Assessment 2 is an individual assignment (no groups) requiring you to undertake a market opportunity analysis for a new product. You will present the market opportunity analysis as a portfolio (not a report). This portfolio should be 1500-2000 words maximum in length not including the title page and reference list.
Your task is to choose one (1) of the four options listed in the course profile and then write a market opportunity analysis for that product or service with the focus on current Australian market conditions to determine market attractiveness. Please note that the option you choose will also be used for Assessment 3.
The word count (1500 minimum to 2000 words maximum) will not include your title page and reference list.
Recommended Assessment 2 structure (this closely follows the marking criteria)
Title page
This will include your name, id number, lecturer/tutor name (if applicable), campus (if applicable), and the product or service option chosen.
Product description, current market conditions and analysis (no more than 800 words)
Your first task is to briefly describe the new product or service chosen, outlining its features and benefits plus optional extras (if applicable). Secondly, you are to describe the current market conditions in Australia by examining relevant business trends, customer needs and other factors in the marketing environment that may affect consumer purchasing, plus identify the main competitors so as to determine market attractiveness.
For the second task, relevant business trends can be uncovered by relating the influence of six selected environments in Australia (i.e. political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal) to the current status of your company. Make sure your discussion focuses only on those forces in the macro environment which are likely to have the greatest immediate impact. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) might be one useful source for helping identify recent trends in the macro environment.
To uncover customer needs and other factors in the marketing environment that may affect consumer purchasing, look at those actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers and maintain relationships with them (i.e. suppliers, intermediaries, customers, direct competitors, and publics). Make sure your discussion focuses only on those actors in the microenvironment which are likely to have the greatest immediate impact. IBISWorld (available online from the CQU library) provides market research reports on every industry in Australia and might be one useful source of information.
See Chapter 3, plus Appendix 2 on pages 517-521, and Appendix 3 on pages 529-531 of the prescribed text for some further ideas. Use of in-text citations to help support the discussion is expected.
SWOT analysis (no more than 400 words)
Conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis for your chosen company and their product or service and present it in a similar manner to what you can see in Appendix 2 on pages 521-522 or Appendix 3 on pages 531-532 of the prescribed text.
Strengths = Superior resources and skills that can be drawn on to exploit opportunities and counter threats. Weaknesses = Deficiencies that inhibit that ability to perform and must be overcome to avoid failure. Opportunities = Environmental trends with positive consequences (i.e. basis for competitive advantage and/or possibility of improved performance if pursued). Threats = Environmental trends with potentially negative impacts (i.e. impede implementation of strategy, increase the risks of a strategy, increase the resources required, and reduce performance expectations).
Internal analysis of the current marketing activities of the company will uncover the strengths and weaknesses. External analysis of the environment, market, customers and competitors as they relate to Australia will uncover the opportunities and threats.
Nature, scope and key concepts of marketing (no more than 250 words)
Briefly explain to the senior management the nature (i.e. how marketing has evolved) and scope (i.e. the activities from conception of ideas to realisation of profits) of marketing. In addition, include your understanding of the marketing concept. Chapter 1 of the prescribed text is a good place to start. Use of in-text citations to help support the discussion is expected.
Marketing research techniques and importance (no more than 150 words)
Briefly explain to the senior management what the main qualitative (e.g. focus groups and in-depth interviews) and quantitative (e.g. customer surveys and analysis of secondary data) marketing research techniques are. In addition, point out some reasons why businesses should conduct marketing research. Chapter 4 of the prescribed text is a good place to start. Use of in-text citations to help support the discussion is expected.
The marketing mix and extended marketing mix (no more than 150 words)
Briefly explain to the senior management what the marketing mix is and its purpose. In your explanation, you will need to outline the importance of the marketing mix and differentiate between the traditional marketing mix and the extended marketing mix. Chapter 2 of the prescribed text is a good place to start. Use of in-text citations to help support the discussion is expected.
Citations and Reference List
The portfolio should include at least six (6) sources of information, excluding the course text, from a combination of scholarly academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals and websites. Your prescribed textbook would be a seventh source of information. All sources should be listed in alphabetical order and be cited in the main body using the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQU APA referencing guide is available for download under the ‘Important Information’ section on the course Moodle page.
Appendices
Two next two sections must be completed and attached at the end of your Word document.
- Part A. Self-evaluation (no more than 125 words)
- Copy and paste the self-evaluation document (see below) into your Word document.
- Complete the self-evaluation document by colour highlighting either S (Satisfied) or NS (Not satisfied) with your attempt for each of the Assessment 2 criteria.
- Based overall on your completed self-evaluation, briefly comment on your major accomplishments, learnings, and main challenges when attempting Assessment 2.
MRKT11029 – Marketing Fundamentals
Assessment 2
Self-evaluation document
Student name: _________________________________________________
Student number: _______________________________________________
| Assessment 2 criteria | Satisfied with attempt | Not satisfied with attempt |
| Product description, current market conditions and analysis | S | NS |
| SWOT analysis | S | NS |
| Nature, scope and key concepts of marketing | S | NS |
| Marketing research techniques and importance | S | NS |
| The marketing mix and extended marketing mix | S | NS |
| Citations and the Reference list | S | NS |
| Supporting items | S | NS |
| Spelling, grammar and written presentation | S | NS |
- Part
B. Supporting items (no more than 125
words)
- Place all Assessment 2 supporting items such as graphs, tables and diagrams here.
- Briefly comment on your reason/s for including these supporting items in Assessment 2.
Note: This is a recommended outline for your portfolio. Any deviation from the above recommended outline runs the risk of not addressing the assessment criteria.
Solution
Market Opportunity Analysis
The introduction of a new product into a market demands the analysis of the market and a consideration of different factors that determine the effective market entry strategy. According to Stevens (2013), a market opportunity analysis focuses on the analysis of the market to determine the scale of the market opportunity, the competitors, efficient marketing, promotional, and sales strategies, organizational structure, and the applicable distribution channels and logistics among others. An effective market opportunity analysis is thus of great significance in influencing entry or no-entry and the success or failure of a product in a particular market. The analysis should consider the macro and micro-environmental factors to determine the attractiveness of the market in relation to the company’s status. The external considerations include the market size, competition, technological advancement, political conditions, government regulations, and socio-cultural issues among others.
Moreover, there is a need for analysing financial and internal considerations. Factors such as revenue estimates, cost estimates, and return on investments are some of the financial considerations critical for the development of an efficient market opportunity analysis. Additionally, the opportunity analysis should consider the corporate objectives, purpose, and the resources for the development of an efficient corporate strategy. The application of forecasting techniques and the analysis of the market factors and actors that influence or may influence the demand for the product is critical (Business Wire, 2015). This portfolio analyses the market opportunity for Sensorwake smell-based alarm clock through a comprehensive SWOT analysis, analysis of the marketing strategy (nature and scope), and delves deeper into the discussion of the concepts and tools of marketing. Further, it discusses and analyses marketing research techniques and their importance to decision-making and assigns a considerable part to marketing mix and extended marketing mix.
References
Business Wire. (2015). Research and Markets: Opportunities for Composites in European Construction Market 2015-2020: Trends, Forecast, and Opportunity Analysis. Research and Markets, 1.
Stevens, R. E. (2013). Market Opportunity Analysis: Text and Cases. New York: Psychology Press.