Search

This article, based upon a limited survey, summarizes the job functions, satisfactions, and problems of the newly designated heads of consumer affairs departments. It focuses on the need to meet certain long-term responsibilities, as well as the need to improve corporate day-to-day operations. Special attention is given to the conceptual problems faced by the new consumer affairs person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The FTC's new policy requiring substantiation of advertising claims is imposing costs and raising entry barriers which may result in higher prices to consumers without creating offsetting values. Also its treatment of advertising in the cereal complaint, suggesting that advertising is a barrier to entry, flies in the face of the logic and the evidence concerning the role of advertising. Advertising is a means of entry not a barrier. It is primarily a method of creating disloyalty among buyers from an advertiser's competitors, not a method of cementing the patronage of current buyers of products. The FTC staff argues that advertising raises costs. It fails to recognize that advertising is an inexpensive substitute for expensive alternative methods of marketing and, consequently, reduces costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article Professor Brunk traces the historical development of Consumerism, identifies the advocates along with their motives and methods, makes distinction between two broad types of consumer protection, explores the appropriateness of the movement in serving the consumer interest and concludes with a statement of consumer responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of utilization of a dynamic simulation model for long-range planning of physical distribution systems is described in this article. LREPS, or Long-range Environmental Planning Simulator, incorporates a number of unique features not found together in other simulation models. The author reviews existing physical distribution planning models and establishes the LREPS research objectives. The LREPS model is described and attention is directed to planning applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warranty service after sale is causing severe problems for marketing managers because the number of appliances and automobiles is growing more rapidly than human populations while service facilities and profits lag behind. This paper offers guidelines for a positive warranty program. The article is based on intensive interviews with consumer, government, and trade representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on marketing processes in the U.S. A synthesis of the systems and functional approaches to marketing is presented. The author provides definitions and background information about the two approaches in an effort to effectively combine them. Managerial implications of synthesizing the two approaches are examined. The primary functions of marketing, to obtain consumer demand and then cater to that demand, are discussed in detail. Advertising methods including sales promotions, merchandising, and propaganda are also discussed.

The marketing discipline has been concerned primarily with GOODS. Yet SERVICES are claiming an increasing share of the consumer's dollar. This author argues that marketing people should direct more of their attention to the services sector. What are the marketing characteristics of services? Are goods solely goods -- services solely services? Is not the marketing of services by government agencies an appropriate province for marketing analysis? These are some of the questions considered here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do oligopolistic industries evolve a pricing pattern which is inimical to consumer welfare? In this article, pricing policies in a major American industry are examined in the light of orthodox analysis. The results shed some light on the relevance of oligopolistic pricing theory in judging the competitiveness of certain industrial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on the findings of a continuing study of advertising measurement that the author is conducting under the auspices of the Planning and Evaluation Committee of the Association of National Advertisers. Since the time that the study started in 1963 data on advertising measurements have been secured from 1,225 individuals in 414 firms in the United States and Canada, and case-history data have been gathered from 50 of these companies. The completed study, to be published in book form will give case histories of the attempts of national advertisers to measure advertising results with annual advertising expenditures ranging from under $500, 000 to over $50,000,000. One or more case histories from each of the following categories will be included: (1) industrial goods and services, (2) consumer durable goods, (3) consumer nondurable goods, (4) consumer services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Will automatic selling grow to dominate certain fields of retailing? For many years European retailers have set up coin-operated machines in front of their stores, offering goods after closing hours and on holidays. Recently some have been experimenting with completely automatic retailing. This article describes the latest developments in this growing trend, stressing the important role played by technical, marketing, and psychological factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are we running out of physical-goods markets? The author shows how a large and growing market for commodities lies in the development of service systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People often seek their friends' opinions about the quality of goods and services before buying. But should a collection of opinions be offered to the public as apparently scientific proof of quality? The marketing researcher assumes particular responsibility when he attempts to use public opinion as a method of evaluating products and services for the buying public. In this discussion of some of the difficulties involved in consumer research, the authors use a widely-read CONSUMER REPORTS magazine survey as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most selling innovations by retailers have been to add customer services and conveniences, thereby increasing the cost of retail service. Running contrary to this trend has been the development of self-service which transfers to customers greater responsibility for buying and thereby lowers the store cost of retail service. This article throws some light on why consumer behavior has responded so favorably to the self-service concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of abstracts are presented for articles pertaining to the marketing of specific goods and services. They include "Market Research on the Farm Yields New Clues for Ag Chemical Sales," "Costs of Canning Sweet Corn in Selected Plants," and "The Automobile Dealer Franchise Act: Another Experiment in Federal Class Legislation."

