Order Description
Discuss the cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that affect buying/consumer behaviour of Qantas airline.Report Writing In Marketing Tips and Examples
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The
executive summary
provides a summary of the essential info
rmation in the report; is usually
about 10% of the main body of the report in length, and should contain:
(a)
background information
and the
purpose
of the report,
(b) brief
details of the method of analysis
(approach, procedure and/or methods),
(c) important
results and/or findings
, and
(d)
major conclusion(s)/recommendations
.
INTRODUCTION
Generally speaking, the introduction should introduce
all aspects of the report question
and
preview
the content of the report
. Specifically, the introduction
can
include:
(a) general
lead-in information
about the
report topic
;
(b) a statement of
the main aim(s)
and
objective(s)
;
(c)
explanations of terminology
if necessary
;
(d)
method(s)
of approach;
(e) indications of the
scope
and
limitations of the report
;
(f) a
preview
of
material presented in the body of the report
.
BODY
The body of the report will include sections a
nd sub-sections which develop a comprehensive
argument. The contents of these sections should
reflect your critical anal
ysis of a variety of
sources. All sections and sub-sections should ha
ve headings and be a
ppropriately numbered.
Using a variety of sources in the body of the report
The marking criteria for this assignment emphasises th
e need to use a variety of sources in your report.
You are expected to access journal articles, industry
publications, magazines, web sites, newspapers
and interviews, and use these to support and strengthe
n the points you want to make. Your analysis of
these sources will be crucial in developing a sound ar
gument: as you state an idea, you need to provide
evidence from a variety of sources to support it Dont just rely on one source all the time! Compare
the following examples:
Example 1
Market segmentation
The first stage of positioning may start with market
segmentation; a smaller part of
the market needs to be chosen
in order to concentrate the orga
nisations resources effectively
(Mercer, 1992, p.243). This is
a process that is used by
marketers to divide a mass market into groups with relatively
homogenous needs or wants for a given product or service
(Cooper & Madden, 1993, p.15). There are many ways to
segment a market and a combination of different segment
variables may be necessary in order to establish an effective
way of viewing the market structure (Kotler et al, 2001,
p.167). The major variables can
be classified as geographic,
demographic, psychographic and behavioural/ situation usage
variables (Cooper & Madden, 1993, p.16; Kotler, et al, 2001,
p.167; Mercer, 1992, p.252).
Commentary
In the introductory stages of a report
on market segmentation, an overall
description of the purpose and
process of marketing segmentation
may be appropriate, as we find
here.
Although the paragraph is fairly
descriptive, it demonstrates a good
level of analysis and synthesis; that
is, the student has drawn on at least
three sources, analysed the
information and synthesised it in a
cohesive way. Analysis is
particularly evident in the final
sentence.
Report Writing In Marketing Tips and Examples
Now look at a second example. In contrast to the previous example, this paragraph does not
indicate wide reading, and is not developing an argument.
Example 2
Personnel Differentiation
Personnel differentiation requires a company to select its
customer-contact people carefully and train them well to
understand customers, to comm
unicate clearly with them and
to respond quickly to their requests and problems (Kotler
1998, p321). Companies can
gain a strong competitive
advantage by hiring and training better people than their
competitors (Kotler 1998, p321).
Reference
Kotler, P 2001
Principles of Marketing
. Pearson Education
Australia Pty Ltd, Frenchs Forest.
Commentary
Notice that this paragraph alone
does not develop a comprehensive
argument. The student draws on
only one source (Kotler), and is
simply describing Kotlers argument
rather than developing his/her own.
Kotlers statements may be used as
theory, but they must also be related
to other source material and
examples to develop an argument.
This third example indicates wide r
eading and a well developed argument.
Example 3
Product Differentiation
Product differentiation is an im
portant aspect of a companys
positioning strategy as it assists in gaining a competitive
advantage (Kotler 2001, p181).
Carb (2000, p14) argues that
to become successful, a company must develop its positioning
strategy with a clear business proposition that differentiates
itself from the competitor.
The recent positioning strategy
employed by Anglicare to differentiate itself from other
Australian welfare organisations is one example of this.
Anglicare took up a position as
an organisation with an
holistic approach, addressing the
causes of the disadvantages
by providing counselling, financial management programs,
job seeking programs and running retirement villages (Ad
News 1999).
References
Ad News 1999 Anglicare campaign boosts donations
fourfold, http://www.adn
ews.com.au/effect11.html,
accessed 23/03/2001.
Carb, F 2000 Market Sense: Positioning companies for future
Net trends,
Phillytech Magazine
, June, p.14
Kotler, P 2003
Principles of Marketing
, Pearson Education
Australia Pty Ltd, Frenchs Forest.
Commentary
The student begins with a general
theoretical statement about the
importance of product
differentiation, then
introduces Carb to further elaborate
and emphasise the point, and
provides an example from an
organisation to illustrate the point.
Note the different types of sources
an online advertisement as
evidence of the companys
positioning strategy; the industry
magazine for current editorial
opinion; and a textbook for the
standard theory.