MARKETING PLAN EXERCISE Once you've completed the marketing plan exercise for each chapter in Part 2 of this textbook, you can complete the Part 2 Marketing Planning Worksheet on your companion Web site at www.cengage.com/marketing/lamb. Complete the following exercises to continue the marketing plan you began:
1. To whom does your company market (consumer, industrial, government, not-for-profit, or a combination of targets)? Within each market, are there specific segments or niches that your company can concentrate on? If so, which one(s) would you focus on and why? What are the factors used to create these segments?
What are the Internet capabilities in those markets? If you try to encourage those segments to access your product or service via the Internet, will that change which segments are most important to your business? How? What are the factors used to create these segments? Which segments should your company focus on and why?
2. Describe your company's target market segment(s). Use demographics, psychographics, geographics, economic factors, size, growth rates, trends, NAICS codes, and any other appropriate descriptors. What role does the Internet play in your target market's life? How is the target market for your Internet business different from that of a traditional business in your market?
3. Using the list of key competitive advantages you described in Part 1 of your marketing plan, create a series of positioning grids, using two factors each as dimensions. (See grids in LO9 in your textbook, for an example.) Then plot the list of key competitors you identified earlier onto these positioning grids. Is your company too close to a key competitor?
Are there spaces where the consumer needs and wants are unsatisfied? Consider how the Internet changes what factors are important to your success in your market space. Is technology the most important factor for your firm, or are there other ways for you to differentiate from and beat your competition?