MBA630 Application Assignment 1

Introduction

Understanding the marketplace, customer needs and wants is essential for success in the dynamic marketing environment in which organizations exist.  Major environmental forces shape marketing opportunities, pose threats, and affect the organization’s ability to build customer relationships.  To develop effective marketing strategies, the environment in which the organization operates must be well understood.

Directions

Mini-case studies: The students are expected to answer the questions associated with the case. These questions are intended to elicit thoughtful reactions to contemporary marketing strategy initiatives and challenges. The students are expected to carefully read the assignment instructions, then thoroughly and explicitly address each component of the corresponding case study questions.

The responses should reflect higher level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation), which is essential for someone in any industry, as marketing decisions affect all levels and stakeholders within the organization and in the external marketplace/marketspace.

There is no minimum number of references that need to be utilized to support the completion of this assignment; however, it is generally understood that any good case study analysis will incorporate the appropriate quality and quantity of scholarly sources to support any suppositions and recommendations.

The submission will not exceed four (4) pages in length, excluding the title and references pages.

The document must adhere to the APA writing style.

Finally, the document should be prepared as a Microsoft Word document and uploaded to Submit Assignment.

Case Study: GEEK Squad – A New Business for a New Environment

1. Read the case pages 95-97 in your text. Also review the announcements regarding how to approach these assignments.


2. Watch the video supplement to the case at link tv/13e/v3-5 (Links to an external site.).


3. Respond to the following case question. (Disregard the questions in the text.)
   
   
   
   You have been asked to consult with the Best Buy marketing team. They are specifically looking for recommendations as to specific promotional activities you would recommend to encourage consumers who currently use independent installers to switch to Geek Squad. To aid you in formulating your recommendations, you  should consider past and present consumer purchasing patterns;  conduct an environmental scan for Geek Squad using each of the five environmental forces (social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory); and identify key trends likely to influence Geek Squad in the near future.