MSMK7001 Marketing Management
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · MSMK7001 Overview
- The University of Hong Kong
- First Semester, 2026-27
- Postgraduate course
- Marketing
- Group plan and case report
What this course asks you to do
This is a postgraduate course in the principles of marketing taught at HKU Business School.
- Assessed by A group marketing plan presented in class, an individual written case report and class participation, with no sit-down paper.
- Attendance condition The first-session slides state that missing more than three classes means a fail, a pass condition beyond the marks; an attendance percentage is not published, so confirm the scope on the course Moodle page.
- Hardest step Making product, price, channel and communications all serve one named segment and one stated position.
- Where to confirm Deadlines, the presentation order and submission settings are controlled by the course Moodle page.
How MSMK7001 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| A1. Class participation | 20% | Asking and answering questions, class discussion and in-class exercises; attendance is tracked by class |
| A2. Group project | 50% | Marketing plan for a new product or service, presented in 20 minutes including questions |
| A3. Individual case report | 30% | Written analysis of an assigned case, 2 to 3 pages of main content |
The course outline lists these three components and they total 100%, matching the first-session slides. Those slides also state, under class participation, that missing more than three classes means a fail under program policy, and that over thirty minutes away from a class counts as one absence. A numeric attendance percentage is not stated, and the slides do not say whether the fail covers the component or the course, so treat attendance as a pass condition and check the course Moodle page. Group size is seven to eight in the slides and eight on the course site, and every member receives the same project score unless someone reports unequal contributions.
Assessment structure
Segment widths reproduce the published percentage weights and total 100%.
Current MSMK7001 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 11 September 2026 | Group form submission | Due 23:59, one submission per team, as shown on the submission point on the course site. |
| 12 October 2026 | Group project presentation slides | Due 23:59, listed in the tentative course schedule in the first-session slides. |
| 13 and 16 October 2026 | Group presentations | The last two class sessions; the presentation order is posted on the course site. |
| 21 October 2026 | Individual case report | Due 23:59 on Moodle, stated in the case report guidelines and the course schedule. |
Dates are as published in the tentative course schedule in the first-session slides, the case report guidelines and the submission points on the course site for this offering. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What MSMK7001 covers
Ten chapters follow the published lecture notes from marketing and customer value through company strategy, the marketing environment and consumer behavior to segmentation, positioning, products, services and brands.
Marketing, Customer Value and Relationships
needs, wants and demands · five management philosophies · marketing myopia · lifetime value and customer equityValue goes out before profit comes back
The course starts by setting aside the idea that marketing means advertising.
- Marketing as a two-way exchange of value
- Needs, wants and demands
- The five marketing management philosophies
- Selling concept against marketing concept
- Customer-driven and customer-driving marketing
- Marketing myopia in three cases
Company Strategy and Marketing's Role in Planning
the four planning steps · mission statement components · growth-share matrix · product/market expansion grid · four Ps, SWOT and marketing ROIPlanning runs from the top down
Strategic planning keeps a fit between what an organization wants and can do and the opportunities that keep changing around it.
- The four strategic planning steps
- Three components of a mission statement
- Product orientation against market orientation
- Business and marketing objectives
- Strategic business units and portfolio analysis
- The growth-share matrix and its limits
The Company Microenvironment
internal departments and suppliers · four kinds of intermediary · competitors and the empty market · seven publics · five customer marketsThe environment has two layers
The marketing environment is everything outside the marketing function, actors and forces alike, that bears on its ability to build relationships with target customers.
- Microenvironment and macroenvironment
- The company's internal environment
- Suppliers and supplier relationship management
- Four kinds of marketing intermediary
- Competitors and positioning against them
- Seven types of public
The Macroenvironment and Global Markets
six macroenvironment forces · generations and ageing · first-tier and second-tier cities · sustainability · tariffs and trade bodiesForces no single firm controls
The macroenvironment is the set of larger societal forces acting on the company and every actor around it. The course names six: demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural.
- Six forces of the macroenvironment
- Demographic trends and generations
- Ageing, family change and city tiers in China
- Diversity as a set of segments
- Economic and natural environments
- Technology, politics and social responsibility
Influences on Consumer Behavior
the black-box model · culture, self-construal and the rice theory · reference groups and social comparison · brand personality · perception and choice effectsOpening the black box
Consumer buyer behavior is how final consumers buy for personal use.
