CLEP® Principles of Marketing Book + Online

cover.

PART I

Passing the Clep

Principles of

Marketing Exam

PART I

PASSING THE CLEP

PRINCIPLES OF

MARKETING EXAM

Congratulations! You’re joining the millions of people who have discovered the value and educational advantage offered by the College Board’s College-Level Examination Program, or CLEP. This test prep covers everything you need to know about the CLEP Principles of Marketing exam, and will help you earn the college credit you deserve while reducing your tuition costs.

GETTING STARTED

There are many different ways to prepare for a CLEP exam. What’s best for you depends on how much time you have to study and how comfortable you are with the subject matter. To score your highest, you need a system that can be customized to fit you: your schedule, your learning style, and your current level of knowledge.

This book, and the online tools in the CLEP package, allow you to create a personalized study plan through three simple steps: assessment of your knowledge, targeted review of exam content, and reinforcement in the areas where you need the most help.

Let’s get started and see how this system works.

THE REA STUDY CENTER

The best way to personalize your study plan and focus on your weaknesses is to get feedback on what you know and what you don’t know. At the online REA Study Center, you can access two types of assessment: a diagnostic exam and full-length practice exams. Each of these tools provides true-to-format questions and delivers a detailed score report that follows the topics set by the College Board.

Diagnostic Exam

Before you begin your review with the book, take the online diagnostic exam. Use your score report to help evaluate your overall understanding of the subject, so you can focus your study on the topics where you need the most review.

Full-Length Practice Exams

These practice tests give you the most complete picture of your strengths and weaknesses. After you’ve finished reviewing with the book, test what you’ve learned by taking the first of the two online practice exams. Review your score report, then go back and study any topics you missed. Take the second practice test to ensure you have mastered the material and are ready for test day.

If you’re studying and don’t have Internet access, you can take the printed tests in the book. These are the same practice tests offered at the REA Study Center, but without the added benefits of timed testing conditions and diagnostic score reports. Because the actual exam is computer-based, we recommend you take at least one practice test online to simulate test-day conditions.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE EXAM

The CLEP Principles of Marketing exam consists of approximately 100 multiple-choice questions, each with five possible answer choices, to be answered in 90 minutes.

The exam covers the material one would find in an introductory college-level marketing course. This type of course is commonly titled Basic Marketing, Introduction to Marketing, Fundamentals of Marketing, Marketing, or Marketing Principles. Such a course—and thus the exam itself—covers the role of marketing in society and within a firm, understanding consumer and organizational markets, marketing strategy planning, marketing institutions, the marketing mix, as well as topics such as international marketing, ethics, marketing research, services, and not-for-profit marketing. The CLEP candidate is also expected to have a basic knowledge of the economic/demographic, social/ cultural, political/legal and technological trends that undergird a competent understanding of marketing.

The approximate breakdown of topics is as follows:

ALL ABOUT THE CLEP PROGRAM

What is the CLEP?

CLEP is the most widely accepted credit-by-examination program in North America. CLEP exams are available in 33 subjects and test the material commonly required in an introductory-level college course. Examinees can earn from three to twelve credits at more than 2,900 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. For a complete list of the CLEP subject examinations offered, visit the College Board website: www.collegeboard.org/clep.

Who takes CLEP exams?

CLEP exams are typically taken by people who have acquired knowledge outside the classroom and who wish to bypass certain college courses and earn college credit. The CLEP program is designed to reward examinees for learning—no matter where or how that knowledge was acquired.

Although most CLEP examinees are adults returning to college, many graduating high school seniors, enrolled college students, military personnel, veterans, and international students take CLEP exams to earn college credit or to demonstrate their ability to perform at the college level. There are no prerequisites, such as age or educational status, for taking CLEP examinations. However, because policies on granting credits vary among colleges, you should contact the particular institution from which you wish to receive CLEP credit.

Who administers the exam?

CLEP exams are developed by the College Board, administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS), and involve the assistance of educators from throughout the United States. The test development process is designed and implemented to ensure that the content and difficulty level of the test are appropriate.

When and where is the exam given?

CLEP exams are administered year-round at more than 1,200 test centers in the United States and can be arranged for candidates abroad on request. To find the test center nearest you and to register for the exam, contact the CLEP Program:

CLEP Services

P.O. Box 6600

Princeton, NJ 08541-6600

Phone: (800) 257–9558 (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET)

Fax: (609) 771–7088

Website: www.collegeboard.org/clep

OPTIONS FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL

AND VETERANS

CLEP exams are available free of charge to eligible military personnel and eligible civilian employees. All the CLEP exams are available at test centers on college campuses and military bases. Contact your Educational Services Officer or Navy College Education Specialist for more information. Visit the DANTES or College Board websites for details about CLEP opportunities for military personnel.

Eligible U.S. veterans can claim reimbursement for CLEP exams and administration fees pursuant to provisions of the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004. For details on eligibility and submitting a claim for reimbursement, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website at www.gibill.va.gov.

CLEP can be used in conjunction with the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which applies to veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of operation. Because the GI Bill provides tuition for up to 36 months, earning college credits with CLEP exams expedites academic progress and degree completion within the funded timeframe.

SSD ACCOMMODATIONS FOR CANDIDATES WITH DISABILITIES

Many test candidates qualify for extra time to take the CLEP exams, but you must make these arrangements in advance. For information, contact:

College Board Services for Students with Disabilities

P.O. Box 6226

Princeton, NJ 08541-6226

Phone: (609) 771–7137 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET)

TTY: (609) 882–4118

Fax: (609) 771–7944

E-mail: [email protected]

6-WEEK STUDY PLAN

Although our study plan is designed to be used in the six weeks before your exam, it can be condensed to three weeks by combining each two-week period into one.

