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UPMSP Vocational Marketing & Salesmanship study materials
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UPMSP Vocational Marketing & Salesmanship practice questions

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Question 1Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

In marketing, which statement best describes the meaning of a 'market' in the modern sense?

  1. A physical place where buyers and sellers meet at fixed times
  2. The set of all actual and potential buyers of a product or service Correct answer.
  3. The total stock of goods stored in a warehouse
  4. The government office that fixes prices of commodities

Explanation

Modern marketing defines a market by demand rather than by a location: it is the collection of actual and potential buyers who share a need and have the ability and willingness to buy. A marketplace is only one traditional form in which such buyers and sellers interact.

Question 2Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which pair correctly matches a marketing activity with its immediate purpose?

  1. Packaging with reducing the number of intermediaries
  2. Pricing with recovering cost and earning profit Correct answer.
  3. Advertising with fixing the price of a competitor's product
  4. Warehousing with transferring ownership of goods

Explanation

Pricing is the function through which a firm converts its cost and value into revenue, so its purpose is to recover cost and earn a reasonable profit. Each other function has its own distinct purpose, such as protection, promotion or storage, rather than the purpose stated.

Question 3Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A firm sells soap through retailers and also runs a website for direct orders. Which marketing function is illustrated by this arrangement?

  1. Grading
  2. Distribution Correct answer.
  3. Financing
  4. Standardisation

Explanation

Distribution covers all activities that move goods from the producer to the consumer, including the choice of channels such as retailers and direct online selling. Standardisation and grading concern product quality, while financing concerns funds for marketing operations.

Question 4Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which of the following is the most accurate description of the nature of marketing?

  1. It is a continuous, customer-oriented process of creating and delivering value Correct answer.
  2. It is a function performed only by large manufacturing firms
  3. It is limited to selling goods that are already produced
  4. It is a one-time activity completed once a product is launched

Explanation

Marketing is continuous and customer-oriented: it begins with understanding needs and continues through product design, pricing, promotion and after-sales service. Selling is only one part of this wider process, and marketing applies to services, small firms and non-profit organisations as well.

Question 5Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which statement correctly distinguishes marketing from selling?

  1. Marketing ends when the sale is completed, while selling continues after sale
  2. Selling and marketing are identical because both aim at profit
  3. Selling always includes market research, while marketing excludes it
  4. Selling focuses on transferring a product for cash, while marketing begins with identifying customer needs Correct answer.

Explanation

Selling is the narrower activity of persuading a buyer to exchange money for a product. Marketing is broader: it starts with discovering customer needs and continues through product, price, place, promotion and after-sales service.

Question 6Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which of the following best states the importance of marketing to a producer?

  1. It fixes retail prices by law
  2. It guarantees that no competitor will enter the market
  3. It removes the need for product quality control
  4. It helps identify consumer needs and plan production accordingly Correct answer.

Explanation

Marketing supplies the producer with information about what consumers want, so production, design and pricing can be planned to match demand. It cannot eliminate competition or replace quality control, and prices are set by the firm and market forces, not by marketing.

Question 7Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A dairy sells milk in pouches, tetra packs and returnable glass bottles to suit different buyers. Which element of the marketing mix is being adjusted?

  1. Price
  2. Place
  3. Product Correct answer.
  4. Promotion

Explanation

Packaging and the form in which an offer is presented are part of the product element of the marketing mix. The firm is varying the physical product and its packaging to serve different customer preferences, not its price, channel or advertising.

Question 8Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A firm introduces a low-priced refill pack for its shampoo so that price-sensitive buyers can stay with the brand. Which marketing mix decision does this represent?

  1. Public relations
  2. Channel conflict
  3. Product line stretching
  4. Pricing strategy Correct answer.

Explanation

Offering a cheaper refill pack is a pricing decision aimed at a price-sensitive segment while retaining the brand. Although the pack differs, the intended lever is the price point offered to buyers, so pricing strategy is the best description.

