MANAGEMENT 3210Y CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR GROUP RESEARCH PROJECT GUIDELINES Background Product positioning refers to how consumers perceive a product or service relative to its competition. Product positioning is thus not so much about the product itself, as it is about the place the product occupies in the mind of the consumer. For example, Mount Blanc pens sell for over $100 and are clearly not for everyone, including many wealthy people. People who buy them, buy them as a fashion statement or as a status symbol — not because they are good writing instruments. They’re not made of translucent plastic and you won’t find them in packs of ten in Walmart next to your 49-cent Bic (which is positioned differently), or advertised in the weekly Shoppers Drug Mart flyer. How a product is positioned thus affects the product itself, the price, the way it is promoted and the place where it is purchased; i.e. all aspects of the marketing mix. Occasionally, brands have to "reposition" themselves because of varying factors such as changing customer needs and tastes, competitive actions and pressures, poor sales performance, new entrants into the market, changing distribution channels, and so on. McDonalds, for instance, recorded a net loss in the 4th quarter of 2003 because it lost touch with consumers, failing to recognize the global changes in consumers’ greater concern for health. They are trying to reposition themselves by capitalizing on their competencies like store location and convenience and changing their menus. Repositioning requires an understanding of the consumer and may involve changing the image of the product in the mind of the consumer, modifying the product, changing the name, stressing different benefits, changing the target market, or a combination thereof. Repositioning requires rethinking the entire marketing strategy. Project Overview The group research project is a semester-long project designed to integrate and apply the course material to the development of a real-world marketing strategy. The project requires a team of three to five people to select an existing product or service, reposition it, and then outline a general marketing strategy or plan for the repositioned product based on an understanding of the consumers. Marketing plans must also take heed of corporate financial capabilities, but for the purpose of this project you can assume that the company has both the skills and the finances to pull off the repositioning. It consists of a written report and two class presentations and is worth 35% of the final grade and will require both secondary research as well as primary research collected through a questionnaire administered to a small sample of the target market. Since leaving the project to the end of the semester is counterproductive it needs to be completed in three phases. Dates are set for the completion of each phase. As the aim of the first two phases is to ensure that the team is on track, and to provide feedback, they 1 will not be graded. For each phase not handed in on time, however, the group will lose 10% of the overall project grade. Details of each phase are given below. See the course outline for due dates. Objectives To integrate and apply the understanding of the concepts and principles of consumer behaviour learned throughout the course to real-world marketing strategy. To develop skills working in groups To develop leadership and presentation skills. Group selection You will work on this project in groups of three to five people. Groups will be selfselected and a list of members must be provided by the third week of class. One person in the group must be elected as a contact-person. Group cohesiveness is often improved if the team also gives itself a name. All problems arising within the group related to relative contributions of the members are to be handled internally by the group. This is an essential part of the group project experience. You will, however, have an opportunity to provide a confidential evaluation of the quality and quantity of your group members’ contributions at the end of the semester. Your grade can go up or down based on these evaluations. It is important, however, to inform the instructor of any problems that have arisen, and the steps taken to resolve them, before the evaluations are submitted. OUTLINE OF GROUP PROJECT The following outline is provided as a sample structure for your group project. It is not meant to be all-inclusive and should be modified where necessary to fit the specific context within which your product or service is marketed. Your marketing strategy should draw on as many topics covered in class as possible. Phase One: Market Profile The deliverable for this phase is a two-to-three page description of the specific product or service and product category the group has chosen to focus on, a one to two sentence statement as to how the group plans to reposition it, and a timetable with a breakdown of who is responsible for what (i.e. a project plan). Phase Two: Description and justification of your target market segment Phase two is primarily about the product or service category your repositioned product belongs in, and more importantly a profile of the consumers in that market, and the trends occurring in the segment. Phase two is essentially about how your product is currently positioned in consumers’ minds, i.e. how they currently view it, and how you would like them to view it. This change will may involve a change in the target market, and/or a change in the marketing mix. The deliverable for this phase is a five-to-six-page progress report and involves a profile of your product category's market, a description and justification of your new target segment, a product positioning statement, and a draft of your questionnaire. At this time you will also be required to give a short (5-7 minute) oral presentation to the class describing your product or service and its new target 2 segment. Part of the class on this date will also be used to pre-test your questionnaire and receive feedback from the class. Phase two consists of: 1. A profile of your existing product category's market and the product itself based on any secondary research such as library research, company brochures, websites and reports, personal interviews, etc., you have conducted. Describe the product category you are analyzing. Where does it sit on the store shelf? Describe the product or service you are repositioning. What are its features and benefits? Describe the market for your type of product in terms of size, historical trends, growth forecasts, etc. What customer segments exist in the market? How do consumers currently use the product? How do customers currently perceive the product or service? Is it seen as the safest, best quality, cheapest etc. in its category? I.e. what is its current position? Describe competitive positions within major market segments. Who are the leaders? Why? What are their positions (e.g. have they positioned their product as the safest, cheapest, best quality, trendiest, etc.)