BUSI 330 Week 2 Collaborative Marketing Plan Draft 1 Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This BUSI 330 Week 2 sample shows the first draft of the course's collaborative marketing plan, written by a group that chose Deere and Company and proposed an imaginary new service: SoilSense, a subscription network of in-field soil sensors that feeds moisture and nutrient readings into Deere's existing farm management software. The draft introduces the company and the concept, scans the marketing environment, presents a SWOT analysis with evidence for each point, describes farm operators as organizational buyers and sets measurable objectives for the launch. Liberty University BUSI 330 grades this 60-point BS in Business Administration draft in Module/Week 2, alongside Quiz 2 and Kerin and Hartley's chapters 4 to 6.

CourseBUSI 330 Principles of Marketing (BUSI330)
Module/Week2
AssignmentCollaborative Marketing Plan Draft 1
Paper typeGroup marketing plan draft
Lengthabout 581 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: the first draft of a group marketing plan for a new product concept at a Fortune 500 company, prepared collaboratively with content from every member
FormatAPA 7 student paper
Points60
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Business Administration
Where it sitsModule/Week 2 in Liberty's published BUSI 330 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 330 Week 2

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Deere SoilSense Marketing Plan, Draft 1: Company, Product Concept and Situation Analysis

 

[Student Name]

School of Business, Liberty University

BUSI 330: Principles of Marketing

Collaborative Marketing Plan: Draft 1

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

 

SoilSense is an imaginary product concept written for the assignment, which requires a new product; facts about Deere and Company and about U.S. farms come from the public sources cited.

Why this part earns its pointsThe overview and concept come first, so every later section can be judged against them.
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Deere SoilSense Marketing Plan, Draft 1: Company, Product Concept and Situation Analysis

1. Company Overview

Deere and Company, founded by John Deere in 1837 and headquartered in Moline, Illinois, is one of the world's largest makers of agricultural, construction and forestry equipment and a Fortune 500 company (Deere & Company, 2024). The company reports its business in segments that include production and precision agriculture, small agriculture and turf, construction and forestry, and financial services. It sells through an extensive network of independent dealers and has invested heavily in precision technology, including its Operations Center software, which farmers use to plan, record and analyze field operations.

2. Product Concept

SoilSense is a subscription service for mid-sized row-crop farms. A dealer installs solar-powered wireless probes across a farm's fields; the probes measure soil moisture, temperature and key nutrients at several depths and send readings every hour to the farmer's Operations Center account. The service turns those readings into irrigation and fertilizer recommendations for each zone of a field. Farmers pay a per-acre annual subscription that includes the probes, installation, maintenance and software, rather than buying hardware outright.

3. Environmental Scan

The textbook's scanning framework (Kerin & Hartley, 2020) points the group to four outside forces that bear directly on SoilSense.

  • Economic: Fertilizer and fuel costs have been volatile, raising the value of applying inputs only where needed.
  • Technological: Wireless connectivity and low-cost sensors have made in-field monitoring practical, and Deere's software already gives farmers a platform to receive the data.
  • Regulatory: Water use and nutrient runoff are increasingly scrutinized in many states, so documented, precise application may help farms meet local requirements.
  • Social: Farm operators are aging, and younger operators are generally more comfortable with digital tools, which may speed adoption over time.

USDA data show why the mid-sized segment is a sensible starting point. Federal figures frame the opportunity. The latest agricultural census put the country's farm count near 1.9 million, averaging a little over 460 acres each (U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2024), while USDA economists report that auto-steer, yield mapping and similar tools are concentrated on the biggest operations (McFadden et al., 2023). The largest farms already have precision tools; the growth opportunity lies with the operations just below them.

Why this part earns its pointsEvery SWOT entry is tied to a fact, which answers the common criticism that SWOT lists are generic.
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4. SWOT Analysis

StrengthsWeaknesses
Trusted brand and dealer network that can install and service probesHardware outside Deere's core equipment expertise
Existing Operations Center users who can add the service easilySubscription pricing new to many Deere customers
OpportunitiesThreats
Low adoption of precision tools on mid-sized farmsSpecialized sensor startups and competing equipment makers
Rising input costs that reward precise applicationRural connectivity gaps that limit hourly data
Why this part earns its pointsThe buyer section treats the farm as an organizational buyer, which changes who must be persuaded.
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5. Understanding the Buyer

Kerin and Hartley (2020) explain that organizational buyers differ from consumers: decisions often involve several people, purchases are judged on economic return, and relationships with suppliers matter. A mid-sized farm's buying center might include the owner-operator, a spouse or family partner who keeps the books, an agronomist or crop consultant, and the Deere dealer who services the farm's equipment. Each plays a different role. The agronomist influences whether the recommendations are trusted, the bookkeeper evaluates cost per acre, and the dealer is often the gatekeeper who introduces new products. The plan must therefore persuade the dealer as well as the farmer.

