different in that it contains a large (really extreme) amount of caffeine. The team must:

Determine the most appropriate target market(s) Develop a brand name for the product Develop the packaging including colors that will be used Determine the price Determine the distribution/outlets

The groups have between 20-30 minutes to accomplish this. Divide the blackboard (or give each group an overhead transparency and marker) and have them draw their product including the brand name on the board. They should also indicate the colors used on the package. This part of the activity takes approximately 5-10 minutes. A member from each group then talks about their brand.

Why they chose the target market(s) they did How the came up with the brand name Why they used the colors they did and aspects of the lettering How they determined the price How their distribution fits with their target market

4 GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING MARKETINGED 5

After the student's discussion I talk about the similarities in the brands and the differences, such as the various target markets or the various forms they used. Students have used regular bars, bite size, various shapes (lightning bolts and coffee cups) liquid chocolate, etc. This exercise allows the students to be creative and reinforces the discussion on brands and branding.

Variations of this exercise can include chocolate that contains all of the daily requirements of vitamins plus fiber. You can also assign half of the groups the chocolate with caffeine and the other half the chocolate with vitamins and fiber.

Wanda H. FujimotoCentral Washington University

DEVELOPING A NEW BRAND NAME

A good brand name can add greatly to a product’s success but finding the best brand name is a difficult task. This group exercise helps students experience the process of generating brand names. They are asked to directly apply concepts used to identify “good” brand names and, in the process, enjoy the freedom of being creative.

Students are presented with basic background information about desirable brand characteristics as well as a company scenario. In smaller groups they are asked to develop and evaluate their own brand name ideas and then to make a group decision. Finally, they are asked to present and defend their decision.

Background Information

There is no exact formula for selecting a good brand name; however, some guidelines to consider in evaluating names include:

suggest something about the product’s qualities and benefits communicate a positive image about the user


make the job of promotion easier by being short, easy to pro-nounce, easy to spell and thus easy to recognize and remember

be distinctive. If it is different it will be more memorable capable of registration and legal protection, so it cannot infringe on

the rights of existing brand names

Potential Scenarios

Present the students with one scenario. Possible examples include:

Your company plans to introduce a premium-priced gourmet ice cream that has a creamy, old-fashioned taste. It will be moderately low in fat and calories.

Your company plans to introduce a new candy bar that has a layered combination of dark chocolate and white chocolate. It will be competitively priced, lower in calories than most other candy bars, and targeted primarily to the older, mature consumers.

Your company plans to introduce a microwaveable popcorn that promises bigger, fluffier popped corn with a minimum number of unpopped kernels. It will be competitively priced.

Group Process

Step 1: Identify the multiple possible benefits or images (of either product or users) that the company may want to convey via the new brand name.

Step 2: Select ONE major quality from the list developed in Step 1 that will be the basis for brand name development (for example, in Scenario 1 “old-fashioned” may be selected as the prime quality).

Step 3: What words may be used to convey the quality selected in Step 2? List as many words as you can. Create new words or new word combinations. BRAINSTORM!

Step 4: Narrow the potential words to the three “best.” (Consider the qualities of a “good” brand name described above.)


Step 5: Select the word(s) that the group believes would be the best brand name for the new product. Be prepared to present and defend your brand name decision to the rest of the class.

Alice GriswoldClarke College

NEW PRODUCTS – WINNERS AND LOSERS

When covering the chapter on new product development, I like to use examples from an excellent collection of marketing successes and failures called: What Were They Thinking? by Robert McMath, Thom Forbes, Random House, Times Books, 1998. It covers numerous marketing examples in the areas of:

“me too” marketing shock value what’s in a name warm fuzzy feelings worthless points of difference ruining your good name product extensions packaging mistakes reinventing old products cause marketingThese examples can be used throughout marketing courses as real

world examples of things that went wrong somewhere along the marketing process.

Alice GriswoldClarke College


THE OREO DEBATE

This exercise can be effectively used in the chapters relating to “product” as it deals with issues pertaining to brands (national vs. private), packaging, brand loyalty, and image.

