Question: For purposes of this paper and the next portion of your marketing project, pretend that you will be opening one of the following businesses in your area:

• Food Truck Vendor

• Animal Sitting

• Bicycle Repair Shop

• Vintage Clothing Store

• Website Design

• Digital Moviemaking

• Recording Studio

• Wedding/Event Planner

• Early Childhood Center

• Adult Daycare Center

Be careful not to focus on describing your product, location, price, or promotion in this section of your paper. Rather, at this time, focus only on the marketing environment and the target market for your business.

Your paper should be divided into the following sections and address the following factors:

Marketing Environment Analysis:

What factors in the marketing environment impact your business? This discussion should include the following:

Regulatory - What political/legislative/regulatory factors will impact your business? Are there licenses or permits that you need to obtain before starting the business? Are there specific laws or regulations with which you must comply?

Competitive - Who are your competitors? What are their products, strengths, weaknesses, etc.? Is the market growing enough so there are enough customers for all players?

Economic - What economic factors will affect your business? For example, poor economic conditions in your area may mean that your target customer has cut back on spending and won't be as willing to pay as much for your products or services.

Technological - What impact does technology have on your business? Technological developments may be specific to your business (such as new techniques), or there may be more generalized considerations, such as the development of the Internet as a distribution channel.

Social - What social (or societal) factors influence your business, such as demographic trends within the target area, increasing social mobility, consumer opinions and trends, buying patterns, etc.?

Target Market Analysis:

Next, you will describe your target market in terms of the following:

• Demographics - Is your market readily definable by characteristics your potential customers share such as age, income level, gender, marital status, income, etc?

• Geographic - What is the geographic market for your business? Is it local? Regional? Are there areas of the geographic market that you feel would be better served by your business than another area?

• Psychographic - These variables include such things as your customers' attitudes, beliefs and emotions. What factors will influence your customers' purchasing decision?

• Benefits Sought and Usage Rate - Describe your market's buying habits. For example, how do they spend their budgets or disposable income? When do they buy? How much? How often?

Your report should be a minimum of 4 pages long, not including a cover page and/or references. You should use 1" margins throughout as well as a 10-12 Times New Roman font or similar font.

The assignment will be graded on the quality and thoroughness of your analysis, how well you address the topics, and the level of analysis demonstrated in linking your findings to concepts covered in this course. A grading rubric is available under the "Resources" tab in the main menu of Blackboard.