Significant Objective Questions On Marketing Executive
Q – 1 ________________ is quoted as saying that, “everyone lives by selling something.”
* a) Bill Gates
* b) Robert Louis Stevenson
* c) Arthur Miller
* d) Henry Ford
Ans- * b) Robert Louis Stevenson
Q – 2 The total number of items that the company carries within its product lines refers to the ___________ of the product mix.
* a) Width
* b) Depth
* c) Length
* d) Consistency
Ans- * c) Length
Q – 3 A (n) __________________ are computerized collections of information obtained from data sources within the company.
* a) Retrieval systems
* b) Marketing research reports
* c) Flow diagrams and PERT charts
* d) Internal databases
Ans- * d) Internal databases
Q – 4 It is a fact that there are 24 million left-handed people in the United States, however, most marketers do not attempt to appeal to or design products for this group because there is little in the way of census data about this group. Therefore, this group fails in one of the requirements for effective segmentation. Which of the following is most likely to apply in this case?
* a) Actionable
* b) Substantial
* c) Differentiable
* d) Measurable
Ans- * d) Measurable
Q – 5 Many U.S. firms have sought relief from foreign competition by demanding protectionism policies by the U.S. government. A better way for companies to compete is to expand into foreign markets and:
* a) Lower prices
* b) Increase promotion both at home and abroad
* c) Continuously improve their products at home
* d) Join into cartels at home
Ans- * c) Continuously improve their products at home
Q – 6 ______________ is a principle of enlightened marketing that requires that a company seek real product and marketing improvements.
* a) Innovative marketing
* b) Consumer-oriented marketing
* c) Value marketing
* d) Sense-of-mission marketing
Ans- * a) Innovative marketing
Q – 7 In terms of special product life cycles, a _____________ is a basic and distinctive mode of expression.
* a) Genre
* b) Style
* c) Fashion
* d) Fad
Ans- * b) Style
Q – 8 _____________ is the general term for a buying and selling process that is supported by electronic means.
* a) Internet commerce
* b) Web commerce
* c) Computer commerce
* d) Electronic commerce
Ans- * d) Electronic commerce
Q – 9 ________________ are ads that appear while subscribers are surfing online services or Web sites, including banners, pop-up windows, “tickers,” and “roadblocks”
* a) Online infomercials
* b) Online ads
* c) Online broadcasts
* d) Online bullets
Ans- * b) Online ads
Q – 10 ______________ consists of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers; on the basis of needs, characteristics, or behavior, which might require separate products or marketing mixes.
* a) Product differentiation
* b) Market segmentation
* c) Market targeting
* d) Market positioning
Ans- * b) Market segmentation
Q – 11 When a company enters a new product category for which its current brand names are not appropriate, it will likely follow which of the following brand strategies?
* a) Product extensions
* b) Line extensions
* c) Brand extensions
* d) New brands
Ans- * d) New brands
Q – 12 Yahoo, Info seeks, and Excite are all called:
* a) Browsers
* b) Web casters
* c) Search engines
* d) Software
Ans- * c) Search engines
Q – 13 Wal-Mart owned Sams club is an example of a retail form called a(n):
* a) Factory outlet
* b) Super specialty store
* c) Seconds store
* d) Warehouse club
Ans- * d) Warehouse club
Q – 14 Successful ________________ depends on how well a company blends its people, organizational structure, decision and reward systems, and company culture into a cohesive program that supports its strategies.
* a) Marketing strategy
* b) Marketing control
* c) Marketing analysis
* d) Marketing implementation
Ans- * d) Marketing implementation
Q – 15 The type of sales presentation approach that requires good listening and problem-solving skills is the:
* a) Canned approach
* b) Formula approach
* c) Need-satisfaction approach
* d) Critical-thinking approach
Ans- * c) Need-satisfaction approach
Q – 16 Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need is called a(n):
* a) Idea
* b) Demand
* c) Product
* d) Service
Ans- * c) Product
Q – 17 The use of price points for reference to different levels of quality for a company is related products are typical, of which product-mix pricing strategy:
* a) Optional-product pricing
* b) Captive-product pricing
* c) By-product pricing
* d) Product line pricing
Ans- * d) Product line pricing
Q – 18 Successful service companies focus their attention on both their customers and their employees. They understand ___________________, which links service firm profits with employee and customer satisfaction.
