"Scientific research" Almanac

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  ASSESSING MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS – PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

  The issues related to marketing effectiveness and linking marketing to a firm’s financial results have been very popular in the economic literature in the past two decades. In this study we try to systemize the accumulated knowledge in this area. We define some methodological problems concerning marketing effectiveness assessment. Based on the ... The issues related to marketing effectiveness and linking marketing to a firm’s financial results have been very popular in the economic literature in the past two decades. In this study we try to systemize the accumulated knowledge in this area. We define some methodological problems concerning marketing effectiveness assessment. Based on the data accumulated we define the category of marketing effectiveness and outline its manifestations. We argue that marketing effectiveness assessment has to be done in different ways according to the assessment object – a separate marketing campaign or a marketing activity as a whole. We propose to use ‘Return on Marketing Investments’ (MROI) for assessing a single marketing campaign, and the change in the marketing assets – for assessing the marketing effectiveness as a whole (marketing strategy). General models for the two types of assessment are proposed.

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  USING PROBABILITY MODELS FOR FAST-MOVING CONSUMER GOODS SALES FORECASTING BASED ON TRANSACTIONAL DATA

  The interest in modelling the structure of consumer preferences and consumer choice behaviour in order to predict future purchase decisions has a long and rich tradition in marketing. Finding a practical solution to this problem is becoming increasingly critical with the increased availability of customer transactional individual-level databases. ... The interest in modelling the structure of consumer preferences and consumer choice behaviour in order to predict future purchase decisions has a long and rich tradition in marketing. Finding a practical solution to this problem is becoming increasingly critical with the increased availability of customer transactional individual-level databases. The focus of this paper is on the application of specific class of probability models that are well-suited to meet the rising challenges a marketing manager faces. Our objective is to define, estimate and a priori validate a predictive probability model by aggregating the individual-level purchase history (i.e. purchase frequency and recency). We demonstrate the relatively high performance of NDB and BG/NDB models using transactional data of a cohort of new customers. This supports our thesis statement that probability models are very suitable for identifying and forecasting purchasing behaviour. The availability of precise individual-level predictions concerns any serious attempt to derive customer lifetime value on a systematic basis.

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  STUDY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE DISTRICTS OF PLEVEN AND VELIKO TARNOVO IN 2007–2013

  The object of the study is the regional development of the districts of Pleven and Veliko Tarnovo, and its subject is the practice of the economic agents located within the target area to develop and manage projects in order to attract additional external funding, which would allow them to realize their goals, plans, programmes and strategies. The ... The object of the study is the regional development of the districts of Pleven and Veliko Tarnovo, and its subject is the practice of the economic agents located within the target area to develop and manage projects in order to attract additional external funding, which would allow them to realize their goals, plans, programmes and strategies. The purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate the practice of economic agents from the districts of Pleven and Veliko Tarnovo to develop and manage projects, and to identify the main problems that beneficiaries faced during the first planning period of Bulgaria’s membership in the EU. The main thesis statement is that the economic agents from both districts have information and experience in project development and management, but not all of them are active enough. Considering the subject, object, purpose, and thesis statement, the study is structured in two main parts. The first part presents some of the main options for accession of the EU funds and reviews the achievements of the economic agents. The second part focuses on the significant problems revealed regarding the organization and publicity for handling funds, and offers suggestions for the improvement of various aspects of project management.