Team Project Guidelines PDF

Preview

Summary

Team Project Guidelines for the final project...

Description

Consumer Behaviour – Winter 2021 Team Project Guidelines Objectives, Team Formation, and Choice of Company In this team project, you will focus on a Montreal-based company throughout the semester with two objectives: (1) developing a profile of one of the consumer segments of the company and (2) giving the company managerial recommendations to effectively target this consumer segment. Team Formation: You will be working in teams of five or six for this project. You are required to submit the names of your teammates before the end of the second session1. Choice of Company: You are required to choose a company for the team project from a list of companies, which your professor will share in the first session2. The team project consists of four assignments, which are summarized in the table presented on the next page. The early stages of the project are purposed to have a good understanding of the current situation of the company and the consumer trends in the market (Assignment 1), and the profile of a consumer segment of the company (Assignments 2 and 3). The last assignment of the project (Assignment 4) consists of a presentation of your managerial recommendations for the company, based on the insights you gathered in the previous assignments. It is important to note that throughout the course of the team project, you are required to focus on the Canadian market.

1

Further instructions regarding how to submit the names of your teammates will be provided by your professor during the first session. 2 Further instructions regarding how to choose a company from the list will be provided by your professor during the first session.

1

Components of the Team Project Component

Assignment 1

Assignment 2 (Individual)

Assignment 3

Assignment 4

Brief Description Analyses of the current situation of the company and current consumer trends relevant to the company’s offerings. Description of the consumer segment that you will focus on during the rest of the project. Presentation of the insights gathered from the two individual interviews conducted with two consumers who are representative of the target segment described in Assignment 1. Detailed description of the consumer profile of the target consumer segment, based on the individual interviews conducted in Assignment 2 Oral presentation with managerial recommendations

Due 3

Session 5

Session 7

What to submit?

A three-page report

A two-page report (Consumer insights must be presented in summary tables)

Session 8

A two-page report

Session 11

The PDF of the presentation.

3

All assignments must be submitted before the starting time of the session on which the assignment is due through the Assignment tab on ZoneCours.

2

Assignment 1 The purpose of Assignment 1 of the team project is to (i) analyze the current situation of the company, (ii) identify the consumer trends relevant to the company’s offerings, and (iii) describe the consumer segment that you will focus on during the rest of the project. Contents of the report There are three main components of the report: 1. Company Analysis In this part of the report, you are required to provide detailed information regarding the current: 1.1. Situation of the company (e.g., name, geographic location(s), strengths, weaknesses, resources, etc.) 1.2. Offerings of the company (e.g., product lines, characteristics of offerings etc.) 1.3. Positioning of the company (and its offerings) 1.4. Marketing strategies of the company 2. Market Analysis In this section, you have to identify at least two recent and interesting consumer trends observed in the market that are relevant to the company’s offerings, and discuss these consumer trends in detail4. Keep in mind that the information you present in this section should be based on the Canadian market. 3. Description of the Target Consumer Segment In this section, you have to provide a broad description of a consumer segment of this company that you will focus on during the rest of the project. Please use the template on the next page for this component.

4 Important: In this section that constitutes a market analysis, you should not discuss whether your company is addressing these consumer trends or whether your company has the strengths to address them. This section is solely purposed to identify two recent and interesting consumer trends that are relevant to your company’s offerings and discuss them in detail.

3

Target Consumer Segment Description - Template

Need

Demographics

Psychographics

(What is the primary need that the consumers in this group want to satisfy while purchasing from this product category?)

(Include two demographic descriptors. One of these variables must be age. You can choose a second variable that you consider relevant (e.g., occupation, income, location)

(Include one psychographic descriptor)

Brief segment definition:

How to Use the Template A consumer segment generally refers to a group of consumers that have the same motivation/need for purchasing a good, as well as other shared characteristics. To illustrate, imagine that you chose a local coffee shop for the project. The target segment description then can be: Need

Demographics

Psychographics

To work in a calm environment

8-25 years old (age) Student (occupation)

Uses social media to keep up with trends

Brief segment definition: Students between 18 and 25 years old, who go to coffee shops to work in a calm environment, and who use social media to keep up with trends.

4

Information sources It is very important that you use a diverse set of information sources in your report. A list of useful information sources are:  

 

Company’s website and social media channels Databases accessible through the website of HEC Library  Passport (Euromonitor)  MarketResearch.com  MarketLine  Factiva Articles from the press such as online/offline magazines and newspapers Company-relevant content on social media (e.g., consumer reviews, executive interviews on YouTube etc.)