I come to class with three packages of chocolate sandwich cookies – Oreo, Hydrox, and a private-label brand. I then ask the students which brand is their favorite. Invariably, most of the class chooses the Oreo cookie. At this point, we launch into a taste test where each student selects one cookie from each package and “blindly” tastes them. Most are able to identify the Oreo cookie, but struggle to differentiate between the other two. I then ask them which is the “original” sandwich cookie. Oreo is always the answer, which is incorrect. The Sunshine Hydrox cookie first came on the market in 1908, and thrived until 1912 when Nabisco launched the remarkably similar Oreo. Given Nabisco’s marketing superiority (distribution and advertising), Hydrox never had a chance. In 1998 sales of Hydrox totaled $16 million against Oreo’s $374 million. Hydrox, now owned by the Keebler elves, is undergoing a major facelift.

New name – Keebler Droxies. What did the Hydrox name mean? It came from a mix of hydrogen and oxygen to signify pure ingredients, but consumer research studies revealed it sounded more like a cleaning fluid.

Updated packaging Reformulated cookie Differentiated selling point – “the original cookie” won’t work,

nobody believes it.Not only does Hydrox face a huge challenge trying to catch up to Oreo

but they face challenges from the private label cookies with their improved quality and lower price.

Price comparisons will show the private label at almost half the price of Oreo with Hydrox somewhere in between. Recently, Oreo has dropped their price to be more competitive.

Packaging comparisons show all three packages using the same blue tones – so as to perhaps confuse the customer. This exemplifies the stimulus generalization concept in consumer behavior studies.

Students enjoy this exercise because it allows them to personally test a


favorite product, and apply numerous marketing and consumer behavior concepts as well.

Kathy Meyer Western New England College

THE PRICE OF BRAND EQUITY

Use: This exercise can be used in an Intro Marketing course to introduce the chapter on “Product”.

Objective: To introduce the value of brand equity and its price premium.

Description: At the beginning of class, I show students 2 cans of soda - one is a national brand such as Coca Cola or Pepsi, the other a pri-vate label store brand from a local grocery chain. I then ask the students to write down how much they’d be willing to pay for each. Next, I make a chart of price ranges (e.g. $0.35 to $0.44, $0.45 to $0.54, etc.) on the board and have each student tell me what they’d be willing to pay for both. When I’m finished, I have a chart that shows the price distribution for the national brand versus the private label product. Usually, the students will pay about $0.25 more for the national brand. I use this chart to lead into a discussion of why they (and consumers) are willing to pay more for the national brand. Once students understand the value of brand equity to both the consumer and the company, this paves the way for a lecture on how marketers create brand equity.

Time: 15 minutes.


Kim McKeageUniversity of Maine

TRYING (AND EVALUATING) SOMETHING NEW

This in-class project gets students to sample a new product and apply information they have learned about new product failures. They also get practice constructing a multi-attribute utility model. This could be assigned as an out-of-class group project as well. If done in class, students must be assigned to groups and instructed to find and try a new product well beforehand.

I usually assign groups of four to six students. Each group picks a product category (such as salty snacks) and discuss the attributes they would use to evaluate a new product in that category. Each person in the group should contribute to the list of attributes, and students must deter-mine ahead of time how important each attribute is to them personally. They then pick a new product and everyone in the group tries it.

In class, each group makes a chart listing each member's importance rating for each attribute as well as that person's evaluation of the product on each attribute. Students multiply importance by rating and sum over attributes to get the overall evaluation. Then they have to discuss whether everyone liked the product. If not, what reasons could they determine for the differences? For example, was it because different things were important to different people, or were the same things important but people's perceptions were very different? They were also asked to discuss whether they could see any market segments emerging in terms of different importance of attributes.

Finally, they were asked to discuss whether they think the product(s) will be successful, or fail. They have to refer back to their notes on why products fail and discuss what reasons they see for the product(s) to have problems. They are instructed to discuss whether they think the marketers should do anything differently.

Students have a much better idea how to construct a multi-attribute utility model after this exercise, and they consider new product intro-duction problems much more broadly than they do initially. The reactions of their group members contribute to this new insight, dramatizing the


importance of group input and, by inference, market research in the new product marketing process.

