1. Think about individual family members, friends, and acquaintances. On paper, have them identify the people who act as opinion leaders, product innovators, and market mavens. Describe what each person does. Have a few students share their observations with the class.
2. List types of social power, and give an example of each.
3. Discuss the concept of timestyle. Based on your own experiences, how might we segment consumers in terms of their timestyles?
4. Many retailers believe that when they pile a lot of stuff around their store, this cluttered look encourages shoppers to hunt for items and eventually buy more. Dollar General recently raised the height of its shelves to more than six feet; J. C. Penney transformed empty walls into jewelry and accessory displays; Old Navy added lanes lined with items like water bottles, candy, and lunchboxes. Best Buy is even testing the impact of filling aisles with bulky items like Segways and bicycles to compensate for the smaller space that thin TVs and smaller speakers take up. Walmart recently did an abrupt about-face: The company only recently remodeled its stores by eliminating the pallets of items it used to stack in the centers of aisles, and it reduced overall inventory by about 9%. Customers loved the leaner, cleaner look. Only one problem: They bought less stuff. As a senior Walmart executive commented, "They loved the experience. They just bought less. And that generally is not a good long-term strategy." Now, Walmart is adding inventory back in and is once again piling stacks of merchandise in aisles. What is your take on these store-stocking strategies? Visit several "big-box" stores in your area, such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Costco, and so on. If possible, interview shoppers about their experiences. Do they have trouble navigating around the store? Do they enjoy the clutter? Does it feel like a "treasure hunt" when they have to pick their way around piles and pallets? If you were designing a store, how would you craft a stocking strategy that would make it easy to shop there?
5. How do business models in the sharing economy differ from traditional purchase processes?
6. What are some of the obstacles to measuring social class in today's society? Discuss some ways to get around these obstacles.
7. Sears, JC Penney, and Walmart tried hard in recent years to upgrade their images and appeal to higher-class consumers. How successful have these efforts been? Do you believe this strategy is wise?
8. Consider three important changes in the modern family structure. For each, find an example of a marketer who seems to be conscious of this change in its product communications, retailing innovations, or other aspects of the marketing mix. If possible, also try to find examples of marketers who have failed to keep up with these developments.
9. What are some of the positives and negatives of targeting college students? Identify some specific marketing strategies that you feel have been either successful or unsuccessful at appealing to this segment. What characteristics distinguish the successes from the failures?
10. Chapter 13 describes members of Gen Y as much more traditional and team oriented than their older brothers and sisters. Do you agree?
11. Describe the progressive learning model and discuss why this perspective is important when marketing to subcultures.
12. What is the FLC, and why is it important to marketers? Show some marketing examples.
13. What is acculturation? How does it differ from enculturation? Give some examples.