* a) Internal marketing
* b) service-profit chains
* c) Interactive marketing
* d) Service differentiation
Ans- * b) service-profit chains
Q – 19 If a companys objective were to reach masses of buyers that were geographically dispersed at a low cost per exposure, the company would likely choose which of the following promotion forms.
* a) Advertising
* b) Personal selling
* c) Public relations
* d) Sales promotion
Ans- * a) Advertising
Q – 20 Using a successful brand name to introduce additional items in a given product category under the same brand name (such as new flavors, forms, colors, added ingredients, or package sizes) is called a(n):
* a) Line extension
* b) Brand extension
* c) Multi-branding
* d) New brands
Ans- * a) Line extension
Q – 21 The typical method of retail operation used by supermarkets and catalog showrooms is called:
* a) Self-service retailing
* b) Limited-service retailing
* c) Full-service retailing
* d) Service-merchandiser
Ans- * a) Self-service retailing
Q – 22 The orange juice manufacturers know that orange juice is most often consumed in the mornings. However, they would like to change this and make the drink acceptable during other times during the day. Which form of segmentation would they need to work with and establish strategy reflective of their desires?
* a) Gender segmentation
* b) Benefit segmentation
* c) Occasion segmentation
* d) Age and life-cycle segmentation
Ans- * c) Occasion segmentation
Q – 23 ______________ includes practices such as overstating the products features or performance, luring the customer to the store for a bargain that is out of stock, or running rigged contests.
* a) Deceptive promotion
* b) Deceptive packaging
* c) Deceptive pricing
* d) Deceptive cost structure
Ans- * a) Deceptive promotion
Q – 24 More and more salespeople are being evaluated and compensated based on different measures than in the past. All of the following are illustrations of those measures except:
* a) Long-term customer satisfaction
* b) Competitive predatory pricing performance
* c) Full customer service
* d) Retention rates
Ans- * b) Competitive predatory pricing performance
Q – 25 ____________ have contractual authority to sell a manufacturers entire output.
* a) Selling agents
* b) Rack jobbers
* c) Manufacturer’s agents
* d) Purchasing agents
Ans- * a) Selling agents
Q – 26 Sellers that handle their own exports are engaged in:
* a) Direct exporting
* b) Indirect exporting
* c) Licensing
* d) Contract manufacturing
Ans- * a) Direct exporting
Q – 27 A child in the United States is normally exposed to all of the following values except:
* a) Achievement and success
* b) Activity and involvement
* c) Material comfort
* d) Collectivism
Ans- * d) Collectivism
Q – 28 In terms of execution styles, a family seated at the dinner table enjoying the advertised product would be an example of which of the following types of advertising.
* a) Slice of life
* b) Lifestyle
* c) Mood or imagery
* d) Personality symbol
Ans- * a) Slice of life
Q – 29 The Internet evolved from a network created by _________________ during the 1960s.
* a) The Commerce Department
* b) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
* c) Northwestern University
* d) The Defense Department
Ans- * d) The Defense Department
Q – 30 Concerns that the manufacturers of harmful products such as tobacco have influence on lawmakers to the detriment of the public interest are used as evidence of, which criticism of marketing:
* a) Too much advertising
* b) Too few social goods
* c) Cultural pollution
* d) Too much political power
Ans- * d) Too much political power
Q – 31 ______________ describes changes in an individuals behavior arising from experience.
* a) Modeling
* b) Motivation
* c) Perception
* d) Learning
Ans- * d) Learning
Q – 32 The __________________ is a person within a reference group who, because of special skills, knowledge, personality, or other characteristics, exerts influence on others.
* a) Facilitator
* b) Referent actor
* c) Opinion leader
* d) Social role player
Ans- * c) Opinion leader
Q – 33 All of the following would be ways to segment within the category of psychographic segmentation except:
* a) Social class
* b) Occupation
* c) Lifestyle
* d) Personality
Ans- * b) Occupation
Q – 34 ________________ are products bought by individuals and organizations for further processing or for use in conducting a business.
* a) Consumer products
* b) Services
* c) Industrial products
* d) Specialty products
Ans- * c) Industrial products
Q – 35 In determining sales force size, when a company groups accounts into different size classes and then determines the number of salespeople needed to call on them the desired number of times, it is called the:
* a) Key-size approach
* b) Work-load approach
* c) Product-need approach
* d) Call-service approach
Ans- * b) Work-load approach
Q – 36 Pricing to cover variable costs some fixed costs, as in the case of some automobile distributorships that sell below total costs, is typical of which of the following pricing objectives?