6. Ethical Considerations

Farm data raise questions about ownership and privacy. Consistent with the textbook's discussion of ethics and social responsibility, SoilSense will state plainly in its contract that the farmer owns the field data, that Deere will not sell individual farm data to third parties, and that aggregated data will be used only to improve recommendations.

7. Objectives

  • Sign 800 farms covering 600,000 acres in three Midwest states within the first year after launch.
  • Reach 85 percent subscription renewal at the end of year one.
  • Demonstrate an average reduction of at least 10 percent in nitrogen application per acre among first-year users, measured in Operations Center records.

8. Member Contributions

  • Company overview and product concept: Member A.
  • Environmental scan and SWOT: Member B.
  • Buyer analysis and ethics: Member C.
  • Objectives and editing: Member D.
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References

Deere & Company. (2024). 2024 annual report.

Kerin, R. A., & Hartley, S. W. (2020). Marketing: The core (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

McFadden, J., Njuki, E., & Griffin, T. (2023). Precision agriculture in the digital era: Recent adoption on U.S. farms (Economic Information Bulletin No. 248). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2024). 2022 Census of Agriculture: United States summary and state data.

What the BUSI 330 Week 2 instructions ask

The collaborative marketing plan is BUSI 330's group project. The instructor divides the class into groups, each of which chooses a Fortune 500 company and proposes a product or service concept that is genuinely new, not something previously researched or sold, and gets the instructor's approval before work begins. The group then builds a marketing plan for introducing the new product across three drafts and a final draft in the even modules/weeks. Draft 1 is due in Module/Week 2 for 60 points, alongside Quiz 2 and chapters 4 to 6 on ethics, consumer behavior and organizational buying, and every member must contribute content to receive credit. The draft also establishes the facts later drafts will rely on.

How this BUSI 330 Week 2 example is built

The draft is organized like the opening of a professional plan. It begins with a short company overview drawn from public sources and a one-paragraph product concept stating who the service is for and what problem it solves. An environmental scan covers the economic, technological, regulatory and social forces relevant to the launch. A SWOT table follows, with each entry supported by evidence rather than assertion. A buyer section applies the textbook's account of organizational buying to farm operators and their dealers. The draft ends with measurable objectives and a list of member contributions, as the group requirement asks. Member contributions appear at the end, as the group requirement asks.

BUSI 330 Week 2 grading rubric: where the points go

Plan drafts are graded on whether the group has chosen an appropriate company and a genuinely new product, whether the draft applies the chapters' concepts accurately, and whether the analysis is specific, supported and well organized. Instructors look for an environmental scan and SWOT grounded in evidence, a clear statement of the target buyer and objectives that can be measured. Because the plan is collaborative, each member's contribution to the content matters to that member's credit. Vague objectives, an existing product presented as new, or a SWOT made of generic statements reduce the grade. An environmental scan that names the specific forces affecting the new product, rather than the economy in general, shows the analysis was done for this plan.

BUSI 330 Week 2 help: mistakes that cost points

Pick a Fortune 500 firm that publishes enough about its customers and segments, in annual reports and investor materials, for the group to build a real situation analysis. Write the product concept in one paragraph before anything else, and get approval early. Ground every SWOT entry in a fact you can cite. Apply the textbook's buyer concepts to the people who would actually buy the product. Set objectives with numbers and dates. Divide the sections among members, but have one person edit for a consistent voice, and record who wrote what. Save every source you use so later drafts can cite it consistently.

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BUSI 330 Week 2 questions, answered

What is BUSI 330 Marketing Plan Draft 1?

The 60-point first draft of the group's marketing plan, due in Module/Week 2, introducing the Fortune 500 company and new product concept and analyzing the marketing situation.

Where can I find a free BUSI 330 Week 2 sample paper?

This page shows a complete BUSI 330 Week 2 plan draft for an imaginary Deere soil-sensor subscription, with environmental scan, SWOT and objectives.

Does the BUSI 330 product have to be new?

Yes. The guide requires a new product or service concept that has not been researched or sold before, approved by the instructor before the group begins work.

How do farms buy equipment and technology?

Like other organizational buyers, farms often involve several people in the decision, weigh return on investment and rely on trusted dealers, which shapes how a new product should be marketed.

What else is due in BUSI 330 Module/Week 2?

The second quiz covers ethics, consumer behavior and organizational buying, the chapters that inform this draft's buyer analysis. Forum 1 replies are also due.

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