QUALITY OF WORK: YOU MUST MAKE A SERIOUS EFFORT AND EXPLAIN IN DETAIL YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS AND REASONING. DO NOT TURN IN A PAPER THAT ONLY DISCUSSES EACH TOPIC WITH A SINGLE SENTENCE OR TWO. THIS IS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO POSITIVELY AFFECT YOUR GRADE…..
PROJECT SPECIFICS:
– Choose two products, services, or businesses in the industry of your choice. Make sure that they have totally different target audiences so that you can compare the two. Examples: car models like a Toyota Tercel, and a Maserati ….or…..food places like a Soup Kitchen, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse …. You get the idea ??
– Keep it under 15 pages…. There are 10 questions on the topics you have chosen .
– Single or double spaced….surprise me.
– Print it out two-sided if possible….SAVE PAPER.
– No citation page required ( most of this you will have to figure out in your head.
– No table of contents ( just answer all questions in the order asked ).
– All tables and charts must be electronically created ( no hand drawn )
– # 1, plus # 2, plus # 3, plus # 4, should be equal in length to one half of your paper by themselves. The other six questions should equal the other half of the paper ( approximately ).
– Discuss, in as much detail as necessary, the following topics:
1. Describe all of the segmentation variables that your two choices used to target their customers. How are they different from each other ? (Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, and Benefits Sought). A chart that supplements your discussion is necessary. This will be a long answer.
2. Discuss the Marketing Mix for the two products. ( Four P’s ) . Compare both in detail …Make a chart of the four P’s… I expect this section to be quite extensive …. ( Long discussion and chart )
3. Visit the web sites for both competitors. Give a synopsis of your findings and thoughts. Are they user friendly sites ? Do they provide needed information ? Are they interactive ? Do they offer coupons, locations, or directions, if applicable ? Tell me as though I am blind. This should be pretty detailed.
4. How have each of the the competitors positioned themselves in the market- place ? In your opinion, have they done a good job ? If not, why not ? Do you feel that the target consumers see the company properly (as the company expects) ? Design a short survey…5 Questions / 15-20 people….. to find out and analyze the results. For example, do both competitors occupy the same place in the consumers mind or are they somehow differentiated from each other ? Is one the “quality leader” while the other is vying to be the “price” leader, etc. ?
5. What issues do these competitors have to deal with ? Think in terms of INTERNAL and EXTERNAL factors…. Do a SWOT analysis for your primary choice.
6. What can you find out about your choices and how they are addressing the “societal marketing concept” ? Do they pollute ? Do they recycle ? Do they use toxic chemicals ? ( hint: look at their web sites or in-house literature ). Do they support charitable causes ? Google it.
7 . How does Personal Selling ( Relationship Selling ) affect the final consumer who buys your product ? Connect the dots for me….what kind of ‘white collar’ sales efforts from ALL the different suppliers was required to ‘create’ the final product ? In other words, how did the efforts of all the B2B buyers and sales people associated with your primary choice impact the final consumer once they bought your product or service?
8 . Discuss at least three different activities that your choice has to deal with in their ‘Blue Collar’ supply chain management process. ( ie: suppliers, assembly line workers, raw ingredients, resellers, forklift drivers, trucking companies, etc. ). Explain how they interact with or handle these issues.
9 . Give me a descriptive analysis of your impressions of both competitive advertising efforts. …Include a description of your favorite campaign or ad. If they don’t have one, suggest one .
10. We have talked about ‘Land’s End’ and how they were able to sell more product by data mining a list of customers, out of their own data storage, and then matching accessories to the ‘Blue Sports Jacket and Grey Slacks” that were purchased as much as 18 months before by their ‘best’ customers.
