GRE Writing Sample... Anyone out there, HELP!

[mbmedina]

TASK:

The following was presented as part of a business plan by Apex Corporation.

"To answer the increased demand for artisan coffee, Apex Corporation is releasing a new line of coffee, "Gourmet Select." Apex Corporation will first introduce the coffee into major supermarkets, where it hopes word-of-mouth advertising will sustain sales. After a few months Apex Corp. will run an advertising campaign aimed at television and radio while simultaneously releasing the brand to several major chain restaurants. Based on this strategy, Apex Corporation hopes to make "Gourmet Select" one of the top sellers in the coffee market."

Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.

RESPONSE:

While the business plan presented by Apex Corporation demonstrates some merit, there are certain flaws that need to be addressed to better strengthen the plan towards success. The basic foundation of the plan repeatedly states that the success of its strategies is merely based on their "hope" to make their coffee brand "one of the top sellers in the coffee market." Most noticeably, in order to substantiate their strategy claims, it would help their case to provide any previous research or statistics accumulated from other products either in the market or through company surveys to prove that their assumptions of verbal marketing and certain social media tactics are appropriately supported and can be followed through to achieve success.  

The business plan assumes that through initial "word-of-mouth" marketing and introducing their product at the supermarket level, it would effectively lead to strengthen their campaigning efforts through television, radio, and in major chain restaurants. There is no further information on their reasoning for pursuing this form of advertising in terms of effectiveness, successes, or comparisons to strategies of other similar coffee products. As the company's statement mentions that the need for artisan coffee products has grown, but there is no substantial evidence to support this claim. In order for the above assumptions to better support the business plan, the company should include specific evidence in relation to the statistics on the demand for artisan coffee; the various types of artisan coffee already existing in the market; their coffee competitors tactics and how their presented strategies would triumph over the campaigns of other coffee products; and, if they have had similar products previously, their methods of utilizing such data to ensure the success of this new line of coffee.

Overall, the business plan provided by the Apex Corporation provides an optimistic outlook on their "Gourmet Select" coffee brand, but this naitivity will only get the brand so far. By conducting research to provide further concrete information on comparing their planned strategies for "Gourmet Select" to other currently existing marketing campaigns, the Apex Corporation will be better for it.