Question 9Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A company studies the age, income and occupation of families in a district before launching a new brand of biscuits. Which activity is this?

  1. Warehouse layout planning
  2. Sales forecasting of competitors
  3. Product grading
  4. Market segmentation Correct answer.

Explanation

Dividing a market into groups of buyers with similar characteristics such as age, income and occupation is segmentation. The firm then selects the segment it can serve best, which guides product and promotion decisions.

Question 10Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which of the following best illustrates the scope of marketing extending beyond goods?

  1. A factory increasing its machine capacity
  2. A shop selling only packaged groceries
  3. A hospital promoting its preventive health check-up package Correct answer.
  4. A wholesaler arranging transport for goods

Explanation

Marketing applies to services as well as tangible goods, so a hospital designing and promoting a health check-up package falls within its scope. Selling groceries is goods marketing, while capacity expansion and transport are production and logistics matters.

Question 11Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A cooperative bank runs a campaign encouraging villagers to open savings accounts and use digital payments. Which type of marketing does this best represent?

  1. Export marketing
  2. Services marketing Correct answer.
  3. Trade marketing
  4. Industrial marketing

Explanation

A bank offers an intangible service, so promoting savings accounts and digital payment facilities is services marketing. Industrial marketing concerns inputs sold to business buyers, trade marketing targets channel members, and export marketing crosses national borders.

Question 12Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which statement correctly describes the relationship between need, want and demand in marketing?

  1. Demand exists whenever a person feels a need, regardless of purchasing power
  2. A need is a desire shaped by culture, a want is a basic requirement, and demand is any desire
  3. A need is a basic requirement, a want is a culturally shaped desire, and demand is a want backed by ability and willingness to buy Correct answer.
  4. Wants and demands are identical because both are unlimited

Explanation

Marketing distinguishes a basic need from a want, which is how culture and personality shape that need, and from demand, which arises only when a want is supported by buying power and willingness. This progression explains why firms study both desire and affordability.

Question 13Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A firm claims its product is 'environment friendly' and shows a certification mark on the label. Which marketing concept is reflected?

  1. Production orientation
  2. Green marketing Correct answer.
  3. Product grading
  4. Barter exchange

Explanation

Green marketing involves designing, labelling and promoting products on the basis of reduced environmental harm, and certification marks support such claims. It reflects concern for society and the environment alongside customer satisfaction.

Question 14Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which statement best explains the societal marketing concept?

  1. The firm pushes sales through aggressive personal selling of whatever it makes
  2. The firm produces whatever is easiest to manufacture and sells it at the lowest cost
  3. The firm copies the market leader's product and price
  4. The firm satisfies customer needs while preserving the long-term welfare of society Correct answer.

Explanation

The societal marketing concept asks a firm to balance three considerations: customer satisfaction, company profit and social welfare. It goes beyond the marketing concept by requiring that consumer wants be met without harming society's long-term interest.

Question 15Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A trader buys wheat from farmers in October and stores it in a warehouse to sell in March when prices rise. Which two utilities is the trader mainly creating?

  1. Possession and form utility
  2. Form and possession utility
  3. Time and place utility Correct answer.
  4. Form and time utility

Explanation

Storage makes the wheat available at a later, more useful time, which is time utility, and moving it to markets where it is needed creates place utility. Form utility would require changing the physical product, as in milling wheat into flour.

Question 16Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A manufacturer of electric motors sells directly to large factories and uses technical staff to explain specifications to engineers. Which feature best characterises this market?

  1. Buyers are relatively few, purchase in large quantities and need technical information Correct answer.
  2. Demand is highly emotional and influenced by advertising on television
  3. Purchases are made frequently for personal consumption
  4. Buyers are numerous, geographically scattered and buy in small quantities

Explanation

Industrial or business markets have fewer but larger buyers who purchase inputs for further production, so demand is derived and technical explanation matters more than mass advertising. This contrasts with consumer markets, which have many small, scattered buyers.

