Regardless of which company you choose, your posting should include an introductory paragraph that gives a description of the product or service the company sells, a quick explanation of the target market they focus on, and some indication of the size of the company.
SWOT Analysis (due Wednesday)
To prepare for this assignment, you need to read the last section on page 8 through page 18 in the file titled “The TOWS Matrix.pdf” below. Plan on at least 30-45 minutes to read and study this attachment before beginning the assignment. There are examples in Course Resources to help you understand this.
The TOWS Matrix
National University has prepared a video about SWOT Analysis which can be found within the Week One Readings. This is sometimes called an “environmental analysis” where two basic things happen: a) the company’s internal situation is analyzed in terms of its Strengths and Weaknesses and b) the industry situation is analyzed in terms of external Opportunities and Threats. For this assignment, choose a company you know well! It may be your current employer, a former employer, or any company that you are very familiar with. It can even be a small mom-and-pop business in your area. If you do not wish to reveal the name of the company, that’s OK. Please do NOT choose the company that you plan to write your marketing plan about.
SWOT & TOWS Template
Regardless of which company you choose, your posting should include an introductory paragraph that gives a description of the product or service the company sells, a quick explanation of the target market they focus on, and some indication of the size of the company. Next, use the “SWOT & TOWS Template” attached here to list the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In DB1, you will ONLY fill out the white boxes, not the yellow! Add or delete numbers as needed. Remember that strengths and weaknesses are INTERNAL factors that are true of that particular company. Opportunities and threats are EXTERNAL factors that apply to all competitors in the industry. Be careful here — if the opportunities listed are specific only to your chosen company rather than to all competitors in the industry, then you may be listing strategies rather than opportunities. Again, please do NOT complete a full TOWS analysis at this point, just focus on the white boxes at the top and on the left in the SWOT & TOWS Template.
After completing the SWOT elements of the template, save it to your computer. In the Discussion Board, type your introductory paragraph helping the reader understand the business (even if you are not disclosing the name of the firm) into the main message body of your discussion post, then “attach” the SWOT analysis to your posting before you press “Submit.”
A brief description of the company and your SWOT attachment will count as your first post by Day 3 (Wednesday).
MKT602 Marketing Management
Week 2 Discussion
DQ1 Segmenting Geographic Markets
Prior to completing this assignment, read Chapter 7. This threaded discussion assignment will concentrate on geodemographic and psychographic segmentation.
To experiment with geodemography, use Claritas geoclustering tool . Click on the “Zip Code Lookup” tab at the top of the page. Use your current zip code or another zip code where you lived previously. Since you are not a member of Claritas, you will not have access to all of the bells and whistles the site offers, but you will be able to examine a description of each of the PRIZM clusters that Claritas reports for your zip code. You may find it helpful to print each PRIZM cluster profile or copy it into a Word document for analysis, because you must re-enter your zip code each time you view a cluster. After analyzing all of the PRIZM clusters for your zip code, report on your findings. List the clusters by name than answer the following questions. Do you feel that the clusters adequately describe the people of your zip code? Which cluster did you feel came closest to describing you? In what ways did the PRIZM cluster description match you? In what ways did it not match you? How might a company use geodemography to aid in its segmentation and targeting?
https://claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#zipLookup
Post an initial minimum 200 word response by Day 4 (Thursday) and three responses to other students’ postings by Day 7 (Sunday) with at least one additional response by Day 5 (Friday).
Your posts must be in accordance with the University’s Threaded Discussion Guidelines.
DQ2 Psychographic Segmentation
To experiment with psychographic segmentation, discover what VALS type you are by going to http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/presurvey.shtml and taking the VALS Survey. Report on your primary and secondary VALS segment profile (provide the description, not just the segment name). Do you think the results of the survey accurately describe you? Why or why not? From a practical standpoint, how might a company use VALS?
Strategic Business Insights – The US VALS Survey
Post an initial minimum 200 word response by Day 4 (Thursday) and three responses to other students’ postings by Day 7 (Sunday) with at least one additional response by Day 5 (Friday).