Gregory J. BalejaAlma College

TEST MARKETING SABOTAGE

Each year during my lectures on the New Product Development Process, I spend a portion of one class period discussing the concept of Test Marketing. During this discussion, I always focus on the overall benefits associated with Test Marketing, as well as the characteristics of what constitutes a good test market city. However, I will also spend some time addressing the disadvantages associated with Test Marketing. In particular, one of the disadvantages that is very interesting to discuss, is the idea that Test Marketing is always open to the possibility of competitor sabotage. For example, it is quite likely that my competitors may do everything in their power to interfere with the potential success of my test market.

In order to reinforce this idea of potential competitor sabotage, I assign my class the following exercise. One of their competitors is currently in the process of test marketing a product in our local city. The student's specific assignment is to create a variety of strategies that their firm can implement, that would lead their competitor to conclude that their test market was not successful.

If the students assume that the competitor's product has a good chance of being a commercial success, some of the typical strategies suggested include the following:

Reducing the price on products that may qualify as substitute com-petition for the new product, or increasing the promotional campaigns for these products, and

“Planting” negative news stories about the new product in the mass media.


However, if the students make the assumption that the product in question is likely to be a failure once it is commercialized, then the following strategy is often suggested:

The students will often recommend that the employees of their company go out and purchase as much of the product being tested as possible, so as to give our competitor a false impression of the potential success of their product. Here the assumption is that the competitor will think that the product will be a success based on the test market, and will then introduce it to a larger market, where it will then fail - causing the competitor to incur substantial losses.

It is during this discussion on competitor sabotage that as a professor, you really get to determine who the most devious students in your class are.

After the various competitor strategies have been analyzed, I then ask the students given the potential for competitor sabotage, how would they go about evaluating the relative success or failure of a test market that is performed by their own firm? Specifically, how would they evaluate the relative success or failure of the test market, given all of the potential strategies that may be employed by their competition, for the sole purpose of disrupting their test market?

At the conclusion of this discussion, the students have a greater awareness of the intricacies involved in corporate strategy planning and the impact that the uncontrollable environment can have on the potential outcome.

Stacia Wert-Gray, University of Central OklahomaGordon T. Gray, Oklahoma City University

ASSESSING SERVICE QUALITY

Students sometimes do not understand why service quality is difficult for consumers to assess. This exercise illustrates that physical goods are generally easier to evaluate (for quality) than services.


Recognizing that most product offerings are a blend of physical goods and services, each student is asked to position seven products on a scale ranging from “100% physical good” to “100% service.” The exercise provided generally looks something like this:

Break students into 2-3 person groups. Provide them with the following worksheet and instruct them to place the letter for each of products listed in the appropriate position on the scale.

100% physical good………….………………………………….…………100% service

C = new carJ = designer jeansO = car oil changeD = dress dry cleaningH = haircutT = tax preparationE = college education

When the groups are finished, the instructor should fill in a class worksheet with input from the groups. The class worksheet often looks something like the following:

100% physical good………………………………………………………..100% service C J O D H E T

Each group is then asked to position the same product offerings on the following scale, which addresses how easy it is to assess the quality of each product.

easy to assess quality……………………………………………difficult to assess quality

When the groups are finished, the instructor should fill in a class worksheet with input from the groups. The class worksheet often looks something like the following:

easy to assess quality……………………………………………difficult to assess quality C J H D O E T

During class discussion after completion of the two exercises, the


instructor may emphasize at least two important aspects of service quality and consider the implications for marketing practitioners:1. Assessing the quality of physical goods is usually easier than assessing

the quality of products consumers consider services.2. The quality of some services (e.g., a haircut) can be relatively easy to

assess when compared to other services (e.g., tax preparation).3. Many physical goods have a “service” component and many services

have a “physical goods” component.

Randy StuartKennesaw State University

A LESSON ON PACKAGING ANDSOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

This exercise was developed in conjunction with a university-wide, community food drive and to reinforce the lesson on packaging. To encourage participation, it was presented as an extra credit opportunity.

