Put your consulting hat on!

Pick a transaction to complete this week or simply choose to visit an organization (actually purchasing something would probably be best so that this becomes a transaction, but Ive had cases where once the student does the audit, theres no way they want to do business with them!).

Or if you prefer, think of a transaction from any time that you can vividly recall and comment upon in the detail necessary to complete the assignment.

Using this experience as your reference, evaluate and discuss the experience in the following categories. As you do, please reference the text, articles discussed in class, your own findings via your case study/book review, discussions with your classmates, or other sources to support your evaluation. Show not just what you know, but what youve learned, in other words.

Be careful to support OPINION with a SOURCE where appropriate! For example, According to Kotler, As was discussed in Session __ of the class.., or noting the book or case study you presented for the class or a presentation of your classmates, etc.

If you want to involve someone who isnt a classmate as part of your consulting team to get their input, youre welcome to do that, too. You might be really surprised at what insightful contributions your children could make to a study like this!

Please be sure to list and address each question!

1 What factors contributed to the FIRST impression(s) you had of the organization? To what marketing topics discussed during the course do those factors relate?

2 Did this impression change for better or worse at any time? If so, how did that impact your OVERALL impression? What does that tell us? (Hint: This is where holistic marketing and branding come in!)

3 When we talked about branding we discussed how one marketing research technique is to ask customers how they would describe the brand if that brand was a person. Think about your customer experience. If this brand were a person, what kind of person would they be and why? (Young, old, grouchy, care-free, etc.) Please be specific.

4 Was their value proposition made clear or communicated in any way? Please elaborate. (Think back on your marketing plan assignment and what we discussed about branding and positioning.)

5 How well would you say the employees of the organization understood and/or demonstrated that YOU are their chief priority? In other words, did the organization practice the marketing concept? Explain why or why not.

6 Did you feel like you were participating in an Experience or just buying a product? Why do you say that?

7 Who would you say are this organizations competitors? How likely would you be to do business with their competitor rather than them and why?

8 Will the way the transaction was handled by the organization contribute to a lifelong relationship with you? Why or why not? If so, what would you estimate could be the lifetime value of that relationship?

9 If you were meeting with the president of the company, based on findings like these gathered from your observations, what marketing-related actions would you recommend? How would you sell them to the president Support your recommendations with evidence, in other words.

10 Other comments (Optional):

While your role as the consumer in this case carries considerable value, one of the big things Im looking for when grading is how you APPLY the concepts weve covered in class and through the presentations. So Please be sure to be SPECIFIC!