Task A- Group Assignment: 40%

This assignment is designed to encourage students to explore the impact of buyer behaviour on marketing strategy through the examination of an actual product category. Working in groups, you are required to demonstrate the application of buyer behaviour concepts at various stages of an organisation’s marketing planning process. The discussion of concepts will help you to achieve a deeper level of learning.  The application of the concepts will prepare you for discussion and use of these concepts in other marketing subjects and in the world of work.

The final report is due in Week 12.

What do we need to do?

·         Select a specific product (good or service) that has been introduced to the market in the last two three years; is of interest to the group and the group considers successful. It is recommended you choose a specific product within a product category, i.e. imported beers – e.g. Heineken or Boutique beers – e.g. Mountain Goat beer. Ensure there is availability of secondary information before you start. You are not to access primary data. – based on Singapore market

·         Select another brand (close competitor) which is competing with your brand which could serve as a substitute in the same market. You can choose any brand as the main competitor.  The rule of three years does not apply to the main competitor.

Suggested Format

The assignment will be structured within a marketing mix framework, exploring internal Chapter 8 – 11, external Chapter 12 – 16 and decision-making influences Chapter 3 – 7 and involves a detailed and in depth analysis of the primary target market.

Students will be given a detailed scoring sheet as a feedback mechanism.

The report will culminate in an evaluation of the marketing strategies employed.

 Acquire following background information in terms of-

Start with Table of Contents; do not need to include an executive summary and an introduction

1.    Market – Section 1 200 words

– 200 words in a table format

– start with a short paragraph to introduce the brand; followed by a table; for the main brand; do not need to cover any information about the competitors

1.1. Size of market, market share, market position, depth and breadth of product range, company’s principal product (or products) in terms of features and benefits, positioning of the product, product life cycle stage. –  You do not need to cover all these points above; only some relevant points

2. Competitors – Section 2 200 words

2.1Number of direct = main competitor that you will compare with the main brand in the following part of the report / indirect (another competitor; can be any brand that consumers might consider buying) competitors, size of competitors, positioning as low cost, niche players

Start with a small paragraph to introduce these two competitors; followed by a table (point form) (to compare the 4Ps (a brief description only)

Somersby

Somersby

Product

e.g. brand image, product attributes in general

e.g. brand image, product attributes in general

Price

e.g. pricing strategy

e.g. pricing strategy

Promotion

e.g. advertising, sales promotion and online marketing etc.

e.g. advertising, sales promotion and online marketing etc.

Place

e.g. online and store retailing

e.g. online and store retailing

3. Identification of Target Market(s):  Section 3  200 Words

For each of the two products (chosen e.g. Toshiba and competitor LG) identify-

3.1 Will be written for the chosen brand – Toshiba and LGWho is (are) the primary (i.e. current) target market(s) for this product? Describe these segments in terms of:

-demographics: e.g., subculture, social class, family life cycle stage, age, gender, occupation, education etc.

-psychographic: personality, AIOs, (activities, interest, opinions – Ch. 12) = lifestyle and/or lifestyle such as VALS2 or geodemographics, etc,

-behavioural:  benefits sought, deal proneness, heavy usage, etc.

Start with a small paragraph; followed by a table (point form); you need to identify TWO current target segments that the chosen brand and the main competitor is targeting

Toshiba

LG

  

Current segment 1

Current segment 2

Current segment 1

Current segment 2

Demographics

Age; gender; income

E.g. women, housewives, 25 – 40 years, middle class

E.g. women, working,  25 – 40 years, middle class

Could be very similar to Toshiba  

Psychographics

How they live – lifestyle (AIO)

= e.g. convenient lifestyle

   

Behavioural

Benefits they are looking for  – e.g. Latest technology, energy saving

e.g. favourable attitude toward Korean brand,  cheaper (Benefits)

3.2 Are there any potential market segments you would recommend for this product? Describe these segments as above.

This section may be depicted in a table

You need to identify ONE potential market segment for e.g. chosen brand Toshiba and main competitor LG; follow the same format used in 3.1

Toshiba

LG

Potential segment

Potential segment

Potential

Single household

Single household

Demographics

Age; gender; income

Could be very similar to Toshiba  

Psychographics

How they live – lifestyle

Behavioural

Benefits they are looking for

  Select one target segment profiled in question 3  Section 3.1from your chosen product that is considered a primary segment. Investigate and discuss how the following influences impact upon this identified segment and product/brand.

