| Course | BUSI 330 Principles of Marketing (BUSI330) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 4 |
| Assignment | Collaborative Marketing Plan Draft 2 |
| Paper type | Group marketing plan draft |
| Length | about 469 words, 2 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: the second draft of the group marketing plan for a new product concept at a Fortune 500 company, prepared collaboratively with content from every member |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| Points | 60 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 4 in Liberty's published BUSI 330 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 330 Week 4
Deere SoilSense Marketing Plan, Draft 2: Research, Target Market, Positioning and Product Strategy
[Student Name]
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 330: Principles of Marketing
Collaborative Marketing Plan: Draft 2
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
SoilSense is an imaginary product concept; the research plan and its figures are proposals, and facts about U.S. farms come from the public sources cited.
Deere SoilSense Marketing Plan, Draft 2: Research, Target Market, Positioning and Product Strategy
1. Revisions to Draft 1
Following feedback, the objectives were narrowed to three Midwest states, and the SWOT now ranks rural connectivity gaps as the most serious threat because hourly readings depend on them.
2. Marketing Research Plan
Kerin and Hartley (2020) describe a five-step approach to marketing research: define the problem, develop the research plan, collect information, develop findings and take action. Our problem is whether mid-sized farms will pay a per-acre subscription for soil data, and at what price.
- Secondary data: USDA census figures on farm size and crops, and USDA research on precision technology adoption.
- Survey: an online and dealer-distributed survey of 400 Operations Center users with 500 to 2,000 acres, measuring interest, willingness to pay at three price points and concerns about data ownership.
- Field pilot: 40 farms in Iowa and Illinois receive SoilSense free for one growing season in exchange for sharing yield and input records, allowing a before-and-after comparison.
3. Segmentation and Target Market
| Segment | Size and crops | Main need | Fit with SoilSense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large operations over 2,000 acres | Corn and soybeans | Integration with existing precision systems | Moderate: many already use sensors or consultants |
| Mid-sized operations of 500 to 2,000 acres using Deere software | Corn and soybeans | Lower input costs without hiring agronomists | High: data feeds the software they already use |
| Mid-sized operations without Deere software | Mixed crops | Simple recommendations | Moderate: requires software adoption first |
| Small and part-time farms under 500 acres | Mixed | Low cost and simplicity | Low: per-acre economics are weak |
The primary target is mid-sized corn and soybean operations already using Deere's software. USDA research shows precision technologies are used far less on mid-sized farms than on large ones (McFadden et al., 2023), so the segment has room to grow, and its existing software use lowers the cost of adoption. The best first customers are those who already speak the product's language.
4. Positioning
For mid-sized corn and soybean growers who already plan their season in Deere's software, SoilSense is the soil monitoring service that turns hourly field readings into fertilizer and irrigation recommendations, installed and maintained by the dealer they already trust, unlike independent sensor kits that leave the farmer to install hardware and interpret raw data alone.
5. Product, Brand and Service Strategy
- Core benefit: lower fertilizer and water costs with steady or higher yields.
- Actual product: solar-powered probes, hourly readings and zone-level recommendations inside Operations Center.
- Augmented product: dealer installation, seasonal maintenance, a probe replacement guarantee and an agronomist hotline.
The brand name SoilSense is short, suggests the benefit and fits within the Deere family of digital services, which the company presents as part of its precision agriculture business (Deere & Company, 2024). Because SoilSense is largely a service, the plan applies the textbook's service quality dimensions: reliability of the readings, responsiveness of the dealer, assurance through Deere's reputation, empathy in how recommendations are explained and tangibles in the quality of the probes and the app. Data reliability matters most, so the pilot will measure how often probes fail to report.
6. New-Product Process
SoilSense has passed idea generation and screening within the group. The business analysis will use survey results to estimate revenue at the chosen price; development will refine the probes and software; the field pilot will serve as the market test; and commercialization will begin in three states in the following spring planting season.
7. Member Contributions
- Revisions and research plan: Member B.
