MARKETING PLAN - Select a product-market for an existing organization for a company that is publicly traded to allow better access to company financial and marketing data to be used for the marketing plan.
MARKETING PLAN – FINAL Three-Year Strategic Marketing Plan (10-15 pages + Appendices)
A marketing plan starts with general information on the background necessary for understanding the products or services the organization is offering to very detailed information on how it is going to market the products and/or services to its customers.
Please select a product-market for an existing organization for a company that is publicly traded to allow better access to company financial and marketing data to be used for the marketing plan. You are playing the role of a marketing manager in charge of a team that is responsible for the 2018- 2021 marketing plan for a specific product/service/brand or market. The marketing concept will need to fit with the overall corporate strategy of the company and you should build a marketing plan to promote a company's product and/or service. You will need to collect both primary and secondary data for this assignment. You should use annual reports, SEC filings and/or other publicly available reports, as well as government data reports for your analysis. Any secondary data used in the plan should be properly cited in footnotes using APA format. Length: 15 pages maximum for the Marketing Plan, double--spaced, not including appendices. You are highly encouraged to include exhibits and tables for data and numerical analysis as appendices.
Guidelines/Outline I. Executive Summary (1 page)
An executive summary provides an overview of the key findings from the situation analysis and the marketing strategy recommendations made in the plan. Show how the plan helps to address needs in the customer market and how it will address competitors.
II. Company Description (1/2 page) This is a high-level review of the different elements of the company, its target market, core competencies, competitive advantage, and the industry in which it operates. This section also includes the company's mission, vision and core values.
III. Product or Service Description (1/2 page) This is a brief description of the company's product and/or service, including summaries of current marketing strategies (including current target markets) and current market performance (market share, financials, etc). In this section you will describe the current state of the business that sets the stage for your marketing plan.
IV. Situation Analysis (2 1/2 pages) This section gives the reader information on the micro--and macro--, internal and external environments relevant to understanding the context for and the rationale behind the marketing plan. It is the vital background that sets the stage for your strategic and tactical proposals. After completing each section of analysis, be sure you are drawing out the marketing implications – don’t just list the facts, give the analysis, and then the strategic implications. Present the data for Macro--level external environment analysis, competitive analysis, internal and SWOT analysis in tables. SWOT Analysis -- based on your External, Internal and Competitive Environment analysis
V. Consumer Behavior Research (2 pages) Use this section to summarize the findings and analysis from your primary and secondary consumer behavior research. Include: Research Methodology and Research Limitations Key Research Findings and Implications Consumer Needs Analysis Consumer Decision Making Process
VI. Critical Issues (1/2 page) Based on the above analyses, what 3--5 critical issues is your company facing? These are the issues that you will be directly addressing in the marketing plan. This section should provide the direct link between your analysis and your plan.
VII. Marketing Goals and Objectives (1/2 page) In this section list your marketing and financial goals and objectives. These goals and objectives should be specific with respect to magnitude and time. Objectives and goals must be arranged hierarchically, from most to least important; they should be quantitative whenever possible, realistic and consistent. Goals Objectives: Your marketing and financial objectives. These could include marketing objectives such as revenue/sales, awareness, market share, customer satisfaction, or loyalty; or financial objectives such as profit or contribution. You may want to include some of each.
VIII. Marketing Strategies to Create Value (2 pages) Each of the following should be described as specifically as possible, and with strategic justification given in light of the major issues pointed out in the previous section. Segmentation Strategy: Divide the market into meaningful smaller markets or submarkets based on common characteristics. Define the main segments of your market. What characteristics define these segments? What are your segmentation strategies? Target Marketing: Evaluate the market segments and make decisions about which among them is most worthy of investment for development. Who have you identified as the most appropriate segment (target) for this product/service? Create a profile of a typical target consumer and describe them in specific detail. Why have you chosen this target market over others? Discuss customer lifetime value of your segments and discuss how much marketing expenditure you will spend on acquiring and retaining customers. Positioning Strategy: How do you want your product to be perceived by your target market? What are key points of competitive differentiation, highlighting your points of difference and points of parity? Be sure you include an explicit positioning statement here that reflects the key value proposition you are recommending. Why is this a strong positioning strategy?