Be sure to set aside enough time—at least two hours each day—to study. The more time you spend studying, the more prepared and relaxed you will feel on the day of the exam.

TEST-TAKING TIPS

Know the format of the test. CLEP computer-based tests are fixed-length tests. This makes them similar to the paper-and-pencil type of exam because you have the flexibility to go back and review your work in each section.

Learn the test structure, the time allotted for each section of the test, and the directions for each section. By learning this, you will know what is expected of you on test day, and you’ll relieve your test anxiety.

Read all the questions—completely. Make sure you understand each question before looking for the right answer. Reread the question if it doesn’t make sense.

Annotate the questions. Highlighting the key words in the questions will help you find the right answer choice.

Read all of the answers to a question. Just because you think you found the correct response right away, do not assume that it’s the best answer. The last answer choice might be the correct answer.

Work quickly and steadily. You will have 90 minutes to answer 100 questions, so work quickly and steadily. Taking the timed practice tests online will help you learn how to budget your time.

Use the process of elimination. Stumped by a question? Don’t make a random guess. Eliminate as many of the answer choices as possible. By eliminating just two answer choices, you give yourself a better chance of getting the item correct, since there will only be three choices left from which to make your guess. Remember, your score is based only on the number of questions you answer correctly.

Don’t waste time! Don’t spend too much time on any one question. Remember, your time is limited and pacing yourself is very important. Work on the easier questions first. Skip the difficult questions and go back to them if you have the time.

Look for clues to answers in other questions. If you skip a question you don’t know the answer to, you might find a clue to the answer elsewhere on the test.

Acquaint yourself with the computer screen. Familiarize yourself with the CLEP computer screen beforehand by logging on to the College Board website. Waiting until test day to see what it looks like in the pretest tutorial risks injecting needless anxiety into your testing experience. Also, familiarizing yourself with the directions and format of the exam will save you valuable time on the day of the actual test.

Be sure that your answer registers before you go to the next item. Look at the screen to see that your mouse-click causes the pointer to darken the proper oval. If your answer doesn’t register, you won’t get credit for that question.

THE DAY OF THE EXAM

On test day, you should wake up early (after a good night’s rest, of course) and have breakfast. Dress comfortably, so you are not distracted by being too hot or too cold while taking the test. (Note that hoodies are not allowed.) Arrive at the test center early. This will allow you to collect your thoughts and relax before the test, and it will also spare you the anxiety that comes with being late. As an added incentive, keep in mind that no one will be allowed into the test session after the test has begun.

Before you leave for the test center, make sure you have your admission form and another form of identification, which must contain a recent photo graph, your name, and signature (i.e., driver’s license, student identification card, or current alien registration card). You will not be admitted to the test center if you do not have proper identification.

You may wear a watch to the test center. However, you may not wear one that makes noise, because it may disturb the other test-takers. No cell phones, dictionaries, textbooks, notebooks, briefcases, or packages will be permitted, and drinking, smoking, and eating are prohibited.

Good luck on the CLEP Principles of Marketing exam!

PART II

Principles of

Marketing Review

PART II

PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING REVIEW

The following Principles of Marketing review is divided into nine sections, as follows:

1: The Marketing Environment

2: Marketing Research

3: Target Markets

4: Product Planning and Management

5: Distribution Systems

6: Wholesaling and Retailing

7: Promotional Strategy

8: Pricing Policies and Strategies

9: Special Topics in Marketing

By thoroughly studying this course review, you will be well-prepared for the material on the CLEP Principles of Marketing exam.

1: THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

MARKETING AND MARKETS

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the development, pricing, promotion, and distribution of goods and services to achieve organizational goals. Marketing directs the flow of products within an economy from producer to consumer by anticipating and satisfying the wants and needs of the market through the exchange process.

A Market is made up of all the people or organizations who want or need a product and have the willingness and ability to buy.

Products may be goods, services, ideas, places, or persons.

THE MARKETING CONCEPT

The Marketing Concept is a customer-oriented business philosophy that stresses customer satisfaction as the key to achieving organizational goals. This philosophy maintains that all of the organization’s efforts should be focused on identifying and satisfying the wants and needs of the customer.

MARKETING FUNCTIONS AND PROCESSES

There are six primary Marketing Functions:

1. Environmental Analysis

2. Consumer Analysis

3. Product Planning

4. Price Planning

5. Promotion Planning

6. Physical Distribution (Place) Planning

Environmental analysis and consumer analysis are market research functions that provide the means to evaluate market potential and identify target markets. Product, Price, Promotion, and Physical Distribution planning are known as the marketing mix variables.

The Marketing Mix is the combination of four variables that comprise an organization’s marketing program: product, price, promotion, and physical distribution. The manner in which these factors are combined reflects the planned strategy of the organization. Unlike environmental forces, these factors are under the control of the organization. These are often referred to as the four Ps.

Market Segmentation is the process of dividing the total market into distinct submarkets or groups based on similarities in their wants, needs, behaviors, or other characteristics.

Market Segments are groups of customers who are similar to each other in a meaningful way and who will respond to a firm’s marketing mix similarly.

A Target Market is one particular group of potential customers that the organization seeks to satisfy with a product. It is the market at which the firm directs a marketing mix. Different marketing mixes are developed for each target market to satisfy their specific wants and needs. Target markets may be comprised of market segments or a mass market characterized by a typical customer.

Product