What types of marketing research (secondary or primary) does the company collect on a regular basis and what types of decisions have been made based on this research?

Prepare an 8-10 page reflection on your internship. See rubric.
Focus on:
1. What skills you developed,
2. What you were able to accomplish, and
3. How what you are learning in college did (or didn’t) prepare you for the experience.
Writing should be professional and error-free. Use headings and other elements required for professional reports. Here is a refresher on report writing.
Internship Report: The following questions are to be used as the basis for your formal report. The internship report should range from 2-5 pages per credit hour. The faculty advisor and student will jointly determine which of the report areas will be applicable based on their projected experience. The paper must be completed and turned in to the faculty supervisor by a date agreed upon by the student and faculty advisor. Ideally, this date is prior to the start of the next academic trimester.
Don’t wait until the end of your internship to research answers to these questions. Be resourceful in finding answers to these questions by using information from annual reports, company newsletters, meetings, etc. Be familiar with the questions and remain observant for opportunities to find answers. Your report needs to be professional, employers often want to see a copy of the final product.
Ask permission from your employer to keep copies of any of your work product to include as an appendix to your report. This could include memos, letters, pamphlets, reports, etc.
a. A brief history of the company or organization and its place in industry, business or government.
b. Relationship of the position the organization’s structure.
c. Work of the department in which the intern worked.
d. Any special projects with which the student/intern had worked.
e. Problem-solving techniques, communication, leadership or supervisory skills used.
f. In what ways did your classes and campus activities prepare you for your internship. Discuss any similarities and differences you witnessed between the areas you’ve learned and what you actually experienced.
g. Success and failure experienced.
h. In what manner has this assignment contributed to your professional development?
Illustrations, drawings, photos, forms, samples, etc. are especially helpful in making a report. Please include items of this nature in an appendix. The student intern should be very careful to indicate properly the source of all such material.

If the above suggestions weren’t enough to prepare a long enough paper you might use some of the following to guide you– Pick one or two tracks.
Marketing Track
1. How does the organization develop its customer-related marketing programs (i.e., functional level tactics) according to its corporate level strategy?
How does the organization decide which customer segments to target?
How does the organization develop, maintain and grow its relationship with its customers (e.g., building a database about exchange history with all customers, building performance tracking system)?
How does the organization involve its customers into its new product/service development process?
5. Do you think the company focuses more on what customers need or on what the company can do, in terms of developing new offerings?
How does the organization position itself against its key competitors?
How does the organization’s marketing function share the intelligence about its target segments with other functions?
What social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) does your organization utilize to promote/communicate its products to its customers?
How does the organization incorporate e-commerce (website, product delivery, order processing, etc.) in its marketing plan?
What type(s) of logistics does the organization use to deliver the product/service to its customers?
What types of marketing research (secondary or primary) does the company collect on a regular basis and what types of decisions have been made based on this research?
Customer/Market Track
1. What are the major products, programs, or services that the organization is providing? Who is the customer base?
2. How does the organization determine customers’ needs?
3. How does the organization develop relationships with its customers?
4. How does the organization identify and resolve customer complaints?
5. What does the organization do with customer-related information (i.e. customer loyalty and repurchase)? How does the organization use this information to identify improvements in its products, programs, and services?
6. How does the organization determine/measure customer satisfaction?

Process Management – Track
1. How does the organization develop designs for new or modified products, programs, services, or delivery processes?
2. How does the organization determine and manage the quality of the products, programs, and services to ensure they perform as they were designed?
3. How does the organization continuously develop its processes to ensure quality performance?
4. How does the organization manage and improve the quality of its support services (legal services, cafeteria services, payroll, purchasing, supplies, etc.)?
5. How does the organization ensure its suppliers are improving in their efforts to meet the organization’s requirements? How does the organization provide feedback to suppliers on their performance?
Human Resource – Track
1. How does the compensation and recognition system support organizational improvement?
2. How do recruitment and retention plans address the need for diversity in the workplace?
3. How does the organization encourage employees to contribute to the organization’s objectives?
4. To what extent are employees involved in daily decision making? Does management seek suggestions or input from employees on a regular basis?
5. How does the organization design, deliver, and evaluate employee education and training?
6. How does the organization ensure that it provides opportunities for career development?
7. How does the organization evaluate employee performance? Do you use a 360 degree review process?
Leadership – Track
1. How does the leadership system, management, and entire organization focus on customers and high performance objectives? Does commitment to customers “start at the top”?
2. What are the mission and vision statements expressed by top leaders? Do these statements provide a customer focus and direction for employees?
3. Describe the organization’s leadership system.
4. How often is progress reviewed to ensure that the organization is moving toward planned goals?
How are these reviews conducted, and do they produce actions to improve performance?
5. Who are the key stakeholders of the organization?
6. What demonstrates this organization’s commitment to its public and social responsibilities, such as organizational ethics; community education; public health and safety; cultural diversity; affirmative action; disabled persons; environmental protection; and waste management?

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