Writing Assignment 4 (30 points)

MKTG 601

The primary learning objective in module 5 is to identify options for gathering and using data to improve marketing management decisions.

Purpose of the assignment:

This assignment is designed to improve your ability to examine how marketing metrics are used in your career or in one you want to have. It also provides an opportunity for you to identify examples in your own life that reflect generalizations about marketings impact on organizational success. 

Many studies in education indicate that reflection is an effective part of effective learning. The purpose of this assignment is to give you a guided approach for reflecting on the assigned article readings and for Module 5.
Assignment Due Date: Sunday, Feb.16, 11:00 PM Central Time.

What to do: Answer each of these questions (2 questions, each with multiple parts)

1. Using either the company you currently work with or one that you can research online, give examples of how the following metrics are tracked/calculated (see Note 3, below, if you cannot find examples for these metrics). 

a. Customer satisfaction

b. Service quality (if the companys offerings do not have an important service component, this metric may not be tracked. If it is not tracked please refer to NOTE 3, below)

c. Customer loyalty (or net promoter or other similar metric)

d. Customer behavior (may be customer acquisition, customer retention, page visits, or other meaningful metric related to customer behavior)

e. Customer lifetime value

f. Firm Performance (profitability, value, or other meaningful metric).

NOTE 1: The response to this question may take more time and research than responses to questions in other assignments in this class.

NOTE 2: You do not have to provide proprietary or private data if using your company you can just report general information regarding how the data is tracked/calculated. 

NOTE 3: If you are using your own company and any type of information (for a-f, above) is not tracked, simply indicate so. After indicating so, either (a) provide some realistic options for how your company could do so, or (b) provide a clear explanation for why the respective metrics do not need to be tracked.

if you are using a company you do not work for and you cannot identify information on 2 or more metrics (for a-f, above), then choose a different company. 

 NOTE 4: If you do not work with or around customer data in your career, it may be difficult to find this information in either your own organization or by searching for it online from other organizations. However, students in previous MKTG 601 classes have successfully completed this work. If you are searching for information online, you may need to search for through press releases, news articles, and annual reports as ways to learn how this information is tracked.

***Please note, the 2nd question in this assignment is on the next page***

2. Provide an example of each of the following [for full credit, you must answer (a) and (b)]:

a. Pick one of the generalizations noted in the Customer Metrics and Their Impact on Firm Performance article and describe an example of the generalization found in a real scenario. You may use an example from an organization (or industry) for which you do or have worked or you can find an example from past news stories or PR releases.

b. Provide an example of an organization either successfully or unsuccessfully implementing/following the links the service-profit chain. Your example does not need to detail every link in the chain, but it should incorporate a majority of the links.

Formatting Guidelines.

Please provide all of your answers in Word or a program that easily be opened using Word.

Please include the respective number and question before each of your responses. For each question, please also include the corresponding letter for each part of your answer (i.e., 2A, 2B).

You may use bullet points, graphs, figures, tables, etc. to communicate your response. 

There is no page limit or specified minimum. Of course, submitted work should clearly validate that the appropriate assigned material was read and is being applied correctly in each answer.

Please remember, this assignment is designed to help you learn by providing a guided reflection and application of the required material. 

If you quote or borrow from other peoples work you should cite the original source. You may use any citation format you prefer to cite sources in your work.

A little guidance:

To help you answer the questions on this worksheet you may reflect on many sources of information (e.g., required readings, internet searches, talking to others, personal experience, etc.). To help you make the most of your time, the following outline details the course-related materials that would be sufficient to read or view prior to answering each respective question. 

Q1. Customer Metrics and Their Impact on Firm Performance (and, if the company has a prominent service component to its offerings, Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work).

Q2. Part (a) Customer Metrics and Their Impact on Firm Performance; Part (b) Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work

Originality of Work

This is an open book assignment. You may quote sources as part of your answers, but please cite the source when you quote it (plagiarism is not allowed). You may communicate with other members of class about the readings and questions, but you must provide your own responses.

Grading

Grades will be assigned using the criteria set out in the Writing Assignment 4 Rubric (next page).

Submitting your Work:

Please submit your work by clicking on the Writing Assignment 4 title in Module 5 on our classs Blackboard site.

Table 1: Writing Assignment 4 Rubric

Poor

Good

Excellent

Question 1

0 Points

Answer fails to sufficiently   describe how 4 or more metrics are tracked/calculated (or does not at least   follow NOTE 3 for 4 or more metrics). 

16 Points

Answer either fails to   describe how 1 to 3 metrics are tracked/calculated (or does not at least   follow NOTE 3 for 1-3 metrics). AND/OR The description for how 1 to 3 metrics   is tracked/calculated is not clear enough to determine that it is a correct   example for the respective metric (or reason for why the respective metrics   is not tracked).

20 Points

Answer describes how all 6   metrics are tracked/calculated (or at least follows NOTE 3 for all metrics).   The description for how each metric is tracked/calculated is clear enough to   determine that it is a correct example for the respective metric (or reason   for why the respective metrics is not tracked). 

Question 2A

0 Points

The question is not   answered. Or, in the answer provided, specific mistakes are made in   explaining how the example reflects a specific generalization.

3 Points

The example clearly   identifies a specific generalization from the assigned reading, BUT the   answer provides insufficient to validate the example as a clear   representation of the respective generalization.

5 Points

The example clearly   identifies a specific generalization from the assigned reading, and the   answer clearly shows how the example reflects the respective generalization. 

Question 2B

0 Points

The question is not answered. 

3 Points

The example only   identifies how an organization successfully or unsuccessfully   implements/follows 1 or two links in the service-profit chain, AND/OR the   links that are identified are not clearly and correctly explained.

5 Points

The example clearly   and correctly identifies how an organization successfully or unsuccessfully   implements/follows 3 or more links in the service-profit chain.

Articles to read

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