? Look at their advertisements and other marketing communications. Who are they targeted at? What is different about your product relative to the competition that you can capitalize on? How loyal are consumers to competitors What recent trends (e.g. economic, demographic, psychographic) have affected the nature of this market? For example, if you want to reposition a woman’s cosmetic product and target it towards men, you would want to find out what is happening in the men’s cosmetic market. What marketing opportunities do such market shifts suggest? 2. A description and justification of your new target segment. Based on your understanding of the market, what consumer segment(s) do you feel will be especially attractive in the future? Describe that segment. Justify why you have selected that segment. How does the problem recognition occur for your product? Describe the internal/external search process. What sources of information are used? When? For what purpose? How do these inputs affect consumers? Describe the kind of knowledge and involvement consumers might have about your product. What types of means-end chains might they have? What do they value and what is it about your product that will help them realize those values What are the general lifestyles of your consumer? Is symbolic meaning important for your product? What will using the product say about the consumer? 3 Describe the interpretation processes consumers might use in learning about your product. Is exposure likely to be accidental or intentional? Is comprehension likely to be shallow or deep? What types of inferences, if any, are likely to be common? Do any issues of one's personality and self-image affect purchasing and use decisions for your chosen product Do consumer psychographics and lifestyles affect product usage? What lifestyle factors do the consumers seem to have in common? What might be your consumers' consideration set? Which brands might be included? What beliefs exist regarding important brands and product attributes? Why do these beliefs exist? What are the salient attributes? Describe typical decision strategies used by consumers to make a choice in this product category. What model best predicts choice? What are consumers' attitudes towards the brands in the category? Do strong subjective norms exist? What kind of brand loyalty, if any, exists for your product or service category? Why does it exist? Is there role specialization in the buying process? What are the relative influences of family members or others in the buying process? Are there other important reference group or cultural influences? Is word of mouth an important factor for purchasing your product? How does word of mouth flow? Where and when do consumers buy the good or service? How does the setting and timing affect consumer behavior? How important is the sales environment or sales person? What do you want to know about your consumer – what information do you need to gather? 3. A repositioning statement. This should be only one or two sentences, and should outline how you would like your product or service to be viewed by your target market. 4. A draft of your questionnaire (not more than two pages long) as an appendix. The questions in this questionnaire must be based on what you think are the key consumer behavior issues for your target segment. While you will want to have demographic questions and questions about the product itself, don’t forget to ask respondents about their lifestyle, attitudes and values. This information will be invaluable when it comes to developing your marketing strategy. 5. Your group must also make a 5-7 minute oral presentation to the class. In this presentation, you need to describe your product/service and its new target segment, and use your findings thus far to convince the audience that your repositioning idea is a creative and profitable one. This is an opportunity to get feedback from the class. This class will also be used to pretest your questionnaire so print enough copies for everyone. The aim here is not to collect data, as it is unlikely that the class is representative of your target market, but to get feedback on the questionnaire itself. If people in the class are part of your target market you may wish to administer a revised 4 survey at a later date. You should not administer your questionnaire until you’ve received feedback. You should also aim to survey a minimum of 50 people. Phase Three: Marketing Plan Final Report The final phase of this project involves using the knowledge about the potential consumers for the repositioned product gained during phase two to put together a marketing plan. In other words, now that you have a good understanding of the consumers for your product how are you going to market it to them? The final report should contain the following: 1. A revision and expansion of the first two phases and should integrate the concepts discussed in class with your questionnaire data as well as any other secondary data you may have about your target segment. 2. A product positioning statement Including the specific brand image to be used. Justify your positioning statement based on your analyses of the target consumer’s behaviour 3. Marketing mix recommendations Select a product strategy for your brand. Discuss packaging, brand features, services, etc. Justify your strategy with what you have learned about consumer behavior in Phase Two. Select a pricing strategy for your brand. Justify your decision based on your understanding of price sensitivity, cost, competition, and psychological pricing considerations. Outline and justify a general promotional program. How will you create consumer awareness? o Don’t just say “we will use effective displays to grab consumers attention.” What will make them effective and why? What is the relative importance of various promotional mix tools? What are your advertising objectives? What is the general substance of your message? What slant or idea will promotion take? – This should be consistent with the positioning statement. How are you going to persuade target audience to buy your product? What media will you select and why? Will you use a personal selling program? If so, why and how? Design and justify the appropriate channels of distribution. The heart of this project is your analysis and application of the basic consumer behavior issues, concepts, models, and theories involved in the marketing problem you are addressing. Your marketing strategy should flow from what you know about the consumers of your product or service. You won’t know how to effectively market to them unless you understand them. For this reason it is a marketing strategy rather