Try your hand at thinking like a marketer. The objective of this assignment is to think about what may be involved in marketing a product. You should develop plans that address the major variables in the marketing mix (product, place, promotion, price). This activity will emphasize that marketing is not just selling and advertising. Marketing actually drives production!

Background: Assume you have just purchased a bicycle factory that has been shut down for the last few years. The automated equipment and computer system are in excellent shape, the personnel needed to run the factory are readily available, and capital and operational financing is in place. From a production standpoint, you are ready to go. But are you? Before jumping into production, what information do you need? What questions need to be asked? What plans need to be made? Which of these plans are production-related activities, and which are marketing-related activities?

Instructions: Using the information from section 1-1 of the text, the PPT slides, and the supplemental handouts in Canvas (particularly 1-1d Marketing Planning Questions), develop a list of suggested questions that need to be considered BEFORE making a bicycle. Each of your questions should address various marketing issues and reflect the functional need for and responsibility of marketing within an organization. Make sure all of your questions are marketing-related (focused on finding out what the customer wants) and not product- or production-oriented (company focused).

Follow the instructions for preparing a standard format for a business memo outlined in the Assignment Template located in the Course Information module in Canvas. The memo should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document file attached to assignment through Canvas.

Utilize and Cite Sources: Your report should include your analysis and conclusions based on relevant, factual information. All references and statements of fact supporting your analysis and conclusions must be properly annotated (in-text notes and footnotes) and source documents appropriately referenced in a bibliography. The absence of source citations will result in a substantial grade reduction (see How to Document Sources at bottom of Assignment Template).