Problem:
A marketing plan is the basis for defining marketing strategy and execution. The life cycle of a marketing plan is planning, execution and evaluation. During the course of this semester you will be tasked with creating a marketing plan.
What I would like for each of you to do is generate a basic marketing plan. You have three options to choose from:
1) Create a marketing plan for Wayland Baptist University. Focus primarily on the strategy behind marketing Waylands offerings to prospective students. The plan requires the following basic elements:
a. SWOT analysis for the product
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
b. Competitor Analysis
- Some competitors are:
- Invisionpower.com
- Infopop
- Vbulletin
- PHPbb
NOTE: Be sure to include a cost and feature comparison with competitors
c. Customer Analysis
- Describe the target audience
- The key foundation to your marketing plan is ensuring that you fully understand your target audience and how your product can best meet their needs. Outside of your strategy (4'Ps) this should be your second most defined area of your plan. You cannot execute a succesful strategy if you do not know your audience.
d. Strategy (four P's)
- This section of your plan defines the type of strategy that you are going to implement to position your produce and meet the needs of your target audience. Outside of the planning and implementation of your plan you also need to consider how you will montior the effectiveness of your marketing plan. Understanding return on investment (ROI) is essential in this industry. Anything that you do needs to be measurable.
- Define the following:
-- Place
-- Price
-- Product
-- Promotion
The plan will focus on the 4 core areas outlined above.