Assignment 1: Why We Buy!

Part of understanding the patterns of consumer and organizational buying is the need to understand Why” people do the things they do.

Simon Sinek presents a simple but powerful model for how leaders inspire action, starting with a golden circle and the question Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers. As a counterpoint, he includes TiVo, which appeared to be struggling until a 2012 court victory that tripled its stock price.

Using the University online library resources and valid Internet Web sites, research Simon Sinek. Based on your research and the readings in this module prepare a posting about a current product of your choice that has been reformulated using Sinek‘s why” concepts.

Complete the following:

• Critically analyze the value of the marketing approach suggested by Simon Sinek.
• Compare Sinek’s approach to inspire employees and connect with customers to other approaches you are familiar with.
• Assess how Sinek’s approach could be applied to your own organization.
• Discuss what might work and what is not applicable in Sinek’s approach.
• Support your positions with at least two peer-reviewed journal articles.

Write your initial response in a minimum of 300 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By Wednesday, May 21, 2014, post your responses to the appropriate Discussion Area.

Assignment 2: Strategic Marketing Recommendations

In this assignment, you will compare and contrast the differences between marketing strategies in a changing competitive environment.

Scenario:

Consumer behavior and competitive market analysis are key initiatives for a marketing manager. With the changing competitive environment of the global marketplace, marketing managers are always in search of evolving markets and underserved profitable niches to provide them with a competitive advantage. Porter’s Five Forces and strategies to overcome the Five Forces are seminal works on competitive advantage.

Select a company and a product in an industry affected by changes in the business environment or in consumer preferences. As a consultant to that company, you are asked to provide strategic marketing recommendations.

Directions:

1. Describe the company you chose and the industry they are in; include an overview of one of their products/services and the markets they serve. Present their current marketing strategy.
2. Using Porter’s Five Forces framework, evaluate the profitability of the current market. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies currently used to market the product/service.
3. Research at least six peer-reviewed academic articles related to marketing strategy and competitive advantage.
4. Using best practices from the literature, propose a new marketing strategy to give your selected company a competitive advantage. Include the following in your marketing strategy:

• Describe how the proposed marketing strategy aligns with the goals of the company.
• Examine areas in the marketing strategy that could provide a competitive advantage based on current marketplace competition.
• Analyze market segmentation, differentiated points of value, message(s), and product positioning.