Chinese University of Hong Kong

Faculty of Business and Administration

QUANTITATIVE MARKETING
(MKTG4120)
2016/17 (second term)

SYLLABUS

Instructor: Prof. GUO Liang, Office 1114 CYT, Email: LiangGuo@baf.cuhk.edu.hk

TA: Kwong Nga Yee Crystal, Office 1149 CYT, Email: CrystalKwong@baf.cuhk.edu.hk

Office Hours: Tuesday 14:00 16:00 or by appointment

OVERVIEW

Firms today have access to more data about the market and consumer behavior than ever before.
The business world is increasingly characterized by data explosion and information-intensive
decision making. Integration between basic marketing concepts and analytical tools can
significantly improve marketing decision making. The goal of this course is to help students
develop the expertise to identify marketing opportunities/problems, analyze market data, and
develop marketing plans. Using exercises tied to Excel-based computer software, students will
develop problem-solving skills and critical thinking for various marketing problems.

The course consists of two parts. The first part addresses general strategic issues on market and
consumers. We learn how to make strategic decisions on segmentation, targeting and positioning
(STP). The second part examines specific marketing mix decisions, including sales forecasting,
product design, and promotion etc. A student who takes this course should be table to:

Formulate specific marketing research plan to systematically solve strategic and operational
marketing problems;
Develop the skills to employ critical thinking and data analysis in making optimal marketing
decisions;
Evaluate the advantages and limitations of different data analysis methods for different
marketing decisions.

EXPECTATION

The course is designed for those who have some background in marketing principles and
marketing research, and who would like to learn how to make critical marketing decisions by
building simple models and transferring data into insights (i.e., data analysis). Previous exposure
to statistics and data analysis is useful background.

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First, learning-by-doing is crucial. In this course, one can never learn without getting his/her
hands dirty. You can get more out of the materials covered in the course only by applying
them to the case exercises and real problems.

Second, critical thinking is stressed. It is much more important to understand clearly the core
ideas underlying the models and think about solving problems critically, than simply playing
around the software applications correctly.

COURSE MATERIALS

1. Principles of Marketing Engineering (2nd edition), by Gary L. Lilien, Arvind Rangaswamy,

and Arnaud De Bruyn, DecisionPro Inc., 2013
2. Software: Marketing Engineering for Excel
3. Marketing Engineering: Computer-Assisted Marketing Analysis and Planning, by Gary Lilien,
Arvind Rangaswamy, and Arnaud De Bruyn, Trafford Publishing, 2004.

The course is closely related to the first textbook. The second book covers a lot of the analytical
details behind the concepts and core ideas, and is a good reference for the curious readers. The
software contains the tutorials, business cases, and data set. You can also obtain other
information (e.g., Technical Notes) on the book and software from http://www.decisionpro.biz.

COURSE DESIGN

The course format includes a mixture of lectures, exercises, case discussions, and a group
project. The lectures present the theories, concepts, and techniques with some concrete examples
and exercises. In class discussions, you will have the opportunity to ask and answer questions
and to provide relevant examples and insights. We will discuss several business cases to
examine, in detail, the application of particular concepts and tools in business settings. Finally,
you will work on a group project to address an interesting marketing problem in the real world.

The course will address standard strategic and operational marketing problems (STP and 4 Ps).
For each of the topics/problems covered, there will be a three-part sequence repeated throughout
the course: 1) a lecture on the theory and basics; 2) a software session; and 3) group
presentations on applications to specific business cases.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT

Class Participation: 10 points

Case Presentation: 20 points
Written Case Reports: 30 points
Group Project: 40 points

Total: 100 points

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1. Class Participation (10%)

The class sessions normally involve interactions in the form of class discussion. You are
expected to be well prepared and contribute to each class discussion and in-class exercise. To
reinforce this expectation, we may sometimes cold call (whether or not the class members
hand is raised). In case you are not prepared for a particular class, please let me know prior to the
class so that I will not call on you. However, doing so will negatively influence your
participation credit and is thus highly discouraged.

A perfect performance in class participation depends on 3 Ps: Preparation, Presence and

Participation. To get the most out of the class, it is important to go through in advance the text
chapters and the software. The most effective learning is to try your hand first, and then come to
the class with your questions and insights. An effective participant is less concerned about the
right or wrong answers than about contributing thoughtful insights and sharing valuable
experience with the class. Keep also in mind that your grade for class participation is not simply
a function of the amount of air time you take up. In general, we will evaluate you on how well
you respond to questions and on how effectively you take into account the comments and
analyses of your classmates.

2. Case Presentation (20%)

Each group will be responsible for presenting one of the marked cases in the schedule. The
groups should, using PowerPoint, discuss how to identify the key issues in the assigned case, use
the software to analyze the problems, make recommendations based on the analysis, and be
prepared to answer questions. The group presentation should take about 20 minutes. The groups
should discuss with the instructor in advance about their case presentation.

3. Written Case Reports (30%)

There are two required case reports: one group and one individual. You cannot choose to submit
a report on the case that is assigned for your group presentation. The case reports should be
submitted, through VeriGuide, before the start of the corresponding case presentation session.
Late work will not be accepted.

There is no rigid requirement for the report format, except that they should be within 4 pages
including all supporting materials. A standard business report usually takes the following format:
1 inch margins, 12 point font size, single-spaced within paragraphs, double-spaced between
paragraphs, etc. The identifying information (names and student id) is placed at the top right. The
supporting exhibits (spreadsheets, diagrams, charts, pictures, etc) are referenced in the text and
included as Appendix.

