Please note that this sample assignment is for our new suite of level 7 qualifications in strategic management which became available on October 1st 2016.
Unit T/615/2693 Strategic Marketing
Level 7 15 Credits
Related Qualifications
ATHE Level 7 Diploma in Management 603/0629/4
ATHE Level 7 Extended Diploma in Management 603/0630/0
Sample Assignment
You have been accepted onto a Future Leaders Development Programme (FLDP) within a large organisation. It is a yearlong programme and involves developing and presenting specific projects to other programme delegates; all the projects are viewed by the CEO. The delegates come from across the organisation and you are the sole representative from the Marketing Department.
This is an excellent opportunity for ambitious staff to make an impression on senior managers and leaders. In the past graduates from the programme have been promoted within the company. The introductory session of the programme is personally led and overseen by the CEO.
The company is currently successful but is going through a period of intense change. There are new competitors entering the market, whilst new technologies are changing both production capabilities and consumer preferences.
All the work from the FLDP should be retained in a personal file which will be reviewed at the end of the programme.
Task 1 – Understand the principles of strategic marketing.
Your first task of the programme is to prepare a presentation, with accompanying notes. The presentation will be viewed by the CEO, other senior managers and programme delegates. The content of the presentation and notes should:
• analyse the relationship between corporate strategy and marketing strategy.
• analyse the development of marketing strategies.
The presentation and notes should also:
• explain, using examples, how different marketing strategies contribute to competitive advantage.
Extension activity:
To gain a Distinction grade you should also produce a report for your line manager that:
• evaluates the relationship between: strategic intent, strategic assessment, strategic choice and their impact on the formulation of marketing strategy.
LO 1. AC 1.1, 1.2, 1.3. 1D.1
Task 2 – Understand how to carry out strategic environmental analysis
The participants in the FLDP are taking part in a training day and each member of the programme has been given a task to complete. You must prepare a set of briefing notes for the other programme delegates.
The briefing notes should:
• evaluate different approaches to conducting an internal environmental analysis.
• evaluate different approaches to conducting an external environmental analysis.
The third briefing note should:
• assess the integration of internal and external analyses.
LO2. AC. 2.1, 2.2. 2.3.
Task 3 – Understand the role of customer behaviour in marketing strategies.
Your next task is to prepare a section of an information file to be used by future participants in the FLDP. You are responsible for the section on Strategic Marketing; the finished section will be reviewed by the CEO.
The information file should:
• analyse the role of marketing research process and its relationship to consumer behaviour
• explain the different types of consumers and their behaviour in B2B and B2C markets and factors underpinning customer loyalty.
• evaluate the role of relationship marketing in customer behaviour analysis.
Extension activities:
To gain a Merit grade you must also:
• analyse the influences on and the psychology of consumer behaviour.
LO3. AC. 3.1, 3.2. 3.3. 3M 1
Task 4 – Understand how to develop an implementable strategic marketing plan.
This is a major element of the development programme. You are required to develop a realistic and workable strategic marketing plan for a given organisation. The choice of organisation is important to ensure successful completion of this task.
For the selected and named organisation you must:
• analyse the factors to be taken into account in the development of a marketing plan
• develop an implementable plan for your named organisation: you should select the most appropriate format for the plan
• design monitoring systems that are capable of identifying performance deviations from the plan’s original objectives
• anticipate the need for contingency plans.
Extension activities:
To gain a Merit grade you must also:
• develop alternative marketing mix related action plans that address selected objectives and selected strategies.
LO4. AC. 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4. 4M 1
Task 5 – Understand how to create a marketing strategy to meet business objectives
This is the final task of the development programme and on its completion your file will be ready to submit to your line manager.
You must:
• evaluate the requirements of a marketing strategy
• explain the relationship between a marketing strategy and a corporate strategy
• explain how the marketing strategy should address competitive forces and their likely impact
• design a dissemination process to ensure internal stakeholders are informed and committed to the marketing strategy.
