| Course | MRKT 4501 Marketing Management |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 5 |
| Paper type | Decision memo |
| Length | About 640 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Memo, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MRKT 4501 Week 5
Memorandum
To: Chief Financial Officer, Tillman Forge & Garden
From: Marketing Manager
Date: March 9, 2026
Re: Fund Southeast entry for pruners ($420,000); defer the cordless growth push
Recommendation
I recommend we spend $420,000 this year taking the bypass pruner and lopper line into independent garden centers in Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee, and that we defer the proposed $380,000 push behind the cordless cultivator line to next year. The money comes from the growth budget set in the portfolio review, plus $90,000 moved from support for watering products, which we are harvesting. In the growth matrix of Ansoff (1965), this is market development, an existing product in a new market, chosen over product development for an existing market.
What the Money Buys
The $420,000 covers a regional sales representative for twelve months ($95,000 with benefits and travel), demonstration units and display fixtures for about 120 stores ($140,000), launch promotions shared with retailers ($110,000), and search and social advertising aimed at gardeners in the three states ($75,000). Reviewers have already named our pruners best in class twice, and Brannock Outdoor has just placed its own ergonomic pruner in the same stores, so the timing matters: the shelf space we do not take this spring, Brannock will.
The Case for the Cordless Push
The cordless option deserves a fair hearing. The category is growing about 11 percent a year, faster than pruners at 7 percent. Tillman's cordless share is small, so even modest gains would be large in percentage terms, and the line sells to gardeners we already reach through our current garden centers, which costs less than building a new region. The situation analysis also found that older gardeners prefer tools that are gentle on aging joints, and cordless cultivators answer that need directly. If the cordless line takes off, it could become the company's next star, and waiting a year gives larger rivals time to lock up the category.
Why It Still Loses
The cordless push loses on two grounds. First, the evidence that it will work is thinner. The pruners already lead their segment and have independent reviews behind them; the cordless tools hold a sliver of their category and have no proof yet that older gardeners will choose it over corded or gas models. Second, the cost of waiting is lower. Brannock's move into the Southeast is happening now, while no rival has made a comparable move in cordless tools in our stores. Kotler and Keller (2016) note that a firm should put resources where it has a demonstrable advantage and where the window is closing; this year, that is the pruners.
The cordless line keeps its $250,000 test budget for repositioning toward ergonomic buyers. If the test shows clear demand by the fall review, the larger push returns to next year's budget with better evidence behind it.
How We Will Know It Worked
One measure decides this: sell-through of pruners at the new Southeast stores, meaning the portion of delivered stock that the stores actually sell through to customers, by the end of the first full season. If sell-through reaches 60 percent, comparable to our best existing region, the entry is working and should continue. Below 40 percent, I will recommend scaling back before a second year of spending. Rust et al. (2004) argue that marketing spending should be tied to measures that connect to financial results; sell-through connects directly to reorders and therefore to revenue.
Decision Requested
I ask you to approve $420,000 for Southeast entry from the growth budget and the watering-line reallocation, with a review of sell-through in October. If you would prefer a smaller first step, the entry could begin in Georgia alone for about $250,000, but that would leave the Carolinas and Tennessee open to Brannock for another season, and I do not recommend it.
References
Ansoff, H. I. (1965). Corporate strategy: An analytic approach to business policy for growth and expansion. McGraw-Hill.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Pearson.
Rust, R. T., Ambler, T., Carpenter, G. S., Kumar, V., & Srivastava, R. K. (2004). Measuring marketing productivity: Current knowledge and future directions. Journal of Marketing, 68(4), 76-89. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.68.4.76.42721
What the MRKT 4501 Week 5 instructions ask for
Week 5 asks you to write a short memo recommending one funded marketing option to a senior financial reader. Put the recommendation in the subject line and the first lines, with its cost and the activity it displaces. Explain what the money buys. Give the option you reject its strongest argument, in a section of its own, before explaining why it loses. Name one measure that would show whether the recommended option worked, with thresholds for continuing or scaling back. End with a clear request for a decision, including the amount and the review date. Hold the memo to a few pages, because the reader will act on its opening and may read nothing else in detail.
How this MRKT 4501 Week 5 example is built
The memo opens with a header whose subject line states the recommendation and its amount. The first section gives the choice, the $420,000 cost, the deferred cordless push and the money's source, citing Ansoff. A section itemizes the spending, from a sales representative to search advertising. A section presents the cordless case at full strength. A section explains why it loses on evidence and timing, citing Kotler and Keller, and keeps a smaller cordless test. A section sets sell-through as the deciding measure with thresholds of 60 and 40 percent, citing Rust and colleagues. A closing request asks for approval and offers a smaller Georgia-only option.
Where the marks sit in the MRKT 4501 Week 5 rubric
Decision memos earn credit for clarity and fairness to the losing option. A recommendation in the subject line and first lines, with cost and what it displaces, is weighted heavily. An itemized account of what the money buys shows the writer has priced the plan. Giving the rejected option its best case before rejecting it demonstrates intellectual honesty and makes the recommendation more persuasive. A single deciding measure with thresholds shows accountability. A clear decision request makes the memo usable. Memos that build up to the recommendation at the end, treat the alternative as obviously weak or end without a request tend to receive lower marks. Long memos tend to bury the decision somewhere in the middle, and markers notice.
MRKT 4501 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost marks
Write your subject line first, and make it the recommendation itself, with the amount. Then write one paragraph a busy reader could stop after: the choice, its price tag, its funding source and the activity it pushes aside. Next, argue for the option you are rejecting as if you supported it, then explain what makes your choice better. Students often present the losing option in a single dismissive sentence, which makes a reader suspect the analysis was one-sided. Another frequent problem is ending without saying what decision you need. Pick one measure that would tell the reader the money was well spent. If you struggle to make the losing option sound strong, our writers can help you find its best argument.
Get a MRKT 4501 Week 5 example written to your instructions
Attach your case to the Week 5 prompt and rubric; a decision memo that funds one option and argues the losing one fairly arrives in 24 to 48 hours, the first free. Name the two options if your section fixes them. Otherwise the memo weighs two growth routes for a stand-in cookware maker.
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MRKT 4501 Week 5 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MRKT 4501 Week 5 sample paper?
The full decision memo appears below and can be read free.
What does the MRKT 4501 Week 5 memo recommend?
$420,000 to take the pruner line into Southeast independent garden centers.
What option loses?
A larger push behind the cordless cultivator line, deferred to next year.
Why does the cordless push lose?
The evidence for it is thinner and the cost of waiting is lower than for the pruners.
What measure decides success?
Pruner sell-through at the new stores, with 60 percent signaling success and below 40 percent a scale-back.