IX. Capturing Value through the Marketing Mix (2 1/2 pages)
Product/Service Strategies: Define your service/product features and benefits and performance characteristics versus competitive products. How does the product/service fulfill the value proposition? What product/service changes are you recommending? What attributes do you want to add/delete to your product/service? What do you recommend in terms of changes to package design, logos, and/or brand identity? This may include the service promise, including any customer service and warranty information. What new products/services do you want to launch under your current brand name? Provide rationale for your choices. Branding Strategy: Compare the brand knowledge and brand meanings that you want consumers to know about your brand (your brand identity) with your existing brand image. How will your existing brand enable and constrain you as you address your critical issues? What do you need to do on the branding front to achieve your goals? Pricing Strategy: Outline your pricing objectives and explain how they relate to your financial and marketing objectives. Present a list price for your product that retailers will pay you. Discuss payment terms/options including any discounts and allowances you will give to your retailer customers. Estimate your cost of good sold and calculate your product’s total revenue, total costs, and gross margin. Recommend a suggested retail price for your retailers and outline your expectations for retail pricing (both everyday and promotional) in each channel of distribution you plan to sell your product in. Calculate each channel’s penny profit and retailer margin rate. Discuss how you will balance pricing issues amongst different channels. Provide rationale for your choices. Place Strategy: Define your distribution strategy. In which retail channels do you want to sell your product? Why? Provide rationale for your choices. Define your selling approach. What selling message will you use to persuade your retail partners to carry your product? Promotion Strategy: Outline your integrated marketing communications (IMC) objectives. Design promotion programs to communicate your marketing message to consumers. Discuss if/how/why you will use the following promotion tactics: advertising (TV, print, radio, outdoor, Internet), consumer sales promotions (displays, price promotions, gift with purchase, sweepstakes/contests), event marketing/sponsorships, public relations, trade show and conference participation, direct marketing (mail, telephone, email), Internet marketing and Web 2.0 social media programs and other forms of communication. How will the customer receive information about the product? Be specific about what role each medium will play in the strategy and fulfilling the overall marketing objectives. What is the recommended timing and frequency of the marketing communications plan? How much will you spend on marketing communications?
X. Implementation Schedule and Financials (1 page)
In this section, you describe how you will implement the above strategy, with specific action steps identified. This section also contains key financial information. Metrics: What is the Return On Marketing Investment (ROMI)? Market Size and Market Share Analysis (Projected) (Given your projected level of sales, what will your unit and dollar market share be?) , Market Penetration, Margin on Sale, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), etc. Action Plan: discuss timing, decide who should be responsible for the various aspects of implementation, and indicate the recourses necessary to implement the marketing plan. 12 Months and 3 Years Sales Projections: Use realistic estimates. Divide your projected monthly sales into "Categories", which are natural divisions that make sense for your type of business. Typical categories are product types or lines. You might also indicate departments, branch locations, customer groups, geographical territories, or contracts, depending on your business. The forecast should be based on your historical sales, the marketing strategies that you have described, your market research, and industry data. Consider seasonal or other periodic and dependable fluctuations. Be sure to build these fluctuations into your projections for the coming 3 years. Include the actual previous sales and the assumptions you made in projecting your future monthly and annual projections. Marketing Budget: Forecast the needed expenditures to implement the marketing plan that you built.
XI. Controls and Contingency planning (1 page)
In this section, you describe how you will measure success, and also describe your contingency plans and caveats. Monitoring and Control: Here you would describe your marketing dashboard, with any recommended marketing research, and ongoing data gathering, including benchmarks and measures of success. How do you know if you are succeeding or not? When and how do you take measures, and what measures would you take? Anticipated Competitive Response: Here you will outline how you expect your competitors to respond to your marketing plan and how that will affect your execution of the plan. Risk Analysis and Contingency Planning: What assumptions are you making, and what are the most crucial risks? Provide contingency plans should your monitoring and control measures indicate a problem.
XII. Conclusion (1 Page) Appendices
These should include charts, tables, and diagrams that support your text. Additional Information Format: Follow the marketing plan outline that was provided to you. Financials: The normal financial information requirements of a full--scale marketing plan are beyond the scope of this class. However, financial analysis, market size estimates, marketing expenses, and sales forecasts for your marketing plan are expected. Please use secondary research to try to find feasible numbers for your financial analyses. If you are unable to find estimates for the numbers you will need to run your financial analyses, please make well--informed estimates and document your assumptions. Grading: You will be graded on completeness, internal consistency, justification, flow and professionalism. Most important is whether you identify the most critical issues in your analysis and if your proposed plan addresses them in a realistic way. Your strategic marketing plan will contribute 1/3 to your course grade.
Here is the question for the assignment.
Please select a product-market for an existing organization for a company that is publicly traded to allow better access to company financial and marketing data to be used for the marketing plan. You are playing the role of a marketing manager in charge of a team that is responsible for the 2018- 2021 marketing plan for a specific product/service/brand or market. The marketing concept will need to fit with the overall corporate strategy of the company and you should build a marketing plan to promote a company's product and/or service.
You will need to collect both primary and secondary data for this assignment. You should use annual reports, SEC filings and/or other publicly available reports, as well as government data reports for your analysis. Any secondary data used in the plan should be properly cited in footnotes using APA format. Length: 15 pages maximum for the Marketing Plan, double--spaced, not including appendices. You are highly encouraged to include exhibits and tables for data and numerical analysis as appendices.