Keep in mind that the information sources that you can use are not limited to this list. This list simply gives suggestions and there are numerous other sources from which you can benefit. The sources must be cited in text and the complete references must be provided in a bibliography. Required format File format: Word Number of pages: No longer than 3 pages (excluding appendices and bibliography) Font: Times New Roman Font size: 12-pt Line spacing: Single Margins: Standard (i.e. 2.54 cm for top, inside, bottom, or outside) Citation Guidelines: APA Evaluation Assignment 1 of the team project is worth 10% of your grade and evaluation criteria is: Quality of the information about the chosen company Quality of the information about the consumer trends Quality of the target segment description Diversity and relevance of information sources Professionalism and autonomy

4 points 3 points 1 point 1 point 1 point

5

Assignment 2 – Individual Assignment The purpose of Assignment 2 of the team project is to gather information about two consumers who are representatives of the target segment described in Assignment 1. It is noteworthy that the consumers you interview may or may not be current customers of the company and may or may not know about the company. You are simply required to interview two consumers, who are representatives of the target segment you defined in Assignment 1. Each team member is required to interview two consumers, who are representative of the described target segment. You are required to record the whole interview and keep this recording as a proof of interview until the end of the semester. Contents of the report  



A brief description of each interview (name of the interviewee, date, etc.) Two summary tables5 (one for each interview) summarizing each consumer’s:  Demographic profile  Psychographic profile (lifestyle, values etc.)  Attitudes toward the company and/or the product category  Perceptions about the company and/or the product category  Decision-making processes when purchasing from the product category  Sources of social influence Justifications of why you think the consumers you interviewed are representatives of the described target segment.

Interview guide It is strongly suggested that you prepare an interview guide as a team before individual consumer interviews. Having a common interview guide would allow you to make sure that all team members cover the necessary topics in their individual interviews. Given that Assignment 3 requires putting together the individual consumer interviews, having a common interview guide would make it easier for you to create a consumer profile. You are NOT required to submit an interview guide. Summary table In this individual assignment, you must present the insights that you gathered from each consumer in summary tables, not in flowing text. The tables should be organized in a way that allows one to quickly see and identify important insights. Make sure to include quotes from your interviewees in your individual assignment.

5

Example summary tables will be provided in class.

6

Required format File format: Word Number of pages: No longer than 2 pages (excluding appendices) Font: Times New Roman Font size: 12-pt Line spacing: Single Margins: Standard (i.e. 2.54 cm for top, inside, bottom, or outside) Citation Guidelines: APA Evaluation Assignment 2 of the team project is individual and is worth 10% of your grade. The evaluation criteria is: Quality and quantity of insights gathered from consumer interviews Organization of the summary tables Strength of argument(s) in the justification why the interviewed consumers are representatives of the target segment

6 points (3 per interview)

2 points (1 per interview)

2 points (1 per interview)

7

Assignment 3 The purpose of Assignment 3 of the team project is to provide a detailed profile of the target consumer segment. You are required to pool the individual consumer interviews from Assignment 2 and create a consumer profile. Contents of the report 

Consumer profile of the segment (based on the individual consumer interviews)  In presenting the consumer profile, you can create a persona.  The report should be a flowing text, organized with headings/ subheadings.

Note that session 7 is dedicated to team work on Assignment 3 and all team members must be present during the session. That being said, it is strongly suggested that you start working on the assignment before session 7 and come to class prepared to ask your questions/get feedback on your work. Required format File format: Word Number of pages: No longer than 2 pages (excluding appendices) Font: Times New Roman Font size: 12-pt Line spacing: Single Margins: Standard (i.e. 2.54 cm for top, inside, bottom, or outside) Citation Guidelines: APA Evaluation Assignment 3 of the team project is worth 10% of your grade. The evaluation criteria is: Quality and depth of the consumer profile Organization of the information presented in the profile Professionalism and autonomy

7.5 points 2 points 0.5 points

8

Assignment 4 The purpose of Assignment 4 of the team project is to present your managerial recommendations for the company about marketing strategies for effectively targeting the consumer segment, as well as the insights you gathered in the previous assignments. Contents of the presentation   

Information about the company and the relevant consumer trends (recap Assignment 1) The profile of the target consumer segment (recap Assignment 3) Managerial recommendations

Presentation format and submission requirements    

The presentation must last between 12 and 15 minutes Every team member must present a part Presenting your work in a creative and lively manner is part of the evaluation criteria You will present your work either on Session 11 or Session 12  Regardless of when you present your work, you must submit your presentation (a PDF file) before Session 11.

Presentation tips    

Do not forget that you have 15 minutes sharp for the presentation. Therefore, make sure to plan the presentation thoroughly and control the clock. Do your research to find a creative way to present the consumer profile of the suggested segment rather than putting a chunk of text on a slide. Although the first two parts are recaps of the previous assignments, keep in mind that this is a great opportunity for you to improve your work in the previous assignments and present a better version of them. Managerial recommendations are the most important part of Assignment 4. Make sure that the managerial recommendations you give are:  Sophisticated and precise in execution  Consistent with the insights that you gathered in the previous assignments.

Evaluation Assignment 4 of the team project is worth 25% of your grade. The evaluation criteria is: Quality of the managerial recommendations (e.g., sophistication and precision) Justification and relevance of managerial recommendations to the profile of the target consumer segment Use of theoretical concepts covered in class Organization, structure, creativity, and clarity of the presentation Professionalism and autonomy

12 points 6 points 4 points 2 points 1 point

9...