* a) Current profit maximization
* b) Product quality leadership
* c) Market share leadership
* d) Survival
Ans- * d) Survival
Q – 37 Setting call objectives is done during which of the following stages of the selling process:
* a) Prospecting
* b) Pre-approach
* c) Approach
* d) Handling objections
Ans- * b) Pre-approach
Q – 38 A ______________ is a good offered either free or at low cost as an incentive to buy a product.
* a) Patronage reward
* b) Spiff
* c) Price pack
* d) Premium
Ans- * c) Price pack
Q – 39 The biggest or greatest amount of involvement in a foreign market comes through which of the following:
a) Exporting
b) Joint venturing
c) Licensing
d) Direct investment
Ans- d) Direct investment
Q – 40 Company that overlooks new and better ways to do things will eventually lose customers to another company that has found a better way of serving customer needs is a major tenet of which of the below:
* a) Innovative marketing
* b) Consumer-oriented marketing
* c) Value marketing
* d) Sense-of-mission marketing
Ans- * a) Innovative marketing
Q – 41 All of the following are considered as drawbacks of local marketing except:
* a) It can drive up manufacturing and marketing costs by reducing economies of scale.
* b) It can create logistical problems when the company tries to meet varied requirements.
* c) It can attract unwanted competition.
* d) It can dilute the brand’s overall image.
Ans- * c) It can attract unwanted competition.
Q – 42 Cognitive dissonance occurs in which stage of the buyer decision-process model:
* a) Need recognition
* b) Information search
* c) Evaluation of alternatives
* d) Post purchase behavior
Ans- d) Post purchase behavior
Q – 43 Which following information forms available to the marketing manager can usually be accessed more quickly and cheaply than other information sources?
* a) Marketing intelligence
* b) Marketing research
* c) Customer profiles
* d) Internal databases
Answer d
Q – 44 Do you have any questions?
Ans- The best questions to ask are those that you really would like to know the answer to, rather than those you can find in books on interview skills. If you research the company well enough, you will find a number of questions naturally arising that you wish to be answered.
You should, though, concentrate on questions that show your interest in, and motivation to do, the job itself, rather than the rewards it will bring. So, for example, you should ask about training and career progression in preference to pay and pensions! Other questions you could consider asking include:
* What do people enjoy most in working for the company?
* How many exhibitions does the company undertake each year
* How realistic are early promotion prospects if I am successful?
* What plans do you have for the future in terms of new markets/products?
* Do you run any competitions or sales incentives?
Q – 45 What you realistically believe to be your earning potential?
Ans- You should avoid discussing your salary at interview – so conventional interview wisdom goes! In this context, however, the question may be about a rather different issue. Many marketing jobs have the potential for staff to earn bonuses or indeed be on a contract where their salary is only a proportion of their potential earnings.
This question also suggests the future. What are your earnings likely to be in the next five, ten, even fifteen years?
You should relate your earning potential to your ability to do the job. By arguing that you hope to take every opportunity that comes your way, work hard, put in the hours required and generally get stuck in you will show that you are keen to earn as much as possible.
Q – 46 What makes you think that degree in marketing will get you a job with us?
Ans- A bit of a challenging question. Although the simple response is that a degree alone will not get you the job. Your other skills, activities, experiences and interests should count just as much as the subject you have studied.
Focus on the constituent skills of your particular degree. For example, if you had studied Psychology you could describe in detail how any or all of the following skills would be of use to you in a Marketing situation:
* the understanding and analysis of human behavior and experience
* using scientific methods
* analyzing and solving problems
* numeracy skills.
* use of information technology
* communication skills both written and oral.
Q – 47 Which of our products/services most appeals to you?
Ans- You can afford to be brutally honest here, because the question is about which product/service you most like. It begs the question that you do actually know about the firm and indeed have a preference. For any marketing interview you must prepare in advance by familiarizing yourself with what the company does!
A successful product/service is worth concentrating on. This will allow you to identify its appeal and then describe how the marketing strategy has worked. An example might be Walker’s crisps tasting nice, but through the marketing strategy attached to them they are now also perceived as funny and good fun. This is obviously important when one of their biggest markets is children.
Q – 48 Would you market Great Britain?
Ans- Another hypothetical question. You need to consider the most marketable aspects of the “product” and concentrate on these. What marketing method would you use? Whose help would you seek? And what research into past marketing attempts could be helpful?
Be prepared to discuss the product in terms of making it profitable. Concentrate on the positive and declare who you would try and sell GB plc to. You could even consider whether it needs marketing. Perhaps it could sell itself with just a little help from you.
