Professional Documents
Culture Documents
VOCABULARY
1. Complete the description of the 4 major promotional tools by inserting the following words:
personal selling, advertising, public relations, sales promotions.
The main promotional tools are: 1. (the activity of informing customers about the
existence and advantages/benefits of products and services by means of newspaper ads,
posters, radio/TV commercials, endorsements Internet banners, etc.), 2. .. (also called
person-to-person sales, using salespeople/sales reps), 3. (coupons, free samples,
prices reductions in shops, discounts for buying a large quantity, competitions), and 4.
. (communication activities such as newspaper articles, sponsorship, etc., whose main
aim is to improve, maintain or protect a companys image, or build goodwill).
2. Choose the correct title from the box to fill in the blanks (a-e) in the following description
of 5 main market-survey techniques used by companies to acquire information on their
customers:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Mail-In Surveys
Focus Groups
One-on-One Surveys
Customer-Satisfaction
Phone Surveys
5. Online Surveys
a. .
A company may interview customers from various demographic groups based on age, income
or sex. The objective is to get a general idea as to how these people shop for certain products,
and which products they like best. The company may then introduce several new concepts,
such as food, and survey peoples likes and dislikes about the product.
b. .
A market-survey technique used for introducing new products. E.g., a company may observe a
customer operating a new type of software. The interviewer asks the customer how they like
the new software and whether or not they would purchase it.
c. .
A market-survey conducted over the phone to measure customers satisfaction levels with
regard to the companys products, service, prices, etc. Companies usually conduct hundreds of
such surveys in order to determine where they have significant advantages or problems.
d.
A market-survey technique conducted my mail and used for determining why some customers
have stopped purchasing their products. A small incentive may be provided to respondents to
fill out the information.
e. .
A market-survey often appearing on company websites in the form of a pop-up, which can be
activated at any time to start collecting any information for which a company is searching.
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3. In a developed mixed economy, there is a diversity of company types. Match up the words on list
1-8 with the definitions on list A-H to identify the company types:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A. A large company that operates or has investments in several different countries, but has its
headquarters in one country.
B. An association of two or more persons as co-owners of a business enterprise who share its
profits and losses (e.g. lawyers, architects, auditing firms, etc.)
C. A large limited liability company whose shares are quoted on the stock exchange and can
be bought by anyone. In the US it is also called a corporation.
D. An association (a strategic alliance) of two or more companies that contribute goods,
services and/or capital to a common business enterprise, and share in its profits and losses.
E. A type of business in which only one person owns all the assets of the business, with no
other shareholders. In other words, that person is self-employed, and has unlimited liability
(is fully responsible for the companys debts with his/her personal wealth); e.g.
professionals, consultants, and other service businesses that require minimum amounts of
capital fall into this category.
F. A company (also known as a private company) whose owners are responsible (liable) for
the debts it may incur only to the extent of the amount they have invested in the business in
the form of shares; the companys shares cannot be sold to members of the public.
G. A business licensed to sell a companys products exclusively in a particular area or to
operate a business under that companys name.
H. A business which is owned and/or managed by members of the same family.
4. Complete sentences 1-5 with the appropriate words from the box:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
business plan
start-up loan facilities
entrepreneurs
submitted
take out a loan
start-up capital
People who set up their own companies are called 1. .. Starting a company is not so
easy: in order to do that, one needs money which is commonly referred to as 2.. Many
people do not have that capital, so they have to 3... from the bank. Banks that offer 4.
.. usually request a 5. . before deciding to give such a loan. If the business plan
6. . by the entrepreneur does not look well-grounded and realistic, the entrepreneur will
not be considered for a loan.
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in cash
deposit accounts
interest
cash card
current account
credit cards
standing order
automatic cash dispensers or teller machines
cheque
withdraw
Many people have their salaries paid into a 1 . This is a low-interest type of account, whose
advantage is that one can easily 2 money from it at any time from an 3 with a 4..;
apart from that, the bank can pay ones regular monthly bills according to ones instructions,
on the basis of a previous agreement called a 5. Some bills may also be paid by 6,
although people in some countries still prefer to make their payments the traditional way,
7, rather than by using a chequebook. 8. . are generally used by people for ordering
things by post/over the Internet/on the phone and for travelling. Money that is not destined for
current expenses is generally kept in 9 , which pay 10.
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.a choice
a complaint
a deal
ones duty
. damage
a decision
an effort
an enquiry
an exercise
an experiment
smb. a favour
a forecast
good
homework
an improvement
a job
justice (to)
a loss
a mistake
money
.a phone call
plans
a profit
progress
a request
research
smth. for a living
smth. to/for/with someone
a suggestion
well
8. Match up the collocations in the box with their corresponding definitions on list A-L.:
1.market leader
2.market challenger
3.market follower
4.market segment
5.market share
6.market survey
7.stock market
8.commodity market
9.consumer market
10. producer (industrial) market
11. bullion market
12. market value
A. a company that does not hold a major position in the market (no. 3 and onward) and
follows the leaders in a market without challenging them
B. a market where companies or organizations purchase goods and services for use in the
production of other goods and services that are sold, rented, or supplied to others.
C. a market for the trading of company shares (stock)
D. a questionnaire-based method used by companies to obtain information about their
customers, and how these customers view a company's products and services versus
competitive products.
E. a market where individuals and households purchase goods and services for personal use
F. the company holding the second position in a market, and competing vigorously with the
market leader for leadership.
G. the company holding the 1 st position in the market for a particular product; a
brand/product/company with the largest market share
H. the total value of all the shares on a stockmarket, or the value of the shares of a particular
company (market value)
I. a companys or a products percentage of sales in a market
J. a market where products (especially agricultural) are bought and sold
K. a group of customers sharing one or more characteristics or needs in an otherwise
homogenous market.
L. a market for the trading of precious metals (gold and silver).
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9. Trends: Define the type of change expressed by each of the verbs listed below using the
clues on list a-f:
rise a lot
fall
sink
plunge
escalate
slump
jump
gain
leap
take off
rise a little
fall a lot
increase
soar
rise
decrease
climb
crash
rocket
plummet
go up
fall a little
recover
hold steady
drift
drop
stabilize
slide
fluctuate
go down
pick up
decline
no change
rebound
be volatile
rally
level off
slip
flatten out
bounce back
10. Identify which of the series of 4 words in each group is the odd one out (has no logical
connection to the other three):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
GRAMMAR
11. Complete the following sentences with the right form of the verbs in brackets.
1. If you .. (hurry), youll catch the 3 oclock train.
2. I would have convinced him to join us if you (not interfere).
3. If I (be) younger, I would have applied for that job.
4. If it (not be) for him, we would never have pulled it off
5. If she (be) rich, she would travel round the world.
6. If I .. (not raise) any objection, they would have gone ahead with the deal.
7. Im sure she (succeed) if she were more persistent.
8. If I .. (run) out of time, Ill ask John to help me.
9. I wouldnt be surprised if you .. (get) the job.
10. What .you. (do) if they hadnt approved your project?
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