Describe the B2B product(s)/services your chosen company offers.

The purpose of this paper is to apply many of the concepts you learned throughout the course to a B2B
company that you select.
You can do well on this project if you select a company with a very strong B2B emphasis. I prefer you
pick a manufacturer of a physical product or a company that provides specialized services to other
companies.
Each student will select their own company to work on. Only one student (on a first-come first-serve)
will be permitted to report on any given company. It’s a good idea to provide three choices (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
so I can give you your best available choice.
In the event you select, and I approve company that also markets some products/services to
consumers, (B2C), it is important you focus only on their B2B offerings in this assignment. You are
therefore advised to focus on B2B marketing aspects for this paper. If you did not get prior approval of
your company and/or you don’t focus on B2B marketing, you may do poorly on this assignment.
Remember the goal of this course is to extend marketing concepts to the business-to-business setting,
so I would like you to demonstrate your understanding based on that context.
Your answers should reflect specific materials in the textbook and lecture slides. Your answers should
connect your company and its product/services marketing with this material (and you can even make
page references to the text.) You do not need to reference other texts or articles, unless you really need
to. Although you should cite sources used about your specific company such as corporate reports,
articles, news reports, web sites, etc. You should also refrain from simply offering explanations based
on your own opinions, or experiences. This should be a fact/evidence-based paper.
To get full credit for answers, you must use specific examples/evidence you find through research about
your chosen company and their products/services. Many of the companies you have chosen have a large
portfolio of diverse offerings. So, to answer many of the questions below, you can focus on a specific
B2B product or service line so your answers can be focused and specific. You should provide web links
to any specific evidence you rely on for your answers, so that I can understand how you formed your
answer. Your answers should have some clear and focused narrative and not be simply one-line answers
to these questions.
There are 10 parts to this assignment, each worth 25 points for a total of 250 points. To receive top
credit, your answers should be:
1. Specific, with concrete examples
2. Related to the course materials
3. Concise and to the point, but long enough to express your full understanding
4. Written in a clear and professional manner (including grammar and spelling)
5. Your own work. Include a reference or citation to ground your answers
There is no hard requirement for length, but for most students, the overall ends up about 12-15 pages
long. On average about 1.0 to 1.5 pages per section – though some sections may be slightly shorter or
longer (with normal margins and lines 1.15 – 1.5 spaced) plus references and any attachments (Tables,
Maps, Copies of ads, website excerpts, etc.) You are encouraged to include any references (with links)
you used for your answers, and to provide examples as an appendix. I am looking for hard facts, not
opinion, to support your ideas! You will earn the most points by focusing on B2B material from the
course and using specific data and information to illustrate your answers to each question.
The format should be a narrative style and not simply a Question/Answer or bullet list type format.
While there are specifics I will be looking for, there should be a nice, logical flow from topic to topic.
So that I don’t lose your work, you must submit a WORD file named “ B2B final paper
“ (example “Mills B2B final paper Raytheon” through Blackboard.
Read this material carefully and if you do not understand any of the questions, or need some
clarification, email me. My advice is not to start working on this until the last minute.
PART 1: Chapter 1 – A Business Marketing Perspective
Describe the B2B product(s)/services your chosen company offers.
Does the company have a mission statement? (also see p 101 – 104 in Chapter 5)
What are the bases of differentiation and how do they position themselves in the market compared to
other suppliers of related product(s)/service(s)? (also see p 101 – 104 in Chapter 5)
Where would you locate them on the spectrum ranging from pure products to pure services? (see also
Figure 9.3 in Chapter 9)
Characterize them as a B2B marketer. What types of Business Market Customers do they have? (e.g.
refer to Table 1.1 Chapter 1) give some specific examples.
What do their customer use their products/services for? (for example as OEMs who incorporate your
product into theirs, or in the production process for their products?)
Who are some of their main competitors? Create a chart that identifies a couple of key competitors and
how they differ in their Value Propositions. The chart can be placed in an appendix.