Both commodity and convenience costs influence consumer patronage. One key to understanding shopping behavior is the increased importance consumers are attaching to convenience considerations. The trend toward higher consumer valuations of ten convenience forms is identified. Four aspects of place convenience are analyzed. The planned shopping-center movement and other related adjustments in the metropolitan retail structure are discussed, as well as the possible effects of the higher consumer assessment of convenience considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of abstracts are presented for articles pertaining to the marketing of specific goods and services. They include "Possibilities for Futures Trading in Florida Citrus Fruit and Products," "Coordinated Marketing--Would It Help Cooperative Fruit and Vegetable Processors?" and "New Technology Clamors for Industrial gases."

An extensive survey of consumer spending during 1956 has just been completed by LIFE magazine. Conducted by Alfred Politz Research, Inc., detailed expenditures on all goods and services were collected from a nationwide probability sample of 10,243 households. The first volume of a series entitled "The LIFE Study of Consumer Expenditures" covers total spending on major categories, and on fifty-seven selected product groups. In describing the markets for consumer goods and services, the report shows what share of the total dollars spent in each market were accounted for by households of various types-defined by such characteristics related to consumption as income, stage in the life cycle, and occupation. These data, combined with projections regarding household characteristics, have significant implications about future demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until about 1929, outlays for services increased more rapidly than did expenditures for consumer goods, such outlays rising fifteenfold (at current prices) during the half century between 1869-1878 and 1919-1928. Between 1929 and 1954, however, service expenditures did not rise as much at current prices as did expenditures on goods, the decline during the depression years (1929-1933) being less, but the ensuing upswing from 1933 to 1954 also being less. Hence, contrary to what seems to be the popular belief, the share of services in total expenditures declined during the past two decades, falling to a low of just under 30 per cent in 1947. In the past few years the share has begun to increase again, but even in 1954 the share of services in total expenditures (36.5 per cent) was well below the 40.1 per-cent share in 1929. Price movements were not of much importance in the rise in service expenditures prior to the 1940's with the exception of the sharp inflation in 1919-20. However, the bulk (70 per cent) of the increase in aggregate service expenditures between 1933 and 1954 was attributable to price increases. Not only have the various components of services exhibited markedly different growth trends between 1935 and 1954, but the extent to which price movements have influenced this growth has also varied substantially by item. The greatest increases in dollar outlays during this period have been for user-operated transportation, private education and research, and clothing and jewelry services, while at the other end of the scale expenditures for purchased transportation and personal care rose the least. Price movements have been most instrumental in the case of personal care and domestic service, accounting for all or more than all of the increased outlays for these services between 1935 and 1954. To a large extent, the growth in service expenditures in recent years and the change in relative importance of different types of services can be attributed to three factors-the trend toward home ownership, the growing desire for private means of transportation, and the growth in the types and variety of appliances (including television).14 Underlying all of these is, of course, the postwar prosperity. Additional growth in the importance of services in our economy would seem to depend strongly on continued prosperity and further improvement in standards of living. An interesting possibility suggested by this analysis is that there is likely to be little relationship between the increase in expenditures for particular services in prosperity and the amount of decline in a subsequent recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents examples of marketing research studies in grocery chain stores. Among the research methods discussed are management guides and organization charts, store development plans, sales projections and observations on management, store operation, and merchandising developments. Unclassified marketing research techniques are also discussed including evaluations of customer buying habits, analysis of customer comments, collected through suggestion boxes and interviews, and store service evaluations.

In summary, the integrated shopping center offers not only the possibility of a lower cost of distribution and/or better customer service, the same fundamental reasons for the development of our other types of retail outlets, but also the individual advantages attributed to any one type of outlet, any of which may be incorporated into the total concept. And, even though a trend may be transitory in nature, the justification of the controlled-integrated shopping center is such that the probability of its future acceptance by the consumer, the retailer and the manufacturer seems assured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the curriculum of marketing courses with respect to marketing research. Seven hundred seventy-six business courses taught by members of the American Marketing Association (A.M.A.) were analyzed, of which 83 percent were marketing courses. The research interests of the teaching members were reported in a wide variety of subjects, varying in specificity. The author concludes that there is a need for more specificity and collaboration because all of the teachers are members of the A.M.A. He also feels that a minimum standard curriculum should be established by the A.M.A. Finally, he thinks the A.M.A. should invite members to submit information on research to the "National Roster" only when it relates to the development or verification of marketing principles.

