Assignment Paper

Assignment 4 (complete after Ch. 4 – Buyer Behavior and the Buying Process)
Name __________________________
Instructions:
Part 1: Determine the rankings each profile listed below would give each car model based on how the models are ranked and how each person has rated the importance of each attribute. Once you have come up with product rankings, then determine the benefit/cost ration of each model based on its price.
Attributes Importance Weights New Car Product Options
Single Male Husband w/ 3 Kids Accountant (Compact) Evader (Sports Car) Earth Destroyer (SUV)
Horsepower 9 4 3 9 8
Handling 8 5 5 10 4
Passenger Capacity 2 9 3 1 9
Trunk Space 6 7 6 4 9
Gas Mileage 3 9 10 5 1
Interior Comfort 8 8 7 3 10
Interior Features 9 7 6 8 9
Ride 6 8 9 6 3

Rankings
Single Male

Husband w/ 3 Kids

Benefit/Cost Rankings Price Ratio

Single Male Accountant $17,500.00 X 1000
Evader $31,000.00 X 1000
Earth Destroyer $44,000.00 X 1000

Husband w/ 3 Kids Accountant $17,500.00 X 1000
Evader $31,000.00 X 1000
Earth Destroyer $44,000.00 X 1000

Part 2: Imagine you are attempting to sell the single male his lowest ranked option based on the score rankings (do not use the benefit/cost ratio here, use the initial rankings before price is taken into consideration):

a. You are trying to increase the score of the single male’s lowest ranked car by convincing the single male that one of the car’s attributes performs better than the single male initially thought. Which attribute would you try to convince the single male is actually better than he initially evaluated and why?

b. You are trying to decrease the score of the single male’s highest ranked car by convincing the single male that one of the car’s attributes performs worse than the single male initially thought. Which attribute would you try to convince the single male is actually worse than he initially evaluated and why?

c. You are trying to increase the score of the single male’s lowest ranked car by convincing the single male that one of the car’s attributes is more important than the single male initially thought. Which attribute would you try to convince the single male is actually more important than he initially thought and why?

d. You are trying to decrease the score of the single male’s highest ranked car by convincing the single male that one of the car’s attributes is less important than the single male initially thought. Which attribute would you try to convince the single male is actually less important than he initially thought and why?

e. Which of these approaches is the easiest to accomplish? Why?