Have the students bring in 3 cans of the same type of food, (i.e., corn, peas, etc.), one manufacturer, one private label/house brand and one generic. Each can is worth 5 points. Have the students write a paper (1-3 pages), comparing and contrasting the packaging strategy of each can. The paper is worth 10 points. Encourage them to address such topics as:

Size and pricing Use of color What attracted them to each can What were the strong and weak points of each label Which package do they think was the most efficient and effec-

tive and why

Due to the difficulty of finding generic merchandise in our market, the exercise was modified so that the students who were unable to find generic could do the exercise with two manufacturers and one house brand. Students who were able to find a can of generic food earned an


additional 5 points.Creative students were encouraged to make their own label and dis-

cuss why their label was better than the rest. This was also worth an addi-tional 5 points.

The exercise was fun for all. It made the students take what was learned in class and apply it. Most importantly much food was donated to local food banks and the students received a lesson in social responsibility.

Sheri CarderLake City Community College

“ROOTS”MARKETING FROM SCRATCH

Each student will be assigned a specific product/business which is highly successful today. Remember, however, that every big business once began as a single entrepreneur’s vision. Your challenge is to research the “root” of this particular business to discover its humble beginnings and its original creator.

You will present a short (ten minutes) formal business presentation to the class on your research. Although there is no written report required, you must turn in a bibliography of your research (utilize 2 – 3 published resources OTHER than the company’s web page). DO NOT READ! Speak from brief notes. This is no time for a boring life story/biography here – explain to us the reasons this person hit it big. Inspire us!

Bring us up to date. How did the product/business evolve from its inception until today? What is its position in the product life cycle? What do you predict for its future? Why has this product been successful for such a long time? What are its competitive advantages? Discuss the resultant product line development which has occurred. What about mer-gers and acquisitions?

As a representative of this company, develop a 3-D display of your product/s. It should be appropriate if you were the Marketing manager of the company who needed a display for an up-coming trade show.

Companies/Products from which you may choose: Nike, Gateway


2000, The Limited, Black & Decker, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, East-man Kodak, Land’s End, Lillian Vernon, Clorox, Outback Steakhouse, Domino’s Pizza, William Wrigley Jr. Company, Marriott International, Holiday Inn, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, UPS, Harley Davidson, Mazda, Toys ‘R Us, Papa John’s, MCI, Southwest Airlines, Wendy’s, Tyson Foods, T. J. Maxx, Tupperware, Hertz Corporation, Canon, Dollar General Stores, and MCI.

Barbara Ross WooldridgeThe University of Texas at Tyler

PACKING THE POWERFUL P!THE IMPACT PACKAGING HAS ON HOW

WE “SEE” PRODUCTSA TASTE TEST EXPERIMENT

Most students in an introduction marketing course can easily visualize the role packaging plays in protecting and facilitating the storage of pro-ducts, it is not as clear to them the powerful role packing can play in deter-mining how a consumer views and classifies a product (the promotion aspect). This taste test experiment is designed to graphically demonstrate how packaging makes us see three very similar products as completely different items.

Exercise Overview

Three products are used in this taste test: KitKat Candy Bars, Sweet Escapes, and Keebler Fudge Sticks. The items should be cut up into bit size pieces. Each product is placed in separate bags labeled A, B, and C. Students are divided into groups of 3 to 5 depending on class size. The groups are given taste test sheets to fill out as a team. These sheets include the following items: which product did you prefer and why did you prefer it, who is the target market for the product, what is the name of each product, what price does each sell for (or list most the expensive to least). Once these are completed, they are collected and reviewed with the class


and the identity of the products is revealed. Next the groups are given the ingredient lists for the three products labeled 1, 2, and 3 and are asked to match the product with its ingredients. These sheets are collected and reviewed. Finally students are given the nutritional breakdown for each product—standardized—so that each product’s nutritional breakdown is for the identical serving portion and asked to identify which product goes to which nutritional breakdown. These are collected and reviewed and how each team fared on the three tasks is reviewed. After the taste test is completed the results are discussed as a class.