Extension activities:
To gain a Merit grade you must also:
• create monitoring systems to ensure the successful implementation of a marketing strategy.
To gain a Distinction grade you must also:
• construct a marketing strategy for a named organisation.
LO5. AC. 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4. 5M 1, 5D 1.
Guidelines for assessors
The assignments submitted by learners must achieve the learning outcomes and meet the standards specified by the assessment criteria for the unit. To achieve a merit or distinction grade, the learners must demonstrate that they have achieved all the criteria set for these grades. Where work for the pass standard is marginal, assessors can take account of any extension work completed by the learners. The suggested evidence listed below is how learners can demonstrate that they have met the required standards.
Task
LOs
and AC Suggested evidence
PASS Suggested additional evidence
MERIT Suggested additional evidence
DISTINCTION
1. LO1
AC 1.1, 1.2.
1.3. 1D1
The learner should produce a presentation in a format suitable for a professional audience. The learner must demonstrate clear understanding of marketing and corporate strategy and include a detailed analysis of how they interrelate, examining points in turn.
The learner must also include an analysis of how marketing strategies are developed, looking at the different stages and examining each part of the process in detail.
The learner should consider a range of marketing strategies and provide a clear explanation of how different approaches contribute to competitive advantage. (This should include examples of different forms of competitive advantage).
The learner must show clear understanding of: strategic intent, strategic assessment, strategic choice, how they interrelate and impact on each other.
In the evaluation, the learner should come to reasoned judgements on how these factors affect the formulation of a marketing strategy
2. LO2
AC 2.1, 2.2.
2.3 The learner must provide three detailed briefing notes that identify and evaluate different approaches to conducting internal and external environmental analysis.
The third briefing note should, use examples to examine how internal and external environmental analyses can be integrated together.
3 LO3
AC 3.1, 3.2,
3.3.
3M 1. The learner must show they understand different aspects of a market research process and how these relate to consumer behaviour.
The learner must identify and explain different types of consumers plus the differences between B2C and B2B markets and show how consumer behaviour differs in the different markets. The file should specifically address the issue of customer loyalty in the different markets.
The learner must explain the principles of relationship marketing and through the use of examples evaluate its impact on customer behaviour
The learner should include a range of different influences and an analysis of how these impact on consumer behaviour
4 LO4
AC 4.1, 4.2.
4.3, 4.4,
4.M1 The learner should analyse a range of marketing audit tools in detail. It should include an analysis of different aspects of strategy formulation.
The presented plan must contain sufficient, detailed information, in an appropriate format, that would make it implementable in the selected named organisation.
NB. The choice of named organisation is most important for successful completion of this task. The organisation should be of a size that there is an awareness of strategic marketing but should not be so large that an implementable plan is too difficult to produce.
The monitoring systems presented by the learner must include different approaches to monitoring and identifying performance deviations. The monitoring systems should be realistic, appropriate and effective for the plan and the named organisation.
The learner should show an understanding of why and when contingency plans are required. The learner should give clear examples that directly relate to the plan which has been presented.
The learner should include different possible marketing mix action plans and relate these to identified objectives and strategies. The plans must be specific, include timescales and refer to identified outcomes.
5 LO5
AC 5.1, 5.2,
5.3, 5.4.
5M 1
5D 1.
The learner must provide an evaluation of the processes, stages and techniques required for a marketing strategy. The evaluation must consider the points from different perspectives and come to valid conclusions.
There must be a full explanation of how corporate strategy and marketing strategy relate to each other.
The learner must show a good understanding of different competitive forces and show how the marketing strategy can deal with their potential impact.
The dissemination process must be clearly presented. It should demonstrate an awareness of the needs of internal stakeholders and the approaches to communicating and securing commitment from the internal stakeholders for the marketing strategy.
The learner should include a realistic and feasible system for monitoring the implementation of a marketing strategy. The learner should state the name of the organisation There must be a detailed marketing strategy that draws together all the strands and supports achievement of the objectives of the business.
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