Identify one additional product or service that you purchase for which you believe reference group appeal or influence in general would be minimal. Explain your answer.

Week 2 Discussion Questions

Select only one of the two discussion questions below and provide a thoughtful 250+ word response to all of the questions (250 words total, not for each section). Separate your answers by the parts of the question. It makes it easier to see your specific response to each part.

NOTE: This is a POST FIRST discussion board. That means you can see responses by your classmates ONLY after you post your response. Your first post counts, so if it’s blank – that’s what you will be graded on. You cannot go back and edit your posts after you submit it.

OPTION #1 – REFERENCE GROUPS

Explain two of your personal reference groups.

Now, thinking of reference groups in general, identify two products or services that you purchase for which you believe reference group appeal or influence would be very strong. Explain your answers thoughtfully.

Identify one additional product or service that you purchase for which you believe reference group appeal or influence in general would be minimal. Explain your answer.

How can you see reference groups influencing business to business (or B2B) buying? In other words, how are the products that a business purchases influenced by their reference groups? Discuss this in terms of members of the buying center or any other groups that could impact B2B buying decisions.

OPTION #2 – GEODEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION

Go to ESRI to access their Tapestry Segmentation webpage

Read through the information in the “Explore Your Community’s Characteristics” area.
Click on START EXPLORING and then you will be prompted to enter a ZIP Code.
Input a zip code with which you are familiar and click submit.

YOUR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT:

Share the ZIP CODE that you chose including the city & state.
List the most common Tapestry Segments for the ZIP code – the top 3 or 4 should be listed under the TAPESTRY heading

Read through each of the segments (click on the segment and review the information that appears in the square to the right of the segment name. Choose the Tapestry Segment that you think best describes this area, click on the CLICK FOR MORE DETAILS link at the bottom of the description, and explain the information. Be sure to summarize key descriptors in your own words.

Does the description match what you know about the ZIP Code? Why or why not?

How could marketers use this research/information when developing a target market OR developing a promotion strategy?