Pitching to the Home Shopping Network: An Exercise in Opportunity Assessment and Personal Selling

The purpose of this exercise is to help students of entrepreneurship understand opportunity assessment and the personal selling process. After watching a short video about the challenges and opportunities of launching a product on the Home Shopping Network (video is optional), students are asked to identify a unique product that could be successfully sold on the Home Shopping Network (HSN). Students are then required to pitch their product to the class demonstrating how their product suits HSN’s requirements, meets customer needs, and can be personally sold effectively to the network’s audience. By participating in this exercise students will experience the opportunity assessment process, aspects of marketing strategies, and the importance of personal selling

Home Cooking and Willingness to Pay: Local Blueberry Pancake, Muffin, and Banana Bread Mixes in a Take-and-Bake Experiment

This study explores measurable factors that influence consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for locally produced blueberry mixes: pancake mix, muffin mix and banana bread mix. The innovative aspect of this study is that the experiment took place at participants’ home. The post-preparation survey used a payment card approach to elicit WTP for each product tried as well as for the hypothetical third product not tried. A total of 101 out of 102 participants (99.01%) completed the process and returned the survey. Participants were instructed to prepare the products at home, sample the prepared product, and then evaluate the product and process. Sensory and preparation experience attributes for each recipe were considered as potential variables influencing overall WTP, including previous cooking experience for similar products, watching the Food Channel, and related shopping choices. A survey, along with two of the three recipes – a dry mix to be combined with locally grown frozen fruit - was distributed to potential consumers at diverse locations of study. The average WTP for the blueberry pancake mix was $3.45, muffin mix was$3.25, and the banana bread was $3.39. The estimated regression of the Censored Tobit model of WTP suggests that the estimate Trial of banana bread mix is significant. Four other estimates of Place, Gender, Age and Income also are significant depending on the product. The positive sign of some estimates of Trial, Blueberry Baking Experience, Education, Income, Gender, and Watching the Food Network showed that these factors have positive effect on WTP for some products. The paper develops the WTP models and also examines the experience versus the hypothetical effects on stated WTP. The results provide some measure of market opportunity, suggest positioning strategies, and also suggest strong returns to home trial marketing incentives for these products