Marketing

Creating an appealing in-store environment that matches the retailer’s overall brand is important part of a retail strategy. For this blog post, please evaluate the in-store environment of a retailer you are familiar with using the dimensions described in this week’s material. Please explain why, or why not, you think this store has an appealing in-store environment. Your blog post should be at least 150 words long and include an exhibit or illustration linked to the topic, either an uploaded photo / screenshot or a link to material online. Your blog needs to use keywords from relevant material this week.

Creating a new product launch for vitamins/health supplements to be sold at MEC. Develop a brief marketing plan for this new product line that MEC could launch in its stores.   QUESTION #1: NEW PRODUCT Describe the new product line (must be new to MEC yet aligned with its vision) and the category the product will fit in to. (3 marks)   QUESTION #2: TARGET MARKET Identify and describe the target market (using the segmentation variables) for this new product and the need it satisfies. (7 marks)   QUESTION #3: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Describe two (2) competitors for the new products that MEC will introduce and identify how MEC’s new products will be different/better. (3marks)   QUESTION #4: MARKETING PROGRAM Prepare a brief marketing program as to how MEC might launch this new product line. Your plan must include (at least) -Objectives, Market Overview and all elements of the marketing mix- an elaborate product, price, distribution and communication strategy (promotion mix). (7 marks)

After you have completed all of the Marketing Plan Assignments/modules, you will submit a written MiniSims Marketing Plan Final Analysis Report. As you proceed through each module, keep track of each of  your decisions and the outcomes of your decisions such as your target market, product design, pricing strategy, integrated marketing communication strategy, etc. Your MiniSims Marketing Plan Project Final  Analysis Report should encompass the following:   1.    Introduction 2.    Who was your target market? Why did you select that target market? How did you segment the market and what type of segmentation bases were used? (demographic, etc.)  What was your positioning strategy (salient attribute, etc.?). You have addressed various target markets during the MiniSims 3.    What buyer behavior was the most impactful in making your marketing decisions? 4.    What was your product strategy? What type of product was it (convenience, shopping, etc.)? 5.    What was your pricing objective (sales, profit oriented, etc.)? What was your pricing strategy? (price skimming? marketing penetration? Status quo?) 6.    What was your Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy? 7.    What type of Distribution Strategy and type of Retailers? 8.    What metrics did you use/ review to analyzing your strategies for the Marketing Plan to assess if your plan is reaching its objective of increasing sales? 9.    Conclusion   Note: Please see MiniSims Marketing Plan Rubric for assessment parameters.   MLA Citation Format is REQUIRED in your Marketing Plan Project Analysis Report on the MiniSims. Further, you should be applying the concepts/ theories that you learned in the course/ text in your report. Citing the author(s) of your text is highly encouraged to reflect your critical analysis of the MiniSims experience.

Pick a nonprofit organization (for example the United Way) to which you might consider donating money (a charity, church, hospital, etc.). Analyze the social media presence of the organization across all of the platforms that they employ, using the following questions and activities as a guide: Briefly describe the Non-Profit and link to the website. What does the nonprofit organization do across its social media platforms to inform potential donors about its cause?  Is it enough to influence your decision to donate to the organization? Explain your answer.

