Marketing Behaviour Assignment 1

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) from a Buyer Behaviour Perspective

NB THIS IS NOT A STANDARD STP EXERCISE – YOU MUST APPROACH IT FROM A BEHAVIOUR PERSPECTIVE IN ORDER TO PASS!

Description

In this assignment you will segment a CLOTHING of Sportswear for Adidas in Singapore market and then develop appropriate marketing mix activities, on the basis of a clear understanding of the target customers’ buying behaviour.

Purpose

This assignment requires you to demonstrate the application of relevant marketing and behavioural concepts in the process segmenting, targeting and positioning (STP) in a fashion sector of your choice.

More specifically the assignment will:

• Develop understanding of the relevance of psychology, buying behaviour and marketing theory

• Help you appreciate the practical application of the theory covered in the unit and how it is used by marketers to influence the actions of buyers
• Require the concepts discussed in the course to be related to the marketing mix in order to achieve appropriate marketing objectives

The assignment will also help develop skills in desk research (library and Internet search), collating and interpreting information, as well as professional quality business report writing.

Assignment tasks

Initial market selection & focus

You should select a higher involvement clothing fashion product of Sportswear for Adidas in Singapore Market, since this will enable you to bring in a wider range of behaviour theory.

Strategic orientation

You will need to approach the assignment from the perspective of a player or organisation operating in the chosen sector. You can be an actual company, or a fictitious one.

Once you have narrowed your focus, you need to consider what your strategic perspective will be. (Refer to Porters routes to competitive advantage to assist in this regard – covered in Lesson 2 and again in one of the lesson activities). It is important to do this since it will help you to identify an appropriate target group once you have gone through the process of segment evaluation, as well as recommending appropriate marketing activities.

Segment evaluation

Having narrowed your focus and thought about strategic orientation, you can now BRIEFLY describe the product category in terms of general details (overall size, main players, trends, stage in product life cycle, etc).

MOST importantly you must describe the potential market segments therein. Basic models that detail typical market segment criteria will assist you in this regard. E.g., behavioural, psychographic and profile data for consumer markets, or in terms of micro and macro segments for organisations. The Customer Types matrix may also help. (Again refer to Lesson 2 for more details).

After describing relevant potential segment profiles you should briefly evaluate your chosen segment in terms of distinctiveness / size / accessibility / stability / match with the company strategic orientation.

Targeting & positioning

You can now investigate and describe in greater detail the target group’s specific habits, attitudes and characteristics! However, since this unit concerns buying behaviour, it is essential that you approach this ANALYSIS FROM A BEHAVIOURAL PERSPECTIVE.

Concepts from the unit that will assist this process include:

• Stages in decision making process
• Level of involvement
• Decision making unit / buying centre
• Perception
• Learning and memory
• Personality and self-concept
• Motivation & needs
• Attitudes
• Group and peer influences

Implementation - mix development / recommendations

With enhanced understanding of the targeted segments, as well as your position relative to competition, you are now ready to develop a marketing mix that more closely matches the behavioural characteristics of the targeted segment.

In this section you will present an appropriate marketing mix based upon the STP process that you have followed. If buyer behaviour is more relevant to a specific mix element or elements then you are allowed to focus on this / these in more detail if you so wish. i.e., you have the option to focus on one or two mix elements in detail, or briefly cover all.

NB Remember the marketing mix design that you recommend must be clearly linked to the behavioural characteristics of the chosen segment.

• Is 3000 words (excluding appendices, bibliography) for group assignments. There is a considerable amount to cover, so it will be important that you write clearly and concisely.

% allocation of marks for this assignment is as follows:

(See the unit outline for further details of assessment submission and marking procedures / policy).