Give an example of their supply chain. Give one or two examples of an upstream supplier? Can you
provide any insight into how they work with suppliers? Create a simple figure like Figure 1.2 in your
text. This can be placed in an appendix.
PART 2: Chapter 2 – Buyers’ Behavior
Based on your research, describe what the typical buying situation (p.31-33) and buying center (p. 39-
42) might look like for the companies B2B customers. Speculate on what types of Buying Center
participants and what their likely roles might be in the Procurement process. (See Table 2.2) for help.
Give an example of how an Environmental Force is affecting your companies market (p. 33-34)?
Pick a product/service your company offers and describe some of the Total Cost of Ownership
components with a few specific examples (see p. 36) for one of their typical customers.
How does the company try to manage their customer risk in purchase decisions?
PART 3: Chapter 3 – CRM Strategy
For the product or service you picked, suggest whether they are engaging in Transactional, Value-Added,
or Collaborative exchanges? Support your conclusion with some sort of evidence for your answer.
For the product or service you chose above, describe how the company could expand the “Bandwidth
(p. 61-63) of their offering. Give a specific example to illustrate your suggestion.
PART 4: Chapter 4 – Market Segmentation
Using the Product or Service you used above, describe a Market Segment the company serves with it.
What is the NAICS code for this segment?
How would you describe this segment in terms of some of the Macro-level and Micro-level
characteristics we learned in Chapter 4 (See Tables 4.1 and 4.2). How has the company differentiated
it’s product offering to appeal to this segment?
If you were the Marketing Manager at the company you have chosen, suggest a method you would use
to estimate the demand for the product above for the upcoming year. Provide a simple explanation for
why you would choose this method?
PART 5: Chapter 5 – Strategy
Briefly describe your company’s Core Strategy focusing on their Business Mission/Product-Market Scope
and Basis for Differentiation (p. 101-102)
Include some specific evidence to support an explanation of a Strategic Resource your firm has that
provide a strategic advantage in their market? (p. 102)
Using Table 5.2 in your textbook, suggest which type of Strategy they choose for the product/service
above and give some specific examples to support your conclusion.
PART 6: Chapter 7 – Product Management
Describe how your company creates Customer Value (p. 143-144) for its customers of the
product/service you chose above. How would you describe the innovation culture of the company?
Where on the Technology Adoption Lifecycle is the product/service you have chosen? What types of
customer is therefore the target for this stage of the adoption lifecycle?
PART 7: Chapter 9 – Hybrid Offerings
Does your company offer any Hybrid Offerings? (See p. 194-198)
Describe one such offering?
What are some of the unique resources the firm can leverage to create Customer Value for their hybrid
offering?
PART 8: Chapter 10 – Marketing Channels
How can customers in Cleveland purchase your company’s product/service? (Provide some eividence for
your answer).
What is an advantage of them using this business channel?
What is a disadvantage of them using this business channel?
PART 9: Chapter 12 – Pricing
Identify a couple of potential key drivers of Value for the company’s customer for the product/service
you chose. (p. 243-245)
How does their value proposition compare to its competitors?
Are there any potential switching costs for customers in this market? What are they? (p.246)
PART 10: Chapter 13 and Chapter 14 – Promotion & Sales
Provide some examples (either copy and paste images, or provide links) that show how your company
promotes it’s products/services to potential customers.
What message do they deliver (in terms of buyers’ perception, benefits, and motives)? (p. 268-269)
Who is the target? Why do you suppose they chose the method of promotion they did?
Try to locate a trade show your company participates in. (Provide evidence or a link). If you cannot
locate one, why do you suppose they are choosing not o participate?
How is the company sales organization structured in the United States? Provide some specifics about
the structure of the sales organization both from a staffing/reporting structure, and the form of sales
organization (product, market, geographic) organization they use (see p. 285-288)

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