The Marketing Plan Group Project

The Marketing Plan Group Project

The Marketing Plan: Groups are to think up a new product and then develop a plan for marketing the product to a group of potential investors. The plan and the product should be fairly realistic given the limitations in finding relevant information and should consider and incorporate all the principles of marketing learned throughout the semester.

Purpose: The purpose of the plan is to give students an opportunity to put into practice all marketing topics learned throughout the semester. The finished project also provides students with an example of work they have accomplished that may be used when interviewing for a job.

Project Research: Much of the marketing plan must be based on research. For example, the target market, the competition, environmental factors, product and marketing costs, and likely product demand must be well-researched. Merely stating that the target market is all males between the ages of 18 to 24 living in the area is insufficient. Justification for that target market, based on research, must be provided. Researching demand will also be very helpful in setting prices. For example, students may ask their friends and family to respond to a short questionnaire about willingness to purchase the product at varying price levels. If 20 percent of all those surveyed are willing to pay $20. for your product and you decide this is the best price, then you could assume that 20 percent of your target market will buy this product.

Citations: Research is required for this project and any research used should be cited throughout the paper as appropriate with references provided in the appendix. DO NOT COPY the work of anyone else without proper citation. This could result in failure in the course or expulsion from the University.

Presentation: The final report submitted for grading should have a professional appearance. This means the reports should have a well-designed cover sheet, color graphs/pictures where appropriate, the same font and format throughout, and the report should be bound in some form (comb bound, notebook, etc.). Please do not put each page in a separate plastic page holder and do not use folders where the pages may fall out when opened. (Binding doesnt apply to online class students)

4 Ps: Dont forget that the marketing plan is largely about using the 4 Ps. This generally means that each of the 4 Ps must be addressed IN DETAIL in your plans. For example, when writing the Promotion section, first review chapters 13 and 14 and address all concepts explained in the text: tell what message is to be delivered, where, when and how and why it is to be delivered.

Helpful Hints:

1) In general, the two biggest shortcomings of poor marketing plans are a lack of sufficient research and not enough detail in the 4 Ps.

2) When working in groups, establish a timeline early in the project, tell who is to do what by what date. Then, on the due date, if a group a member doesnt turn in the work on time, others must complete the missed work to ensure a complete, final project.

The following is a guideline for headings and content of the group marketing plan Marketing Plan

Introduction

Introduction and background information about the company, what led to the product development, etc. are explained in this section.

Organization Mission

The mission statement is a motivational, guiding vision that defines the business in terms of customer needs fulfilled. For example, Exxon doesnt sell gasoline, they provide fuel transportation and Kodak doesnt sell film, they preserve memories. The mission statement should also explain how the company is different from all other companies in the same industry.

Organization Objectives

Overall organizational objectives detail what is to be accomplished over a given time period, usually in terms of profits, market share, growth or diversity. Objectives should include 1) what is to be measured, 2) a concrete measure, and 3) the time period. For example, To obtain a 15 percent market share over the next fiscal year or to attain a profit margin of 20 percent within two years are examples of objectives.

Situation Analysis

Current and Past Company Situation

This section should examine the current and past situation within the company itself; what, if anything, has the company done in the past and what they are doing now. Previous marketing efforts, if any, (product lines, features, pricing, promotions, and distribution, etc.) and their success or failure should be explored in this section. Obviously, newly formed companies will not have a past but will have a current status and structure that may be briefly explained.Environmental Situation

Competitive Forces. The competition subsection is especially important and should be comprehensive to explain 1) the total market and industry and the share of market associated with each competitor and 2) who competitors are and what their positioning is (price, attributes, guarantees, competitive advantage, etc.). You may need to answer the following types of questions: Who are the major competitors as of today? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Who are likely to be the major competitors in the future? What response is expected from the competition if changes to the marketing mix are made? How does the structure of the industry affect competitive forces in the industry? You should also develop a competitors table such as the one below for your product. This competitor analysis will help you to forecast demand and develop your own competitive advantage/differentiation strategy.

Bath Soap Competitors

(Abbreviated List)

Price/ozImage/competitive advantageDistribution

Ivory6.999.44% PureEverywhere

Coast11.9Eye opener/refreshingEverywhere

Dial13.1Antibacterial/deodorantEverywhere

Tone16.5Natural moisturizerDiscount

Economic Forces. Tell the condition of the economy and how it may affect sales of your product. You may consider the following questions: What is the general economic condition of the country, region, state, or local area and how does it affect the buying power of your targeted market? Are consumers optimistic or pessimistic about the economy? What are the current spending patterns of consumers in the target market(s)? Are consumers buying less or more of your product and why? ALL OF YOUR answers MUST be based on fact found in your research, not your opinions.Political Forces. Think about: Have recent elections changed the political landscape? What type of industry controls do new elected officials favor? What is the company doing currently to maintain good relations with elected political officials? Have these activities been effective? Why or why not?Legal and Regulatory Forces. Consider changes in federal, state, or local laws and regulation are in affect or are being proposed that would affect the way you operate. Technological Forces. Explain how technology will affect marketing efforts. What impact has changing technology had on the target market(s)? What technological changes will affect the way you operate, manufacture products or market them? Do any technological advances threaten to make the product(s) obsolete?

