Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to demonstrate how you
can apply the Buyer Behaviour concepts and theory you have learned to
a real-life situation, by developing practical marketing strategies in
the very important areas of Segmentation, Targetting and Positioning
(STP).
The assignment aims also to develop skills in
· business interviewing,
· collecting, collating and analyzing data,
· developing appropriate marketing strategies,
· applying marketing theory to practice,
· presentation skills, and
· business report writing.
Tasks:
(i) MARKET SELECTION
· personal services (hairdressing)
(ii) MARKET DEFINITION and SEGMENTATION
Define and describe the selected market. This should include
(a) Definition and description of the market:
Including (as appropriate to your selection):-
What is the size of the overall market? Is the market growing,
declining or mature? What Stage in the PLC and Adoption/Diffusion
curves is it at? What consumer trends are influencing behaviour? Are
there any dominant consumer attitudes affecting the market? Can you
identify and reach opinion leaders in the market?
(b) Needs and Segmentation :-
Has the market been segmented in the past? On what basis? Is this the
best basis for the long term? (Justify your views).
What consumer needs are being met, by which brands? List the major
brands in the market. Describe the normal type of decision process
used by buyers for evaluating and choosing a typical brand? Are there
examples of purchases that are habitual or brand-loyal? Can you see
any examples of line-extension (good or bad)?
Do the major brands appeal to a particular segment? If so, which
segment(s)? Describe the strategies for all elements of the marketing
mix for the major brands. (You should use and refer to your learned
Buyer Behaviour Theory to assist with this assessment.)
You must try to identify and quantify all the major market segments,
and thus directly or indirectly arrive at an estimate of the overall
market size. A thorough and flexible research approach will ensure
that no possible source of market and segment size data is left
untouched. (Libraries, A.B.S., industry associations, government
reports of Public Enquiries and Commissions - the list of potential
sources is only limited by your imagination and tenacity!)
(iii) TARGET MARKET SELECTION
Select a target market (or segment) from the many available to you
from the prior segmentation part of this exercise. Justify your
choice by relating the target market profile of needs to a reasonably
impartial assessment of the benefits by your proposed product/service.
You should profile your selected target market precisely, and explain
the attitudes and needs that differentiate the target market enough
for you to regard it as a viable business proposition.
If market research has not been done to establish the market needs,
you will need to assume it can be done, and you will explain how you
would proceed with that in reasonable detail in an appendix (which
will not be counted in the word limit for the assignment). If it has
been done, and is commercially sensitive, it need not be appended but
may need to be sighted by your Tutor, who will mark the assignment.
(iv) POSITIONING
Select an existing market offering, (or design a new product/service)
to cater for the needs of the profiled target market as outlined
above. Prepare a positioning strategy to achieve a desired position
within that target market. This will involve an analysis of your
competitors’ strategies (please try to relate them to the behavioural
theories on which they are based). A positioning map is a highly
recommended way of expressing your strategies and marketing
intentions.
You must include in this section an adequate number of practical and
realistic recommendations for the marketing of your brand to help it
gain the desired acceptance level within this product market, and
detail how you are going to monitor the market to see if your
strategies are successful.
(v) INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
In a separate section of the report, describe how the above STP
process will differ if the brand is marketed in an overseas country of
your choice (possibly one from which a group/syndicate member comes
from or has knowledge of). Use the Library resources, as well as
personal contacts or local knowledge, to gain as much data as
possible, prior to arriving at reasonable conclusions based on the
information you present and then making suitable sensible
recommendations applicable to the particular needs of that foreign
market.
Note 1 : This assignment does not necessarily require you to approach
directly any external organization for information. You will normally
be able to obtain an adequate level of information from readily
available reference material, and from your own and others'
observation, research and experience. You may make any realistic
assumptions you deem necessary to complete the assignment (these
should, of course, be spelled out in an appendix).
Note 2 :- If you wish to work in a group, you should notify the tutor
of your preferred group composition, and gain his/her approval, in
class 2. Please note that your class facilitator has the final say in
group allocation or makeup, as he/she may have other allocation
priorities with which you or your group may be able to assist.
Assessment:
To successfully complete this assignment, you should prepare a report,
which should:
· Be entitled “Segmentation/Targetting/Positioning (STP) within the
"xxxx" Market”. Two copies of the report should be presented, each in
a folder with a cover sheet giving details of Subject name and number,
Topic as above, Student names and ID numbers, Tutorial time and date,
Tutor name and Word Count. One marked copy will be returned – the
other will be held by the Convener for later reference (if necessary);
· Presented in clear-cover lay-flat binders or binders from which the
contents can be easily removed for marking as needed (please do not
use plastic sleeves for the pages!);
· Be written as a professional document, in business report format (as
per the Style Guide to Written Assignments included in the Learning
Guide);
· Be of approx. 3000 words (plus or minus 10%) (excluding appendices,
bibliography and the Executive Summary);
· Demonstrate relevant data using graphs, tables, exhibits, etc;
· Include appropriate appendices (remember, quantity does not always
equal quality!);
· Be spell-checked and proofread thoroughly;
· Use appropriate (that is, Harvard) referencing throughout the
report, and include full acknowledgment of sources along with a full
and complete bibliography;
· Use suitably specific headings to assist the format and flow of the
report;
· Include an Executive Summary, which is done as the last task (and
inserted after the cover sheet but before the Table of Contents). |
