Posted: December 9th, 2016

Create your positioning: Considering your target segment’s ideal point and where your competitors are positioned, decide where you want to reposition your company’s product through the 4P’s (product, price, promotion, and place), including your company’s general branding strategy

1. Midterm presentation: Students will perform the first two stages: “Market Analysis” and “Market Segmentation and Targeting.”

• Stage 1: Market Analysis. Please organize information by using SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).
  • Begin with a Market Overview: History and current status of the chosen market and your company.
  • To be an effective SWOT analysis, you should incorporate the following factors and/or any others that might be appropriate:
    • Technological/economic/regulatory environment: Opportunities & Threats
    • Competition: Threats
      • Identify three existing companies (e.g., Nokia, Samsung, HTC in smartphone market), and research and analyze each company’s marketing mix (4P’s: product, price, promotion, and place), including each company’s general branding strategy.
    • Customers: Opportunities
      • Identify general patterns in demographics, lifestyle, consumption patterns, purchase trends, etc.
    • Company (that your team is working for): Strengths & Weaknesses          
      • Strengths (e.g., creativity, experience with innovating)
      • Weaknesses (e.g., lack of resources, weak brand name)
    • Collaboration: Opportunities
      • Can you think of any possibility of collaboration which may be mutually beneficial for you and another brand? (e.g., collaborating with a sports team)

*Tip: Try to use relevant concepts and models of consumer behavior covered in class and the textbook as much as possible. For example, you can analyze your target customers’ internal and external influences using the Consumer Value Framework (CVF), which could help you identify certain business opportunities and develop an effective marketing mix plan later.

• Stage 2: Market Segmentation and Targeting
  • Perform formal segmentation for your international business setting (e.g., smartphone perception and use among various segments in China).
    • Identify segments using segmentation variables (e.g., demographics, psychographics, personality, etc.).
    • Use a perceptual map to depict the current position of your company’s product as compared to at least three competitors’ positions. Use two key attributes as the x-axis and y-axis of your perceptual map depending on what you think is most relevant, and that you may reposition your product on later for the Final presentation (e.g., specific attributes directly relevant to your product category, such as taste, calories, durability, comfort, mileage, etc.). Also, indicate where at least two different consumer segments’ ideal points may lie.
  • Define a consumer problem/opportunity (e.g., is there no satisfactory smartphone for teenagers in China?)
    • Identify potentially unmet needs/wants, considering demographics, lifestyle, consumption pattern, purchase trends, etc.
    • Locate a market opportunity considering underserved consumer segments. In other words, think about whether there is potential to satisfy unmet needs/wants through your product.
    • Investigate cultural differences and their implications, which may help you to identify unique business opportunities/avoid critical mistakes in the foreign market.
  • Perform targeting (e.g., male teenagers in China)
    • Officially choose your target segment based on research and analyses.
    • Briefly explain an initial basic idea for solving the consumer problem or satisfying unmet needs/wants of your target segment.
    • Describe your value proposition: explain why your offering is better than your competitors’ offerings from your target segment’s perspective.

*Each team will have about 20 minutes for their presentation (15 min presentation, 5 min Q&A). About 10-12 PowerPoint slides should be sufficient.

1. Final presentation: Students will perform the remaining two stages: “Positioning Through a Marketing Mix (4P’s and Branding Strategy)” and “Implementation Planning.”

• Stage 3: Positioning Through a Marketing Mix (4P’s and Branding Strategy). Now that you have selected your market and target segment, please position your product though the following steps:
  • Better understanding of your target segment: First, gain a deeper understanding of your target segment (i.e., collect more information from the Internet/library)

Create your positioning: Considering your target segment’s ideal point and where your competitors are positioned, decide where you want to reposition your company’s product through the 4P’s (product, price, promotion, and place), including your company’s general branding strategy. Certain aspects