Sociocultural Force. Discuss: How societys demographics and values changing, and tell the affects these changes have on operations and marketing efforts. What is the general attitude of society about this industry, company, and product(s)? What consumer or environmental groups could intervene in the operations of this industry or company? What ethical or socially responsible issues should be addressed?SWOT analysis

Company Strengths and Weaknesses, and external (or internal) Opportunities, and Threats that affect a companys market efforts should be detailed. For example, when America Online (AOL) changed their pricing strategy from charging consumers based on the time spent online to a flat rate, the company experienced tremendous usage, so much so that the access telephone lines were continuously busy and customers could not readily access AOL. This presented a strategic window of opportunity to capture AOL customers for other competing Internet providers. Other opportunities include new trends, new technologies, and new events, such as an upcoming Olympics, Super Bowl, or holiday.

Think specifically about how each strength, weakness, opportunity and threat affects the operations of the company and how each strength, weakness, opportunity and threat will assist the company in meeting the needs of its target market(s). Tell how the companys strengths can be matched to its opportunities to create capabilities or how the company may convert its weaknesses into strengths, and how the company can convert its threats into opportunities.Determine the firms growth strategymarket penetration, market development, product development or diversificationand select opportunities that match your firms abilities best, given the SWOT analysis and the analysis of the environmental factors that may affect the business.

Marketing Strategies

Marketing Objectives

Specific objectives to be accomplished through marketing efforts should be detailed here. Marketing objective examples include, market share, market growth, sales, customer satisfaction rates, number of new products introduced, etc. Be sure to follow the rules of good objective: specific and concrete, measurable, and give a time period. Segment, Define and Profile CustomersTarget Market

Plans for segmenting (or not segmenting) the market should be discussed in this section. This section is research basedthis means that YOU MUST CONDUCT SECONDARY RESEARCH to determine characteristics of your likely customers to best provide a detailed profile of the target market and consumer behavior using as many of the market descriptors as possible. This includes demographics (sex, age, income, occupation, education, ethnic background, family life cycle, etc.), geographics (location, accessibility, climate, density, resources), psychographics (attitudes, opinions, interests, motives, lifestyles), benefits sought, behavioral and situation. Also, discuss answers to the following: What are the current needs of the target market(s)? How well are current product offerings meeting these needs? How well are competitors offerings meetings these needs? How are the needs of the target market(s) expected to change in the near future? What about changes in the distant future? JUSTIFY YOUR TARGET MARKET SELECTION.A specific, concrete number of consumers in the target market should be determined. For example, if the target market is college students in Texas, you could visit the Web site for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (http://www.thecb.state.tx.us) and look under data and statistics and find that enrollment in higher education institutions is expected to be over one million students by 2010. These numbers will help in forecasting demand for your firms product.

Positioning Statement

The position or image that consumers should have about the product should be stated in this section. This section should include a positioning statement that is the theme or slogan to match the desired image along with justification/ explanation for the theme selected. For example, Where do you want to go today? (Microsoft), Fly the friendly skies of United (United Airlines), Always Coke, etc.

The Marketing MixThis section should be VERY DETAILED and should incorporate concepts discussed in the text.Product - The product section should provide a DETAILED explanation of the productwhat it is, what it does, features, name, color, contents, product line, packaging, branding, warranty, etc. (See Chapter 9 & 10).Place - Details about where and how the product is to be delivered to the ultimate consumer should be discussed in this section. For example, intensity of distribution, types of retail outlets used, how products are transported, location, etc. (See Chapters 11 and 12).Promotion - Plans for promoting the product in an integrated marketing communication format for both the ultimate consumer (pull strategy) and the retail trade (pull strategy) should be detailed in this section. Specifically, plans for using the various types of promotional tools, personal selling, advertising, publicity/public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, and sponsorships, as well as media selection and scheduling should be explained (See chapters 13 &14). This means telling what the message is for your product, where it is to be promoted, how, when, and why and providing examples.Price - The pricing strategy for the product should be detailed in this section. The cost to produce the product, estimated demand, legal/ethical concerns and strategic concerns should be outlined to determine price and estimate profits. Also include possible tactics that will be used to allow adjustments to the base price over time. YOU MUST PREPARE A PROJECTED INCOME STATEMENT AND DETERMINE POSSIBLE PROFITABILITY in this section (See chapter 15).Implementation

The budget and time line for implementing specifics of the marketing mix are presented in this section.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Control ProceduresThis section details how results of the plan will be measured on an ongoing basis. Discuss how all marketing activities will be monitored to ensure success. For example, will monthly or quarterly updates of sales be made to compare against projections? If sales are far from estimates, tell what actions are to be taken.

Appendix

Copies of research reports, charts, graphs, advertisements, brochures, etc. should be place in the appendix of the marketing plan.___________

Some Questions from Pride and Ferrell 2000.