In writing a report, you should first identify the main problems to be solved in the case. Then you
can discuss how the problems can be analyzed by decomposing them into some small
answerable questions, and how data can be obtained to answer the questions. This is usually the
modeling step in the analysis. Then you can demonstrate how the software and data analysis
can help answer the questions. This demonstration can be organized around the specific

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questions contained in the case. Finally you should discuss the advantages and limitations of the
approach used, both in particular for the case and in general.

4. Group Project (40%)

In the final group project, you will have the opportunity to apply what you learn in the course to
a marketing problem. You will assume the role of business consultants working as a group. Your
group has to select a specific marketing topic/problem of interest to a potential client. The topic
needs to be discussed with and approved by the instructor before you carry it out. The instructor
is always ready for help. You can collect primary data, make use of secondary data, and/or rely
on managerial judgment as inputs to your analysis. Some examples of the project include:

Market segmentation analysis for a telecommunication service provider

Consumer segmentation for an on-campus bar
Forecasting the adoption pattern for a high-tech product
Product design for a local restaurant
Budget allocation for search ad promotion campaign

On February 20, 2017, a one-page research plan is due. You should clearly identify the
marketing problem and outline the specific steps on how you will go ahead with addressing the
problem. You should also discuss your specific plan on data analysis, as well as expected results
and insights you intend to deliver. The research plan accounts for 5% of the final grade.

On April 3/10, 2017, you should have finished the project and be prepared to present your
results to the class for about 30 minutes. A final written report is due on the last day of the class,
April 10, 2017. The written report has no size limit, but should be concise and to the point. The
final presentation and report account for 35% of the final grade.

TEAMWORK AND PEER EVALUATION

Teamwork is essential for this course. You will work as groups for a significant amount of the
class assignments. This will allow you to develop skills such as effort coordination, communication,
conflict resolution, etc., which are immensely valuable in a real business environment.

We will have 10 groups, with about 2 people in each group (depending on the class size). Please
inform the TA, Crystal Kwong (CrystalKwong@baf.cuhk.edu.hk), of your preference for your
group members before January 22, 2017, otherwise a random group will be assigned to you.

Group members will be requested to evaluate each others performance/contribution in group

work using the Peer Evaluation Form. You will be asked to evaluate your group members taking
into account group meeting attendance, timeliness, efforts and contribution of skills, ideas and
resources, etc. The form is to be submitted before the last class meeting. Your individual grade
could be decreased or increased, depending on how other group members evaluate your
performance in your group.

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POLICIES

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

Please draw your attention to the University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work,
and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and
regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty.

You must submit all written assignments to VeriGuide for checking the likelihood of committing
plagiarism https://services.veriguide.org/academic/login_CUHK.jspx, and sign on the
Academic Honesty Declaration Statement that you are aware of these policies, regulations,
guidelines and procedures. Please submit your soft copy of written assignments through the
VeriGuide system, and a hard copy of the signed declaration statement to the TA.

Grading

In case you are not satisfied with your scores, you will need to submit a request of reevaluation
within one week of receiving your scores. Your original assignment, your name, student ID, and
a short written note explaining why you feel you deserve more points should be provided.
Explanations should be precise and specific and should pertain to the content of the assignment
only. Explanations like I worked really hard and deserve more points or My answer on this
question is better than XYZs will be unacceptable. Please also note that a reevaluation request
for a particular assignment of the course will entail a complete reevaluation of the entire
assignment, which may lead to either lower or higher scores.

Class Conduct

1. Please come to class on time. Those who repeatedly arrive late will have their class
participation grade substantially lowered.

2. Please turn off your cell phones before the class starts. I will answer your phone for you if it
rings in the class.

3. Eating in class is distracting, makes the room messy, and gives an unprofessional atmosphere.
Please plan your day so you dont eat in class.

4. No private conversations in class are acceptable.

5. Please remember to display your name plate in front of your table such that you receive credit
for class participation.

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Wk Date Tentative Schedule: Topic and Case Reading & Due

1 Jan 9 Course Overview and Introduction Chapter 1

CASE: Allegro
2 Jan 16 Marketing Decision and Response Modeling Chapter 1
CASE: BrainCell Internet Advertising
3 Jan 23 Customer Lifetime Value Chapter 2
Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning (STP) Chapter 3
4 Feb 6 Need-based Segmentation Chapter 3
GE Matrix
5 Feb 13 G1-2 CASE: ConneCtor PDA 2001 (Segmentation)
Behavior-based Segmentation Chapter 2
Group Project
6 Feb 20 G3 CASE: ABB Electric
Research Plan
Positioning Analysis Chapter 4
7 Feb 27 Group Project Discussion
8 Mar 6 G4 CASE: ConneCtor PDA 2001 (Positioning)
New Product Design: Conjoint Analysis Chapter 6
9 Mar 13 G5-6 CASE: Forte Hotel Design
New Product Sales Forecasting Chapter 5
10 Mar 20 G7-8 CASE: Ford Hybrid Car
Promotion Chapter 7
11 Mar 27 G9-10 CASE: Blue Mountain Coffee
Wrap Up
12 Apr 3 G1-5 Final Project Presentation
Final Report &
13 Apr 10 G6-10 Final Project Presentation
Peer Evaluation