Research companies that develop and carryout all aspects of a market research plan for their clients.

Benefits customers receive that are directly associated with the materials, design and production decisions of the consumable product such as ease-of-use, increased speed and cost savings.

Wholesale format represented by distributors that carry broad but shallow product lines and who mostly offer their services to smaller general merchandise retailers such as convenience stores.

A category within the products carried classification of retailers that includes retailers who carry a wide range of product lines though the number of different items within a particular product line is generally limited.

A branding strategy, common to commodity products, that essentially creates a brandless product offering basic product features and low price.

A form of standard price adjustment that, in general, increases the initial price to customers within certain geographic areas to cover increase costs to the marketer such as transportation costs, taxes and tariffs.

Those who hold the potential to undertake activities offering long-term value to an organization that not only includes purchasing products but also providing additional support for the marketer (e.g., offer feedback, act as word-of-mouth advertisers)

In marketing this represents a type of product that consists of tangible items (i.e., can be felt, tasted, heard, smelled or seen) that marketers offer to satisfy the needs of their customers.

A component of the external influences on consumer buying behavior that represents people and organizations with which a person shares certain characteristics and which may influence a persons purchase decisions.

Stage within the Product Life Cycle which occurs when a product is widely accepted and often reaches rapid growth characterized by a large percentage sales increase over previous periods.

Assurance offered by a marketer that the product will perform up to expectations or the marketer will support the customer ’s decision to replace, have the product repaired or accept a return for a refund.

A key concept in scientific research, including marketing research, that is designed to test theory or “gut feelings” about some issues usually with the use of statistical analysis.

In marketing this represents a type of product that consists of the marketer attempting to convince customers to alter their existing behavior or perception on some issue.

A type of advertising that focuses on enhancing the perceived image of the organization rather than promoting specific products.

Represents customer purchase decisions that result in a customer making unplanned purchases often due to marketer’s promotions (e.g., coupons, in-store demonstrations) or product placement strategies (e.g., product located at checkout lane).