- Market Growth/Size and Trends (20 pts): How quickly is the industry overall growing (or shrinking)? What are the trends in the industry (please focus on the industry as a whole rather than the individual firm you are covering)? How will they affect the industry as a whole (analyze both positive or negative effects)?
- Key Competitors (20 pts): Who are the main competitors of the firm? What different categories do they fall into?
- For Marketing Mix, you need to address the following 4Ps relevant to the firm you are writing about:
- Product (10 pts): What stage of the product life cycle are its products (i.e. introduction, growth, maturity or decline) in? Are they convenience products, shopping products, or speciaty products?
- Price (10 pts): What pricing strategy does the firm employ? Profitability-pricing techniques such as matching the competition, creating prestige and skimming? Or volume-pricing techniques such as penetration, every day low pricing, high/low, and loss leader?
- Placement/distribution (10 pts): What distribution strategy does the firm employ? Intensive, selective or exclusive distribution? If applicable, where are the retail stores typically located? What about non-store retailing such as online or catalog distribution?
- Promotion (10 pts): What's the firm's promotional mix, e.g. its strategies in advertising, personal selling, public relations (PR) and sales promotion? Be as specific as you can be.
-For international market entry strategy, you need to address the following two areas:
- Host country analysis (10 pts): Which country will you select as the host country for your firm to enter? Why? Please describe the firm-country fit.
- Mode of entry (10 pts): Which mode of entry (i.e. licensing, franchising, strategic partnership, joint venture, wholly owned subsidiary, etc.) is most appropriate for entering the host country named above? Why?
Sample Solution