Assignment Brief

Learning Outcomes

The completion of this assignment requires you to demonstrate the ability to:

- Identify and critically evaluate environmental factors that can affect organisational success.

Categorise and analyse the environmental factors at play and consider their impact on the Organisation under consideration.

- Undertake a marketing audit of an organisation. Identify and critically assess in a comprehensive fashion the current strengths and weaknesses of the organisation relative to its external environment.

- Apply consistently in-depth knowledge and reference relevant marketing management theories/concepts. Generate a variety of ways of tackling a selected problem and identify options that have a chance of success in the organisation under consideration.

- Identify quantitative and qualitative "information gaps", and the relevant sources needed to fill such lacunae. Prepare and use IT to aid efficient searching, evaluation and selection of information, exploring alternative lines of enquiry where appropriate. Present information effectively, including evidence to support your conclusions.

- Identify and critically assess in a comprehensive fashion the current marketing strategies employed by the organisation in its market. Evaluate and synthesise information from different sources, theories and principles, and communicate relevant information effectively, and with accuracy. Put forward relevant and robust strategic recommendations for the organisation.

- Critically analyse the effectiveness of your strategy, including factors that had an impact on the outcomes, and identify ways to take the firm/organisation forward, and ways of further developing problem solving skills

The word limit is2,000 words excluding cover page, references in the bibliography and the appendices. Your cover page must have your full name and ID number.
All work should be word processed using either Times New Roman or Ariel font, with line spacing of 1½ and justified.
References must include academic sources.
No more than 50% of references may be from the internet.

Assessment: Individual Marketing Plan Report

Marketing Plan for Bank Muscat

The Marketing Plan Task:
Bank Muscat is the market leader in the banking industry in Oman and is committed to providing superior and sustainable customer service and experience. As stated by Thania Al Jahdhamy, Head - Customer Services & Quality, "Bank Muscat is committed to excellence in services extended to the largest banking family in Oman. In line with the bank's customer service strategy and vision, we are always available to interact with customers and assess their evaluation and expectations with regard to services offered by the bank. The bank's new ‘We Can Do More' vision is being pursued to be achieved by creating, sustaining and delivering real and undiminishing value in customer service through Bank Muscat's key element - its competent people."

In your capacity as a Marketing Consultant, you have been approached by Thania Al Jahdhamy (Head of Customer Services & Quality), to develop a marketing plan for Bank Muscat to maintain its market position and provide an even better customer service in the Omani market for the next three years. The focus should be on the bank's Retail Banking business.

Your Marketing Plan must include the following:

- Executive Summary
- Introduction and objectives - Your introduction should include an identification of the products/services being offered by Bank Muskat
- Current market and company situational analysis, including the competition, consumer behaviour, SWOT and/or PEST analyses.
- Market Segmentation- this should emanate from your market situational analysis. You must identify current and possibly new market segments for Bank Muscat's retail business.
- Marketing Plan Objectives - must be specific and realistic.
- Marketing mix strategy recommendations- Note that you will need to recommend your marketing mix strategy for the retail banking business. Your recommendations should stem from the market and company situational analysis. Your recommendations must be relevant to the segments identified in your market situational analysis
- Evaluation and Control - how would the plan be monitored? What tools would you employ?
- Budget- provide a costing for each of your marketing mix strategy. I do not expect you to come up with specific figures, but your costing should be based on research.

Some Guidance on the Marketing Plan Report

1. Objectives - objectives need to be SMART but it is unnecessary to explain in detailed how smart they are.

2. The balance between market analysis and the actual planning/actions- ensure that your submissions are balanced with regards to analysis and planning. For example, do not use a lot of space summarising the analysis, at the expense of setting objectives and planning objective-specific marketing strategies and tactics.

3. Vagueness - planning needs to be very specific; stating that you will use ‘social media' for promotion because it is the ‘most efficient tool' is not enough. You need to explain the social media tool (s) - what they are, why you are using them and how you would use them.

4. Academic content - you are expected to apply models, and not just describe or define them. For example, your SWOT or PEST analyses should not read like textbooks in which you explain what SWOT or PEST are - this is essentially incorrect. You need to apply them and not describe them.

5. Executive summary - an executive summary should be written in a way that allows the executive who reads it to know what the problem is and how it is to be solved. Essentially, it is a summary of your problem statement, objectives and how to achieve them (i.e. how to solve the problem).

6. Secondary data use - Analysis should be supported with secondary data (from the literature). You should demonstrate wider reading and acknowledge the sources of your information, both in the main body and in your bibliography. Avoid making very bold but not substantiated statements, such as ‘the only Bank in Oman' or ‘massive campaign' or ‘massive customer segment'. Give numbers if you think the segment is large and compare it to other segments to give an idea of the size of it. Worth noting that your product offerings must relate to your chosen segments.

7. Presentation and structure - to achieve an excellent grade, your presentation needs to be immaculate - this includes numbering tables, referencing correctly etc. Do not present a lot of data and information in tables as appendices. Data or statistics that refer directly to your discussion in the main body, should be presented in the main body. Tables and figures - tables and figures need to be numbered and each should have a title that is self-explanatory. Your analytical content must be high, demonstrating critical thinking and the ability to apply relevant marketing concepts (refer to the marking criteria).

8. Word limit - 2,000 words.This will exclude your references in the bibliography , the appendices, and the cover page. Please, note that your cover page must have your Full Name and ID Number.

Marking Criteria for the Marketing Plan Report

To obtain an A grade you must:

- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the task for the Marketing Plan
- Display knowledge of the concepts/theories involved and an ability to apply them effectively.
- Provide evidence of further reading, including academic journals.
- Demonstrate the ability to select critical aspects of the plan, evaluate them and communicate the conclusions and strategic recommendations effectively

To obtain a B grade:
- Show a clear understanding of the tasks for the Marketing Plan
- Display knowledge of most of the concepts/ theories involved and an ability to apply them effectively.
- Provide evidence of wider reading.
- Demonstrate the ability to select critical aspects of the plan, evaluate them and draw sound conclusions and strategic recommendations.

To obtain a C grade:
- Show an adequate understanding of the tasks for the Marketing Plan
- Display knowledge of some of the concepts/ theories involved and an ability to apply them.
- Provide evidence of some wider reading.
- Demonstrate the ability to select key aspects of the plan and provide analysis of these.

To obtain a D grade:
- Show some understanding of the tasks for the Marketing Plan
- Display knowledge of some of the concepts/ theories involved and an ability to apply them.
- Provide evidence of some wider reading.
- Demonstrate the ability to select key aspects of the plan and provide analysis of these.

To obtain an E grade:
- Made an attempt to complete the tasks of the Marketing plan
- Display little knowledge of the concepts/ theories involved.
- No evidence of academic reading.
- An inability to recognise the key aspects of the plan.