You have been hired as a business consultant to review a proposal created by two environmentally-conscious entrepreneurs who want to start a new company that designs solar-powered cellular phones (NOT a case or charger).  The cell phones will run on the Android operating system.  The entrepreneurs are looking for advice regarding several decisions they need to make.  First, visit the following two links to visualize the product that the entrepreneurs desire to design and build.  The proposed cell phones will look something like the ones you see in those websites. https://www.androidauthority.com/xiaomi-solar-phone-1015790/  (Links to an external site.)   https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/05/16/solar-powered-iphone-x-tesla-by-caviar-goes-on-sale-for-4500  (Links to an external site.) You are primarily asked for giving advice in the following areas: Target customer group, price and specifications: The entrepreneurs are still debating if they should develop the product for the extremely high-end, high-end, high-middle, middle, low-middle, or low-end market.  You need to help them to identify an appropriate target customer group. They are seriously considering targeting the young and college students by including high quality cameras, both front and back into their proposed cell phones.  They want to create a brand image of a trend setter that sells high quality products at a lower than average market price. The product must actually have revenue higher than average if they are to make any profit, so they are debating how to obtain extra fees and upgrades. Product release cycle: The entrepreneurs do not want to be technologically behind their competitors. Instead, actually they want to be one-step-ahead.  So they want to release a new version of their product every 9 months, instead of the typical once-every-12 months cycle. However, this means that their models will become obsolete faster (more frequently than is the norm). Raw material suppliers: The entrepreneurs want to minimize the costs associated with direct materials. Therefore, they intend to ask suppliers to submit bids from which the entrepreneurs will then choose the lowest bid. Assembly factory: The entrepreneurs want to minimize the production costs and possibly also eliminate the cost of building a factory. Thus they are considering outsourcing the manufacturing of their innovative cell pones to a company in China. Analyze the decision considerations that the entrepreneurs are grappling with as outlines in the bullet points above.  Then, write a report that outlines the top CSR issues (at least 3 issues) that may become critical for these entrepreneurs’ business over the next three years.  (PLEASE USE this Template , this Grading Rubric , and these writing guidelines  when you preparing your final report). The report MUST address the following: 1. INTRODUCTION (Clearly discuss the purpose of the report and demonstrate your understanding of the audience) 2. BACKGROUND OF SITUATION 3. OVERVIEW OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) FRAMEWORKS 4. ISSUES THAT MAY HAVE CSR IMPLICATIONS (Choose three most important issues that have CSR implications and discuss why you chose the three (and/or why you did not choose others if there are any other) 5. AFFECTED STAKEHOLDERS AND ASSESSED IMPACT OF THE THREE ISSUES (Stakeholders must be discussed in the order of importance and you need to justify the order, which means the most important stakeholder must be discussed first. Clearly show logical connection between the issues and each of the stakeholders.) 6. CONCLUSIONS (This assignment asks you for solid “business” advice for success. NOT the “most socially responsible” path that fails the company.) Then,  as shown in the “Template “, your report should have: 7. REFERENCES (APA style: At least 10 references including those from the16 assigned reading materials in Modules1, 2 & 3.  The credibility of each reference must be evaluated using the CRAAP test and the summary of the CRAAP test result must be in APPENDIX) 8. APPENDIX: (Must contain at least one table: Summary of the CRAAP Test Results.  See the CRAAP test and a sample table .)

1. A sales rep from AdVance spends several months with the buyer for a company that owns a dozen farms understanding the buyer’s needs, and puts together a proposal for several fertilizers produced for the company’s specific needs. When the sale is about to close, the buyer decides to purchase a cheaper, pre-made, standardized formula from another supplier. What is the most likely explanation of the outcome of the interaction? 2. You have just been hired as a Vice-President sales of a large multinational company. One of your sales consultants, Mr. David,  just droped his resignation. The HR department is about to schedule an exit interview with him. In the feedback document (prepared by HR), it is written that Mr. David has always complained about long working hours and tough competition. The HR thinks he has a wrong idea about sales and the appropriate attitude needed to succeed in the role and that they see a potential in this employee. Prepare the main ideas you will share with David to change his attitude towards sales and motivate him to stay. 

Video Assignment 1: Triggering Behavioral Change: How to Make Consumer Habits” Please watch the following Youtube webinar published by Marketing Science Institute and answer the following question:  Triggering Behavioral Change  1. Based on the video discussion, what are characteristics of consumer habits? (2pts) 2. Please describe the framework of creating automatic behavior. What are the key factors in this process? Explain. (4pts) 3. Find two examples to illustrate this automatic behavior process. Please avoid using the example discussed in the video (4pts) Because there is a video, I will add an extra $10.

Select two healthcare advertisements.  Write a minimum of 200 words for each advertisement explaining the effectiveness of each advertisement regarding healthcare marketing.  Typed, using correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling.  Take screenshot of the advertisements and add them to the file. You must cite where the advertisement was found.   Please include a reference list that has the source for the advertisement and any other resources you used. At the very least, it will have the two sources cited for each advertisement. 

Choose an organization with which you are familiar. Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you review the impact of consumer behavior on this organization’s marketing strategy.  Review and evaluate a specific example of how this organization utilized its knowledge of consumer behavior to adjust its marketing strategy.  How did this organization figure out what its target market wanted?  How was the organization’s marketing strategy (product, price, distribution, promotion, service) impacted by consumer behavior? Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

For this dataset  you will need to do the following: 1. descriptive statistics – show the nature of the data through a variety of visuals – what insights can be gained? 2. additional analysis, as relevant – consider whether any of the following apply to your dataset (1) modeling uncertainty (probabilities), (2) issues of data ethics in your dataset, industry, etc., (3) break-even analysis.  3. brief report (1-2 pages, double spaced, Times New Roman 12-pt font) – in 1 to 2 pages, describe what analysis you did and what inferences can be concluded about the data? recommend next steps. (if you insert screen shots, your report may run longer than 2 pages and that’s fine).