Customer experience

The Customer Experience MKTG45175

Assessment brief 2013-14

Introduction
This module has one assessment element: a 20 minute poster presentation supported by:-
A 2500 word scoping paper
An annotated bibliography
A reflective diary
Whilst students do not often have direct experience of marketing in terms of practice within an organisation, the one thing we all have experience of is being consumers. Whether we realise it or not we all have some very deep insight into the mind and behaviour of the consumer! Consequently we will be asking you to use this insight alongside the theories you will be learning about to engage in some critical self-reflection including a subjective personal introspection. As part of this reflection and introspection we invite you to consider Belk’s (1988) and Mittal’s (2006) ideas around products as extensions of the self, and how the theories and concepts we encounter relate to your own experiences.
You will also be expected to keep a reflective diary and record your shopping experiences. The form in which you keep this diary will be your choice. We would recommend the use of WordPress.
In preparation for these tasks we recommend you read the following articles:-

BELK, R.W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research. 15: 139-168.
MITTAL, B. (2006). I, me, and mine: how products become consumers’ extended selves. Journal of Consumer Behaviour. 5: 550-562.
REID, R. and BROWN, S. (1996). I hate shopping! An introspective perspective. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. 24 (4): 4-16.
SHANKAR, A. (2000). Lost in music? Subjective personal introspection and popular music consumption. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal. 3 (1): 27-37.

Assessment Learning Outcomes
This assessment is designed to test the following learning outcomes:-
Knowledge and understanding
Demonstrate a critical understanding of the influences on customer buying behaviour.
Provide a reasoned critique of customer behaviour theories and models, in particular those relating to individual decision making.
Identify and appraise contemporary customer behaviour themes and their implications for marketing activities.
Evaluate how insight from consumer behaviour theories can influence and improve marketing management.

Skills, qualities and attributes

Identify the implications of customer behaviour for future marketing activities and recommend appropriate marketing strategies and tactics for organisations.
Devise appropriate customer segmentation strategies.
Creatively present and communicate ideas verbally and in graphic form.
Critically reflect on your own identity and behaviour as a consumer.

 
Scoping Document – style
Use the following formatting/style. Failure to do so will lead to reduced marks:-
REFERENCING: The report should use Harvard conventions throughout.
TYPEFACE: A nice ‘sans serif’ font such as Verdana, Arial or Helvetica.
STRUCTURE: You should produce something in ‘journal’ format.
STYLE: As this is a self-reflective piece, you may write in the first person (that is, you may use ‘I’). .
SIZE: 11 or 12 pt. These sizes are clearly legible. Headings and legends on any charts or tables may be 9 or 10 pt.
SPACING: All text in reports must be 1.5 or double spaced. This allows readers to make notes and/or corrections more easily. Appendices and references may be single-spaced to save paper.
All papers should be stapled together.

The Reflective Diary

It is strongly recommended that you use WordPress to record your reflective diary entries. You can record your shopping experiences through whatever means you find useful e.g. written word, voice recordings, uploading pictures. It is up to you to be as creative as WordPress will allow. Better diaries will have a range of reflective entries which in turn help shape your response to the brief.