Question 17Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A firm's sales rose after it began offering a two-year warranty and a free service visit. Which marketing mix element is the firm mainly using?

  1. Product, through augmented benefits such as warranty and service Correct answer.
  2. Promotion, through paid advertising
  3. Place, through a new dealer network
  4. Price, through a discount on the list price

Explanation

Warranty and after-sales service are augmented features of the product offer that add value beyond the core item. They are not a price cut, a channel change or an advertising activity, so they belong to the product element of the mix.

Question 18Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

Which statement correctly explains why marketing is described as a 'social process'?

  1. It is conducted only by registered societies and cooperative bodies
  2. It is concerned only with the social welfare activities of government
  3. It involves interaction among producers, intermediaries and consumers to satisfy needs through exchange Correct answer.
  4. It requires that all exchange be conducted without money

Explanation

Marketing is called a social process because it involves relationships and exchange among people and institutions, through which needs and wants are satisfied. The exchange may be commercial or non-commercial, but it is essentially an interaction among members of society.

Question 19Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A firm sells its product at a low price with thin margins and relies on high sales volume, while a rival sells at a premium price to a small group of buyers. What does this best show about marketing decisions?

  1. High volume always yields more profit than high margin
  2. A premium price can succeed only if the product is graded
  3. Price is independent of the segment chosen because buyers always prefer low prices
  4. Price and target segment are interdependent choices within a single marketing strategy Correct answer.

Explanation

A marketing strategy combines a target segment with a consistent mix, so a volume strategy with low prices and a premium strategy for a narrow segment are alternative, internally consistent combinations. Neither is universally superior; each must fit the chosen buyers and the value offered.

Question 20Introduction to Marketing: Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance

A firm argues that since it already produces good quality goods, customers will buy them without any marketing effort. Which criticism of this view is most valid?

  1. Quality goods never need any distribution channel
  2. Customers always prefer the cheapest product regardless of quality
  3. Quality alone cannot inform scattered buyers about the product or persuade them to try it Correct answer.
  4. Marketing effort is needed only for exported goods

Explanation

Even a good product needs marketing to create awareness, generate interest and make the offer available to buyers who are geographically scattered and uninformed. Quality is necessary but not sufficient, because exchange requires communication and distribution as well.

Question 21Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

In marketing, the term 'marketing environment' refers to which of the following?

  1. The physical building and office layout where the sales team works
  2. Only the competitors that sell identical products in the same local market
  3. The set of government taxes paid by a manufacturing unit
  4. The internal and external forces that affect a firm's ability to build and maintain successful customer relationships Correct answer.

Explanation

The marketing environment covers both internal forces and the wider external forces that shape a firm's ability to serve customers successfully. It is broader than competitors alone and is not a physical or purely fiscal concept.

Question 22Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A sudden rise in the inflation rate, reducing households' purchasing power, is best classified as a change in which component of the marketing environment?

  1. Economic environment Correct answer.
  2. Natural environment
  3. Technological environment
  4. Cultural environment

Explanation

Inflation, income levels, and purchasing power are economic variables because they directly affect how much consumers can spend. This makes them part of the economic environment rather than technology, nature, or culture.

Question 23Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

The spread of UPI-based digital payments and smartphone shopping apps in India primarily reflects which element of the marketing environment?

  1. Legal environment
  2. Technological environment Correct answer.
  3. Political environment
  4. Demographic environment

Explanation

Digital payment systems and mobile shopping apps are technological developments that change how consumers search, pay, and buy. They belong to the technological environment, which reshapes marketing channels and consumer habits.

Question 24Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

In consumer behaviour, a 'reference group' is best described as which of the following?

  1. The group of employees who handle customer complaints in a firm
  2. The set of brands a retailer chooses to stock on its shelves
  3. A statistical sample used to forecast total market demand
  4. A group whose values and behaviour a consumer uses as a standard for comparison Correct answer.