- The stimulus, black box and response model
- Culture and self-construal
- Subculture, the rice theory and social class
- Reference groups, buzz and social comparison
- Personal factors and brand personality
- Motivation and the hierarchy of needs
The Buyer Decision Process and Buying Behavior
four types of buying behavior · the five-stage decision process · awareness, consideration and choice sets · the expectancy-value model · adopter categoriesNot every purchase runs the full process
The course crosses involvement with the perceived difference between brands to give four buying behaviors: complex, dissonance-reducing, habitual and variety-seeking.
- Four types of buying behavior
- Need recognition and its triggers
- Information sources and the narrowing of sets
- The expectancy-value model
- Affect as information in low-involvement choice
- Purchase decisions and what derails them
Market Segmentation and Target Selection
geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral bases · five requirements for a segment · the attractiveness scoring tool · four coverage strategiesWhy segment at all
Customer-driven strategy starts by selecting customers to serve.
- Segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning
- Geographic and demographic segmentation
- Psychographic and behavioral segmentation
- Why variables cannot all be used
- Five requirements for an effective segment
- International and intermarket segmentation
Differentiation, Positioning and Value Propositions
positions held in the customer's mind · horizontal and vertical differentiation · seven tests for a difference · five winning value propositions · the positioning statementA position is held by the customer
A product's position is how consumers define it on important attributes, relative to competitors.
- What a product position is
- Positioning examples and perceptual maps
- Three steps in positioning
- Competitive advantage and ways to differentiate
- Horizontal and vertical product differentiation
- Seven tests for a worthwhile difference
Products, Services and Product Decisions
three levels of product · convenience, shopping, specialty and unsought goods · quality, features, packaging and labels · line and mix decisions · four service characteristicsWhat a product is
A product is anything offered to a market that might satisfy a need or want, including services, events, persons, places, organizations and ideas.
- Products, services and experiences
- Three levels of product
- Consumer and industrial product classifications
- Quality, features, style and design
- Packaging, labels and support services
- Product line length, filling and stretching
Brand Equity and Branding Strategy
what a brand adds in a blind test · positive and negative brand equity · name selection and sponsorship · line extensions, brand extensions, multibrands and new brandsA name that changes the product
A brand is whatever name, term, sign or design tells a buyer who makes or sells a product.
- What a brand is and what it adds
- Brand equity and brand value
- Positioning a brand beyond attributes
- Six qualities of a good brand name
- Manufacturer, store, licensed and co-brands
- Line extensions and brand extensions
Its published description covers developing marketing strategies through segmentation, targeting and positioning, marketing communications, pricing, branding and managing customer relationships, examined from both a theoretical and a practical perspective, with discussion set in a global context and special reference to markets in Asia and China.
Teaching combines lectures, class discussion, case studies and a group project in which students develop a marketing plan for a new product or service for a real company.
Nothing is assessed by a sit-down paper: the marks sit in the group plan, an individual written case report and participation in class.
How the marks are split
The course outline gives three assessment methods: class participation at twenty per cent, the group project at fifty per cent and the individual case report at thirty per cent, totalling one hundred. The first-session slides repeat the same split.
Participation is not only a mark: those slides state, as program policy described as strictly binding, that missing more than three classes means a fail, and that an absence of more than thirty minutes counts as one absence. A numeric attendance percentage is not stated; the rule is framed as a count of classes.
The slides do not say whether the fail applies to the component or to the course, so confirm that on the course Moodle page and treat attendance as a pass condition for the whole course until told otherwise.
Marketing, Customer Value and Relationships
The opening chapter defines marketing as an exchange in which a firm creates value for chosen customers in order to capture value back.
It separates needs, wants and demands, compares five management philosophies, and uses three product failures to show marketing myopia.
It ends on lifetime value and a map that keeps loyalty and profitability apart.
Company Strategy and Marketing's Role in Planning
This chapter follows planning from the mission down to the marketing mix: the three components of a mission, portfolio analysis with the growth-share matrix, growth routes on the product/market expansion grid, the four Ps seen as four Cs from the buyer's side, SWOT and the return on marketing investment.
The Company Microenvironment
Six close-in actors, from suppliers and intermediaries to competitors and publics, are taught through cases in which a firm handled one of them well or badly, including a market that looked empty only because customers already met the need another way.
The Macroenvironment and Global Markets
Six societal forces are read through data: generational bands, an ageing population share, first-tier and second-tier cities, middle-class growth in emerging markets, sustainability commitments, and the tariffs and trade bodies that shape global marketing.
