DB 2- Does customer loyalty require highly satisfied customers?
Should firms that strive to create customer loyalty work to attain the highest possible customer satisfaction? Why or why not? What is the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty? (The answer is complex, so think it through. Seek insight from your textbook or virtual lecture 4. If your answer reflects current understanding of the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty, you’ll get the full 10 points.)

DB 3- How best to market to women?
10 MISTAKES MARKETERS MAKE MARKETING TO WOMEN-1-5.docPlease read the attached blogs. Then respond to this DQ: In general, based on what you read (or regardless of what you read) how well do you feel marketers target women segments? Compare and contrast the issues involved in targeting women to targeting other kinds of segments — specifically, consumer psychographic segments and B2B small business segments. (If the blog won’t open, try copying and pasting it into your browser.)

DB 4- How can Vaseline improve its financial performance?
Vaseline, the world’s most famous — and priciest — brand of petroleum jelly, wants to improve its financial performance (i.e. revenue and profits) for its shareholders. It already enjoys 85% market share (the other 15% is owned among generic store brands that are sold at a big discount). You are consulted by their Chief Marketing Officer. What do you tell the CMO about how to improve Vaseline’s performance? Think creatively! If you get the right answer, I’ll award you the full 10 points!

DB 5- Is Nike’s pricing strategy going to work?
Nike has announced its most expensive shoe ever — the LeBron X basketball shoes, expected to sell for $315 — pushing the upper limit of consumer dedication to the brand. (see ESPN news video below.) The sneaker feature built-in electronics that measure athletic performance. The president of the National Urban League urged Nike to abandon the pricy shoe saying, “It’s the consumer’s choice, but it’s insensitive to market a $300 shoe to kids going back to school and struggling to buy school supplies.” The price on most of its other shoes are also rising 5-10% due to material cost increases. Nike’s gross margins are lower than most of its competitors.a) Is this pricing strategy smart?b) The shoes are unique, and the price will raise Nike’s margins, but is it insensitive to the mass market that can’t really afford them? Is there a way to be sensitive to cash-strapped buyers while, at the same time, introduce an expensive new model?c) How would you handle the public relations backlash to these pricy sneakers?Note: the original news report about the introduction of the Nike LeBron X shoes is no longer available on YouTube, so I have substituted this video blog about the introduction of the shoes. The blogger reveals that Nike has discounted the originally-priced shoe from $315 to $180, and then says the original shoe will be also available. In reality, the $180 shoe does not include the chip technology of the $315 version, so the $180 shoe is different and is NOT a discount from the original. Rather, it is a lower-priced substitute that doesn’t include the chip to measure performance. With that in mind, what do you think about Nike’s pricing strategy?

DB 6- Did Florida Blue risk its business by opening its retail stores?
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (Florida Blue) has opened several retail health insurance “stores” around the state. Florida Blue has historically and continues to rely on intermediaries (agents, brokers, wholesalers) for their sales. In fact, 95% of their sales are through these channels. The stores are designed to provide convenient, face-to-face answers to complicated questions about health insurance benefits, value options and financial protection. People want to work with professionals, not do it themselves on the internet. But that is also the value that brokers and agents add — face-to-face consultation.Did Florida Blue do the right thing opening these stores at the risk of upsetting their traditional intermediary channel partners? Why or why not?How seriously should Florida Blue consider the threat of a broker backlash due to the stores?What could Florida Blue do to reduce the backlash from their brokers who may be threatened by BCBSF opening its own store?

DB 7- Alternate DQ 2: Can public relations programs get better results than paid advertising?
Public relations is another marketing communications tool. Our readings and virtual lecture 6 describe the many different PR media available to marketers. Watch the attached video describing Canon’s Project Imagination PR campaign and answer these questionsUsing slides 32-35 in virtual lecture 6 to form your answer, what kind of PR activity does the Canon Project Imagination represent?Canon enjoyed increased sales during and after the campaign, but there was no advertising involved and the campaign contained no sales points (reasons to buy a Canon camera), so what drove the increased sales?With major celebrities involved, the PR campaign must have cost plenty, perhaps as much as creating a full advertising campaign. The risk of failure was high whereas the risk of failure of a TV ad campaign is less. So, do you think Canon should have invested in advertising instead of the huge expense of the PR campaign? Why?

REFERENCE: Marketing: Real People, Real Choice,to be completed as a separate entity.