CIM Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing

Transcription

1 CIM Level 6 Diploma in Professional Marketing Digital Strategy (2203) April 2019 Assignment The assignment comprises THREE compulsory tasks Task 1 is worth 30 marks Task 2 is worth 40 marks Task 3 is worth 30 marks Total marks available 100 Candidate guidance: Answer all tasks The available marks are shown alongside each part of the task Read all tasks carefully before attempting them Refer to the CIM Digital Submission Guide Assignments can only be accepted for marking with a valid assessment booking The Chartered Institute of Marketing 2018 VERSION Page 1 of 8

2 Scenario: Conversion rate optimisation Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) refers to the activities and techniques employed by digital marketers in order to maximise the number of visitors to their organisation s website taking a desired action; this could be anything from downloading a whitepaper to purchasing a product online. Whereas conversion rates relate to the user taking a desired action, the user experience refers to how visitors to the website interact with the pages and content, to meet their needs and wants. In your role as a Marketing Manager of your own organisation, or an organisation of your choice, you have been asked to consider improving the CRO through the optimisation of the user experience as part of the online customer journey. Guidance notes: The assignment comprises THREE separate tasks, which are parts of the process to identify, and then respond strategically, to changes in the organisation s digital marketing environment. Whilst it is helpful to include an introduction and a summary for each task, these should be brief, with the main focus being on the content outlined in the tasks provided. FIVE marks will be awarded for the organisation overview, which will form part of Task 1, using the headings provided in the assignment guidance section. This assignment can be applied to all organisations, sizes and sectors and a creative approach should be taken to the concept and theoretical principles explored. It is good practice to acknowledge all sources/methodologies/applications using the Harvard referencing system. Good Practice Guidelines for Assignment Production The maximum word count is intended to assist candidates in producing a professional document of an appropriate length that can be used in the workplace. The submission should be written in a professional tone (unless otherwise instructed) and should only contain relevant material that directly contributes towards answering the task. This assignment has been developed so that it can be applied to all organisations, sizes and sectors. Where candidates feel applying the assessment to their organisation needs a creative approach to be taken to the concept and theoretical principles explored, this is acceptable following discussion with their tutor. The approach taken should be outlined within the organisation overview. VERSION Page 2 of 8

3 TASK 1 BRIEFING PAPER Assessment criteria covered in Task 1: AC1.2, AC1.3, AC2.1, AC2.2, AC4.1 Please refer to the module specification for assessment criteria details. You have been asked to produce a briefing paper to be delivered to the Senior Management Team (SMT), that identifies the organisation s current approach to CRO, as well as that of a key competitor. Required: (a) Provide a background to your chosen organisation that gives an overview of the customer base and the level of maturity in the use of CRO. (b) Evaluate the approach to CRO employed by your chosen organisation. (c) Compare and contrast the approach of your chosen organisation to CRO with that of a key competitor. (5 marks) (10 marks) (15 marks) (Total 30 marks) (Organisation overview maximum page count one side of A4 paper) (Tasks 1 (b) to 1 (c) maximum word count 1,250 words) VERSION Page 3 of 8

4 TASK 1 BRIEFING PAPER Maximum page count: Task 1 (a) one side of A4 paper Maximum word count: Tasks 1 (b) to 1 (c) 1,250 words ORGANISATION OVERVIEW GUIDELINES The organisation overview is intended to provide context on the chosen organisation and must not exceed one side of A4 paper. The following headings should be used as guidance: Organisation name Organisation information To include type of organisation, size of organisation, range of products and services and main competitors Specific background Provide a background to your chosen organisation that gives an overview of the customer base and the level of maturity in the use of CRO Guidance notes: Task 1 (b): Candidates will first need to ensure they have a good working knowledge of CRO and what is currently considered best practice. This can then be used to underpin the evaluation of the organisation s current practice. Strengths and weaknesses should be identified, using relevant criteria, and the reasons for these considered. Conversion rates can relate to the achievement of any particular desired outcome. Therefore, it is not necessarily related to purchase, but could include registering for an event, downloading content (such as whitepapers, articles or guides), sharing content, leaving a review, making a comment or signing up to receive content. Task 1 (c): To answer this task successfully, candidates need to first identify a key competitor and evaluate their approach to CRO. Again, strengths and weaknesses need to be identified; what is the competitor doing well and where are they underperforming? This will then become the basis for answering the rest of the task, which requires candidates to compare and contrast their chosen organisation s approach to CRO with that of the selected competitor. Similarities need to be drawn out through the comparison, and differences highlighted through the contrast. VERSION Page 4 of 8

