Question

The YMCA in mid-town Atlanta has recently upgraded its facilities, including building a new Olympic-sized swimming pool and children's playground. All locations of the Atlanta "Y" are open from 6:00 am until 11:00 pm, 360 days a year. The children's playground is accessible for members only and is a fenced and secured area. During the weekdays, children under the age of 12 can engage in supervised activities at the playground, for no extra fee. Additionally, there are swimming classes for children of all ages, which is also covered by the monthly membership fee. The swimming pool has been very popular with the professionals who stop by for a swimming workout before or after work.

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Many of the YMCA locations are very busy all day; however, the midtown "Y" is busier during the early morning and early evenings. At a recent meeting, Maya Sinclair, its manager, shared her concerns about getting more people into the "Y" at other times of the day. She asked for ideas from her staff about how to do this. She also said that the city of Atlanta had reduced the "Y"'s funding for the next year by 20%. This would cause a need for the "Y" to either gain additional members or charge more per member for the annual fee.

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Refer to Scenario 13.1. One of Maya’s staff suggested that they offer senior citizens a free month of membership for every person they recommended to the “Y.” This particular form of promotion would be designed to

	a.	increase perceptions of quality.
	b.	increase the customer contact associated with the “Y.”
	c.	increase positive word-of-mouth communication.
	d.	increase negative word-of-mouth communication.
	e.	increase advertising effectiveness.

A US Airways flight from Dallas to Houston was full, and the tickets were more expensive than the almost-empty US Airways flight from Chicago to Phoenix. This is an example of what kind of service pricing?

	a.	Demand-based
	b.	Supply-based
	c.	Upfront
	d.	Customer-based
	e.	Bundled

After deciding to order replacement parts for aging machinery, the buyer for a construction company examines catalogs and trade publications looking for these parts. The buyer is at which stage in the business buying decision process?

	a.	Product specification
	b.	Product-supplier selection
	c.	Problem recognition
	d.	Product-supplier post-evaluation
	e.	Product-supplier search and evaluation

Use the following to answer the questions.

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Megabus is a bus line operating in the Northeast and Midwestern United States, plus in Canada. It offers travelers a cheap alternative to driving and flying between large cities, keeping the fares extremely low yet offering the latest technology. Unlike the traditional Greyhound bus line, Megabus is an express service, and is equipped with Wi-Fi, video screens, headsets, and seat belts. Many buses also run on biodiesel fuel. Additionally, Megabus picks up and drops off people in the centers of cities rather than at inconveniently-located terminals. Patrons can book tickets at Megabus.com, where some fares begin at just $1. Routes are limited, and are offered out of cities such as Toronto, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Recently, its competitor Greyhound has launched two new bus lines, BoltBus and NeOn, with similar fares and high-tech amenities. A fare on a NeOn bus from Buffalo, New York, to New York City is $50.00 round trip, while the same fare through Greyhound's traditional bus line costs $92.00. The benefit of Greyhound's traditional line is that there are more departure times and more stops in smaller towns along the way.

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Refer to Scenario 11.1. When Greyhound launched the BoltBus and NeOn bus lines, this is an example of

	a.	co-branding.
	b.	an extension in the width of the product mix.
	c.	family branding.
	d.	an extension in the depth of the product mix.
	e.	a branding extension.

Answer 1

One of Maya’s staff suggested that they offer senior citizens a free month of membership for every person they recommended to the “Y.” This particular form of promotion would be designed to

	a.	increase perceptions of quality.
	b.	increase the customer contact associated with the “Y.”
	c.	increase positive word-of-mouth communication.
	d.	increase negative word-of-mouth communication.
	e.	increase advertising effectiveness.

ANSWER IS B increase the customer contact associated with the “Y as the senior citizen would recommend a customer to Y that will help them increase their customer base.

A US Airways flight from Dallas to Houston was full, and the tickets were more expensive than the almost-empty US Airways flight from Chicago to Phoenix. This is an example of what kind of service pricing?

	a.	Demand-based
	b.	Supply-based
	c.	Upfront
	d.	Customer-based
	e.	Bundled

ANSWER IS A DEMAND BASED AS THE FLIGHT IS FULL AND DUE TO THAT FARE IS HIGH.

After deciding to order replacement parts for aging machinery, the buyer for a construction company examines catalogs and trade publications looking for these parts. The buyer is at which stage in the business buying decision process?

	a.	Product specification
	b.	Product-supplier selection
	c.	Problem recognition
	d.	Product-supplier post-evaluation
	e.	Product-supplier search and evaluation

ANSWER IS A PRODUCT SPECIFICATION AS THE BUYER IS LOOKING FOR THE SPECIFIC KIND OF PRODUCT.

Refer to Scenario 11.1. When Greyhound launched the BoltBus and NeOn bus lines, this is an example of

	a.	co-branding.
	b.	an extension in the width of the product mix.
	c.	family branding.
	d.	an extension in the depth of the product mix.
	e.	a branding extension.

ANSWER IS B AN EXTENSION IN WIDTH OF PRODUCT MIX AS THE SIMILAR BUSES WITH LESS FACILITIES IS ALREADY THERE BUT NEON BUS IS RUNNING ON SIMILAR ROUTE WITH MORE FACILITIES WHILE THE TRADITIONAL BUSES HAVE MORE STOPPAGES. THIS IS EXTENSION IN WIDTH OD PRODUCT MIX.