MKTG 3032 Strategic Marketing & Marketing Plan 5 pages due in 10 hours

MKTG3032 Strategic Marketing Fall 2017 Assignment 2 – Product Analysis 1

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Assignment 2 Note this is an individual assignment

Weighting: 15% of your final grade

Due: Tuesday October 24, 2017 before midnight in the FOL Dropbox Length: Approximately 6 pages (11 pt. – 1.5 spacing) plus Appendices if required.

This assignment is designed to have you demonstrate your understanding of marketing strategy and

the key elements from the Maven Simulation as they apply to your team’s planning and progress in

one of the markets you serve. The assignment is also a preparatory exercise that will help you get

started with your comprehensive Marketing Plan.

Students must complete the assignment focusing on Product 1 or Product 2 in one of the three

regions. Within your team, each student must choose a unique product/region combination – work

together to ensure you do not duplicate. For any duplication, both papers will receive a grade of zero.

This assignment covers the first 4 decision periods (quarters 1, 2, 3 and 4).

Type your name, section number, team number, instructor’s name and the product/region you have

analyzed on the front page of your assignment. Late assignments will be penalized 10% per day.

Part 1 – Marketing Mix Tactics (24 marks)

Provide details of your tactics from Q1 to Q4 for the product/region you are analyzing. Describe all

elements of your marketing mix. Provide facts. Show how your team compares to your competition.

Your answer should include the following details summarized in a chart:

o Product (Q1 to Q4)  How much have you spent on features and how many have you added?  How much have you spent improving quality in each quarter?  How does your team compare to your competition?

o Pricing (Q1 to Q4)  How has your price changed during the simulation and why?  How have your prices compared to the competition?  How much have you spent on process improvements? Why?

o Place (Q1 to Q4)  How many sales reps have you hired, fired or transferred?  How has your sales commission rate changed during the simulation?  How does your team compare to your competition?

o Promotion (Q1 to Q4)  How often have you used each form of media and why?  What ad messages have you used and why?  How has your promotion spending compared to the competition?

Part 2 – Operations planning (15 marks)

Provide details of your tactics for forecasting demand and managing inventory, costs and revenues:

 What methods do you use to forecast market demand in your region?

 Calculate your actual market share for Quarter 4? (based on units for your product /region). Show your calculation.

 What are your targets for inventory carrying costs? What steps do you take to reduce them? How much were you charged for inventory carrying costs in Q4 for your product/region?

 What are your goals regarding stock-outs and why? Have you had any stock-outs in Q1 –Q4?

 Has your team arranged for short-term loans? Have you had any emergency loans? How much did you pay for loan interest in Quarter 4?

MKTG3032 Strategic Marketing Fall 2017 Assignment 2 – Product Analysis 1

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Part 3 – Market research (22 marks)

Describe your use of market research so far:

 Provide a table summarizing the reports you have ordered for your product/region for all 4 quarters and include the costs and your assessment of the usefulness of the research. If you

have not purchased any research, please provide your rationale for this.

 For the research provided by the Chairman of the Board, comment on any correlations you observe between units sold and marketing tactics in your region. Be specific and explain

how you calculated these correlations and what you might do as a result of this knowledge.

 Create a perceptual map showing how customers view your company and each of your competitors in terms of price (vertical axis) and quality (horizontal axis) as of Quarter 4.

Use the research provided by the Chairman of the Board for Quarter 4. The perceptual map

can be included in the body of your report or as an appendix. It can be hand drawn and

scanned into your report or computer drawn (See class slides) Explain the significance of

your perceptual map to the marketing strategy for your team. Do you need to reposition

your product based on the results of your perceptual map?

Part 4 - Management controls (12 marks)

Analyze your results so far by calculating the following measures for each of the four quarters

completed:

 Units sold per sales rep for your product/region (hint – answer is in units)

 Return on owners’ equity for your team (hint – answer is a %) (Net income after tax / Owners equity)

NOTE: you will have a total of 8 calculations for this part

Which of the above measures need significant improvement and what steps will you take to improve

those measures?

Part 5 – Break Even Analysis (12 Marks)

 For Quarter 4, calculate unit contribution (selling price minus per unit supplier, quality and feature costs plus process improvement savings). Hint: Answer is in dollars.

 For Quarter 4, calculate your break even. How many units did you have to sell for your contribution margin to cover your selling costs? (Calculate your selling costs by adding your

Total Promotion cost to your Total Sales Rep Cost from the S&A (Selling and

Administration) Report for your product/region.) Show your calculations.

 How many units of your product did you sell in your region in Quarter 4?

 Given what you have learned about your breakeven point, was your product priced appropriately in your region? Why? – Be specific.

Format (marks lost for poor form)

Please include the following on your title page:

 Section #, team #, product, and region identified, and instructor’s name

Marks will be deducted for an incorrect title page, formatting, spelling, grammar, and/or exceeding

maximum page limit.

Please refer to the rubric and PowerPoint file posted on FOL for Assignment 2.