Explanation

A reference group provides norms and comparison points that influence a person's attitudes and buying choices. Family, friends, and professional bodies can all serve as reference groups for a consumer.

Question 25Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

Which of the following best describes a 'need' in consumer behaviour, as distinct from a 'want'?

  1. A specific branded product that a consumer prefers over substitutes
  2. A basic requirement whose satisfaction is essential for survival or well-being Correct answer.
  3. A promotional offer that lowers the price of a product
  4. A habit of buying from a particular shop every week

Explanation

A need is a fundamental requirement such as food, shelter, or safety. A want is a culturally shaped desire for a particular way of satisfying that need, often attached to a specific brand or form.

Question 26Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A consumer buys a packet of biscuits without thinking, out of routine and low involvement. This buying behaviour is best classified as which of the following?

  1. Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour
  2. Variety-seeking buying behaviour
  3. Habitual buying behaviour Correct answer.
  4. Complex buying behaviour

Explanation

Habitual buying behaviour occurs for low-involvement, frequently bought, low-cost products where the consumer does not deliberate much. The buyer relies on routine rather than extensive evaluation.

Question 27Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A company studies its own sales staff, R&D team, and finance department because they influence what it can offer customers. These form part of which environment?

  1. Competitive environment
  2. Internal environment Correct answer.
  3. Natural environment
  4. Demographic environment

Explanation

Departments and resources within the firm, such as sales, R&D, and finance, make up the internal environment. They shape the capabilities and constraints the marketer works with.

Question 28Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A firm's marketers monitor population age structure, family size, and rural-to-urban migration. These variables belong to which environment?

  1. Technological environment
  2. Political environment
  3. Demographic environment Correct answer.
  4. Natural environment

Explanation

Demography is the study of population characteristics such as age, family size, and migration. Marketers use these data to size markets and design offers for specific population segments.

Question 29Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

Under Maslow's hierarchy, a consumer who joins a health insurance scheme mainly to protect against medical emergencies is driven by which level of need?

  1. Esteem needs
  2. Belongingness needs
  3. Safety needs Correct answer.
  4. Self-actualisation needs

Explanation

Safety needs cover protection from physical harm, illness, and financial insecurity. Insurance addresses this protective motive rather than status, social belonging, or self-fulfilment.

Question 30Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A buyer perceives a large difference between brands of a high-priced laptop and is highly involved in the decision. This typically produces which type of buying behaviour?

  1. Routine reordering behaviour
  2. Impulse buying behaviour
  3. Complex buying behaviour Correct answer.
  4. Habitual buying behaviour

Explanation

Complex buying behaviour arises when involvement is high and brands differ significantly, so the buyer gathers information and evaluates attributes carefully. High price and perceived brand differences are the key triggers.

Question 31Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

The sequence of stages a consumer passes through when buying a new product is best described as which of the following?

  1. Evaluation of alternatives, need recognition, information search, post-purchase behaviour, purchase decision
  2. Information search, need recognition, purchase decision, evaluation of alternatives, post-purchase behaviour
  3. Purchase decision, need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, post-purchase behaviour
  4. Need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, post-purchase behaviour Correct answer.

Explanation

The buyer decision process begins when a need is recognised, followed by information search and evaluation of alternatives. The purchase decision comes next, and post-purchase behaviour follows the sale.

Question 32Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

After buying an expensive motorcycle, a buyer notices positive reviews of a rival model and feels uneasy. This discomfort is best termed which of the following?

  1. Cognitive dissonance Correct answer.
  2. Brand extension
  3. Stimulus generalisation
  4. Selective distortion

Explanation

Cognitive dissonance is the post-purchase discomfort felt when doubts arise about a chosen alternative. Marketers reduce it through reassurance, after-sales support, and positive reinforcement.

Question 33Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A marketer notes that consumers remember only information that supports their existing attitudes and ignore the rest. This tendency is called which of the following?