Influences on Consumer Behavior
Cultural, social, personal and psychological influences are each anchored to a study or campaign, from self-construal and the rice theory of regional differences to social comparison among medal winners, brand personality and three choice effects that shape a range or price list.
The Buyer Decision Process and Buying Behavior
Four buying behaviors, the five-stage decision process, the narrowing from awareness set to choice set, and the expectancy-value calculation, which predicts a choice and shows which belief a marketer should change first.
New product adoption closes the chapter.
Market Segmentation and Target Selection
Four segmentation bases with their trade-offs, five requirements for a usable segment, a weighted attractiveness score whose result depends on the firm's own objectives, and four coverage strategies from mass marketing to micromarketing.
Differentiation, Positioning and Value Propositions
How positions are held in the customer's mind, horizontal and vertical differentiation, seven tests for a worthwhile difference, five winning value propositions and the one-sentence positioning statement.
Products, Services and Product Decisions
Three levels of product, consumer and industrial classifications that predict the rest of the mix, quality and packaging decisions, line and mix choices, and the characteristics and strategies particular to services.
Brand Equity and Branding Strategy
What a brand name adds to an identical product, positive and negative equity, name selection and sponsorship, and four development routes with their risks.
How to use this guide
Pick the company for your group project early and carry it through every chapter, because each chapter's analysis becomes a section of the plan.
Each chapter ends with practice items and full answers; write yours before reading them. The practice chapter drills the case report against its published section weights using an AskSia-authored case, and the closing chapter is a final check before the presentation and the report submission.
Worked example · free
Carry one new product from situation analysis to a positioning statement
- 2Give one customer or competitor finding and the SWOT cell it belongs in.
- 2Name a target segment using at least two segmentation bases.
- 2Write the positioning statement in the course's form.
- 2Check that product, price, place and promotion agree with it.
Key terms
- Marketing
- Everything a company does to win and engage customers, build lasting relationships and give them better value than rivals, so that it earns value back from them.
- Marketing Management
- The craft of picking which markets to serve and growing profitable relationships inside them.
- Value Proposition
- The full set of benefits a brand promises to deliver to customers, answering why they should buy it.
- SWOT Analysis
- An overall evaluation of a company's internal strengths and weaknesses and its external opportunities and threats.
- Marketing Mix
- The tactical levers a firm controls, product, price, place and promotion, combined to draw the reaction it wants from buyers.
- Market Segmentation
- Splitting a market into smaller groups whose needs, traits or behavior differ enough to call for separate strategies.
- Positioning
- Arranging for an offering to hold a clear, distinct and attractive place in target buyers' minds compared with rival products.
- Brand Equity
- How much recognizing a brand name changes the way customers respond to a product and its marketing.
- Customer Lifetime Value
- The total one customer is expected to spend with a firm over the whole time they stay a customer.
- Service-Profit Chain
- The links from internal service quality and satisfied staff through service value and loyal customers to service profits and growth.
MSMK7001 FAQ
How is the course assessed, and is there a final paper?
Assessment is entirely coursework. The course outline sets class participation at twenty per cent, a group marketing plan project at fifty per cent and an individual case report at thirty per cent, and the first-session slides repeat the split. The group project ends in a presentation in class, and the case report is a written analysis submitted on Moodle.
Can attendance make me fail, and what counts as an absence?
The first-session slides state under class participation that missing more than three classes means a fail, describing it as program policy and strictly binding, and that being absent for more than thirty minutes of a class counts as one absence.
An attendance percentage is not stated, and the slides do not say whether the fail covers the component or the whole course, so confirm on the course Moodle page and treat it as a pass condition.
What must the group marketing plan include?
A situation analysis covering customers, competitors, the company and SWOT; marketing objectives with rationales; a marketing strategy covering segmentation, targeting, positioning and the competitive advantage; and an integrated program of product and branding, pricing, channels and a communications plan for the launch and two years after. Secondary data should be referenced in APA format.
How is the individual case report structured and weighted?
The guidelines require three parts and publish their weights: problem identification at ten per cent, analysis at forty, evaluation of alternatives with recommendations at forty, and effectiveness of writing at ten. The main content is limited to two to three pages, with a required cover page and an optional appendix, and the report must be your own independent work.
How long is the group presentation and when are the slides due?
Each presentation lasts twenty minutes including questions and takes place in one of the last two lectures, on 13 or 16 October 2026 in this offering. Slides are due at 23:59 the day before the first presentation date. Presenters should not read a script, and dress should be business casual or suit the target brand.
