Company Q’s team of engineers and designers have developed a line of top-quality small appliances, and through concept and prototype testing, they have shown that the visual design features are very appealing to potential buyers and give a distinct impression associated with quality and artistic elegance. Extensive testing has demonstrated that the new products may be the most reliable line of products in the small-appliance industry. Additionally, the team has designed a production process that is very efficient in terms of labor and production-line time and that will result in very little raw materials waste. The combination of these efficiencies and the relatively small front-end investment for this line will result in the company’s ability to produce each of the products in the line at a cost that should enable them to emerge as the lowest-cost producer in the small-appliance industry.

Company Q has a low debt-to-equity ratio and a high credit rating. It enjoys excellent relationships with current suppliers, but because of differences in material requirements, new raw material suppliers will be needed to support the small appliance line. Company Q will also need new suppliers for two component parts that will be purchased ready for assembly into some of the small appliances.

The credit terms Company Q offers to intermediaries in their distribution channel are typical for their industry. Marketing research has shown that the company’s XG brand and logo are readily recognized by most categories of electronics product consumers.

Task:

Use the attached "marketing plan template" to prepare a three-year marketing plan (suggested length of 5–7 single-spaced pages) for one of the small appliances from the new line.  The attached "marketing worksheet" can greatly assist you in writing the marketing plan. Describe the specific appliance you have chosen. Carefully examine the details provided in the given Company Q marketing situation and identify the specific information that should be considered while developing the plan. Consider other information from the real world that you should incorporate as you develop the plan. Include the following sections in your plan: 

A.  Product Support of Mission Statement

1.  Explain how the small appliance you have selected supports Company Q’s mission statement provided in the introduction.

2.  Classify Company G’s products using the three-way consumer product classification system.

B.  Target Market

1.  Describe the target market for the company’s product. 

C.  Analysis of Competitive Environment

1.  Analyze Company Q’s competitive environment utilizing Porter’s Five Forces model of competitive forces. 

D.  SWOT Analysis

1.  Describe three of Company Q’s strengths related to the marketing of the new product.

a.  Support your choice of each of these elements as strengths.

b.  Identify at least two strengths that should be considered as core competencies.

2.  Describe three areas where Company Q has weaknesses related to the marketing of the new product.

a.  Support your choice of each of these elements as weaknesses.

3.  Describe three current or potential opportunities within the industry.

a.  Support your choice of each of these as opportunities.

4.  Describe three current or potential threats within the industry.

a.  Support your choice of each of these as threats.

E.  Marketing Objectives

1.  Select four marketing objectives for Company Q consisting of one objective for each of the four marketing mix elements (product, distribution, price, and promotion). 

F.  Marketing Strategies

1.  Describe three strategies for each element of the market mix (product, distribution, price, and promotion) that are appropriate for the target market. Strategies should be consistent with each other and supportive of the related objective.

2.  Explain why you feel this is the best mix to achieve the objectives. 

G.  Tactics and Action Plan

1.  Develop an action plan for implementing the marketing strategies identified.

a.  Include one task for each strategy identified.

2.  Create a timeline outlining when each task is to be completed.

H.  Monitoring Procedures

1.  Describe the specific actions that will be taken to measure the effectiveness of the plan.

2.  Create a timeline for these actions from the action plan (part G1 above).