  1. Selective distribution
  2. Selective exposure
  3. Cognitive learning
  4. Selective retention Correct answer.

Explanation

Selective retention means people remember information that reinforces their attitudes and forget the rest. It explains why repeated, consistent messaging helps a brand stay in the consumer's mind.

Question 34Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A firm selling affordable personal-care products notices rising consumer concern about plastic waste and shifts to refillable packaging. This response is mainly shaped by which environment?

  1. Technological environment
  2. Political environment
  3. Demographic environment
  4. Natural environment Correct answer.

Explanation

Concern about waste and resource use belongs to the natural environment, which pressures firms toward sustainable practices. Refillable packaging is a direct response to ecological expectations.

Question 35Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

Which of the following is the best example of a 'subculture' that can serve as a distinct market segment?

  1. The government department that regulates advertising
  2. A linguistic community within a state that shares customs and consumption habits Correct answer.
  3. The set of all firms operating in one industry
  4. The entire adult population of a country

Explanation

A subculture is a group within a larger culture sharing values, customs, or language that shape distinct preferences. Marketers often target such groups with tailored products and messages.

Question 36Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A firm's sales rise when a competitor's product is recalled for safety reasons. Which element of the external environment does this illustrate?

  1. Demographic environment
  2. Competitive environment Correct answer.
  3. Technological environment
  4. Natural environment

Explanation

The competitive environment covers rival firms and how their actions affect a company's performance. A competitor's recall shifts demand and is therefore a competitive force.

Question 37Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A company's marketing information system draws on internal records, marketing intelligence, and marketing research. A salesperson reporting a rival's new discount scheme to head office is an example of which of the following?

  1. Product development
  2. Marketing research
  3. Internal records
  4. Marketing intelligence Correct answer.

Explanation

Marketing intelligence is everyday information about developments in the environment gathered from staff, suppliers, and other routine sources. It differs from formal marketing research, which is a structured study of a specific problem.

Question 38Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A luxury watch brand finds that its buyers purchase mainly to signal success and status to others. Which level of Maslow's hierarchy best explains this motive?

  1. Esteem needs Correct answer.
  2. Safety needs
  3. Physiological needs
  4. Belongingness needs

Explanation

Esteem needs involve recognition, status, and the desire to be respected by others. Luxury goods are frequently bought to satisfy this social and self-esteem motive rather than basic survival needs.

Question 39Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

Two consumers see the same advertisement, but one notices only the price while the other notices only the brand image. This difference is best explained by which perceptual process?

  1. Stimulus generalisation
  2. Cognitive dissonance
  3. Selective attention Correct answer.
  4. Selective retention

Explanation

Selective attention is the tendency to notice only certain stimuli while ignoring others, based on the viewer's interests and needs. The two consumers attend to different cues in the same advertisement.

Question 40Marketing Environment and Consumer Behaviour

A marketer argues that consumers' growing preference for local, hand-made products reflects a cultural shift rather than a price effect. Which observation would most strongly support this claim?

  1. Buyers switch to imported goods whenever import prices fall
  2. Buyers cannot tell local goods apart from imported ones
  3. Buyers continue choosing local hand-made goods even when imported substitutes are cheaper Correct answer.
  4. Buyers purchase local goods only during discount seasons

Explanation

If consumers keep buying local goods even when cheaper substitutes exist, price is not the main driver, supporting a cultural explanation. This isolates cultural preference from economic motivation.

Question 41Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

A firm divides the toothpaste market into groups such as children, smokers and denture wearers. Which segmentation base is being used?

  1. Geographic segmentation
  2. Behavioural segmentation Correct answer.
  3. Demographic segmentation
  4. Psychographic segmentation

Explanation

Behavioural segmentation groups buyers by usage occasion, benefits sought or user status, and denture wearers or smokers seek distinct benefits. Children as a group is closer to demographic, but the benefit-driven grouping described is behavioural in intent.

