the marketing plan - university of illinois at...

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University of Illinois At Chicago Interdisciplinary Product Development

Innovation Center Spring Semester 2016

The Marketing Plan: Your guide to a more successful product launch

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Statistics •  How Successful Are New Products?

Ø  Why do you think many new products fail?

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Pre-Launch Phase 1. Market research is lacking on the product or the market. 2. Most of the budget was used to create the product; little is left for launching, marketing, and selling it. 3. The product is interesting but lacks a precise market. 4. The product’s key differentiators and advantages are not easily articulated. 5. The product defines a new category, so consumers or customers will need considerable education before it can be sold.

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Pre-Launch Phase 6. The sales force doesn’t believe in the product and isn’t committed to selling it. 7. Because the target audience is unclear, the marketing campaign is unfocused. 8. Distribution takes longer than expected and lags behind the launch. 9. Sales channels are not educated about the product and thus slow to put it on shelves. 10. The product lacks formal independent testing HBR

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Role of Marketing “Marketing plays a significant role in the success of a new product launch.” To illustrate this point, let’s listen to a story about selling condoms in the Congo.

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Definition •  A marketing plan outlines the specific actions that will be taken to interest potential customers in the product/ service and persuade them to purchase it.

Ø  The what, how, and to whom sales will be made

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Levels

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Components •  Title Page •  Table of Contents •  Executive Summary •  Mission Statement/Goals & Objectives •  Market Overview & Situation Analysis •  Product/Brand Strategy •  Marketing Programs & Tactics •  Financials/Budget/Forecast •  Monitors and Controls •  Appendix & Exhibits

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Executive Summary

ü  Prepare last, after rest of plan is written

•  Provides a high-level summary/overview of the plan. •  Introduces the offering and explains the major

points of the plan. •  Summarizes the marketing goals and objectives of

the plan. Ø  Tell decision-makers the key things they need to

know about the plan

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Mission Statement/ Goals & Objectives

•  Brief description of the purpose and marketing goals and objectives of the offering §  Company objectives (if appropriate) §  Marketing objectives

Ø  What you want to achieve with the offering

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Market Overview and Situation Analysis

•  Market overview, definition, analysis §  Profile socio-cultural, political, legal, economic and

technological environments

•  Company and competitor analysis §  Description of market drivers & dynamics §  Comparative SWOT analysis §  Market shares

•  Profile of target audience/segments §  Demographics §  Size §  Their wants & needs §  How they will decide to adopt and use the offering §  Support requirements, etc.

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Product/Brand Strategy

Ø  How you plan to achieve the objectives •  Present core strategy (yours will be one of the

following): Ø  Market development Ø  Technological innovation Ø  New product-new market Ø  New product-same market Ø  Product line extension

•  State the value proposition •  Describe the product positioning and rationale

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Marketing Programs and Tactics

Ø  Application of the 4 P’s •  Describe the offering, including features and benefits and

competitive advantages and disadvantages •  Describe pricing and rationale •  Describe the distribution and rationale (dealers, distributors,

sales people, etc.) §  How and where customers will have access to the offering

•  Describe the tactics of how the offering will be promoted and rationale •  Advertising •  Personal selling •  Sales promotion •  Public relations •  Publicity

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Financials/ Budget/Forecast

•  Budget to achieve plan goals and objectives

•  Sales forecast

•  Profit & loss statement

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Monitors and Controls

•  Market research

•  Customer feedback

•  Market share analysis

•  Financial and accounting analyses

•  Sales call reports, etc.

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Key Considerations

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Innovation Center Spring Semester 2016 17

1.  What is your value proposition? What is the unmet need you are

filling? What is your business model?

2.  How does your product support the corporate goals and objectives? How does this compare to your marketing goals and objectives?

3.  Identify your Macro Environment: What are the uncontrollable factors that will impact your product? (e.g. Political-Legal, Economic, Social-Cultural, Technology)

4.  Define your Market: How would you define your industry, market, segment where you will compete? Analyze Market Trends. How large is this market? How much potential growth is there? How is it structured? Conduct a Competitive Analysis: Who are your competitors and what advantages do you offer?

Marketing Plan Exercise

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