Final Paper ABB Robotics

The purpose of this paper is to apply many of the concepts we learned throughout the course to a B2B company that you select.

You can do well on this project if you select a company with a very strong B2B emphasis. I prefer you pick a manufacturer of a physical product.

Each student will select their own company to work on. Only one student (on a first-come first-serve) will be permitted to report on any given company. Therefore you should email me your request as soon as possible to lock-in your choice. It’s a good idea to email me three choices (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and I can make sure I give you your best available choice. I ask you do this by November 5 to give you several weeks to work on your paper if you choose.

In the event you select, and I approve company that also markets some products/services to consumers, (B2C), it is important you focus only on their B2B offerings in this assignment. You are therefore advised to focus on B2B marketing aspects for this paper. If you did not get prior approval of your company and/or you don’t focus on B2B marketing, you may do poorly on this assignment. Remember the goal of this course is to extend marketing concepts to the business-to-business setting, so I would like you to demonstrate your understanding based on that context.

Your answers should reflect specific materials in the textbook and lecture slides. Your answers should connect your company and its product/services marketing with this material (and you can even make page references to the text.) You do not need to reference other texts or articles, unless you really need to. Although you should cite sources used about your specific company such as corporate reports, articles, news reports, web sites, etc. You should also refrain from simply offering explanations based on your own opinions, or experiences. This should be a fact/evidence-based paper.

To get full credit for answers, you must use specific examples/evidence you find through research about your chosen company and their products/services. Many of the companies you have chosen have a large portfolio of diverse offerings. So, to answer many of the questions below, you can focus on a specific B2B product or service line so your answers can be focused and specific. You should provide web links to any specific evidence you rely on for your answers, so that I can understand how you formed your answer. Your answers should have some clear and focused narrative and not be simply one-line answers to these questions.

There are 10 parts to this assignment, each worth 25 points for a total of 250 points. To receive top credit, your answers should be:

Specific, with concrete examples

Related to the course materials

Concise and to the point, but long enough to express your full understanding

Written in a clear and professional manner (including grammar and spelling)

Your own work. Include a reference or citation to ground your answers

There is no hard requirement for length, but for most students, the overall ends up about 12-15 pages long. On average about 1.0 to 1.5 pages per section – though some sections may be slightly shorter or longer (with normal margins and lines 1.15 – 1.5 spaced) plus references and any attachments (Tables, Maps, Copies of ads, website excerpts, etc.) You are encouraged to include any references (with links) you used for your answers, and to provide examples as an appendix. I am looking for hard facts, not opinion, to support your ideas! You will earn the most points by focusing on B2B material from the course and using specific data and information to illustrate your answers to each question.

The format should be a narrative style and not simply a Question/Answer format. While there are specifics I will be looking for, there should be a nice, logical flow from topic to topic.

So that I don’t lose your work, you must submit a WORD file named “<lastname> B2B final paper <companyname> “ (example “Mills B2B final paper Raytheon” through Blackboard.

Read this material carefully and if you do not understand any of the questions, or need some clarification, email me. My advice is not to start working on this until the last minute.

PART 1: Chapter 1 – A Business Marketing Perspective

Describe the B2B product(s)/services your chosen company offers.
Does the company have a mission statement? (also see p 101 – 104 in Chapter 5)

What are the bases of differentiation and how do they position themselves in the market compared to other suppliers of related product(s)/service(s)? (also see p 101 – 104 in Chapter 5)

Where would you locate them on the spectrum ranging from pure products to pure services? (see also Figure 9.3 in Chapter 9)

Characterize them as a B2B marketer. What types of Business Market Customers do they have? (e.g. refer to Table 1.1 Chapter 1) give some specific examples.

What do their customer use their products/services for? (for example as OEMs who incorporate your product into theirs, or in the production process for their products?)

Who are some of their main competitors? Create a chart that identifies a couple of key competitors and how they differ in their Value Propositions. The chart can be placed in an appendix.

Give an example of their supply chain. Give one or two examples of an upstream supplier? Can you provide any insight into how they work with suppliers? Create a simple figure like Figure 1.2 in your text. This can be placed in an appendix.

PART 2: Chapter 2 – Buyers’ Behavior

Based on your research, describe what the typical buying situation (p.31-33) and buying center (p. 39- 42) might look like for the companies B2B customers. Speculate on what types of Buying Center participants and what their likely roles might be in the Procurement process. (See Table 2.2) for help.

Give an example of how an Environmental Force is affecting your companies market (p. 33-34)?

Pick a product/service your company offers and describe some of the Total Cost of Ownership components with a few specific examples (see p. 36) for one of their typical customers.

How does the company try to manage their customer risk in purchase decisions?

PART 3: Chapter 3 – CRM Strategy

For the product or service you picked, suggest whether they are engaging in Transactional, Value-Added, or Collaborative exchanges? Support your conclusion with some sort of evidence for your answer.

For the product or service you chose above, describe how the company could expand the “Bandwidth (p. 61-63) of their offering. Give a specific example to illustrate your suggestion.

PART 4: Chapter 4 – Market Segmentation

Using the Product or Service you used above, describe a Market Segment the company serves with it. What is the NAICS code for this segment?

How would you describe this segment in terms of some of the Macro-level and Micro-level characteristics we learned in Chapter 4 (See Tables 4.1 and 4.2). How has the company differentiated it’s product offering to appeal to this segment?

If you were the Marketing Manager at the company you have chosen, suggest a method you would use to estimate the demand for the product above for the upcoming year. Provide a simple explanation for why you would choose this method?

PART 5: Chapter 5 – Strategy

Briefly describe your company’s Core Strategy focusing on their Business Mission/Product-Market Scope and Basis for Differentiation (p. 101-102)

Include some specific evidence to support an explanation of a Strategic Resource your firm has that provide a strategic advantage in their market? (p. 102)

Using Table 5.2 in your textbook, suggest which type of Strategy they choose for the product/service above and give some specific examples to support your conclusion.

PART 6: Chapter 7 – Product Management

Describe how your company creates Customer Value (p. 143-144) for its customers of the product/service you chose above. How would you describe the innovation culture of the company?

Where on the Technology Adoption Lifecycle is the product/service you have chosen? What types of customer is therefore the target for this stage of the adoption lifecycle?

PART 7: Chapter 9 – Hybrid Offerings

Does your company offer any Hybrid Offerings? (See p. 194-198) Describe one such offering?

What are some of the unique resources the firm can leverage to create Customer Value for their hybrid offering?

PART 8: Chapter 10 – Marketing Channels

How can customers in Cleveland purchase your company’s product/service? (Provide some eividence for your answer).

What is an advantage of them using this business channel? What is a disadvantage of them using this business channel?

PART 9: Chapter 12 – Pricing

Identify a couple of potential key drivers of Value for the company’s customer for the product/service you chose. (p. 243-245)

How does their value proposition compare to its competitors?
Are there any potential switching costs for customers in this market? What are they? (p.246)

PART 10: Chapter 13 and Chapter 14 – Promotion & Sales

Provide some examples (either copy and paste images, or provide links) that show how your company promotes it’s products/services to potential customers.

What message do they deliver (in terms of buyers’ perception, benefits, and motives)? (p. 268-269) Who is the target? Why do you suppose they chose the method of promotion they did?

Try to locate a trade show your company participates in. (Provide evidence or a link). If you cannot locate one, why do you suppose they are choosing not o participate?

How is the company sales organization structured in the United States? Provide some specifics about the structure of the sales organization both from a staffing/reporting structure, and the form of sales organization (product, market, geographic) organization they use (see p. 285-288)