This assignment is made up of three parts: Parts 1, 2 and 3. It must be submitted by 12 noon (UK local time) on the date shown on the Study planner on the module website.
Word limit: 2500 words (suggested distribution as follows: Part 1, 750 words; Part 2, 750 words; Part 3, 1000 words).
Learning outcomes
This assignment is intended to assess the following learning outcomes:
your knowledge and understanding of concepts related to both business-to-business (B2B) marketing and organisational buying behaviour, and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing and consumer behaviour
your ability to evaluate and critically analyse concepts related to customer behaviour
your ability to apply your knowledge and understanding of customer behaviour in B2B and B2C contexts to practical examples
your ability to communicate your ideas in an academic essay so that they can be readily understood and evaluated
your engagement with practical/professional skills and awareness of relevant ethical and business/commercial issues in relation to customer behaviour.
Task
You must first identify two examples of marketing material that use the same media channel (e.g. two TV commercials, two newspaper and/or magazine advertisements, two company websites, two posters, two direct mail shots, two emails, two examples of social media marketing, or two examples of content marketing) one aimed at B2B customers and one aimed at B2C customers. Illustrate your chosen examples in your assignment so that your tutor can readily refer to them when marking (e.g. via links to YouTube videos, screenshots of web pages, or photographs of print or poster advertising).
Part 1
Part 1 of this assignment is worth 30 marks
Critically analyse your chosen example of B2B marketing material using concepts from B206 to evaluate its potential influence on customer behaviour in a B2B context.
Part 2
Part 2 of this assignment is worth 30 marks
Critically analyse your chosen example of B2C marketing material using concepts from B206 to evaluate its potential influence on customer behaviour in a B2C context.
Part 3
Part 3 of this assignment is worth 40 marks
What, if any, differences in behaviour between B2B customers and B2C customers do your chosen examples of marketing material suggest? Drawing on concepts from Block 5 and elsewhere in the module as appropriate, come to a reasoned conclusion on to what extent marketing to business customers should be different from marketing to consumers buying for themselves and their families. Potentially relevant concepts include, but are not limited to, the buying process, factors influencing the buying process, and considerations or challenges faced by organisational and individual customers.
Potentially relevant concepts include, but are not limited to, the buying process, factors influencing the buying process, and considerations or challenges faced by organisational and individual customers.
This question asks you to make a selection of concepts from what you have learned in Block 5, as well as Blocks 1–4, and apply it to real-life examples of marketing material aimed at organisational and individual customers. In Parts 1 and 2 of the TMA you need to interpret how the marketing material you have chosen reflects concepts about customer behaviour, and evaluate how likely the material is to influence such behaviour. For example, you might expect B2B marketing material to reflect rational decision making, but some examples of B2B advertising (including ones you have seen in Block 5) appear to incorporate emotional appeals as well as, or instead of, rational ones. If that is true of your chosen example, how likely would such advertising be to influence behaviour in a B2B context?
That is just an illustration – there are plenty of concepts besides decision making, and plenty of marketing communications techniques other than advertising, to choose from. Whatever your selection, argue your point of view in answer to the question, making any reasoned assumptions clear.
In Part 3 you need to make a more general argument about the extent to which B2B and B2C customer behaviour are different, and whether this should be reflected in different marketing approaches to B2B and B2C customers. Again you need to make a clear and balanced argument, drawing on evidence from your chosen examples, and coming to a clear conclusion.
The activities in Block 5 have introduced you to a wide range of concepts related to organisational buying behaviours and marketing activities that can influence these behaviours. You should now have a clear idea of organisational buying behaviours, the factors influencing these behaviours, and considerations or challenges faced by the organisation during buying processes. The focus of this assignment is to demonstrate your knowledge and critical understanding of the extent to which organisational buying behaviour differs from individual consumer buying behaviour. You need to demonstrate your knowledge of these topics by analyzing how real-life marketing activities are formulated to influence customer behaviour in B2B and B2C contexts .You need to show your critical understanding by using appropriate theory from the module to explain the differences you highlight.
Potential areas to explore might include. investigating marketing communication in B2B and B2C contexts, identifying the factors (e.g., environmental, ethical, etc.) that are stressed in marketing communications to influence buying behaviours in each context, recognizing considerations (e.g., business relationship, perceived value, etc.) or challenges (e.g., uncertainty, risks, etc.) faced by organizational or individual customers when making purchase decisions. Where relevant and helpful, draw on concepts (i.e., theories, models, and frameworks) that you have studied during the module, in order to frame and analyse your examples and the purchase behaviour they suggest. It is important to apply, rather than simply re-describe, concepts in your essay. You are most welcome to point out and discuss instances where real-life examples you have found appear to contradict a particular concept or theory introduced in this module, thus demonstrating critical thinking.
You can draw on personal experience, readings or wider research from news or business publications to help you formulate relevant examples to help support your answer.
You should demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a few well-chosen concepts and provide concrete and relevant real-life examples to support your answers, rather than a superficial essay listing lots of concepts with little discussions and poorly described examples.
