Assessment item 2
Consumers as social beings
Value: 30%
Due date: 07-Apr-2018
Length: 2,000 words
Task
Social influences impact product and brand purchase decision at all stages of the consumer purchase decision process.
Questions:
1. You are required to identify at least two social influences that are relevant to the consumers of your firm or the firm you intend to work for (choose one product/service if more than one is offered by your firm) and analyse, specific to your firm, how the two or more social influences (culture, social class or reference groups) impact on the consumer purchase decision process.
2. Draw on the theories in chapters 2-4 to discuss how marketers (in your firm) can apply this critical understanding of social influences on consumer behaviour to improve/enhance your firm's marketing strategies (4 Ps or 7 Ps, targeting, market segmentation).
Hints:
• Make sure that you draw sufficiently on theoretical concepts of consumer behaviour in your analysis.
• When you are discussing particular concepts make sure that you define them first.
• Adhere to the word length.
• The paper must be accurately referenced with relevant up-to-date sources, using the APA 6 style.
• A guide to the APA style of referencing and how to avoid unintentional plagiarism can be found at the Student Services website http://student.csu.edu.au/library/integrity/referencing-at-csu or in pdf format
Rationale
This assessment task covers topics 1, 2, 3, and 4 and has been designed to ensure that you are engaging with the subject content on a regular basis. More specifically it seeks to assess your ability to:
• Analyse the buyer decision process and critique effects of situational influences on consumer purchases;
• Evaluate a variety of external factors and their influence on consumer behaviour;
• Examine social influences that affect consumer buying decisions;
• Demonstrate a theoretical understanding and practical application of important aspects of consumer decision making and behaviour and
• Understand how the marketing or management actions of a firm may need to be changed in order to meet social impacts of consumer behaviour on decision making.

Presentation
1. Include a brief introduction (no more than 100 words)
2. Academic essay format should be used. However, headings and subheadings, charts and/or figures are allowed.
3. An ideal assignment is your opinion, supported by evidence from respected/reliable sources, expressed in your own words, and fully referenced as to the source of ideas, facts and quotations. ‘In your own words’ is critical in displaying your understanding of the material, rather than being expert at copy and paste.
4. Use Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri 12pt font; 2.5 cm margins all round, 1.5 spacing.
5. Include a brief conclusion (no more than 150 words).
6. References should be included at the end of the assessment on a new page. A guide to the APA style of referencing is available in pdf format. Further details on how to reference and avoid unintentional plagiarism can be found at the Student Services website. http://student.csu.edu.au/library/integrity/referencing-at-csu. A 'How To Write a Report will also be included on Interact2.
7. Any use of Wikipedia as a source for the assignment will result in an automatic zero mark, as it is not a reliable source.
8. The introdiction, conclusion, references and tables are not incuded in the word count.