The Results

What the students discover is that the three products are all basically chocolate covered wafers are viewed very differently and sell for very different prices based on packaging. KitKat is packaged individually as a candy bar, while fudge sticks are packaged in a group as cookies, and Sweet Escapes are packaged as a group but individually--a cross between a cookie and a candy bar. Students tend to be surprised at the fact that they cannot identify the candy bar, which they perceive as a chocolate bar, by its ingredients.

Benefits to the Student

The taste test allows students to immediately begin to understand the relevance of packaging in determining how one perceives a product. It also demonstrates how packaging interacts with the price, promotion, and positioning of a product. Additionally, it allows them to apply their own experience to the material presented in class lectures. This exercise has a side benefit as it exposes students to taste tests as a form of marketing research. Most importantly it forces students from a passive state of learning to participatory learning. A good follow-up is to ask them to try and find their own examples.


Conclusion

This exercise depending on class size takes some time to create the tasting samples, but does not require a lot of preparation time. Students tend to really enjoy it because the results surprise them. Its also a painless way to get students to take an active part class.

Susan Y. McGorryDeSales College

NATIONAL BRANDS VERSUS PRIVATE LABELS

Often, students have a difficult time understanding the differences between national brands and private labels. This exercise drives the point home, and simultaneously reinforces concepts of marketing research. If you teach in a computer classroom or another area where food products are prohibited, you may want to consider moving your class to another area such as a lounge, study area, and/or outside – weather permitting. Students usually find this change of scene refreshing.

To complete this exercise, you should purchase a product that can easily be consumed in class without creating a mess and/or other pro-blems. Additionally, you’ll need to purchase a product that is sold as a national brand and a private label. Typically, I’ll purchase a chocolate chip cookie variety for several reasons: (1) Not too messy, (2) Easy to find both national brands and private labels, and (3) Most of the students really enjoy the product.

When you enter the classroom (or other area), remember to conceal the products in a bag (students will recognize cookie bags by their colors, etc). Have students try one type of cookie first. Give them ample time to really examine and taste the cookie (you will have to remind them not to gobble the cookies down in haste: examine the shape, color, consistency, etc). You can ask them to write down their thoughts/comments/observa-tions on a sheet of paper. Some students will begin yelling out which cookies they think they are eating so remind them not to discuss their cookie preference with their classmates.


Do the same for the second cookie. After students have eaten both cookies, conduct a brief survey (students can write their responses on the same sheet of paper) to determine which cookie students preferred. Once the results are in, you can reveal the award-winning cookie to the students. Students are usually excited about the results. Many cannot believe that we usually have a private label winner each semester! Additionally, you can ask them about the importance of the trademarks, the colors of the packaging, the packing itself. Talk about the differences between private labels and national brands.

After the experiment is finished, you can reinforce marketing research concepts by asking students what type of data was collected. Ask students the differences between primary and secondary research, why were they asked to be silent during the cookie tasting, the advantages and disadvan-tages of primary and secondary research.

Mark A. Mitchell, University of South Carolina SpartanburgBarbara Hastings, University of South Carolina Spartanburg

A SURVEY OF REGIONAL TRAINING NEEDS

Introduction

As the 21st century approaches, the business environment may be characterized as keenly competitive, global in nature, technology-intense, and dynamic. Business School educators struggle to revise and update the curricula in order to produce graduates with the skills and abilities to allow them to enter the business world and contribute effectively to their organizations. Some have predicted that many Business Schools will not survive because many corporations are assuming a larger role in the education of their employees. The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (now known as “AACSB – The International Association for Management Education”) is in the forefront of efforts which will make Business School education more responsive to the needs of the business community. As such, there clearly exists a need for Business School educators to critically evaluate the needs of regional


employers to ensure that the finished product of the University (i.e., the student) possesses the skills necessary for success.

Opportunity for Research

Your institution’s need for prospective employer input can be satisfied by a periodic survey of regional training needs. The focus of the study should be: (1) to identify the relative importance that area employers place on a comprehensive list of training topics, (2) to clarify issues pertaining to the employee training and development (e.g., timing, location, and so on), and (3) to anticipate future training needs. The com-pleted study will be an invaluable input to the “curriculum team” within your Business School as well as demonstrating your institution’s com-mitment to serving your local marketplace. The study described here can be administered in a Principles of Marketing, Industrial Marketing, Marketing Research, or Marketing Management course.

