Assignment on Marketing Environment Research and Customer Behaviour Analysis

Learning outcomes and assessment criteria specific to this assignment

Learning outcomes and assessment criteria specific to this assignment:

On completion of this assignment, students should be able to demonstrate their ability to:

·Undertake research into the marketing environment in which an organisation operates, demonstrating knowledge of a range of marketing tools and techniques

·Analyse customer buying behaviour within a specific market segment

·Illustrate the extent to which the marketing mix of an organisation links to its competitive position within a market segment

·Demonstrate transferable skills that are essential to a career in business, such as creativity, commercial awareness and communication skills

Transferable skills

This assessment will assist in development of the following transferable skills:

·Creativity

·Commercial awareness

·Communication skills

At time of publication under the university regulations students have a first attempt and a re-sit opportunity to pass this module. Please refer to the above regulations for full details about assessment rules or the student summary guide.

At time of publication the rules regarding late submission of work are:

·Assessments submitted up to 1 hour after the published deadline will receive no penalty.

·Assessments submitted between one and 24 hours after the published deadline will be reduced by 5% of the actual mark.

·Assessments submitted between 24 hours and five working days after the published deadline will be reduced by 10% of the actual mark.

·Work submitted more than five working days after the published deadline will not be marked and the student will be deemed to have failed an attempt at the assessment.

If a student has a support statement specifying additional time to complete coursework, the penalties will only apply from the alternative deadline provided by the statement.

It is really important that you complete your assessment as if you don’t this counts as a failed attempt, unless you’ve made a successful EC claim about Exceptional Circumstances you’re experiencing.

If you fail any of your modules you will have to re-take it and there are limits on the number of times that you can re-take, you may even have to re-study a module you have previously failed. Having to re-sit or re-study modules means that your workload will be increased and you will be putting yourself under more pressure. You may even be liable to incur more fees if you are required to restudy a module.

The university does appreciate that there are times when you may be unable to take an assessment due to circumstances outside your control such as illness. If this is the case you need to make a formal claim for an extension or deferral, as without this you are expected to submit within the standard guidelines. No lecturer or course director can grant any form of extension to the published deadlines, this is done by a separate team within the university to ensure consistency and fairness for all. If you find yourself needing to make a claim please visit iCity for full guidance on how to do it and for what constitutes an exceptional circumstance, you can also contact the Ask Desk for help.

Transferable skills

1.1. Method of assessment

The assessment requires you to produce a single A2-sized, digital poster that is worth 100% of the final mark.

To pass this module, you must achieve a final overall mark of at least 40%. If your mark is less than 40%, you will be required to retake the assessment.

1.2. Deadlines & submission

The deadline for submissions is: 11th January 2021, 12pm (Midday)

Posters must be submitted online via the link provided in the Assessment area of the module’s Moodle site. Please follow the University policy regarding online submission and submitting assignments on time (see Page 2).

1.3. Word count

There is no maximum word count. However, the digital poster should be a single A2 page (i.e. 420 x 594mm) with a font size of no smaller than 11pt.

You are allowed one additional page for references.

1.4. Assignment format

Your poster must be submitted as a single PDF file of no more than 20MB in size, which must be exported directly from the software application you are using to create the poster (e.g. PowerPoint, InDesign, Publisher, etc.). Hard copy submissions will not be accepted.

Please ensure that you retain a copy of the original assignment for your own records.

1.5. Tutor support

Support is available at any time throughout this module; simply contact your tutor if you need help. Feedforward sessions will be scheduled to help you plan your work and an audio assessment brief will be made available on the module’s Moodle site to provide further guidance.

Specific feedback on individual assessments will only be available via scheduled, face-to-face meetings, not via email. To make the most of these sessions, it is expected that you will have already begun work on your assessment and have a list of questions for your tutor prepared in advance.

Detailed feedback will not be possible via email and lecturers can only comment in detail on one draft only. Comments on multiple drafts are not possible as there is a danger your work actually becomes your lecturer’s work.

You are required to produce an A2-sized, digital research poster for your chosen organisation (which must be approved by your tutor) in which you:

1)Provide a basic overview of your chosen organisation that identifies the industry sector, size and range of products and services offered

2)Use theoretical frameworks to audit both the internal and external marketing environment in which your chosen organisation operates AND provide a perceptual map that defines your organisation’smarket position in relation to a range of competitors

Penalties for late submission

3)Define one market segment that the organisation is currently targeting using appropriate segmentation variables AND provide a  detailed customer persona for your identified target segment thatoutlines their characteristics and buying behaviour

4) Use theoretical frameworks to outline the organisation’s current marketing mix AND assess how well it is configured in relation to  the identified market position and target customer persona

NOTE: There should be a logical, narrative flow evident between all tasks.

Please read the guidance notes in Section 3 and the marking criteria in Section 4 for further information on how to approach your assignment and optimise your grade.

3.1. Writing style

The purpose of the assessment is to create a research poster, which requires you to use marketing models and other visual elements to communicate your ideas effectively, providing the reader with a logical flow of information that addresses the requirements of the assignment brief.

It is important to note that:

·You are NOT being asked to write an essay and lay it out in poster format

·You are NOT being asked to design a creative, advertising poster

3.2. Required tasks

3.2.1. Task 1

A brief overview of your chosen organisation MUST appear at the centre of your poster – you will lose marks if this is not the case.

Remember that you must obtain approval for your chosen organisation – failure to do so will mean you may not pass; if you are unsure, please ask.

Basic information that you should incorporate into your organisational overview includes:

·The sector in which the organisation operates

·The size of the organisation in terms of financials and geographical reach

·The products and services provided by the organisation

Remember, you are not being asked to write full sentences / paragraphs in essay style, so try to use imagery wherever possible, e.g. using a logo rather than writing the company name, showing images of products rather than listing them, etc. You should aim to limit the amount of text used to around 50 words.

3.2.2. Task 2

You are expected to demonstrate that you have undertaken an appropriate level of secondary research on the marketing environment in which your chosen organisation operates, using appropriate theoretical frameworks to analyse:

·The external macro-environment

·The external micro-environment

·The internal environment

The points you make should be specific, relevant and explained in a concise but clear way; readers shouldn’t be left thinking ‘so what?’