Question 1 The main advantage of performance indexes

Question 1

1. The main advantage of performance indexes is that they make it easier to compare numbers in a performance analysis.

   AnswerTrue

   False

5 points

Question 2

1. Which of the following statements illustrates the 80/20 rule?

   Answer

   		“80 percent of our target market doesn’t respond to our marketing mix, and we only have a 20 percent market share.”
   		“Of the hundred retailers who carry our products, the top twenty account for nearly 80 percent of our total business.”
   		“20 percent of our marketing effort is wasted, but we don’t know which 20 percent.”
   		“We don’t know whether our profits are 20 percent higher than we deserve, or only 80 percent of what might be easily obtained.”
   		None of the above.

5 points

Question 3

1. With the contribution-margin approach to marketing cost analysis, all costs are allocated to products, customers, or other categories.

   AnswerTrue

   False

5 points

Question 4

1. Detailed sales analysis is:

   Answer

   		not worth the cost unless the firm is very unprofitable.
   		based on the information available on traditional accounting reports.
   		important for producers, but usually not that valuable for retailers.
   		most useful when it analyzes costs from different possible target markets.
   		None of the above is true.

5 points

Question 5

1. Which of the following observations is true?

   Answer

   		Variable costs are irrelevant in the contribution-margin approach.
   		Both the full-cost approach and the contribution-margin approach yield similar decisions.
   		The contribution-margin approach ignores some costs to get results.
   		Top management always prefers the contribution-margin approach.
   		In the contribution-margin approach, all costs are allocated to products, customers, or other
   		categories.

5 points

Question 6

1. Using cost analysis to analyze the money being spent by a firm is analogous to using ____________ to analyze the money coming into the firm.

   Answer

   		sales analysis
   		traditional accounting reports
   		performance analysis
   		the iceberg principle
   		TQM methods

5 points

Question 7

1. The “full-cost approach” to marketing cost analysis:

   Answer

   		Allocates all costs, except fixed costs, to products, customers, or other categories.
   		Is designed so that customers, products, or other categories are always allocated an equal amount of costs.
   		Requires that difficult-to-allocate costs be split in some way.
   		Should always be avoided.
   		None of the above.

5 points

Question 8

1. Implementing a strategy is straightforward; there are usually only a limited number of ways things can go wrong.

   AnswerTrue

   False

5 points

Question 9

1. Which of the following would be the BEST reason to use the “full-cost approach” when comparing the performance of several product managers?

   Answer

   		Unlike the “contribution-margin approach,” it charges managers only for the expenses which are directly related to their operations.
   		This approach is required by Federal tax laws.
   		It charges each product manager only for those expenses which he controls.
   		It allows management to consider only the variable costs related to different products.
   		It makes each manager bear a share of the overhead expenses which were made for everyone’s benefit.

5 points

Question 10

1. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

   Answer

   		Good implementation builds relationships with customers.
   		Implementation ignores external matters.
   		Implementation is especially critical in mature and highly competitive markets.
   		Effective implementation means that plans work as intended.
   		Implementation has its own objectives.

5 points

Question 11

1. The best way to do a sales analysis is to first break down sales by customer type, and then geographic region.

   AnswerTrue

   False

5 points

Question 12

1. Which of the following statements about a marketing audit is False?

   Answer

   		A marketing audit takes a detailed looks at the firm’s current marketing plans to see if they are still the best plans the firm can offer.
   		A marketing audit should be done on a regular basis.
   		The marketing strategy planning framework is useful in conducting a marketing audit.
   		A good audit is internal and is not concerned with gathering information from outside the firm.
   		Ideally, a marketing audit should not be necessary, but it often is.

5 points

Question 13

1. Marketing cost analysis shows that one of Buildco, Inc.’s customers is unprofitable, so Buildco should:

   Answer

   		refuse to sell to that customer.
   		try to determine why this customer is unprofitable.
   		drop the customer and shift all fixed costs to the other customers.
   		assign a new salesperson to that account.
   		immediately develop a plan to sell more to that customer.

5 points

Question 14

1. Capitol Enterprises uses the cost-sales ratio to measure the performance of its salespeople. If, in the past year, a salesperson made $800,000 in sales, had travel expenses of $23,000, and received a base salary of $40,000 plus $6,000 in commissions, what was this sales rep’s cost-sales ratio (to the nearest whole number percent)?

   Answer

   		3 percent
   		6 percent
   		9 percent
   		12 percent
   		15 percent

5 points

Question 15

1. The contribution-margin approach focuses attention on _____ rather than on ______.

   Answer

   		fixed costs; variable costs
   		gross margins; net margins
   		total costs; fixed costs
   		overheads; fixed costs
   		variable costs; total costs

5 points

Question 16

1. The “contribution-margin approach” to marketing cost analysis:

   Answer

   		considers only those costs which are directly related to particular alternatives.
   		is especially useful for estimating the long-run profit of a proposed strategy.
   		allocates variable costs which are hard to measure to overhead.
   		is especially useful for determining if there should be more controls on fixed costs.
   		All of the above.

5 points

Question 17

1. A marketing manager who wants to analyze the firm’s sales should be aware that:

   Answer

   		sales invoice files contain little useful information.
   		the best way to analyze sales data is according to geographic regions.
   		sales analysis involves a detailed breakdown of a company’s sales forecasts.
   		sales analysis may not be possible unless the manager has made arrangements for the company to capture identifying information about each sale.
   		a manager can never have too much data.

5 points

Question 18

1. A _____ looks for exceptions or variations from planned performance.

   Answer

   		performance analysis
   		break-even analysis
   		Pareto chart
   		fishbone diagram
   		pie chart

5 points

Question 19

1. To improve the effectiveness of the marketing control process, the marketing manager should:

   Answer

   		realize that most errors are made because managers react to detailed information too quickly–instead of waiting to see what patterns show up in summary reports.
   		be the supervisor for the data-processing manager.
   		have all necessary data captured as it comes in and in a form that can be quickly sorted and analyzed by computer.
   		be certain that all cost records are kept in a central location controlled by the marketing department.
   		All of the above.

5 points

Question 20

1. A marketing audit is similar to an accounting audit or a personnel audit, which businesses have used for some time.

   AnswerTrue

   False