Methodology

Division into Teams. Divide the students into teams to develop a list of possible training topics currently in use by regional employers. For our study, the training topics were divided into seven categories: (1) total quality, (2) guiding an organization, (3) human resource management, (4) improving communications, (5) improving personal productivity, (6) marketing, and (7) problem-solving. These seven categories provided a logical starting point for team assignments.

Development of the Questionnaire. Work with the teams to review existing literature, trade journals, employee training consulting catalogs and websites, and other sources to identify a list of training topics relevant to your regional employers. Next, have your faculty colleagues review the instrument for completeness. Finally, pretest the instrument with a local human resource professional (say, a former student!). Our completed questionnaire contained three parts: (1) the importance score (3, 5, or 7-point scale) given to the list of training topics, (2) the past, present, and future practices with respect to the list of training topics, and (3) delivery


issues pertaining to employee training. Below is an example of our ques-tionnaire organization:

Training Need / TopicImportance

ScoreOrganizational Practices

1 2 3 Past Present Future Not. Appl.Implementing ISO/QS 9000 1 2 3Implementing Work Teams 1 2 3

Data Collection

The suggested sampling frame for the study is human resource (HR) professionals within your operating region. If possible, secure the cooperation of regional HR professional association(s). The instrument may be administered at their regularly scheduled meeting or, at least, they should provide their mailing list for use. Stress to possible participants the use of the collected information. The following passage is offered for consideration:

Like your organization, we are committed to continuous improve-ment in all that we do. As representatives of our stakeholders, we value your input into our planning processes. The results of this study will tell us which training topics are of current or on-going importance to your organization and to what extent.

Using the Results of the Study

The completed study may be distributed to the following groups: (1) the student participants to illustrate current employee training practices, (2) business School colleagues to monitor practitioner needs and possible curriculum revision, (3) respondents (HR professionals) to monitor regional trends, and (4) regional and national accrediting agencies are evidence of stakeholder input into your institution’s curriculum review and strategic planning processes. Finally, student participants are encouraged to include participation in this project on their resumes as an example of experiential learning throughout their degree programs.



MARKETING YOURSELFDRESS FOR SUCCESS ON A SHOESTRING

(FOR $25 OR LESS)

Students need to learn how to market themselves in an interview situ-ation. Among the more important considerations is how they dress. One challenge for many students is a limited budget. I have developed a class project that helps students learn how to overcome this challenge. It is des-cribed below.

On November 5, this class will host a style show for clothing appropriate for a job interview. Here's your challenge: you may buy (at a garage sale or consignment store), sew, borrow, supplement, or rent appropriate clothing -- BUT YOU MAY NOT SPEND OVER $25 ON THE ENTIRE OUTFIT. You will write the description of your outfit in

Students at Lake City Community College pose after their “Dressfor Success for $25 or Less” style show.

addition to describing the job for which you are applying. You will model the outfit. The style show will be video-taped for airing on our local cable


access television station. You’ll prove that dressing for success is a matter of taste, not money.

It is estimated that people form first impressions of you in 30 seconds. It is also estimated that you have approximately four minutes in a job interview to reverse a bad first impression. We have worked long and hard on our résumés as a method of marketing our skills. However, remember that the résumé is designed to get you the interview. What you do in the interview is what will get you the job.

Rosa T. CherryWilliamsburg Technical College

RETAILING:MAJOR TYPES OF RETAIL STORES

To teach the variety of retail stores and the concepts of image and atmosphere, assign students to visit and analyze an example of each of the following stores and write the necessary description of each. Students generally enjoy shopping, and this assignment is easily accomplished over a weekend and is more graphic than just reading and discussing the material involved.

For example, have students visit or recall visits to examples of the following types of stores. Then, name the store and describe it regarding the level of service, assortment, price, and location. Write a brief descrip-tion of the image and atmosphere that is evident.

department store mass merchandiser specialty retailer supermarket convenience store discount store off-price retailer factory outlet wholesale club


super store

Class discussion of the results will be lively; everyone has an opinion to share about his favorite or most disliked store.