YOU NEED TO CHOOSE ONLY ONE PRIMARY TARGET SEGMENT (e.g. Toshiba – you have chosen Current Primary Segment 1 – housewives) AND STATE CLEARWLY AT THE END OF SECTION 3 THE CHOICE OF TARGET SEGMENT FOR SECTION 4 TO 8.  THEN YOU MUST WRITE THE FOLLOWING PARTS BASED ON “Current Primary Segment 1 – housewives” PRIMARY SEGMENT THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN

SIMILARLY, YOU WILL ALSO CHOOSE “Current Primary Segment 1 – housewives” FOR LG as the competitor brand

4. External Influences  Section  4 –  you will write this part for the chosen brand (e.g. Toshiba) – refer to Chapter 12 – 16  600 words +/-

4.1 Culture and Subculture: Are the values upheld in the society consistent with the consumption of the product? Does the product appeal to a specific adopter category?  – Culture and Subculture: It must write this part based on specific types of values – choose at least one of the following:  self-oriented; environment-oriented; other-oriented (Chapter 16)  – you need not cover all the components within the chosen orientation, you may choose one or two components only.

– Product appeal to a specific adopter category:  Choose one of the following categories: innovators, early adopters, early majority (Chapter 14)

4.2 Demographics: Is there an influence of age, gender, socioeconomic influences upon consumption?  – Refer to Section 3.1; do not repeat info you have already covered in 3.1 in this part but answer the question directly  Chapter 12 (DO NOT REPEAT FROM 3.1)

4.3 Group influence: Is there a reference group influence element on this product category?  – Choose one of the following types:  informational; normative; identification influence; Chapter 14

5. Internal Influences  Section 5 Chapter 8 – 11; 800 words+/-

5.1 Needs and Motives: How readily is the product positioned to satisfy different needs or motives? What needs are being met? (E.g. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)  Chapter 10; Choose at least ONE type of needs from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; explain what it is and apply

5.2 Perception: What are the strategic implications of the process of perception for marketers?  Chapter 8;  you need to cover these three stages – exposure, attention, interpretation;  use an advertisement from online/ traditional source – e.g. can be TV; YouTube or newspaper; must be shown in Singapore before; analyse the ad

5.3 Learning: Given the profile of each segment, which application of learning theories would be most relevant to use in promotion? E.g.; reasoning versus operant conditioning? Chapter 9;  choose one of the following theories – classical conditioning; operant conditioning; modelling; reasoning; explain the theory and apply to the case (how do consumers learn about e.g. Toshiba)

5.4 Lifestyle- Does the product appeal to a particular lifestyle? Is the product appropriate for one or more lifestyles? Chapter 12; explain AIO – activities, interest, opinions (choose a few relevant points from AIO table in Chapter 12) – Refer to Section 3.1 – do not need to repeat the info here; explain how lifestyle affects decision making

6.  Consumer decision making processes:  Section 6- Chapter 3 – 7; 600 words +/-

6.1 What type and amount of information (sources of information Chapter 3) about this product do its consumers use? How involved are they (low or high involvement Chapter 3)? Which level of decision making are they in (habitual; limited; extended decision – choose one Chapter 3)? Would the brand be considered to be part of this segment’s evoked set? (Use a flow chart to indicate how customers choose a brand; Toshiba is the chosen brand in the evoked set; start with a chart and then follow by explanation Chapter 4)

6.2 How do consumers evaluate different brands in this product category? Which evaluative criteria are possibly used in making a purchase decision? Identify a few criteria (e.g. price; country of origin) and explain how consumers go through the choice Chapter 5

1. Identify a few criteria. E.g. Price, Quality.

2. Can be very specific. E.g. battery life

DECISION RULE

Choose 1 Rule

Compare with the competitors with the current product we doing

6.3How do consumers go about shopping for this product? Chapter 6 identify how people make a purchase choice – choose one “brand first; outlet second”; “outlet first; brand second”; or both  

6.4How likely is post purchase behaviour likely to occur? If so, how can it be reduced?  Chapter 7; you need to start with the explanation of satisfaction vs. dissatisfaction; you must explain what you can do to reduce dissonance when customers are dissatisfied

Satisfaction: repeat purchase, likely to have some as loyal customer

More customers growing dissatisfied with banks.

