Question at position 4 Grape-Nuts was one of the first cereals Post Cereal Co. ever marketed. Recently its sales have been declining. Rather than assume the product is a “dog,” the Grape-Nuts marketing manager should firstrealign Grape-Nuts as a “star” and increase production.increase the amount spent on advertising and sales promotionhire additional salespeople who were younger and more assertive to contact grocery stores.update the flavor of the cereal by making it slightly sweeter.do marketing research to identify what needs were not being satisfied.

Question

Question at position 4 Grape-Nuts was one of the first cereals Post Cereal Co. ever marketed. Recently its sales have been declining. Rather than assume the product is a “dog,” the Grape-Nuts marketing manager should firstrealign Grape-Nuts as a “star” and increase production.increase the amount spent on advertising and sales promotionhire additional salespeople who were younger and more assertive to contact grocery stores.update the flavor of the cereal by making it slightly sweeter.do marketing research to identify what needs were not being satisfied.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question presents a scenario where Grape-Nuts sales are declining and asks what the marketing manager should do first.
Option 1: realign Grape-Nuts as a “star” and increase production. This is a strategic, resource-expansion move without first diagnosing the underlying needs of customers. Without knowing whether demand is driven by different factors, simply rebranding and boosting production may misallocate resources if the product isn’t meeting customer needs.
Option 2: increase the amount spent on advertising and sales promotion. While increasing promotion can address short-term visibility, it assumes demand problems are due to awareness or persuasion rather than unmet needs. It may be ineffective if customers don’t value the offering or if the product doesn’t satisfy essential needs.
Option 3: hire additional salespeople who were younger and more assertive to contact grocery stores. This focuses on channel coverage and sales tactics, not on understanding customer needs or whether the product still fits consumer preferences. It could improve distribution effort but ignores fundamental demand analysis.
Option 4: update the flavor of the cereal by making it slightly sweeter. This is a product modification aimed at altering the offering, potentially aligning with taste trends, but it presumes that taste is the core reason for decline without evidence from customers about unmet needs.
Option 5: do marketing research to identify what needs were not being satisfied. This option directly targets understanding customer needs to determine why sales are declining. By uncovering unmet needs, the firm can decide whether a product reformulation, repositioning, or other strategic changes are warranted. This aligns with sound marketing practice: diagnose the problem by gathering insights before taking action.
In summary, the process of identifying unmet needs through marketing research provides the most informed basis for deciding the next steps, whereas the other options propose solutions without first confirming whether they address the true underlying causes of the decline.

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