5 TASK 2 DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY Assessment criteria covered in Task 2: AC3.1, AC3.3, AC4.1, AC5.2 Please refer to the module specification for assessment criteria details. You have been asked by the SMT of your chosen organisation to advise on key elements required to implement a digital marketing strategy, in order to deliver an improvement in CRO. Required: (a) Analyse the online journey of ONE key customer segment, to produce a customer persona that will support digital marketing decisions. (b) Develop, with justification, TWO digital marketing objectives focused on CRO. (c) Recommend, with justification, a digital marketing strategy that focuses on improving the user experience for the customer segment profiled in Task 2 (a). (15 marks) (10 marks) (15 marks) (Total 40 marks) (Tasks 2 (a) to 2 (c) maximum word count 2,000 words) VERSION Page 5 of 8

6 TASK 2 DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY Maximum word count: 2,000 words For Task 2 (a), candidates will need to conduct research into a key customer segment, to develop a profile in the form of a customer persona. A geodemographic classification of the key segment and psychographic analysis is required, to identify and profile the key segment s online behaviour and their online journey on their path to purchase. There are numerous sources of credible data available online, from sites such as Ofcom, YouGov and Office for National Statistics (ONS) (comscore and Nielsen are useful for international audiences, as well as any country-specific data sources). These, as well as any internal data available, can be consulted to understand the online customer journey and develop this persona. Internal data, from sources such as Google Analytics, will be useful in considering the customer s journey through the organisation s website. Guidance notes: Candidates should present the findings in the form of a customer or buyer persona. It may be possible that more than one persona can be developed from the research conducted into a key segment, but only ONE is needed in response to this sub-task. Task 2 (b): Candidates are required to develop, with justification, TWO digital marketing objectives that focus on the optimisation of conversion rates. The customer journey through the organisation s website and their user experience will be important considerations when developing the objectives. The objectives should be in the context of the chosen organisation and should utilise a relevant theoretical framework. The objectives should be justified using relevant theory and evidence drawn from the responses in Task 1 (b) and Task 1 (c), and the customer persona in Task 2 (a). Task 2 (c): Candidates are required to recommend and justify an appropriate user experience strategy that will support an increase in the desired conversion rate(s). There should be clear links as to how these strategic recommendations will deliver on the objectives recommended in Task 2 (b). The strategy recommended should be justified using relevant theory. VERSION Page 6 of 8

7 TASK 3 DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN Assessment criteria covered in Task 3: AC4.2, AC4.3, AC5.2, AC5.3, AC5.4, AC6.2, AC6.3, AC6.4 Please refer to the module specification for assessment criteria details. After submitting the recommended digital marketing strategy to the SMT, you have been further tasked with developing the implementation plan, with a focus on allocating resources and managing the measurement of the outcomes. Required: (a) Explain how the digital marketing mix can be managed and optimised to support an improvement in CRO. (b) Describe the resources required to support the successful implementation of the recommended digital marketing strategy and mix. (c) Recommend a programme of multivariate testing of key metrics that will be used to measure the performance of the recommended digital marketing strategy. (10 marks) (8 marks) (12 marks) (Total 30 marks) (Tasks 3 (a) to 3 (c) maximum word count 1,500 words) VERSION Page 7 of 8

8 TASK 3 DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN Maximum word count: 1,500 words Task 3 (a): Candidates need to identify and then explain what activities will be used in the digital marketing mix in order to manage and optimise the user experience (UX), to support an increase in conversion rates. This does not require a focus on what resources are needed: that is considered in Task 3 (b). The focus is more on what changes can be made to the user experience. This requires a practical, working knowledge of UX, in order to determine what can be changed, to support optimisation, and how it can be implemented and controlled, in relation to the management of the activity. Task 3 (b): Candidates are required to describe, in detail, all relevant key resources needed to successfully implement the activities recommended in Task 2 (c). These may include, but are not limited to: time, financial, human and material-based resources. Guidance notes: This could be presented as a Gantt Chart or detailed timeline, but the key focus is to provide a description of the resources needed; that is, to provide a detailed account. Task 3 (c): Candidates need to identify relevant areas to be tested (such as ease of use, time on task, conversion and similar) that are specific to optimising user experience and supporting an improvement in CRO. Multivariate testing allows multiple combinations of webpage elements to be tested simultaneously (for example, layout, navigation, headlines and images), rather than focusing on one single element in A/B testing. This enables the marketer to see what impact changing each variable has had in relation to the response achieved. Candidates are then required to discuss the methods and tools that can be used to measure each of these variables. Knowledge and understanding of different analytic and insight platforms will be useful here. VERSION Page 8 of 8