than a marketing plan that is called for. In other words, the general approach (strategy) is more important than the specifics (tactics). For instance, if the consumers of your product are 5 into healthy living, then the health benefits of your product might be one message you would want to convey. While you can offer creative suggestions for how this is done you need to justify your general approach. The same is true for strategies involving aspects of the product itself, advertising, sales promotion, pricing, and distribution. For example, you can’t just say you will be a price leader without justification. People switch brands because of low prices when there is weak brand loyalty and price sensitivity. Is this true of your product category? If you’re relying on your existing brand loyalty for pricing or some other aspect of the marketing mix then you need to research how the brand is perceived. You can’t simply say that your product will stimulate word of mouth. If you sell a stain remover product will people talk about it? Do people value clean clothes and appearance? Do they want to be able to remove stains? Does your product remove stains effectively? If the answer to these questions is “Yes” then perhaps people will talk about your product. If the answer is “No” then people probably won’t talk about it. If you’re marketing bottled water to a new market will news spread by word of mouth? Do people talk about water? Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. What would you value? Some of this information can be confirmed in the survey. The idea is to convince the reader(s) (i.e. your marketing manager or financiers) that your idea of a repositioned product or service would succeed. The final report, due the last day of classes, must be a professional and polished document, no longer than 25 double-spaced pages (excluding any appendices, references, or exhibits), using no smaller than 11-point font. Be sure to cite all references where appropriate in the body of the paper and list your sources of information, including articles, interviews, etc. at the end. Any additional charts and tables (if not used in the body of the text), as well as the PowerPoint presentation and questionnaire, should be included as appendices (marks will be deducted if they are not). Papers must include a cover page with the names of all group members. The first page of the report must be a table of contents and the second page an executive summary that provides a brief overview of the report (i.e. product chosen and your market repositioning concept). A common error with the executive summary is to summarize what the team did rather than, or to the exclusion of, the results. An example of a table of contents is provided at the end of these guidelines. Final presentations Presentations will take place over the last two classes of the term. Lots will be drawn the week before to determine the order of presentation, unless a compelling reason can be given for making the presentation on a particular date. Those groups giving their presentation the first week of presentations have the advantage of getting feedback on their project before the final report is due. Those going on the second week have the advantage of extra time. All team members must participate in the final presentation. The final presentations should be in PowerPoint. They must be professional, interesting, and clearly convey the strength of your repositioning concept and both the thoroughness 6 of your marketing plan and its soundness in terms of consumer behavior. Plan on presenting roughly 15 minutes of material, leaving about 5 minutes for classroom discussion. Since part of the presentation mark is for class discussion it is important to encourage questions. You are expected to attend all the project presentations, as some exam questions will be based on them. Each group must include a copy of its PowerPoint presentation with the final report. Grading This project is worth 35% of the final grade; 10% is allotted for the presentation and 25% for the final report. In general, the project will be evaluated on your choice of the key consumer behavior issues involved in the marketing problem, the creative way in which you analyze the consumer issues, how you select and use concepts from the class to help solve the segmentation and repositioning "problem", the originality and soundness of the strategies that you recommend and how clearly these follow from your consumer behavior analysis. More specifically, papers will be graded using the following guidelines Organization, style, grammar and spelling 20 points Executive Summary 25 points Profile of the market (competition trends etc.) 25 points Product positioning statement 5 points Description and justification of target segment 10 points Analysis of consumer behaviour issues 35 points Strategic marketing mix recommendations 20 points Conclusion 10 points 150 points Note that a substantial portion of the mark is allotted to the Executive Summary. Executive Summaries are so called because they are for busy executives who lack the time to read the entire report. It needs to be brief and specific. Oral presentations will be graded using the following guidelines Content 10 points Organization 5 points Presentation style 5 points Use of visual aids 5 points Timing 5 points Handling questions 5 points Professionalism 5 points 40 points Examples of Past Projects Vinegar repositioned from a condiment to a cleaning agent Ford Dakota repositioned as the truck for women Huggies Baby-wipes repositioned as all-purpose hygienic wipes Swiffer wet jet repositioned as an industrial Swiffer Mighty 7 Travel cosmetic organizers repositioned as a “Purse Pal” for teens Bacardi cooler repositioned as a low carb cooler Dasani Bottled Water targeted to children (and parents) Spray 9 All-purpose cleaner repositioned as a stain remover for clothes Bounce Dryer sheets repositioned as a room deodorizer Molson’s Canadian repositioned as a beer shampoo HMV repositioned as a Music Café L’oreal concealer for women repositioned as a concealer for men Labatt’s 50 repositioned as a beer for women. A yoga studio repositioned to men OCI nail polish repositioned as a car touch up paint Bic pens repositioned as a multi-purpose pen and hair stick The Elbow River Manor repositioned to a weekend getaway for Calgarians Crest toothpaste repositioned as an acne treatment Sample Table of Contents Executive Summary Product Description Product repositioning statement Product category market profile Segments Competition Trends Target segment Consumer Behavior Motivation and Values Personality and Lifestyles Attitudes Decision making Group Influences Cultural Influences Situational Influences Marketing mix recommendations Product Price Promotion Place Conclusion/Summary References Appendices Charts and Tables Questionnaire PowerPoint Presentation 8