Question 42Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Which statement best describes a market segment in salesmanship terminology?

  1. The territory assigned to a single salesperson
  2. Every individual buyer in the total market
  3. The full range of products a company manufactures
  4. A group of buyers with shared needs who respond similarly to a marketing offer Correct answer.

Explanation

A segment is a subgroup of buyers who share a need or characteristic and are expected to respond in a similar way to a marketing effort. It must be identifiable, measurable and reachable to be useful.

Question 43Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

A marketer wants a segment to be worth serving. Which condition must the segment satisfy?

  1. It must be large enough and able to buy the product Correct answer.
  2. It must be reachable only through personal selling
  3. It must have no competing suppliers
  4. It must include every buyer in the country

Explanation

Effective segmentation requires the segment to be measurable, accessible, substantial and actionable. Size and purchasing power make the segment substantial enough to justify a tailored offer.

Question 44Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

A company chooses one segment and builds a single marketing mix aimed at it. Which targeting strategy is this?

  1. Concentrated marketing Correct answer.
  2. Differentiated marketing
  3. Mass customisation
  4. Undifferentiated marketing

Explanation

Concentrated or niche marketing focuses all effort on one segment with a single tailored mix. Differentiated marketing would serve two or more segments with separate mixes.

Question 45Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

In positioning language, what does a perceptual map show?

  1. How buyers perceive brands on chosen attributes Correct answer.
  2. The distribution channels used by the firm
  3. The cost structure of each competitor
  4. The sales territory coverage of each representative

Explanation

A perceptual map plots brands according to how customers rate them on important attributes such as price and quality. It reveals gaps where a new or repositioned brand could occupy a distinct place in the buyer's mind.

Question 46Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

A soap manufacturer offers separate variants and advertising for teenagers, working adults and elderly customers. Which targeting approach is being applied?

  1. Differentiated marketing Correct answer.
  2. Undifferentiated marketing
  3. Concentrated marketing
  4. Direct micro-marketing

Explanation

Differentiated marketing serves two or more segments, each with its own product variant and promotional appeal. Because the firm designs distinct offers for each group, it is not concentrating on one segment.

Question 47Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

A firm selling industrial fasteners ranks potential segments by size, growth, competition and fit with its own strengths. This activity is best called:

  1. Market segmentation
  2. Sales forecasting
  3. Product positioning
  4. Segment evaluation Correct answer.

Explanation

Segment evaluation is the appraisal step between segmentation and targeting, where attractiveness and company fit are weighed. Its output is a decision about which segments to enter.

Question 48Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

A brand claims the lowest running cost per kilometre among scooters and repeats this in every advertisement. What positioning approach is this?

  1. Positioning by price alone
  2. Positioning by product attribute or benefit Correct answer.
  3. Positioning by competitor
  4. Positioning by user type

Explanation

Positioning by attribute or benefit highlights a specific functional advantage the product delivers. The claim of lowest running cost is a measurable benefit, not an identity based on who uses the product.

Question 49Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Why is a unique selling proposition important in positioning a product?

  1. It removes the need for any advertising
  2. It guarantees that competitors will copy the offer quickly
  3. It gives buyers a distinct reason to prefer the brand over rivals Correct answer.
  4. It lowers the production cost of the product

Explanation

A unique selling proposition states a benefit that is meaningful to buyers and not offered by competitors. It gives salespeople a clear, memorable reason for the buyer to choose the brand.

Question 50Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

A seller of premium kitchen appliances finds the 'high quality, high price' position already held by two strong rivals. What is the most reasonable positioning response?

  1. Abandon the market without further analysis
  2. Copy the rivals' position exactly to compete directly
  3. Seek an unoccupied position on an attribute buyers value Correct answer.
  4. Lower quality to reduce the price below all rivals

Explanation

When the preferred position is crowded, a firm can look for a gap on an attribute customers care about and can be served profitably. This avoids a costly head-on battle with entrenched brands.