To survive/maintain status quo a company should adapt prices to permit the organization to “hold on” in periods of business downturns or until a buyer can be found. Therefore, the correct answer is E. 

Service back-up basically is the add-on services such as credit, delivery, installation, repairs, etc. are provided by the channel. Therefore, the correct answer is B.

In value-based pricing, customers’ value is used to charge a price for a product. Because the strategy is customer-driven, starting point is consumer.

Supply chain management is defined as “encompassing the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities”. This definition emphasizes that supply chain management includes coordination and cooperation with channel members, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers, and customers. The correct answer is B.

An expected product is about all aspects the consumer expects to get when he/she purchases a product. Therefore the correct answer is A.

Price changes involve price cut and price increase. Companies cut prices to increase sales and market share in case of excess capacity or insufficient demand. On the other hand, increased demand, inflation, or prices lack of supply cause price increase.

An expected product is about all aspects the consumer expects to get when he/she purchases a product. For instance, hotel customers expect a clean bed, fresh towels and a degree of quietness.

In general, wholesalers are classified in three groups: Merchant wholesalers, brokers and agents, and manufacturers’ branches and offices. They include two broad types: Full-service wholesalers and limited-service wholesalers.

Price is the amount of money paid by consumers to possess a product or get a service. The correct answer is D.

Marketing process is about the steps that marketers follow starting from understanding the marketplace until capturing value from customers. McDonald and Wilson suggested the following steps for a marketing process:

• Defining the markets,
• Quantifying the value by various segments within these markets,
• Communicating the value to every employee in the organization responsible for delivering it,
• Communicating the value to the customers and consumers,
• Measuring the value delivered to the customers and consumers.

Taxes are collected and changes are also regulated by the governments. Therefore the correct answer is E.

The negotiation channel is the one in which buying and selling agreements are made. This could include transactions face to face or by telephone, e-mail, or almost any other form of communication. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Market is “a cluster of actual and potential buyers of a product or service”. These actual and potential buyers have a specific need or want that can be satisfied through exchange relationships.

In product bundle pricing, less demanded products are sold together with highly demanded ones at a discounted price. The aim of the strategy is to promote less demanded products. Therefore, the correct answer is B.

Cost-based pricing includes different approaches such as cost-plus pricing or standard mark-up, break-even analysis, and target profit pricing.

Customer loyalty and retention, share of market, share of customer, customer equity are the main outcomes of creating customer value, however customer statistics is not related to it. Therefore, the correct answer is E.

Marketing activity mainly deals with ten types of entities, which are: goods, services, events, experiences, persons, places, properties, organizations, information and ideas.

Kotler and Armstrong listed five main steps for marketers to follow in their marketing processes as below:

• Understanding the market place and customer needs and wants,
• Designing a customer-driven marketing strategy,
• Developing an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value,
• Building profitable relationships and creating customer satisfaction,
• Capturing value from customers to create profits and customer equity.

As can be undwerstood from the information given, the correct answer is E. All steps in the answer choices are among the main steps listed by Kotler and Armstron for marketers to follow their marketing processes.

Understanding the market place and customer needs and want is the very first step of a marketing process. Firms firstly need to examine the main characteristics of the market(s) they serve and determine the basic needs and want of the customers.

The starting point for establishing a customerdriven marketing strategy is understanding the main customer groups (segments) and selecting target group(s) from these segments. Since the companies cannot serve all customers in every market, such efforts in segmenting the customers and choosing the target market(s) facilitate the development of customer-driven strategy.

Preparation of a marketing program that aims to deliver superior value to the customers requires hardwork. Such hardwork mainly includes the preparation of company’s marketing mix which consists of product/service decisions, promotion activities, place decisions, and activities.

Customer relationship management can be considered as the initial step in building profitable relationships with the customers. In today’s competitive marketing environment, where long-term relationships are important for achieving success, more is needed in order to satisfy customers over a long period of time.

Capturing value from customers to create profits and customer equity is the final step of a marketing process. This final step is about capturing value in return in the form of current and future sales, market share and profits.