Answer & Explanation:MBA 560 Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric
This milestone establishes your chosen organizations direction within the marketplace. This is important because it drives the subsequent activities, milestones, and the final
project. Without a strong sense of the organizations purpose within the marketplace, knowledge of consumer trends, and how to meet target market needs at the appropriate
price, management is less likely to maximize the efficiency of business activities and more likely to miss fully meeting the needs of its chosen target market. This milestone
establishes how the organization will differentiate itself from its competition through branding with a unique product or service offering designed to meet specific consumer
needs or desires that are shaped by their demographics, personality, or buying style.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
Section Two: Branding and Idea Context
For your project idea, write a short paper that addresses the following:
? Corporate mission and how the new product or service aligns with it
? Defining features of the product(s)/service(s)
o How the product will be marketed internally and externally
o How the company is differentiating from competition
o Alignment of pricing with market position and corporate mission
? Your substantiated opinion of brand effectiveness
Section Three: Defining Product or Service Need
For your idea, continue your paper by addressing the following:
? Behavioral and/or lifestyle demographics of the targeted consumer or buying style of organizational buyer and why they are a good choice
? What unsatisfied need the product/service fulfills
? How the customer/buyer seeks information to fill the need
? How the product is purchased (characterize the buying situation)
? Why your chosen target market is the best choice
Section Six: Pricing
Using the idea that you have chosen, finish your paper by covering the following:
? Explain the fixed and variable costs and how these fit with the companys short- and long-term goals. Use a narrative with a table to show calculations for cost categories.
Provide reasonable estimates for each of the categories. Specific or in-depth financial analysis is not necessary.
? Examine competitors pricing and explain reasoning for differences.
? Estimate how much you think the target market is willing to pay for your product/service. Is this due to preferences for social responsibility, ethical behavior, or other
intangibles?
? What pricing strategy (skimming, penetration, economy, or premium) is most appropriate and why?
Guidelines for Submission: Milestone Two should utilize double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate citations.
It should be 8-10 pages in length and follow all APA formatting requirements.
Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information,
review these instructions.
Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Context: Defining
Features
Lays out the key defining features of
companys brand and how these features
drive business decisions
Lays out defining features of companys
brand and how they drive business
decisions, but response omits key
features, contains inaccuracies, or
connections between brand and decisions
are perfunctory
Does not lay out defining features of
companys brand and how these features
drive business decisions
8
Context: Fits Assesses how new idea fits with
companys existing brand and how that
impacts business plan, supported by
relevant research and analysis
Assesses how new idea fits with
companys existing brand and impact on
business plan, supported by research and
analysis, but response is cursory, omits
key details, contains inaccuracies, or
support is not relevant
Does not assess how new idea fits with
companys existing brand and how that
impacts business plan, supported by
research and analysis
8
Context: Effectiveness Evaluates effectiveness of existing
branding efforts, including implications
for new product or service, supported by
relevant analysis
Evaluates effectiveness of existing
branding efforts, including implications
for new product or service, supported by
analysis, but response is cursory, omits
key details, contains inaccuracies, or
support is not relevant
Does not evaluate effectiveness of
existing branding efforts, including
implica
tions for new product or service,
supported by analysis
8
Need: Target Market:
Basic Demographics
Analyzes key demographic features of
target market, supported by relevant
research
Analyzes demographic features of target
market, supported by research, but
response is cursory, omits critical features,
contains inaccuracies, or support is not
relevant
Does not analyze key demographic
features of target market, supported by
research
8
Need: Target Market:
Other
Analyzes other behavioral or
psychographic characteristics of target
market, supported by relevant research
Analyzes other behavioral or
psychographic characteristics of target
market, supported by research, but
response is cursory, omits key
characteristics, contains inaccuracies or
support is not relevant
Does not analyze other behavioral or
psychographic characteristics of target
market, supported by research
8
Need: Want or Need Analyzes how new product or service
meets a specific want or need of target
market, supported by relevant market
research
Analyzes how new product or service
meets a specific want or need of target
market, supported by market research,
but response is cursory, omits key details,
contains inaccuracies, or support is not
relevant
Does not analyze how new product or
service meets a specific want or need of
target market, supported by market
research
8
Need: Why Defends choice of target market relative
to product success, based on analysis of
target markets characteristics, needs, and
wants
Defends choice of target market relative
to product success based on analysis of
target markets characteristics, needs, and
wants, but defense is cursory, illogical,
contains inaccuracies, or is not wellsupported
Does not defend choice of target market
relative to product success, based on
analysis of target markets characteristics,
needs, and wants
8
Pricing: Costs Determines fixed and variable costs
associated with new good or service and
how costs fit with company objectives,
supporting narrative with table showing
calculations and assumptions
Determines fixed and variable costs and
how fit with company objectives,
supporting narrative with table showing
calculations and assumptions, but
response omits key details, contains
inaccuracies, or is based on faulty
assumptions
Does not determine fixed and variable
costs associated with new good or service
and how costs fit with company
objectives, supporting narrative with
table showing calculations and
assumptions
8
Pricing: Pay Judges how much target market is willing
and able to pay for product or service,
using target market analysis and research
on close competitors prices to justify
response
Judges how much target market is willing
and able to pay for product or service,
using target market analysis and research
on close competitors prices to justify
response, but response is cursory,
contains inaccuracies, or is not wellsupported
by research and analysis
Does not judge how much target market
is willing and able to pay for product or
service, using target market analysis and
research on close competitors prices to
justify response
8
Pricing: Preferences Evaluates whether targeted consumers
are willing and able to pay more for
product or service if it aligns with their
preferences for socially responsible and
ethical behavior, justifying response with
evidence
Evaluates whether targeted consumers
are willing and able to pay more for
product or service if it aligns with their
preferences for socially responsible and
ethical behavior, justifying response with
evidence, but response is cursory,
contains inaccuracies, or is not wellsupported
by evidence
Does not evaluate whether targeted
consumers are willing and able to pay
more for product or service if it aligns
with their preferences for socially
responsible and ethical behavior,
justifying response with evidence
8
Pricing: Strategy Justifies pricing strategy and price
selection for new product or service in
light of analysis
Justifies pricing strategy and price
selection for new product or service in
light of analysis, but justification is
cursory, illogical, contains inaccuracies, or
is poorly-supported
Does not justify pricing strategy and price
selection for new product or service in
light of analysis
8
Writing
(Mechanics/Citation)
Minor errors related to organization,
grammar, style, and citations
Some errors related to organization,
grammar, style, and citations
Major errors related to organization,
grammar, style, and citations
12
Earned Total 100%