Assignment : Introduction to digital research tools and identifying an online revenue model.

Percentage of total grade: 20%

Due date: By end of Week 3

This assignment will serve as an introduction to the digital research tools discussed in class during week four. You will be asked to look at Google Trends. You will be selecting ONE product. I have provided a list of potential products to select, but I highly encourage you select your own product - something you're interested in.   

Select a product from this list or another that you are interested in:

Product #1: Pumpkin Pie

Product #2: Computer repair  

Product #3: Coffee maker

Product #4: Laser hair removal

Product #5: Soccer cleats

The assignment

Go to Google Trends and set the location to Canada: https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=CALinks to an external site.

For the purpose of this assignment you should be looking at a time period over 12 months. I would recommend filtering from 12 months all the way to 2004-present to generate the best answers. The time toggle can be found on the bar right under the search term you enter.

Question 1 (Marks 4): Looking at the product you have selected, what time of the year would you spend the most money marketing your product? This can be either a season (fall, winter, summer, spring) or a specific month of the year. Explain why you would spend your marketing dollars in the time period you've chosen. Remember to adjust the time period you are looking at to ensure accuracy. 

Question 2 (Marks 4): Identify a related query within your product search that could help you market. This can be a common question Canadians are asking or any other strategic phrase. Explain how this could help you market your product.

Question 3 (Marks 2): Look at interest by subregion on Google Trends within your product search. On the right hand side switch from subregion to city and identify one of the top cities interested in your product. With your answer let me know the time period you're looking at. 

Question 4 (Marks 2): Perform an organic search test of your product on Google. Identify a potential competitor to your marketing efforts. Look for a competitor paying to advertise on Google - this can be either paid search or Google Shopping. Explain who the competitor is and how you identified them. 

Question 5 (Marks 3): Your product costs $50 for consumers to buy from your online store. Every time you make one sale your margin (profit) is $30. This means your operational cost is $20 on each sale (it costs your business this to fulfill the order). Your manager gives you $1,000 to run a social media advertising campaign. From this campaign you generate 45 sales.

Did this campaign generate profit? If so, how much profit did the campaign make you?