1. Instructions
State the opposing ethical arguments about marketing: Does marketing satisfy or create customer's needs and wants? Compare and contrast these arguments in terms of benefits and detrimental effects on individuals, businesses, and the societies or nations in which they function. Finally, evaluate the arguments, supporting your stance for one argument over the other. (20 points) (A 1-page response is required.)
2. Instructions
You are the marketing manager for a video rental chain. You have been asked to define the major competitive spheres within which your company will operate. Respond to the following competitive elements. (30 points) (A 2-page response is required.)
- Industry
- Products and Applications
- Competence
- Market Segment
- Vertical
- Geographical
3. Instructions
Assume a business entity of your choosing is planning to introduce a new product or service. Describe the business and the product or service being marketed. Then, construct a market research plan that shows at least five (5) steps/areas that you must research in order to determine the viability of the offering. After researching and analyzing the information, what kinds of recommendations might you make for bringing the product to market? (25 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
4. Instructions
For the same business, write five (5) close-ended and five (5) open-ended questions to use in a questionnaire surveying the existing or potential marketplace. Following each question, describe the purpose or rationale for asking the question. In addition, state your method of administering the survey and explain how it fits into at least one (1) component of the overall marketing decision support process that you discussed in Discussion Question #1. (25 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-5
Define segment marketing and provide the rationale for its use. List and describe four (4) levels of market segmentation, providing explanations of each level. In addition, give one (1) example of each of the four (4) levels of market segmentation with a complete description of each example. (26 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-6
Using each of the four (4) segmentation levels from Discussion Question #1, describe two (2) examples of how different companies apply each segmentation level to their products or services. (24 points)
(A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-7
Select one (1) major company whose product(s) you buy. Visit their Web site and then answer the following questions. You may also use articles and advertisements in newspapers, journals, etc. that are about the company. (26 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
- Write a summary about what most influences you personally to buy this product(s) as opposed to the competitor's product(s). Include a comparison of at least two (2) competitors.
- Define how you believe the company segments its market by describing four (4) criteria it uses to identify which consumer group to target.
- List two (2) markets that the company is targeting.
Discussion-8
Explain how a marketer delineates among durable goods, nondurable goods, and services when planning an appropriate market-mix strategy. Describe the strategies used for the different types of good and services. Provide two (2) example products for the consumer market and two (2) example products for the industrial market for each category (durable goods, nondurable goods, and services). (24 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-9
Instructions
Relate the different models of brand equity to each other. How are they similar? How are they different? (24 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-10
There are certain areas of the country that are so rough that Domino's, Pizza Hut, and many other restaurant chains will not deliver to them. Imagine that a local entrepreneur has started a company called "Homeboys Restaurant Delivery and Catering Service," that will deliver to these areas. With a bank of phones and two drivers, the company picks up at the restaurant of your choice and delivers to your doorstep. Its drivers use late-model, inconspicuous used cars. Homeboys run a tab at the restaurants and pays weekly for food picked up by its drivers. Customers are charged a $3 delivery fee on $10 minimum orders. Its drivers hand out flyers with the Homeboys logo and the names of participating restaurants. Each driver also has the menu from those restaurants. Evaluate the effectiveness of Homeboys in terms of the intangible and/or variable elements of people, physical evidence, and service standards. (26 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-11
Applying principles you've learned up to this point in the course list and explain four (4) ways that even a well-executed marketing program might fail. (20 points) (A 1-page response is required.)
Discussion-12
Identify four (4) measures of marketing effectiveness. Explain which one (1) of the four (4) measures on your list, in your opinion, is most important and why. Which is least important and why? Do the elements they measure tend to interact with one another, or is their effectiveness primarily self-contained? (30 points) (A 2-page response is required.)
