Posted: June 15th, 2016

You are to identify companies predominantly in the business-to-business marketplace. You must identify one B2B company. The company should be from one of the following industries:

Business to Business Marketing

Individual B2B Firm Study (15%):
Objective/ Overview: This assignment helps you gain a managerial perspective on B2B firms that target business and government customers. You will also apply class contents and analyze new B2B marketing practices.

Description: You are to identify companies predominantly in the business-to-business marketplace. You must identify one B2B company. The company should be from one of the following industries:
1. Manufacturing 2. General services
3. Professional services 4. Information/communications technology
5. Media 6. Wholesaling
7. Financing

For purposes of this assignment, you may include business-to-government (B2G) firms.

For the selected company, you should
(1) briefly describe the company’s B2B products and services (and include the company’s website);
(2) identify at least one B2B customer of the company. If you choose a B2G company, you should specify what department or agency of the federal, state or local government is the customer;
(3) analyze the company’s customer value propositions and competitive differentiation in the business markets, and
(4) identify one new B2B marketing practice the company is engaged in. Explain what topic(s) covered in this course can be applied to the analysis of this new B2B marketing practice
(Note: A “New” B2B marketing practice means a B2B marketing practice the company plans to adopt or adopted within the past six months from the due date of this assignment).

The topics covered in this course include organizational buying behavior, CRM for business markets, business marketing planning, product strategy in B2B markets, B2B marketing channels, supply chain management, pricing strategy in B2B markets, communication strategy in B2B markets, business marketing strategies for global markets, strategic alliances, marketing performance measurement, etc.

The report should be single-spaced in 12-pt. font and should not exceed 2 pages of text. A Word document is expected.

Resources: In addition to internet search, it might be helpful to consult:
• The Washington Business Journal, and if you locate it, the Washington Business Journal Book of Lists
• The Washington Post, particularly the Business Section
• The Johns Hopkins University Library data bases
• Local and regional Yellow Pages

There are other specialized directories and resources you can use.