| Course | BUS 320 Principles of Marketing |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Environment and research paper |
| Length | About 1,020 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Business Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUS 320 Module 2
Reading the Market Before Acting: The Marketing Environment and Customer Research at Juniper Row
Student Name
Business Administration Program, Aspen University
BUS 320: Principles of Marketing
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Reading the Market Before Acting: The Marketing Environment and Customer Research at Juniper Row
The composite Albuquerque business Juniper Row Coffee Roasters, which sells through a café, wholesale accounts and an online subscription, is planning its next two years. The owners want to know which forces outside their control will shape demand and costs, and what their customers actually want. Aguilar (1967), in an early study of how executives gather external information, showed that managers rely heavily on informal sources and personal contacts and scan unevenly. This paper replaces informal impressions with a structured scan of the marketing environment and a research plan built around one survey of subscribers.
The Microenvironment
The microenvironment includes the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve customers. Suppliers matter most: Juniper Row buys green coffee through two importers and depends on their quality and prices. Competitors include national chains, grocery brands and four other local roasters, one of which recently opened a subscription. Channel partners include the 22 restaurants and offices that serve its coffee and a shipping carrier whose rates rose this year. Customers fall into café visitors, wholesale buyers and subscribers. Local publics, such as the neighborhood association near the café and food writers, influence reputation.
The Macroenvironment
Broader forces shape the whole industry. Economic forces are the most pressing: green coffee prices rose sharply in 2024 and 2025 because of poor harvests in major producing countries, and higher costs are squeezing every roaster's margins. Demographic forces favor Juniper Row, since Albuquerque's population of young professionals who work from home has grown. Technological forces include cheaper home espresso machines, which create more demanding home brewers, and subscription software that makes flexible delivery easy. Natural forces, especially climate change in coffee-growing regions, threaten long-term supply. Social and cultural forces include interest in how coffee is sourced and how farmers are paid. Political forces include tariffs on imported goods.
Forces and Responses
The table summarizes the forces most likely to affect Juniper Row in the next two years.
| Force | Type | Likely effect | Possible response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising green coffee costs | Economic | Lower margins | Price review; smaller bag sizes |
| Competitor subscription | Microenvironment | Pressure on subscribers | Stronger service and flexibility |
| More home espresso machines | Technological | Demand for espresso roasts and guidance | Espresso line; brewing support |
| Interest in sourcing | Social | Customers ask about farmers | Publish sourcing and prices paid |
| Climate risk in growing regions | Natural | Long-term supply risk | Diversify origins and importers |
What Jobs Does Coffee Do?
Environmental scanning explains the setting; customer research explains choices. Christensen et al. (2016) argue that customers do not simply buy products but hire them to make progress in particular circumstances, and that understanding the job, including its social and emotional dimensions, predicts behavior better than demographics. For a subscriber, coffee may be hired to make mornings reliable, to create a small daily pleasure during remote work, or to impress guests. Each job suggests different product and service features, so the research asks about circumstances as well as preferences.
Designing the Survey
The marketing manager surveyed all 640 active subscribers by email. The design followed tailored design principles, which aim to reduce the effort and perceived cost of responding, increase its perceived benefits and build trust, through steps such as short questionnaires, clear and personal invitations, carefully timed reminders and small tokens of appreciation (Dillman et al., 2014). The survey had fourteen questions and took about four minutes. The invitation came from the founder by name, explained how results would be used and offered a free sample of a new roast. Two reminders followed at four and ten days.
What the Survey Found
Of 640 subscribers, 412 responded, a 64% response rate. Asked when they drink Juniper Row coffee, 71% said weekday mornings while working from home. Asked what would make them more likely to stay, 58% chose control over delivery timing, 34% chose brewing guidance and 19% chose lower price. Forty-one percent owned a home espresso machine, and of those, 62% wanted an espresso roast the company did not yet offer. Sixty-eight percent said they would like to know more about the farms their coffee came from. Open-ended answers repeatedly used words like routine, reliable and small treat.
Limits of the Research
The survey reached only current subscribers, so it says nothing directly about people who never subscribed or have already left; the interviews with former subscribers help fill that gap. Respondents may differ from non-respondents, although a 64% response rate reduces the risk. Stated intentions do not always predict behavior, so any change should be tested with real customers before it is rolled out fully.