Does everyone in a group get the same mark?
According to the slides, every member gets the same project score unless someone reports unequal contributions, and the project uses group and peer evaluation forms. They also warn against free-riding. Group size is given as seven to eight in the slides and as eight on the course site, where short groups may have members added at random.
Can I use an AI tool to write the case report?
The case report guidelines ask students not to have ChatGPT write the report and say instructors hold several machine-generated versions of it to check originality. The course outline adds that all submitted work must be original, that anything not original must be credited, and that plagiarism may lead to disciplinary action.
Questions students ask in each MSMK7001 chapter
- What is the difference between the selling concept and the marketing concept?
- The selling concept works inside-out: it starts with the factory and existing products and relies on heavy promotion to win short-term sales, with little interest in who buys or why. The marketing concept works outside-in: it starts with a defined market and customer needs, coordinates every activity affecting customers, and earns profit through lasting satisfaction. Chapter 01 · Marketing, Customer Value and Relationships
- What are the three essential parts of a mission statement?
- The course names the key market, meaning who the target customers are; the contribution, meaning the product or service provided to them; and the distinction, meaning what makes it unique enough that customers choose this firm. A mission missing any of these gives managers no way to rule an opportunity in or out. Chapter 02 · Company Strategy and Marketing's Role in Planning
- What are the four kinds of marketing intermediary?
- Resellers, the wholesalers and retailers who find customers or make sales; physical distribution firms, which stock and move goods; marketing services agencies such as advertising agencies, media firms and consultancies; and financial intermediaries such as banks, credit companies and insurers. Each solves a different part of getting the offer to buyers. Chapter 03 · The Company Microenvironment
- What are the six macroenvironment forces?
- Demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural. Demographic covers population characteristics, economic covers buying power and spending, natural covers resources, technological covers new products and markets, political covers laws and agencies, and cultural covers the values and perceptions that shape behavior. A situation analysis should select the ones that matter for its product. Chapter 04 · The Macroenvironment and Global Markets
- What are the four groups of factors that influence consumer behavior?
- Cultural factors, meaning culture, subculture and social class; social factors, meaning groups, networks, family and roles; personal factors, meaning a buyer's age and stage in life, job, finances, lifestyle, personality and self-image; and psychological factors, meaning motivation, perception, learning, and beliefs and attitudes. Chapter 05 · Influences on Consumer Behavior
- What are the five stages of the buyer decision process?
- They run from recognizing a need, through searching for information and evaluating alternatives, to the purchase decision and what the buyer does afterwards. The course stresses that low-involvement purchases may skip or compress stages, so the full sequence mainly describes considered, high-involvement buying such as appliances or electronics. Chapter 06 · The Buyer Decision Process and Buying Behavior
- What makes a market segment usable?
- The course lists five requirements. A segment must be measurable, so its size and buying power can be estimated; accessible, so it can be reached and served; substantial, so it is large or profitable enough; differentiable, so it responds differently from other segments; and actionable, so the firm can design programs for it. Chapter 07 · Market Segmentation and Target Selection
- What makes a difference worth promoting?
- The course lists seven tests. It should deliver a highly valued benefit, be distinctive from what rivals offer, be superior to other ways of getting the benefit, be communicable and visible, be hard for competitors to copy, be affordable to buyers, and be profitable for the company to introduce. Chapter 08 · Differentiation, Positioning and Value Propositions
- What are the four characteristics of services?
- Intangibility, because there is nothing to see, taste, touch, hear or smell before buying; inseparability, because a service cannot be split from the people providing it; variability, because quality shifts with the provider, the time, the place and the method; and perishability, because unused capacity cannot be kept for sale later. Chapter 09 · Products, Services and Product Decisions
- What is the difference between brand equity and brand value?
- Equity concerns customer response: the extra favorability, or disfavor, that the name produces compared with an unbranded version of the same product. Brand value is financial: the total monetary worth of the brand. Equity is what builds value, which is why the lecture ties high equity to loyalty and pricing power. Chapter 10 · Brand Equity and Branding Strategy
How to prepare for the assessments
Choose your group's company in the first week and keep a single running document for it. After each session, add the matching section: the customer and competitor facts after the environment and consumer sessions, the segment and position after the strategy session, the product and brand choices after the product session.
By the time slides are due, the plan is assembled rather than started, and you have practised on a real company the same analysis the individual case report asks for.
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