Discussion:
Marketing Plan Assignment-Marketing Strategy
•Product Strategies
•Place Strategies
•Pricing Strategies
•Promotional Strategies
The section of the Marketing Plan will assess the marketing strategies or the controllables to include the entire marketing mix (4 P's). Think about the most effective strategies to use with an eye on the target market. Include your rationale and research to support your position. Additionally, you will include a discussion of whether the company has a competitive advantage (or is better than its competitors) with respect to each area. Note that you will discuss competitive advantage four times and should be discussing each area separately.
Product Strategies
Explain the product characteristics including the product and/or service qualities, warranties, service contracts, packaging, and branding opportunities. Include rationale.
Discuss whether the company has a competitive advantage with respect to product.
Place Strategies
Explain the entire channel of distribution from the manufacturer to the consumer. Think about how the channel aligns with the overall logistics and the location of the physical facility. Include rationale.
Discuss whether the company has a competitive advantage with respect to place.
Pricing Strategies
Explain the pricing strategies and tactics to be used by your company. Research the various combinations of strategies that could be used by the company at different times. Include rationale.
Discuss whether the company has a competitive advantage with respect to pricing.
Promotional Strategies
Explain the promotional mix to be used, thinking about personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, internet marketing, and publicity. Think about promotional mediums as well. Include rationale.
Discuss whether the company has a competitive advantage with respect to promotion.
Deliverable: The format of this professional Marketing Plan is essay format with subheadings using Microsoft Word. As this assignment is a comprehensive plan, additional research and support should be included using a minimum of three sources correctly formatted to APA standards on the reference page. In-text citations should also be used. As the marketing strategy is one of the most important areas of the marketing plan; the required word count is minimally four pages long, double-spaced (plus title page and reference page), allowing for you to adequately discuss all four areas of the marketing mix
The "Apple Stores" insert discusses the success of the Apple Store and the growth in Apple product end-users. In 2001, BusinessWeek wrote a piece on why the Apple store concept would not work. Discuss a product or service that you or a family member thought a dud but was successful. Why did you think it not a viable product, what features made it successful, and do you now see previously unrecognized value?