Market Environment and Research

profilesthapa55
Context.docx

Context

Before you begin analyzing and applying principles of marketing, consider that there are two important perspectives on the marketing field:

1. That of a professional marketer working on reaching a targeted market.

2. That of interested consumers, each a part of a different target markets; each inundated with marketing messages.

You make this distinction so that you can more closely analyze what marketing means and how to tell good plans and ideas from the bad ones.

The Assessment 1 Context document contains important information related to the following topics:

· Defining Markets.

· Conducting Market Research.

Questions to consider

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

· Based on your research of an organization: 

. How does the organization's positioning in the marketplace compare to its competitors? 

. How are its product lines similar or different? 

. If you consider a particular product category, such as outdoor apparel, how do the marketing strategies compare? 

. How does this relate to the target market segments for these companies?

Increasingly, social media sites are utilizing and sharing consumer information that many people consider private, such as their geographic location and their purchasing preferences. This has resulted in some controversy for organizations like Apple and Google. 

· How can marketing departments utilize consumer information from social media to benefit their companies and their customers, while also taking into account privacy concerns?

Required Resources

The following resources are required to complete the assessment.

Capella Resources

Click the links provided to view the following resources:

· REI Case Study – Research Guide

. In this course, you will complete two assessments based on a case study of REI. This guide is intended to provide you with a starting point for your research.

Internet Resources

Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.

· REI . (2013). Retrieved from http://www.rei.com.

Suggested Resources

The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Capella Resources

Click the links provided to view the following resources:

· Assessment 1 Context.

· Business Plans Versus Marketing Plans.

Library Resources

The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:

· Ruskin-Brown, I. (2006).  Mastering marketing  (2nd ed.). London, GBR: Thorogood Publishing.

· McDonald, M., & Wilson, H. (2011).  Marketing plans: How to prepare them, how to use them  (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

· Kermally, S. (2004).  Gurus on marketing . London, GBR: Thorogood Publishing.

· Clark, K. (2000, June). Feeling the heatChain Store Age, 76(6), 60–62.

Course Library Guide

A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the BUS-FP3030 – Fundamentals of Marketing and Sales Library Guide to help direct your research.

Internet Resources

Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.

· Marketing Power, Inc. (2013).  American Marketing Association . Retrieved from http://www.marketingpower.com/Pages/default.aspx

· Hoover's, Inc. (2013).  Hoovers . Retrieved from http://www.hoovers.com

· The Ad Age Group. (2014).  AdvertisingAge . Retrieved from http://adage.com

· Direct Marketing Association. (2013).  DMA: Advancing and protecting responsible data-driven marketing . Retrieved from http://thedma.org

· Concept Marketing Group Inc. (2013).  Concept Marketing Group . Retrieved from http://www.marketingsource.com

Tutorials: You are encouraged to use the following resources.

· KnowThis LLC. (2013).  KnowThis.com . Retrieved from http://www.knowthis.com/index.php.

· KnowThis LLC. (2013). How to write a marketing plan. Retrieved from http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/how-to-write-a-marketing-plan 

. For the focus of this assessment, you may want to examine the following sections of the How to Write a Marketing Plan tutorial from the site's Principles of Marketing Tutorials list. Part 1 (Purpose and Mission) and Part 2 (Situational Analysis) are recommended.

Secondary Marketing Resources: The following Web sites are recommended as secondary sources for your research on the REI case study.

· National Sporting Goods Association. (2013).  NSGA . Retrieved from https://www.nsga.org/

· Sports and Fitness Industry Association. (2013).  SFIA . Retrieved from http://www.sfia.org

· Internet Archive. (2013).  Wayback machine . Retrieved from http://archive.org/web/web.php

Books

· Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2019). MKTG 12 (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link

· Ries, A., & Trout, J. (1994). The 22 immutable laws of marketing. New York, NY: Harper Business. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link

Instructions

Case studies are a very effective way of applying business concepts to a real-world situation and that approach will be used for this activity. For this assessment, consider that you work as a marketing analyst for a consulting firm and that your manager asked you to develop a case study for the executive team of the organization in the case. That executive team will use your analysis and recommendations in their business planning.

Preparation

For this assessment, refer to the REI Case Study – Research Guide, linked in the Resources under the Required Resources heading. In addition, conduct independent research to develop a case study based on REI.

Your research resources should include the REI organization's Web site, but you are also expected to use information about REI that has been gathered by organizations that are devoted to marketing research. These organizations are referred to as secondary sources. A short list of secondary sources is provided for you in the REI Case Study – Research Guide. Use these sites to get your research started. You are encouraged to explore further secondary sources.

Conduct your research on REI, focusing on the following topics:

· How does the current U.S. economy affect REI retail operations? Specify potential marketing changes needed based upon emerging trends in this environmental factor.

· How does the current global economy affect REI retail operations? Specify potential marketing changes needed based upon emerging trends in this environmental factor.

· What types of legal and regulatory forces affect REI in the United States? Specify potential marketing changes needed based upon emerging trends in this environmental factor.

· What types of social and culture trends affect REI? Specify potential marketing changes needed based upon emerging trends in this environmental factor.

· What types of technology changes affect REI? Specify potential marketing changes needed based upon emerging trends in this environmental factor.

Organizational Profile Development

Based on your research, develop an organizational profile for REI's marketing environment, analyzing the key environmental factors of the U.S. economy, global economy, legal and regulatory environment, socio-cultural forces, and technological forces.

· Identify three or more of the secondary sources of information available for conducting market research on REI.

· Develop a short analysis of the value of these secondary sources, specifically in gathering information on REI. 

. How might these secondary sources be used to develop an integrated marketing plan? What are the limitations of the identified sources?

. How valuable would their information be in developing a marketing plan that would contribute to the company's economic success? What are potential limitations of these sources for this purpose?

Based on your executive audience, your case study should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. Follow APA rules for attributing sources that support your analysis and conclusions.

Academic Integrity and APA Formatting

As a reminder related to using APA rules to ensure academic honesty:

1. When using a direct quote (using exact or nearly exact wording), you must enclose the quoted wording in quotation marks, immediately followed by an in-text citation. The source must then be listed in your references page.

2. When paraphrasing (using your own words to describe a non-original idea), the paraphrased idea must be immediately followed by an in-text citation and the source must be listed in your references page.