Assignment 5: There are two parts to the final project:

• Integrative Report (worth 30% of the final mark)

• Reflective Summary (worth 10% of the final mark)

Integrative Report-Consumer Behaviour

As a marketer, it is important to consider a wide range of consumer behaviour implications prior to developing a marketing plan. You have covered materials that will help you as a marketer to define the market and identify threats and opportunities to a product brand and to recommend strategies to improve marketing programs. You will complete your analysis and research into the market and consumer behaviour of your chosen product by producing a report (roughly 10 pages or 3000 words) reflecting key concepts that you have covered. Provide suggestions or recommendations on strategies that should be focused on in the development of any future marketing programs. You should write the report as if you are a marketing consultant advising the marketing and product managers of a client firm. Include the following in your report. (You should find most sections in the module assignments relevant to this task; however, do not copy and paste what you have written previously, rather edit and synthesize.)

1. What trends in consumer behaviour can you identify within your chosen market? Discuss how consumers learn about the products from their environment and how they use this information to direct their behaviour. (Module 1)

2. How would you segment the product market? Develop a Rich Market Profile chart for your product. (You may refer to the Rich Market Profile Questions Exhibit 2 and Rich Market Profile Exhibit 1

3. Identify and discuss the primary key internal factors that would influence consumers of your product. Justify your choices and suggest appropriate strategies for your choices. (Module 2)

4. What tools will help you better understand consumers' attitudes and behaviour? (Module 2)

5. Identify and discuss the primary key external factors that would influence consumers of your product. Justify your choices and suggest appropriate strategies for your choices. (Module 3)

6. What strategies would you develop and implement to enable customers to choose your product brand over others. What strategies would you develop to satisfy and retain customers? (All modules)

7. What advertising strategy would you adopt for your product? Include strategies that you would develop to tap into the growth in environmental awareness and opportunities in creative disposal of your chosen product. (All modules)

8. What kind of marketing activities would you adopt to coincide with each of the five stages of the consumer decision making process? (Module 4)

9. Conclusions and recommendations.

Reflective Summary: The Reflective Summary requires you to look back at your online discussions and journalling and to reflect on your course experience. As a distance learner, much of your interaction in this course may have come from participation in the online discussions. Write 3 to 4 pages (roughly 1000 words) reviewing your contribution to the discussions in the course and your journalling activity.

1. Did the contribution of other learners influence you and help enrich your knowledge of consumer behaviour?

2. Did you agree with everything others posted to the online discussions?

3. Did the ideas and information presented in the articles have a significant influence on your understanding or perspective on consumer behaviour?

4. Did your ideas and views shift as you progressed through the course?

5. Include two or three of the reflective questions and what you have learned from them.

6. Document your best contribution to the discussions and describe briefly what you have learned from the postings of other learners.

7. Include highlights from the other activities and the course in general.