Assignment Details

This document contains the details for the individual and group assignments for BUMK5902 Marketing Management for Semester 1, 2015.

Included are aspects such as:

• The assignment requirements;

• How they meet the Learning Outcomes-refer to the course description;

• How the assignments are to be formatted; and

• They will be assessed by using an Assessment Criteria Sheet.

You must read these in conjunction with the course description which contains other pertinent information on submission, etc. It is your responsibility to fully acquaint yourself with these requirements. If you are not clear on any aspect please speak with your lecturer.
Good luck with the assignments.

Word Limit: 2,500 - 3,000 words.

Overview

This assignment is rewarding in terms of building your knowledge of marketing and consumer behaviour theories/concepts.

The overall purpose of this assignment is to help you build your understanding of the consumer and how an understanding of consumers is a key input to the development of an effective (the right type) and efficient (minimal or no waste) marketing mix strategy. You need to collect data about your personal shopping and analyse your shopping behaviour given knowledge of relevant marketing and consumer behaviour theories/concepts.

First step

It is important that you begin (even before starting the data recording) by describing yourself as a consumer before you have analysed your shopping. For example, ‘The consumer is a 32 year old male who has been married for 8 years, has a wife who also works part-time in health services, has one child in a private school, is in full-time employment as a professional manager, favours branded products-particularly for high tech products-rarely goes grocery shopping and prefers to search and buy online for as many products as possible'.
Note-this description is only an example-there may be other relevant aspects you could describe as well.

If you are studying in Australia you should place yourself in one of the Roy Morgan Values Segments. Go to www.roymorgan.com click on Products, click on Values Segments and then read all of the segments to decide which segment you belong to.

If you are studying at an overseas location you could look for an ‘equivalent' in your country to the Roy Morgan segments. Roy Morgan is a major Australian market research firm and there may be one in your country doing similar work.

Second step

You will track and detail every purchase you make over seven days and note what occurred in the decision making process (DMP) and the influences on the DMP for every purchase decision. These purchases need to be recorded in a matrix-in an Excel spreadsheet. An example of a matrix is available on Moodle. This is an example-you should amend according to your needs. The purchases you record here will, in the main be those products you buy weekly, e.g. milk, food, clothes, fuel, rent, entertainment and the like but should also cover clothes, small household items such as a toaster, etc. These tend to be classified as low-involvement purchases.

You need to detail how and in what ways marketing and consumer behaviour theories/concepts, and perhaps even the purchases recorded in the matrix, influence (or influenced) your decision making process for your nominated product.

Third Step

At the same time you must detail a recent purchase of what is generally known as a high-involvement product, e.g. a new TV or a new car or an overseas family holiday. Be sure to provide a full description of the product. If you have not made such a purchase then you can write about such a product that you will make in the near future. Please note that the term product includes services such as a family holiday.

Fourth Step

Compare and contrast your buying behaviour for the products purchased over the week with your buying behaviour of your nominated product.

Fifth Step

Provide key overall insights and justification (use theory to support) regarding what you have discovered. Describe how Marketers could use these insights to develop more persuasive Marketing strategies.

THIS ASSIGNMENT MUST BE DRIVEN BY THE ANALYSIS OF THE DATA YOU COLLECT ON YOUR SHOPPING

YOU THEN PUT YOUR SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR IN THE CONTEXT OF MARKETING AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR THEORIES/CONCEPTS.
DO NOT WRITE A THEORETICAL PAPER TO WHICH YOU ADD A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT YOUR SHOPPING.

Reports are to satisfy the following requirements-in this order.