Question: Companies introduce thousands of products and services every year. Suppose you are one of those start-up companies. Use your imagination and create a new product or service and write a marketing plan for it. This written document acts as a guidebook for you and has a lot of components (read Chapter 2 one more time before you finalize your plan). The marketing plan that you write might be used to obtain financial backing from banks and others. Keep that in mind as you write the plan.
The specific elements of the marketing plan is outlined below:
1. Executive Summary
Summary of the marketing plan (written like an abstract)
2. Product Description
• Brief description of product being marketed
• What does the product do? What are the unique benefits for the consumer?
• Product features and benefits
3. Situation Analysis
a. Company Analysis
• Company's mission, vision, values
• Company's main focus areas: product/brand portfolios and ranges, etc.
b. External Environment
• Political and legal environment
• Economic environment
• Social and cultural environment
• Technological environment
NOTE: For this analysis, restrict your focus to factors that have an impact (direct or indirect) on your business or your product. Keep it relevant! And describe how and why the factors you select are relevant!
Market Analysis
• Market volume
• Market value
• Growth rates
• Market dynamics
NOTE: You will definitely need to make some assumptions here.
Be sure to reference your data sources and show how you justify your assumptions.
Competitor Analysis
• Market position
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Market shares
Customer Analysis
• Who / what they are
• Value drivers for the customers
• Customer decision process
4. Market Segmentation and Targeting
• Discuss the criteria and rationale for how the market was segmented.
• Discuss the rationale for selection of target group(s).
• Provide a detailed description of each target group (target segment).
e.g. Target Segment 1
• Description
• Size and value of segment
• Needs and preferences: why they want this type of product, and what they want
• How they use product
• Purchase process
• Support requirements
• How to reach them
• (Price sensitivity)
5. Selected Marketing Strategy
a. Develop a SWOT analysis
• Based on the SWOT analysis, describe the rationale for the strategy/ies you selected
• How does your SWOT analysis affect your marketing mix decisions (4 P's) of product, price, place (distribution), and promotion?
b. Product
This should include consideration of the product's advantages, plus how you will leverage these.
Product decisions should include:
• Brand name
• Quality
• Scope of product line
• Warranty
• Packaging
c. Price
Pricing strategy, expected volume, and decisions for the following pricing variables if / as appropriate:
• List price
• Price category (e.g. premium, mainstream, discount)
• Bundling
d. Place (Distribution)
Decision variables include:
• Distribution channels, such as direct, retail, distributors & intermediaries
• Length and breadth of channels
e. Promotion
• Differentiation and Positioning
• Objectives of communication program
• Advertising, including your selection of which media to use.
• Public relations
• Promotional programs
• Campaign slogan
• Budget: show the criteria you use for determining the budget
• Metrics: how to measure success of promotional program (e.g. AIDA)
6. Summary and Conclusion
Summarize all of the above.
7. References