1) Number of participants?

35

2) Who was the audience for the class/workshop/activity?

Entrepreneurial Marketing (ELS-0105) is a required class for the Entrepreneurship minor. Most students are juniors/seniors who have taken at least one ELS course before.

3) Describe your experience planning with the instructor.

I’ve worked with this course for several years and have adapted my content as I’ve learned more about student needs. Students in the course work on a team-based, semester-long marketing project for real clients with a huge range of deliverables. I’d inherited the following ambitious outline for a one hour workshop:

Understanding Market Research

• What is it?
• How do you use it?
• What tools do you use?
• Market research guide
• What is a survey, focus group, voice of the customer?
• When is enough market data?

Project deliverables typically  include:

1. Extensive market research reports
2. Market segmentation analyses
3. Customer or prospect surveys
4. Pricing analysis and reports
5. Development of company Value Propositions
6. The development of a tactical marketing plan specifically addressing the deliverables
7. Specific, actionable recommendations with “how-to” implementation tactics

In my initial planning call with the instructor I learned that the client asks included both business-to-business and consumer-focused deliverables from a mix of startups, mid-sized private companies, and divisions of public companies. Once I was added to the Canvas site for the course I was able to see the specific client requests, which was extremely helpful in getting a sense of what students would be asked to accomplish.

4) What were your goals for the class/workshop/activity?

My goal for the workshop was to connect students with sources that would help them prepare for their initial client meetings, which would happen the week after my workshop. Students needed to have a sense of whether the requested deliverable from their client was feasible and how they might start to develop a realistic methodology and workplan. I also wanted students to have a sense of what questions they might ask in a research consultation, as client needs are quite varied and I meet with many student groups throughout the semester.

5) Describe the session(s) and the logistics of any hands-on activities.

I visit the course classroom as a guest lecturer. Last semester, I tried creating quiz questions that would be relevant to each project group where the answer was not “google-able” and could be found using a specific market research tool. I do this to spark interest in why one might use these tools, as they are often cumbersome to use. I also do this because it’s useful to have examples of how one might integrate a statistic or insight from a piece of market research into a project. Since the clients are so different, I provide students with a handout of databases and sources that is aligned their project.

Powerpoint file with notes

6) What went well? What might you do differently next time?

I was happy with the quiz as it added interaction to what has been a somewhat dry lecture experience. Most of my work with this class comes from consultations and students are more prepared for these than in the past. I will always need to adapt the content to match the clients each semester. I could imagine creating guides or handouts with specific resources/strategies for each group.

I see this exercise as working well for a large class at the beginnings of a project.