Part 1
BUYER BEHAVIOR APPLICATION
Buyer behavior is at the core of marketing. All marketing programs need to begin with an understanding of why and how consumers buy what they do. If no one purchases a company's product or service, it will quickly go out of business.
MAIN DISCUSSION POST: Due by Sunday
Using the product/service you selected in Week 1, complete the following:
1. Using your textbook (Chapter 5), describe the model of consumer buyer behavior. Providing a list of the steps or a graphic of the model is not adequate as you must explain how the process works in the real world using your own words.
2. Select one (1) of the four sets of factors influencing buyer behavior:
* Cultural
* Social
* Personal
* Psychological
3. Explain how it affects the purchase process as it relates to the product/service you chose in Week 1. You must conduct outside research to support your argument.
Part 2:
Once a marketer has a thorough understanding of customer needs and the marketing environment, he or she needs to develop a marketing strategy.
It is time to put your research skills to good use using your textbook and articles from the library's full-text databases. Click here for the research requirements and guide for this assignment.
Create your own marketing strategy for the product/service chosen in Week 1. Support your recommendations with concepts presented in this week's reading.
1. Define and explain what segmentation is and discuss different segmentation bases you could use for your product/service (pages 167-175).
2. Based on your segmentation, describe each of the target markets that you would seek to reach. Explain why they will be most profitable for your product/service.
3. Develop a value proposition for your product/service through differentiation and positioning. Include the following:
* Introduce at least two (2) competitors and explain their current positioning in the market. (What do they promise to deliver?)
* Discuss possible competitive advantages your product/service can use to differentiate itself from these competitors (products, services, channels, service, people or image) and select which one(s) to use to build your positioning (see pages 186-189).
* Based on this differentiation, explain your value proposition (pages 190-191) and develop a positioning statement (page 192).