INTRODUCTION
A capstone project brings marketing skills to real-world firm management and research, bridging the gap between academic study and professional practice. It is usually the last event of a marketing degree program. Capstone projects in Master’s of marketing focus on the practical side of an organization by asking students to identify the problems and solve them in real-world situations. This project assists the students to analyze various aspects related to this study. It also empowers rational thinking abilities among them to develop their skills and competencies in this field.
PREREQUISITES FOR MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
For the completion of the marketing capstone project, it would take approximately one semester in the full academic course duration. It is prepared in the final year of the course since full theoretical knowledge is gained till this period and now it is the time to apply it in the practical form to face real-world issues. To complete it, approximately 20 hours have to be spent as it involves 20-22 pages. The main aim of doing a capstone project is to apply the knowledge to solve the issues of business in a practical form. The format of writing a capstone project is a research paper or a hands-on project way. It is extremely important to complete it in the right form because it adds value to the CV and benefits people to grab secure jobs with a good salary. To accomplish the whole project, one needs to seek the assistance of a faculty advisor who could help and provide adequate guidelines to complete this project.
THE MASTERS IN MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
Marketing capstone projects require the students to combine knowledge of major program principles to address the marketing issues faced by the businessman, and how the skills are used for effective implementation of the marketing capstone project.
MARKETING CAPSTONE PROCESS
Preparing a capstone project is a very complex task as it requires adequate time and resources to be followed: -
- The first step is to find the suitable topic in which the student is interested and that topic has a scope where research is required to be conducted. This project is required to be completed in the form of groups. Students are required to work according to their interests, skills and abilities.
- The second step is to collect data in regards to the same research conducted by others in the same area to find what the outcomes of that research were. An analysis is required of already published articles and papers.
- The information and data gained from other resources have to be analyzed and research has to be conducted about where the gap exists by using research methods like interviews, observations and questionnaires.
- After the research is conducted, the next step is to interpret the result and find a conclusion.
- Lastly, the whole project is required to be presented to the professor for grading and in case, the student fails in effective completion of the project, they would have to start the process of doing that project again.
STEPS REQUIRED TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION FOR AN EFFECTIVE COMPLETION OF THE MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
- Selection of the topic
- Conduct proper research
- Develop a thesis statement
- Make an outline
- Keep yourself organized
- Write the first document
- Use the proper formatting style
- Go through the paper several times
- Present it to the professor
- Grading is given according to the project
FORMAT OF MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
It is required to present the information as per the format specified by the professor. It is important to present the information that is collected through the research methods adopted by the students. These types of projects are helpful for the students who want to gain experience to get a desirable job. Students are required to present all the information which is helpful for the business to target their consumers at its maximum by analyzing their needs and desires. The data is required to be collected from reliable sources and a bibliography should be mentioned in the marketing project. The main focus should be on the objectives of the research as to how it would be purposeful and the structure of the project should be according to the specification mentioned. In the presentation, it is important to showcase the efforts and resources a student put into the successful accomplishment of the marketing capstone project.
TOPIC RELATED TO MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
It is crucial for students to choose an appropriate topic. Moreover, the topic is according to the knowledge a student has gained in previous semesters and also it should be related to the interest of the student. Students are required to rationally interpret all the concepts of marketing which are required for the completion of the project. The topics should be selected by considering certain factors which regulate the entire process and are helpful to the business. The main topics that could be selected for the process of research are as under: -
- Services marketing and customers’ relationship management.
- Buying behavior in shopping stores.
- Importance of CRM on customer satisfaction.
- Study on consumers' purchase intention.
- Effectiveness of integrated marketing communication.
- Influence of advertisement on consumers' buying behavior.
RESEARCH FOR THE SELECTED TOPIC FOR CAPSTONE PROJECT
This part is considered the base of an entire project as appropriate methods are required to be used for the collection of data and information about the topic students choose for research. To exemplify my viewpoint, suppose one student picks the topics from above written like-“Influence of advertisement on consumer buying behavior.” It is important to see what attracts the customers most and the strategies of other businessmen that are attracting more and more customers.
OUTLINING OF CAPSTONE PROJECT ON MARKETING
In the research, data is collected through various methods and it is important to be complied up to prepare a marketing capstone project. It is required to follow the proper sequence of the project in order to complete it effectively. In the capstone subject, most papers start with an overview of the firm and/or business issue before moving on to a more detailed problem definition. Following that, the document outlines capstone goals and objectives, as well as methodologies and strategies, a management plan, and a system for assessing the project's effectiveness. For instance, it is required to mention the business type, goals and needs to influence and target the potential customers towards the product.
WRITING CAPSTONE ON MARKETING PROJECT
Capstone projects are primarily based on identifying the solutions to an issue and it is considered the basic requirement of the project. A presentation is required to be prepared so that the professor would assess the efforts and dedication a student shows in the effective completion of the project. For example, in the topic which a student chooses, it is required to present what type of advertisement a company should do to promote their products more and more. It is also important to take care while writing a marketing capstone project is to use only formal language so that the professor ensures that students are adopting academic and professional standards because these are helpful in solving practical problems.
TIPS AND GUIDELINES FOR WRITING MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
- Division of work - The work is divided according to the stages and you have to set daily goals to complete the project on time.
- Work according to specialization: - Work should be divided according to the specialization, for example- if one student is interested in the field, then he or she should have to fulfill the responsibility of research and this way, work should be equally distributed among all team members.
- Take professor help in need: - Students can take the help of the professor when it is required rather than waste time doing unnecessary work.
- Be wise to pick a topic for research: - Students are required to pick the topic wisely to effectively complete the project.
- Teamwork: - As this project involves too many stages the entire team members need to unite and divide the work according to their interests so that it could be well presented in front of the professor for better grading.
PRESENTING THE MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
Finally, the presentation is prepared to present to the professor. Basically, the aim is to show the research a student conducted and what methods they adopted for the effective completion of the marketing capstone project. Primarily, students prepare the presentation in PowerPoint by reflecting the research techniques, findings and recommendations. A course remains incomplete and students would not be evaluated for this degree as the project demand is not fulfilled.
GRADING OF MARKETING CAPSTONE PROJECT
The process of grading is the last step and it is done on the basis of various factors like the research method, which a student adopts to complete the project and how a student analyzes and interprets the information to present it to the professor. A well-prepared capstone project fulfills the needs of academics and professional tasks.
In addition to it, the formatting of the project is done according to the detail mentioned in an assignment. If students are unable to complete it properly, then the professor would give an F grade to fail the student and the student will have to go through with this project again since this project is crucial for the effective completion of the MBA course degree.