Karin Braunsberger, Arkansas Tech UniversityMichaelle Cameron, St. Edward’s University

THE CLASSIFICATION OF RETAIL OUTLETS

This exercise is designed to help students apply some of the theoretical concepts concerning the classification of retail outlets.

Directions Given to Students

This exercise relates the classification of retailers. Pick one product you are interested in. Before you go shopping for it, write down your expectations in terms of (1) level of service; (2) product assortment; and (3) price in the following types of retail outlets:

a. Upscale Department Store (Dillard’s, Bloomingdale’s, etc.)OrUpscale Specialty Store (Home Furniture on Arkansas, etc.)And

b. Lowscale Department Store (JC Penney, Sears, etc.)And

c. Full-Line Discounters (Wal-Mart, Kmart, etc.)After you have written down your expectation, go shopping for the same product in all three types of stores and then write down your actual experiences. How do they compare to your expectations?

Karen L. StewartRichard Stockton College


RETAIL STORE CLASSIFICATIONS

I have typically found it quite tedious to lecture on the various types of retail stores. This term I decided to try a different approach. (I alerted the students prior to starting the retailing chapter that it was important to read the chapter prior to coming to class since we would be doing an in-class exercise.) I made a chart for the students for work on during class. The chart had 7 headings across the top of the page: (1) name of store; (2) ownership (chain, independent, franchise); (3) level of service (limited/moderate/extensive); (4) product assortment (narrow/wide); (5) depth of assortment (shallow/deep); (6) price (low/moderate/high) and (7) major type of store (department/specialty/discount, . . .). Students were told to begin by listing in the first column ten stores that reflect where they shop and that are somewhat different from one another. Then they were instructed to fill out the remainder of the table. The class came up with a variety of stores--some very familiar to all; some that were truly out-of-the-ordinary. Once in a while they’d come up with something I didn’t expect like the Home Shopping Network. That presented the opportunity to introduce nonstore retailing. It also quickly became appar-ent that retailing is dominated by chain stores. We could also see how some of the classification lines have blurred over time.

Also, I attached several other handouts to the chart discussed above. One page was a floor plan for a typical hypermarket. The other pages consisted of the following questions:

1. List anything you have purchased in the last few years from a direct mail offer. This would include items purchased from so-called “junk” mail.

2. Lists items purchased via catalogs over the last few years.3. Have you purchased anything on-line? If so, what? Have you

considered purchasing anything on-line, even if you didn’t follow through? If so, what?

4. What advantages and disadvantages do you associate with buying from a supercenter?

5. How can smaller stores attempt to compete with superstores?6. Attached is a copy of a floor plan for a hypermarket.


Hypermarkets have been very successful in Europe but have failed in the U.S. (Note: The Carrefour in the Philadelphia area closed about 7 years ago.) What is it about Americans’ shopping habits that would help to account for this failure?

7. What reasonable explanations account for vending machine prices being so high? Or is this just marketers taking advantage of your hunger, thirst, . . .?

8. Name a successful retail business in your area. What marketing strategy has led to its success?

9. What retail store do you most dislike? What accounts for your negative feelings?

I found that this approach took about the same total time as lecturing on retailing but the overall learning experience as more meaningful and interesting for the students.


RETAILING STRATEGIES:COMPETITIVE BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Working in groups, choose one of the following business areas to explore. You are to make a marketing comparison by thoroughly dis-cussing how these businesses compete on the basis of product differen-tiation, advertising and promotion, service, pricing, location, store hours, form of ownership, marketing niche, etc. Essentially, what accounts for each business's success or failure?

You must not reveal to the store owners that you are on a class pro-ject. They must believe that you are walk-in customers. Although you may ask questions, don’t waste the owner’s time asking about store hours if the hours are posted. Ask questions that any potential customer might ask: What is your return policy? Do you deliver? All team members must pay individual visits to the store at separate times to record their own experience. Most of your analysis should be based on your personal


experiences in the businesses. You are tantamount to a “mystery shopper.”

