What is this: The project involves interviewing a marketing executive you contact and
asking him/her about the contributions of marketing activities to his/her firm.
Who to interview: The project involves interviewing a marketing practitioner (e.g.,
marketing VP, advertising account executive, head of marketing and sales, VP customer
service, marketing manager, VP sales, sales manager, creative director, media
planner/buyer, public relations professional, event marketing?professional, trade show
marketing professional and similar marketing titles).
Who?Miss Di Luo
Position: Marketing manager
Company: Sina Chongqing (a social media company åiboJJob Responsibilities: Optimize and adjust content through data analysis and user
feedback (such as customer online interaction, playback volume of pushed content, etc.);
promotional activity planning (find various ways and activities to acquire target users)
Each student/team will conduct a short recap of the interview. Cover the most
interesting responses. Who did you interview? Why is their job unique? What
were the most useful tips you learned from them? (200-300 words)
ask one question at a time. After the session, send a thank you note.
Don use the items below as a questionnaire. Use them as a guide. Learn as much as
possible about the company/person in advance. Modify the questions for your executive
before the interview.
The following interview guidelines encourage attention to detail and provide an outline
for the discussion. If some questions are irrelevant to your executiveàfield, then cut
them and add original, custom questions.
Answer these questions
SUGGESTED FORMAT
. Introductory Questions
1. How did you get into this business or current position?
2. Would you tell me a little about your background?
3. What are the most exciting/interesting parts of your job?
. Products/Services Questions
1. What are your best-selling products?
2. Have you discontinued any products recently? (If yes, Why?)
3. Are there any products you are considering adding to your business? (If yes, how did you learn
about
these products?)
4. How do you forecast sales?
5. What do you think are the most/least appealing aspects of your product/service?
D. Place (Channels of Distribution Questions)
1. How did you decide on your current location?
2. If you had the opportunity to move, would you? Where? Why?
3. How do you find new sources of suppliers?
4. Have you ever considered international exporting/importing? What influenced your decision to
do so
or not?
5. What are some factors that drive your clients$ecisions to do business with you?
E. Price
1. How did you decide what price to charge for your major goods/services?
2. Do competitors!ctions influence your pricing decisions?
3. Are there standard markups in your industry?
4. How would you decide what to charge for a new product?
5. How do you think
F. Promotion
1. Who is your target market? (CAUTION: You may have to define target market)
1a. What are some key facts that you know about how your target market makes their decisions?
How
did you find out about this key fact?
2. Which is more difficult, finding new customers or keep existing customers?
3. What types of advertising do you use?
4. What types of advertising work best? How did you determine this?
5. What promotional efforts have worked best?
6. What training or instruction do you give your staff regarding personal selling?
7. Do you contract for/conduct market research? (If yes, has it been useful?)
8. Do you attend industry meetings/conventions? (If yes, has it been useful?)
9. Do you review association/industry research studies? (If yes, has it been useful?)
10. Do you use different selling techniques or promotional methods for:
a) Older versus younger customers
b) Male versus female customers
11. Do you use loss-leaders to attract customers? (be ready to define loss leaders)
G. General and External Environment Questions
1. Do your staff members participate in marketing decisions? (If yes, how?)
2. What marketing mistakes have you seen people make in your industry?
3. How do government regulations affect your marketing decisions?
4. How do ups and downs of the economy affect your business?
5. Are changes in technology affecting your business? (If yes, how?)
6. Would you describe one of the tough ethical dilemmas you have faced as a manager?
THANK THE PERSON FOR HIS/HER TIME (A handwritten thank you note is required)
Write a transcript for each question you asked. Don use the suggested
question same as a questionnaire. Use them as a guide, modify them regrading to
the people who you interview(modify the questionnaire based on their position,
why type of company they work at, what type of project they are working on/
worked with)
Choose about 10-15 questions for the interview
E.g.: 1. How did you get into this business or current position?
Intervieweràanswer: 8xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx¼br>
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