Reference no: EM133001505

Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of a research-based data analysis, evaluation, and strategy paper. Companies large and small are struggling with escalating competition in their markets and the need to continuously update their products and services to meet the demands of their customers. Although there is great promise in the massive availability of customer data and new high-tech ways of interacting with customers, marketers are challenged to make sense of the data and to understand the behavior of customers. What companies need to remain competitive is a new breed of professionals who are experts in both market research and consumer psychology. Recruiters seek big-picture specialists with diverse backgrounds in business, marketing, social sciences, and other applied humanities who are trained to work across business functions like marketing, market research, advertising, integrated communications, consumer insights, and product design and development.

The culmination of this project will be a data analysis, evaluation, and strategy recommendations paper. Your goals for this term-long project are to 1) select a product category, 2) identify brands within the product category, 3) identify the determinant attributes, and 4) create and analyze consumer surveys about their beliefs concerning the determinant attributes of each brand of product.

The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Six.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• MKT-620-01: Analyze primary and secondary consumer behavior data for developing marketing strategies that align with organizational strategic goals
• MKT-620-02: Leverage marketing trends and consumer behavior influences for determining marketing strategies that yield a competitive advantage
• MKT-620-03: Translate consumer behavior analyses and marketing data into meaningful metrics that inform organizational stakeholders
• MKT-620-04: Validate the influence of culture and personal values on consumer behavior by developing marketing strategies that address the commercial, political, legal, and cultural environments in a global economy
• MKT-620-05: Develop marketing strategies that maximize internal and external opportunities through the integration of consumer behavior concepts, theories, and models

Prompt

During the course, you examined multi-attribute decision-making models such as Fishbein's theory of reasoned action. The Fishbein model is one of several "multi-attribute attitude models" and is also known as an "attitude toward object model." The basic goal behind this model is to determine consumer attitudes- a learned predisposition that is either favorable or unfavorable-about products and brands. More importantly, the model assumes that those attitudes consist of evaluations of the different determinant attributes that make up the product or brand. According to this theory, consumer attitudes can be measured through the use of surveys. Review the appendices at the end of this document for further exposition on the Fishbein model and a sample project.

Based on the knowledge and skills you have obtained throughout this course and previous coursework, create a research-based data analysis, evaluation, and strategy recommendations paper.

Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Overview
a. Provide an overview of the product category you evaluated, as well as the top six determinant attributes for the product category, and the product brands that were included in the product category.
b. Describe the key attributes that consumers use when evaluating possible purchase options and their significance. Use secondary research sources to support your choice of product attributes to consider. [MKT-620-01]
II. Research Plan and Implementation
a. Summarize the goals and objectives of your research, your research plan, and project timeline for implementation as they relate to the creation, capture, and delivery of value. [MKT-620-01]
b. Develop a survey that measures the reasons consumers might purchase in the product category you evaluated, and the behaviors influencing the purchase. Include questions that assess the impact culture and personal values have on purchasing behavior within this product category. Support your position with specific evidence. [MKT-620-04]
III. Results, Quantitative Analysis, and Analysis of Consumer Behavior
a. Provide a record of the survey results. There should be a record of how each participant rated each determinant attribute overall and in relation to the product brand (b), which together indicate the effect of each determinant attribute on the decision to purchase each specific brand (be). [MKT-620-03]
b. Compute the average of participant responses by determinant attribute and product brand using the formula A=?be/N, where N is the number of participants. Perform this computation for each determinant attribute of each product brand, and place calculated values in a summary chart. [MKT-620-03]
c. Total the product brand scores, using the formula ?A for all averaged values of A for a product brand. [MKT-620-03]
d. Analyze the results for their implications relative to consumer purchasing behavior and marketing leadership. [MKT-620-01]
IV. Recommendations: In this section, you will provide recommendations based on your analysis that address the following:
a. Provide a summary of your research and discuss the performance of each brand overall and on each determinant attribute. [MKT-620-02]
b. Recommend how the lowest and highest ranked brands in the survey can tactically implement strategies to increase and/or maintain their ratings. [MKT-620-02]
c. Based on your research outcomes, recommend marketing strategies that account for the influence of culture and personal values on consumer purchasing behavior in a global business environment. [MKT-620-04]
d. Based on your research outcomes, recommend marketing strategies including the appropriate marketing mix for ensuring creation, capture, and delivery of value. [MKT-620-05]
e. Given the plan design, outline the marketing plan implementation process for ensuring the creation, capture, and delivery of value. [MKT-620-05]

Milestones
Milestone One: Product Category, Determinant Attributes, and Product Brands
In Module Two, you will select and submit a product category and product brands. First you will identify the product category to be evaluated. Once the product category is selected, you must identify which determinant attributes most affect product selection by a consumer and provide a description for each. Explain which features and benefits are most important to the consumer when making a decision about this type of product. Then explain the product brands that will be evaluated within each product category (select at least 3, but no more than 5). This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.

Milestone Two: Research Outline and Survey Questions
In Module Four, you will submit a survey of questions designed to measure the consumer's evaluation of the importance of each determinant attribute. (See Appendix B of this document for an example.) The survey should include the following sections:

A list of the determinant attributes: This section should ask survey participants to rate the importance of each determinant attribute, on a scale of -3 to +3, when choosing a product from the product category.
An outline of the research plan, determination of research goals and objectives, and a project timeline for execution An outline of the consumer behaviors that the research plan will help to understand
The critical elements of value so that the team has a clear understanding of what drives the purchase, how customer needs are defined, and what customers are willing to pay for.

The format should be a 3-5-page report in APA format with appropriate references. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.

Milestone Three: Survey Results and Observations
In Module Six, you will submit a report of the results of a participant survey. (See Appendix B for details of the spreadsheet.) You will survey at least 15 people (but no more than 20), using the survey that you developed in Milestone Two. Record the results in a spreadsheet that you will submit. There should be a record of how each participant rated each determinant attribute (e) overall and each determinant attribute in relation to the product brand (b). Together these indicate the effect of each determinant attribute on the decision to purchase each specific brand (be). The format should be a one-page report in APA format with appropriate references.

Attachment:- Research Outline.rar