The article discusses and identifies a number of concepts in marketing research that fall into the category of non-price competition. The author notes that elements of competition other than the aspect of price include issues of product quality, methods of customer service, product styles, advertising strategies and innovative techniques in salesmanship and selling. Also discussed are a number of issues surrounding the distinction between production costs and selling costs and the implications both hold for the producer and the consumer.

The article discusses the issue of sales management as it applies to the National Cash Register Co. The author notes a number of responsibilities of sales executives, including the ongoing recruitment of successful sales personnel, the establishment of the budget for the necessary number of salespeople to achieve sales objectives and the accounting of advertising spending into that budget. Also discussed is the role of sales executives in product development, sales organization, advertising, sales training and customer service.

The article discusses forecasted opportunities in marketing and advertising in the United States in the years following World War II. The author notes that the level of the country's postwar economy will depend partly on the ability of those in the marketing and advertising professions to increase consumer demand for goods and services. Projections are given for the national income required to obtain prewar levels of prosperity. Also noted is the need for job creation following the end of the war.

A conference paper about a project designed to provide information pertaining to the effectiveness of advertising in consumer magazines is presented. The author offers his views on the development of readership surveys and their ability to measure the advertising effectiveness. Also discussed are the study's sampling methods.

The article discusses product pre-testing through the use of consumer panels. The author notes the case of General Foods, a company that uses consumer feedback to make marketing decisions about the improvement of products, packaging and food recipes. According to the author, General Foods began by having consumers fill out questionnaires before having them test products, recipes and packaging. Also noted are a number of different factors consumers test for, including the flavor of food products and the acceptability of proposed premium offers.

The article addresses the issue of the cost of marketing functions and their impact on grocery prices, particularly among independent and chain stores. A comparative study of grocery items was conducted of supermarket chains, limited-service chains, limited-service independent stores, limited-service voluntary stores, and full-service voluntary stores. The article relates the results of the study which reflect that customers pay more for service. In presenting a cost analysis, the author notes that competition among chains has an effect on prices and service adds costs, particularly among voluntary markets.

The article discusses the cost of consumer credit. Due to consumers' unfamiliarity with credit finance structures, there is a significant amount of confusion and misinformation regarding installment charges. An analysis of finance charges is presented. The critical terms, which determine how charges are calculated are 'constant ratio,' 'actuarial yield,' and 'direct ratio.' A common misconception is that bank charges are lower than finance company charges; they are nearly identical. Both those extending the lines of credit and the consumers using the credit are not adequately informed of their costs.

The article presents an overview of the wholesaling experiences of automobile tire manufacturers. The evolution of the tire wholesaling system is discussed, including the implementation of the branch system. The article also describes the characteristic wholesale patterns of the tire industry and analyzes some of the more recent forces influencing the distribution and wholesaling methods employed in the industry. Information regarding tire manufacturers' distribution and wholesaling costs are also presented.

In a laboratory study the agency-client interaction was viewed as a multi-person negotiations relationship. Models tested showed different amounts of (1) trust in the agency's presentations, (2) memory of past agency behavior, and (3) "rational" decision making (versus attempts to influence socially). Failure of agencies to keep their promises precipitates adoption of memory strategies, but subjects rarely show a complete lack of trust in an agency's presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of a laboratory experiment indicate that customer satisfaction with a product is influenced by the effort expended to acquire the product and the expectations concerning the product. Specifically, the experiment suggests that satisfaction with the product may be higher when customers expend considerable effort to obtain the product than when they use only modest effort. This finding is opposed to usual notions of marketing efficiency and customer convenience. The research also suggests that customer satisfaction is lower when the product does not come up to expectations than when the product meets expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of a firm's marketing strategy may hinge upon the effective rendering of technical services. This article defines five points of customer sensitivity to the service operation, develops measures of service performance for these points, and delineates a system for ascertaining the impact of technical services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In art as in business a consumer orientation rather than a production orientation is required to provide direction for the development of the firm's product and service. This article reviews the results of a survey of users and nonusers of the Los Angeles Music Center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents step-by-step directions on how to create a business plan that gives companies a strategic edge in their businesses. The author feels there are four steps in creating a "master strategy." Some of the key elements considered include: the supply strength of company, both tangible and intangible company resources, matching company strengths with key success factors, customer service, making the most of existing resources, expansion to obtain a resource, and expansion to enhance market position.