Module 3: Communication Research Methods

https://medium.com/@4Think2Grow/the-optimal-marketing-mix-let-your-target-audience-decide-c4a8e0f7c897

Read the blog article titled, “The Optimal Marketing Mix? Let Your Target Audience Decide!” (Links to an external site.)

The Optimal Marketing Mix Let Your Target Audience Decide.pdfPreview the document
The topic this week is RESEARCH!

To be effective in communicating with an organizations public, we must be constantly listening and scanning the environment for information. This is key, especially when it comes to listening to your target audience.

Now that you have selected a company/organization for your final project, read this article and write a paragraph (min 250 words for each area) explaining how your selected company/organization assesses some typical attributes to define its target market. Do your best and at the end of the semester, once you have completed your final project, we will circle back and see how your initial research from this discussion post compares to your final project.

The fun aspect of research is that it doesnt lie, and if used correctly and collected correctly, can tell a great story and provide some remarkable data for a variety of different projects.

For this weeks discussion post, you may not be able to provide specific details for each of the following attributes. If this occurs, discuss what you hope to find when conducting your research. Be creative think outside the box! Dont settle for the first answer you come across this is why research is so important and can be quite eye-opening.  Research is many times like Pandora’s box – one idea leads to another and another…

Discussion Post Assignment:

Read the article and write a paragraph (min 250 words for each area) explaining how your selected company/organization assesses some typical attributes to define its target market. REMEMBER to cite your work!

    1. Are your prospects B2B or B2C, government, or not-for-profit?
    2. Are they small to mid-sized business or larger enterprises?
    3. Where are they located?
    4. How many companies or consumers make up the target market?
    5. Is there a typical type of person who buys your product or service?
    6. Where do they meet or communicate with peers?
    7.  How do they get information to learn about products and services such as yours?
    8.  How do they buy? What is the buying criteria? How often do they buy?
    9. Are there trends in the purchasing processes they use?

CHECK YOUR WORK and CITE YOUR SOURCES!

I will deduct for sloppy mistakes, especially sloppy grammar errors and lack of cited sources. There is no min/mad of cited sources required but I know you will use articles for your discussion posts so be sure to cite all of them. I am a firm believer in quality vs. quantity so make sure you do your research and think about your discussion post before you submit it. Don’t assume your reader knows what you are discussing – be sure to provide insightful answers to this discussion question.