Q – 49 Would be your first actions if we were to appoint you?
Ans- This is one of those hypothetical questions which many companies ask. It is very important for your answer to be both accurate and realistic. For example, if the company has a structured training scheme you could suggest that your first action would be to familiarise yourself with it and see if there was anything to do, before you start work, to prepare yourself for the training.
You might also consider meeting with all the key staff concerned with the product or service you will be marketing. The products /services themselves may also be new to you, so you may need to familiarize yourself with them when you first take up your position.
On the other hand you could want to discuss your first actions with your boss. A wise precaution for a new recruit. Your first action could therefore be to arrange to meet at his/her earliest convenience to discuss your first activities within the firm.
Q – 50 Describe yourself as competitive?
Ans- The easy answer is yes. You must give plenty of examples. And from as many aspects of your life as possible. University experience certainly, but also include situations from your early life in order to demonstrate that competition is natural to you. Sporting activities are an obvious source here.
Show that you are competitive on your own as well as within a team situation. You should also suggest that you are successfully competitive. Failing in competition will not look very good.
Bring into your answer how other people see you. Do they regard you as a competitive person and if so is that a good or a bad thing? Are you the kind of person others look to when they are faced with a challenge?
Q – 51 How does prospect of traveling a good deal grab you?
Ans- Very well is the easy answer, but you must do your research. Not all marketing jobs involve travel, although most do. Be certain about the requirements of the firm interviewing you. You probably wouldn’t have applied to a job requiring travel unless you relished the prospect!
You should attempt to demonstrate any of the following in order to suggest that working away from home suits you:
* You have done it before, successfully.
* It is a challenge you are prepared to accept.
* You enjoy getting out and about and seeing pastures new.
* It will allow you to use your social skills with a wide range of clients.
* Being mobile adds an extra dimension to the work which you will enjoy.
Q – 52 Give me example of how you convinced someone to do something that they were not too keen on doing?
Ans- Influencing the behavior and even attitudes of others is central to marketing work.
Consider situations in which your ideas were obviously better than others. Of particular relevance are occasions when you influenced someone’s spending habits. For example, deciding on a holiday to undertake, or perhaps the purchase of an expensive item such as a car or a house. Equally, it could be that you convinced someone to do something which they initially had severe doubts about.
Talk about the methods you have used to convince someone as well as how persistent you needed to be. Are you better face-to-face or on the phone? Would you be as effective if you tried to do it in writing? Are some people easier to influence than others? Is so why is that the case? How could you apply this to your working life? Show that you enjoy influencing other people as well as being good at it.
Q – 53 How well you cope under pressure?
Ans- An inevitable question considering the occupation! You should give examples of situations in which you have coped. Obvious examples will come from your academic experience preparing work to deadlines etc. Try and mention experiences from areas outside university as well. Perhaps from vacation work experiences or other jobs you have had.
There are some people who actively thrive on having things constantly demanded of them. Are you one of these people? On the other hand, do you enjoy pressure at work while having a very contrasting quiet life away from work? Bear in mind that you must really answer in the affirmative as pressure comes with the territory of a career in Marketing.
Q – 54 Tell us have you applied to any other areas apart from marketing?
Ans- If the answer is yes (and it is quite reasonable for it to be so!) then have a reason for your interest in the other areas. Some other occupations are obviously related, such as Sales, Market Research, Advertising, Promotional work, Public Relations etc.
Show that there are common skills between the other occupations and Marketing. Alternatively demonstrate that the attraction is different and perhaps of a lesser degree than Marketing. Show that the job in question attracts you the most and that there is no sense of you being inconsistent in your applications. The other companies you have applied to will interest your interviewer. Let them see that you have researched the field well. But make sure that they know they are the first choice. You do not want to put them off!
Q – 55 Why do you want to get into marketing field?
Ans- Your reasons should relate both to the occupation and the particular company interviewing you. Your interests in any of the following could prove useful to mention: working to tight deadlines, working under pressure, meeting targets, getting the job done, selling, making deals, being competitive, presenting to others etc.
Don’t feel you have to limit your answer to just the occupation alone. Give reasons why you find the particular firm attractive. It is often a good idea to broaden the scope of a question and turn it into more of a normal conversation.
Include any examples of selling from your university days. Did you effectively advertise the films at the film society, for example, or increase the membership, or attract many more volunteers, or sell lots of tickets for an event? etc.