Your posts must be in accordance with the University’s Threaded Discussion Guidelines.
MKT602 Marketing Management
Week 3 Discussion
DQ1 Pricing Strategies
This is going to be a fun, but challenging assignment. So start WAY early!! Read Chapter 16. Select a company and interview the owner/manager regarding their pricing strategies and methods. Report on your findings. Ideally, this will be your current company, but you may need to be resourceful and find a business owner or manager from another company who is willing to visit with you. Your goal is to discover the following:
What is the company’s pricing objective? For this question, it would helpful to show the interviewee a list of the pricing objectives on page 469 with very brief descriptions.(I suggest that you either highlight the first 1-3 sentences under each objective and then show the interviewee the highlighted descriptions in your text OR simply retype them on another sheet of paper for use in the interview).
Do they have some target segments that are less price sensitive than others?
How much consideration does the company give to competitors’ prices when setting their own?
What method of pricing do they use to arrive at the final price for the customer? For this question, you should be very familiar with the methods found under “Step 5” on pages 475-480 before the interview, but do not ask the interviewee to select from among them. Instead, simply listen to the description of their pricing method(s) and process. Then, after the interview, try to determine which of the textbook’s methods the company uses. You do not need to request or report exact markups or profit margins! You should make this clear when requesting the interview! We are looking for methods of pricing, not exact figures.
Important note: This is your chance to do some “primary research.” I understand that it may be difficult to find a willing interviewee, but I expect you to try earnestly. If you fail to find a willing owner/manager after at least 7 attempts at different companies, then please email me and I will assist you. Don’t overlook companies owned by friends, people at your church, and those in your old hometown. In your post, you do not need to reveal the name of the company you interviewed or its location. You should, however, reveal the industry, the nature of the business (deli, grocery store, gift shop, nursery, barber, etc), and a rough idea of the size (single mom and pop or multi-location). If the business owner/manager is hesitant about what you may write, offer to submit your post to them for review before posting it.
Post an initial minimum 200 word response by Day 4 (Thursday) and three responses to other students’ postings by Day 7 (Sunday) with at least one additional response by Day 5 (Friday).
Your posts must be in accordance with the University’s Threaded Discussion Guidelines.
DQ2 Pricing and Distribution Channels of a Company
Choose a company you know well. Identify primary competitors of the company. Discuss how the company differentiates its product/service. Discuss primary channels of marketing. Explain how a company should adapt prices and marketing channels to meet varying circumstances and opportunities.
Post an initial minimum 200 word response by Day 4 (Thursday) and three responses to other students’ postings by Day 7 (Sunday) with at least one additional response by Day 5 (Friday).
Your posts must be in accordance with the University’s Threaded Discussion Guidelines.
MKT602 Marketing Management
Week 4 Discussion
DQ1 Social Media Branding
It is essential that you understand how companies are using social media to connect with customers and build their brand. This assignment follows one company via social media for at least four days. It must be a company that is actively engaged in social media marketing using at least two of the following four forums: Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube Channel, and company blog. Your assignment is to follow the company’s in all four of these social media and report on your observations here in the discussion board. Your posting should include clear, detailed explanations and analysis of the way the company or brand used their social media this week. Note: you don’t have to subscribe to these social media to observe their content and analyze it.
Post an initial minimum 200 word response by Day 4 (Thursday) and three responses to other students’ postings by Day 7 (Sunday) with at least one additional response by Day 5 (Friday).
Your posts must be in accordance with the University’s Threaded Discussion Guidelines.
DQ2 Marketing Channels
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of conventional marketing media (like TV, print, etc.) versus social media and digital marketing channels.Post an initial minimum 200 word response by Day 4 (Thursday) and three responses to other students’ postings by Day 7 (Sunday) with at least one additional response by Day 5 (Friday).
Your posts must be in accordance with the University’s Threaded Discussion Guidelines.
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