American Management and Business Administration Institute
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Study Guide	This is a Study Guide. As the name implies, it guides the student in the reading of the textbook, The Virtual MBA. The textbook is divided into 12 Chapters and each chapter into several Sections. Sections are numbered consecutively from the beginning to the end of the textbook. We will refer you to the textbook by citing the Section number. This Subject is based on Chapter IV of the textbook.
Completing the description of the Total Marketing Process	.To refresh the definition of the word marketing as used in this course, and to see a list of the remaining processes of marketing we will study in this chapter, Now please read Section 43. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please continue
Brand names, SKU's	McEla will have to register one or more trade names and decide varieties and sizes of its product line. Now please read Section 44. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please answer the questions .
Self- evaluation questions	Q1 - What is the definition of Distribution? See Model Answer A1
	Q2- You invented an original brand name for a product. What would you do to prevent others from using it in the future? See Model Answer A2
Using appropriate names for the product	The Trade Name will ideally bring up in the customers' mind an image of the product. This is even more important if we are describing a quality of the product, as "skin care" or "refreshing". Now please read Section 45. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please continue
Market Tests	Since launching a product on a large market is very risky, a firm may try to find a way to test the reception of the public by conducting a market test. Not that this is a fail-safe procedure, nor that it has no disadvantages. One more tough decision! Now please read Section 46. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please answer the questions
Self- evaluation questions	Q3 - Why did we guess that Bubbly® was going to be positioned as a rather sophisticated product? See Model Answer A3
	Q4 - Two very serious drawbacks of performing a Market Test before a large area launch were mentioned. Which are they? See Model Answer A4
McEla's decision. Informing the trade and the public about the product	Whether a firm is launching a product in a test market or in a large area (say the West Coast of the US), it must conduct a series of activities before the first sale to a consumer is made. Now please read Sections 47. to 49. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please answer the questions
Self- evaluation questions	Q5 - We want to test the performance of a product in a market, but we don't want to run the risks involved. What would be the alternative to actually selling the product in the Test Market? See Model Answer A5
	Q6 - We are giving away samples of our product in stores, and we are running ads on the local TV station. Which of these activities are technically promotions: the first, the second, or both? See Model Answer A6
Distribution	Please keep in mind that we are using the word distribution in the sense of physically transporting goods from the factory to the final consumer. Now please read Section 50. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please continue
McEla is ready to launch in the test market	The necessary activities have been completed. It's time to go ahead. Now please read Section 51. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please continue.
Selling	McEla is a consumer product marketing company. When they speak about selling, the word may have two meanings. They do not deal directly with the consumers, but in a sense they must sell to them, make them want the products and buy them from the trade. They may do this through advertisements, giving away samples, etc. The selling activity of McEla's sales force is not aimed at the consumer but at the trade. Now please read Section 52. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please answer the questions
Self- evaluation questions	Q7 - Bob's Inc. was selected by McEla as Distributor for the market test area. Bob is a very enterprising fellow and he offers "full service" in distribution. He has a sales force in the field visiting and taking orders for several manufacturers, which he delivers from his efficient warehouse by means of his fleet of small and medium trucks. Now, which one of these services did McEla NOT contract for? And which was the reasoning behind this decision? See Model Answer A7
	Q8 - We mentioned that several important activities should be completed before the advertising campaign starts. Try to recall as many as possible. See Model Answer A8
Reading the Market Test	The market test is just that; a test. A quite expensive one, in fact. It is not and end in itself. If the test is deemed not successful, very rarely a company keeps selling in the test area only. The alternatives are either move into a larger area or abandon the product. This is why reading the results of the test market is so important. If the decision is to abandon the product a large investment will be lost. If the firm moves into a larger market based on an erroneous reading of the test, the loss may be still higher. Now please read Section 53. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please continue
The "Big Bang" and the permanent follow-up	Even if the market test indicates that launching in a wide area is advisable, the experience must be used to make adjustments and improvements for the big launch. And the product must be managed over its complete life cycle. Now please read Sections 54. and 55. of the textbook and return to this point of the Guide. Please answer the questions
Self- evaluation questions	Q9 - In analyzing the results of a market test, the sales figures are of course the key factor. Can you recall other also very important elements? See Model Answer A9
	Q10 - You have been appointed Product Manager of McEla's toilet soap line. Good luck! Try to recall as many as your responsibilities as you can. See Model Answer A10
Here we say: So long!	This is the End of Subject Marketing 2. The Subject belongs to the Curriculum of the free Certificate Program in Management and Business Administration Online Program offered by AMBAI as a Public Service.
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A2 - Register as a Trade Mark. Back
A1 - Placing the Product where the customer can buy it Back
A4 - The competition gets and early alert and has more time to prepare countermeasures for a large area launch. It is difficult to define a small area (test market) which is a representative sample of the future large target area. Back
A3 - Because of the use of French words in the names of the fragrances. Back
A6 - The first. Back
A5 - Do a computer simulation of a Market Test. Back
A8 - Supply the warehouse with product according to the sales forecast. Promote the product in meetings with the Trade. Have a trained sales and merchandising staff ready. "Fill the pipe line". Display the product in the stores in an attractive way. Back
A7 - McEla did not contract for Bob's sales force taking the orders for Bubbly®. They preferred to have control on the key sales activity. Back
A10 - Monitor production costs and quality control. Make decisions on pricing, special promotional offers, advertising design and campaigns, merchandising, sales force's attitude to the product. Make sure that the customers' orders come in and are filled so that the product is always available for the consumer at the points of sale. Monitor customers and consumer satisfaction with the product. Contribute in the preparation of sales forecasts and production schedules. Back
A9 - The reaction of consumers to the advertisements, relations with the Trade, reaction of the competition. Back

( * ) About this course. AMBAI is a non-profit "Virtual Teaching Institution", whose faculty members are located in different countries and interact among them and with students via the Web; they are executives of multinational corporations who donate their time and effort for this public service program. AMBAI has not applied for nor received accreditation from any private or public institution. The only objective of this free Program is to improve the skills of the students; no claim is made about the usefulness of the Certificate of Completion. The Cambridge, MA address is a postal address only, not the physical location of AMBAI.