- Segmentation and target market: Member C.
- Positioning and product strategy: Member A.
- New-product process and editing: Member D.
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.
What the BUSI 330 Week 4 instructions ask
Draft 2 of the BUSI 330 collaborative marketing plan is due in Module/Week 4, worth 60 points, after the group has read Kerin and Hartley's chapters on research, segmentation and targeting and, this module/week, chapters 10 to 12 on developing new products, managing products and brands, and services. Quiz 4 falls in the same module/week. Comments on Draft 1 should be addressed first, and each teammate still has to write part of the new material. The guide asks the group to keep the same company and approved product concept throughout, so this draft deepens the analysis rather than starting over. The group should also confirm the research plan's sample sizes are realistic for the time and money available.
How this BUSI 330 Week 4 example is built
The draft opens with a short note on how Draft 1 was revised after feedback. A research section states the questions the group needs answered and the methods to answer them, survey and field pilot, with sample sizes. A segmentation table compares four segments on size, needs and fit, leading to a reasoned choice of primary target. A positioning statement and a short perceptual comparison with alternatives follow. The product section defines the core service, the augmented features and the brand, then maps the remaining development steps onto the textbook's new-product process. Member contributions close the draft. The SoilSense segment table rates all four farm groups on identical columns.
BUSI 330 Week 4 grading rubric: where the points go
Drafts are graded on the quality and specificity of the analysis, its accurate use of the chapters' concepts and its continuity with the earlier draft. For Draft 2, instructors look for a credible research plan, a target market chosen for stated reasons, a positioning statement that is specific and believable, and product and brand decisions that follow from the target's needs. Each member's contribution matters to that member's credit. Drafts that pick a target without justification, write positioning in vague slogans or ignore the new-product process score lower. A short note on how feedback changed the plan shows the group is building one coherent document. A positioning statement that names a real alternative the customer would otherwise choose is far more useful than one that compares the product with nothing.
BUSI 330 Week 4 help: mistakes that cost points
Revise Draft 1 using the instructor's comments before adding new sections, and note what changed. Decide what you still need to learn about customers, and describe a realistic way to learn it. Build a segmentation table that compares segments on the same criteria, and choose a target with explicit reasons. Write the positioning statement in the textbook's form. Treat a service as a product with its own quality dimensions. Keep roles clear among members and record contributions. Make sure the target market chosen here matches the objectives set in Draft 1. Keep the research plan realistic about time and cost.
Related BUSI 330 sample papers
Other BUSI 330 weeks
- BUSI 330 Week 1: Forum 1 Thread and Replies
- BUSI 330 Week 2: Marketing Plan Draft 1
- BUSI 330 Week 3: Forum 2 Thread and Replies
- BUSI 330 Week 5: Forum 3 Thread and Replies
- BUSI 330 Week 6: Marketing Plan Draft 3
- BUSI 330 Week 7: Forum 4 Thread and Replies
- BUSI 330 Week 8: Marketing Plan Final Draft
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- BUSI 313 Week 4: Forum 2 Replies
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BUSI 330 Week 4 questions, answered
What is BUSI 330 Marketing Plan Draft 2?
Draft 2 carries the SoilSense plan from customer research to a chosen target, a positioning statement and the product and brand, for 60 points.
Where can I find a free BUSI 330 Week 4 sample paper?
Read the full BUSI 330 Week 4 SoilSense draft here, covering the research plan, segment table, positioning and product decisions. Member contributions close it.
How do you choose a target market?
Compare segments on size, growth, fit with the company's strengths, competition and the cost of reaching them, then choose the segment where the offering can win and the company can serve profitably.
What are the stages of new-product development?
Textbooks commonly list strategy development, idea generation, screening, business analysis, development, market testing and commercialization, with the idea passing reviews at each stage.
What else is due in BUSI 330 Module/Week 4?
Students also sit Quiz 4 on chapters 10 to 12, which cover new-product development, brands and services. No forum is due this module/week, so the plan draft gets the group's full attention.
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