Restaurants Grocery Stores Apartment Complexes

1. Taco Bell 1. Walmart Supercenter 1. Columbia Arms2. Texas Roadhouse 2. S & S 2. Executive Inn Suites3. The Wokery 3. Publix 3. Flamingo Apartments4. Ken's Barbecue 4. Foodland 4. Verndale Apartments5. Applebee's 5. Sullivan's Meats 5. The Victoria6. Cracker Barrel 6. Winn Dixie 6. Quail Heights

Furniture Stores Florists Gift Stores

1. Heilig Meyers 1. Mary's 1. KJ’s Hallmark2. Farmers Furniture 2. Carl's 2. Andi’s Kitchen Store3. Britannia Antiques 3. Flower Villa 3. Gallery on 474. Badcock 4. Kathy's Flowers N Mor 4. Action lawn & Garden5. Etheridge 5. Little Bit Country 5. Pink Magnolia6. Morrell's 6. Florida Flowers 6. Lighthouse

Professor’s note: I purposely choose businesses which may be at the opposite ends of the competitive spectrum.

Monica Perry, University of North Carolina at CharlotteThomas Stevenson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

MARKETING CHANNEL FUNCTIONS:A LOW-TECH KINESTHETIC SIMULATION

Why?

Undergraduate students often have only a slight appreciation for the functions provided by intermediaries in marketing channels. Advertising messages that tout "we keep prices low by cutting out the middleman" merely exacerbate the problem.


What?

To enhance students' appreciation of intermediary functions, students participate in a low-tech simulated channel. The simulation consists of two steps:

1. Manufacturers and Consumers conduct transactions directly, and then

2. A Retailer is introduced with the Manufacturers and Retailer inter-acting while the Consumers and Retailer interact.

It is a very physical exercise that shows the value of intermediaries in addressing quantity, assortment and spatial discrepancies.

How?

1. Prior to conducting the simulation

Make Signs on different color cardstock for various positions, lists and products:

4 Different Manufacturers (e.g. Proctor & Gamble, Kraft, etc.) Pallets of Products for Each Manufacturer (print 100 brand

names on each piece of cardstock and get 4 pairs of scissors, one for each Manufacturer)

5 Different Consumers 5 Shopping Lists, one for each Consumer. Each list should

have at least 1 branded item from each of the 4 Manufacturers (e.g. 1 box of Tide Laundry Detergent, 2 packages of Kraft cheese, etc.).

1 Retailer 4 Purchase Orders for the Retailer, corresponding to products

from each Manufacturer in sufficient quantity to supply Consumer demand (e.g. 1 case of Tide Laundry Detergent).

Use products that students are reasonably familiar with, such as grocery products.

2. Conducting the simulation in class


Obtain 13 student volunteers and assign them Manufacturer (2 students per) and Consumer (1 student per) positions. Give Man-ufacturers signs, product pallets and scissors. Give Consumers signs and shopping lists.

Have the Consumers stand on one side of the classroom while the Manufacturers stand on the opposite side.

Part I: Begin the simulation by having each Consumer fill their

shopping list by going to each of the Manufacturers. Each Manufacturer will have to select and provide an individual product from their pallets (make sure each Manufacturer has a pair of scissors to "select" an individual product for Con-sumers to buy).

Track the time that it takes to complete all the transactions (4 mfrs x 5 Consumers = 20 transactions in total). Be prepared because chaos will ensue!

If you have a large class, run multiple channels so that more students are involved.

Part II Obtain 4 more volunteers to be the Retailer and give them the

Purchase Orders. Place the Retailer in the middle of the classroom between the Manufacturers and Consumers.

Start the simulation by first allowing the Retailer to obtain the products from the Manufacturer and then let Consumers fill their shopping lists from the Retailer. Log the time that it takes to complete all the transactions (9 transactions in total).

It is virtually impossible for the 20 transactions to take less time than the 9 transactions! Some students may suggest that the 9 transactions take less time because there was a practice round without the Retailer. You can rerun another round with "no Retailer" to show that it is not the effect of practice.

roshan d - cengage learningsolutions.cengage.com/uploadedfiles/solutionscengagecom/... · web...

Documents