What the Research Changed
The scan and survey shifted the owners' plans. Instead of competing on price, which only 19% of subscribers named, Juniper Row will add flexible delivery, launch an espresso roast and publish sourcing details on every bag. Rising green coffee costs will be addressed through a price review rather than cheaper beans. The job of making weekday mornings reliable became the organizing idea for the subscription, and the research will be repeated each year so the owners can see whether customers' priorities are shifting.
Using the Findings Across the Business
The results were shared with every team, not only marketing. The roaster used the espresso findings to begin testing blends. Customer service used the open-ended answers to write replies to common brewing questions. The café manager learned that many subscribers also visit the café and began asking customers how they brew at home. Finance used the price findings in its cost review. Sharing research this way turns a marketing exercise into a common understanding of customers, and it gives each team a reason to support the changes that follow.
Conclusion
A structured look at the marketing environment showed Juniper Row that its biggest threats were rising costs and a new competitor, and its biggest opportunities were home espresso and interest in sourcing. A well-designed survey of subscribers showed that customers hire its coffee to make mornings reliable and pleasant, and that control over delivery matters more to them than price. Together they turned informal impressions into evidence for decisions.
References
Aguilar, F. J. (1967). Scanning the business environment. Macmillan.
Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Know your customers' "jobs to be done." Harvard Business Review, 94(9), 54-62.
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method (4th ed.). Wiley.
Reading the BUS 320 Module 2 assignment instructions
The marketing environment and customer research are core BUS 320 topics in Aspen's catalog, and a scan of forces paired with a research design is the natural assignment at this point. Your Module 2 wording is inside the course, so this example scans one company's environment and designs research for it. Separate nearby actors from broad forces. Choose the forces that matter most and explain their likely effect. Suggest a response for each rather than only listing threats. For research, define what you need to learn and why. Design a survey or interview plan using recognized practices. Report results with numbers. Acknowledge limits, such as who was not surveyed. Close with how the findings changed decisions and who used them.
How the BUS 320 Module 2 example is put together
The paper begins with a roaster planning two years ahead and Aguilar's early finding that executives scan unevenly. The microenvironment section covers two importers, four local rivals, restaurant partners and a shipping carrier. The macroenvironment section covers rising green coffee costs, remote workers, home espresso machines, climate risk, sourcing interest and tariffs. A five-row table pairs forces with responses. The research section draws on Christensen and colleagues' jobs-to-be-done idea and Dillman's tailored design method. A fourteen-question survey with a founder's invitation and two reminders produced a 64% response rate. Results on delivery control, espresso machines and sourcing precede sections on limits, sharing across teams and resulting changes.
Reading the BUS 320 Module 2 grading rubric
Instructors grading environment and research papers look for complete scanning, sound prioritization, well-designed research, clear reporting and honest limits. This example links forces to responses and survey findings to decisions. Its APA sources are Aguilar's Scanning the Business Environment, Christensen and colleagues' Harvard Business Review article on jobs to be done, and the fourth edition of Dillman, Smyth and Christian's text on survey design. Reporting a response rate and specific percentages lets the reader judge the evidence. Discussing who the survey missed shows research judgment. Showing how results reached the roaster, service team and finance connects research to action, which is the point of research in a business setting.
BUS 320 Module 2 help from the desk
Students often list environmental forces without saying what they mean for the business. Pair each force with an effect and a response. Another weakness is a survey with leading or vague questions; keep questions neutral and specific. Report numbers, not only impressions. Explain your sample and response rate. Name the limits of your research. Connect findings to decisions. If you survey real people, get permission and protect their privacy. Use current information about the economy and cite it. If survey design is new to you, draft your questions and test them on two or three people before sending, since confusing wording shows up quickly. Report exactly how many people you asked and how many answered, and resist rounding small samples into sweeping percentages.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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BUS 320 Module 2 questions, answered
What does BUS 320 Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's BUS 320 covers the marketing environment and customer research, so a paper analyzing the forces around a business and designing or reporting research is typical. Follow your classroom prompt.
What is the difference between the microenvironment and the macroenvironment?
The microenvironment includes actors close to the company, such as suppliers, competitors and customers; the macroenvironment includes broad forces such as economic, demographic and technological change.
How can I raise a survey's response rate?
Keep it short, send a personal invitation that explains the purpose, offer a small thank-you and send well-timed reminders.
Where can I find a free BUS 320 Module 2 sample paper?
Read the full paper above: a coffee roaster's marketing environment scanned into a table of forces and responses, with a subscriber survey and its results.
What is a jobs-to-be-done approach?
A way of studying customers that asks what progress they are trying to make in a particular circumstance, rather than only who they are.