6.5 How do consumers dispose of this product after its usage? Chapter 7: suggest how customers can dispose the product (e.g. recycling) Slide 10.

6.6 Loyalty- Do potential segments differ in their loyalty to the existing product? Are brand-loyal purchases encouraged? How?  REFER TO 3.2: you need to explain how likely this potential segment (e.g. elderly) would use the product and become a loyal customer slide 23 chapter 7, at least 2 relationships.

10 general articles at google scholars (MUST BE REAL article, find from year 2000 onwards)

7. Marketing Strategy Section 7 600 words; you need to compare the chosen brand (Toshiba) and the main competitor (LG)

7.1 Compare the marketing approach of your chosen and a competitor’s product. On the basis of your research, explain:

– How the firm’s (Toshiba) current marketing strategy can account for the product’s success, and

– How the marketing mix supports a particular positioning statement

This can be done in terms of comparing:

Marketing mix approach

Product – What characteristics of the physical product and or service appeal to how the product is positioned for each segment? Is the product considered an innovation? What characteristics could possibly impede rapid diffusion?

Price – Is price considered an important evaluative criterion? How readily would this segment respond to price reductions? Is price relevant as an indicator of status?

Promotion –What values are important for each segment that can be used in a communication strategy? What media is currently used? How effective do you believe is this strategy?

Place- Do the different segments have differing requirements of the distribution system? What type of distribution system is consistent with the lifestyle(s) of each segment?

Start with a table to compare the 4Ps of the two brands (stated above – answer as many questions as possible); then use the information from the table to answer the first two questions

Toshiba

LG

Product

Product – What characteristics of the physical product and or service appeal to how the product is positioned for each segment? Is the product considered an innovation? What characteristics could possibly impede rapid diffusion?

Product – What characteristics of the physical product and or service appeal to how the product is positioned for each segment? Is the product considered an innovation? What characteristics could possibly impede rapid diffusion?

Price

Price – Is price considered an important evaluative criterion? How readily would this segment respond to price reductions? Is price relevant as an indicator of status?

Price – Is price considered an important evaluative criterion? How readily would this segment respond to price reductions? Is price relevant as an indicator of status?

Promotion

Promotion –What values are important for each segment that can be used in a communication strategy? What media is currently used? How effective do you believe is this strategy?

Promotion –What values are important for each segment that can be used in a communication strategy? What media is currently used? How effective do you believe is this strategy?

Place

Place- Do the different segments have differing requirements of the distribution system? What type of distribution system is consistent with the lifestyle(s) of each segment?

Place- Do the different segments have differing requirements of the distribution system? What type of distribution system is consistent with the lifestyle(s) of each segment?

Then you may answer / present the two questions

1st paragraph:  whether the campaign is a success

– How the firm’s (Toshiba) current marketing strategy can account for the product’s success, and

2nd paragraph:  positioning statement – if the brand does not have a positioning statement, you need to write one on behalf of them

How the marketing mix supports a particular positioning statement

8. Evaluation and Recommendations Section 8 700 words +/-

This section of your report should clearly assess each marketer’s application of knowledge of consumer behaviour theory and principlesinvestigated in sections 4-6.

Choose TWO advertisements. One for the main brand Toshiba (can be the same that you use under “perception”) and one for the main competitor LG

Or

Compare TWO marketing approaches, but it would be more challenging.

You need to scan the image for submission within the report; not in the appendices

Choose TWO theories(e.g. classical conditioning; reference group) and then compare these two ads to decide which ONE is more effective (at the end of the comparison, you may suggest the competitor’s ad is more effective)

On the basis of this evaluation, explain which of the two marketing/advertising campaigns- that of your chosen product and competitor’s product-the group considers is more effective in contributing to the overall success of the product.  Clearly discuss and justify your reasons.

The evaluation should also include future recommendations for the company   – for the chosen brand only (Toshiba); follow strictly the following headings; do not change and add new points

• product positioning

Marketing mix:

• on product (goods and services) enhancements

• improved marketing communications

• improved purchase experience

• identifying potential new customers

• enhancing customer satisfaction

9. Conclusion – 100 words

A succinct overview of the report.