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Individual Assignments – Marketing Plan. Review individual marketing plan assignment. The major written assignment for this course is to write a marketing plan, utilizing the resources and examples of The Marketing Plan Book. Students will work on this project individually. Students will develop a hypothetical company that operates in the US and one or more foreign markets. The marketing plan needs to involve a product that has a service component to the product. As students determine whether they will offer an existing product or a new product, consider the following questions: Is there a current product on the market that could benefit from updating or enhancing it? o Are there market trends for which a new product will satisfy the needs and wants of prospective customers? o Establish marketing goals and objectives. o Additionally, you may want to ask yourself the following questions: ? Does the product fit with your interests? ? Is this a business product or a consumer product? ? Does it have market potential and is this market profitable? Is there a high likelihood for its success? ? Is it unique? What competitive advantages will this product have over existing products on the market? Is it feasible? How practical will it be to sell and distribute the product to the market? Initially each student will need to choose a company name, write a brief strategic mission statement (Focus and the purpose of the hypothetical company), and decide on possible countries for market expansion and methods of market entry. The individual marketing plan will be developed in separate graded segments; Foreign Market Analysis, Market Analysis and Product Strategy, Pricing Strategy, IMC Strategy, and Marketing Channel Strategy. The requirements for each component are outline in Assessment 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively.
The presumption is made that each company is currently operating in the U. S. Students may decide to either select one or more countries for market expansion of the hypothetical company. Students need to conduct research on a country for potential expansion, identify market opportunities, and include that information in the marketing plan. See Assessment 2. • Assessment #1: Marketing Research Plan. (Due no later than 1/26) This is not part of the individual marketing plan. Prepare a 4-5 page research plan. Read Appendix B & C in The Marketing Plan.
Create a research plan to support introducing a new product (the instructor will specify the product and market area, or determine if you can select the product). In addition to stating your research objectives, the 4-5 page plan should include: o Data sources and why used (secondary and/or primary); o Research approaches and why used (observation, focus-group, survey, behavioral data, and/or experimental research); o Research instruments and why used (questionnaires, psychological tools, mechanical devices, and/or qualitative measures); o Sampling plan (i. . , who will be surveyed, how many people will be surveyed, and how will the respondents be selected); o Contact methods and why used (mail, telephone, in person, or online). Support your recommendations with at least 2 reference sources that discuss the nature of your product, use of market research methods related to the product, or considerations in conducting research, and cite your references using APA style. • Assessment #2. Foreign Market Analysis. (Due no later than 2/9) This activity is part of your marketing plan.
Prepare a 3-4 page report that evaluates the market environment of a foreign country (technological, economic, political, legal and regulatory, and social/cultural) and identify potential market opportunities and threats. Assess the potential effects of the foreign marketing environment on the marketing operations. Recommend a market entry method (indirect or direct exporting, licensing, joint ventures, or direct investment), and state pros and cons of this method. Support your conclusions with at least 3 reference sources and cite your references using APA style.
One potential source of information is the Country Commercial Guides available through www. export. gov/mrktresearch/index. asp • Assessment #3: Market Analysis and Product strategy. (Due no later than 2/23) This activity is part of your marketing plan. Prepare a 4-5 page report, addressing the following: o Specify your company’s marketing objective/goal for the marketing plan. o Describe your product/service, product strategy, and target market(s). o Explain the variables/considerations you used to segment the market. o Explain the variables/considerations you used in identifying the target market. Explain the rationale for the components of the product strategy, such as branding, features/attributes of the product/service, positioning, and service features. (How will these items add value, fit the target market, and support effective marketing). o Use at 2 references to support the discussion on the marketing objective, target market, product features/branding, or product positioning. • Assessment # 4: Pricing Strategy. (Due no later than 3/2) This activity is part of your marketing plan. Determine a pricing strategy and pricing tactics to be used for your product and identify any related legal and ethical issues.
Write a 3-4 page report describing this strategy selection and the rationale for the selection of the pricing strategy and tactics to be used, be sure to address competitive pressures and implications to the target market. • Assessment # 5: Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). (Due no later than 3/16) This activity is part of your marketing plan. Develop a promotional strategy for your product/service in the marketing plan. The strategy must fit the product/service, target market, and overall marketing objectives of the student’s hypothetical company.
Write a 3-4 page report describing the promotional strategy and providing the rationale for your strategy decisions. For example, explain the advantages of using the particular promotional actions you have selected. • Assessment # 6: Marketing Channel strategy. (Due no later than 3/23) This activity is part of your marketing plan. Prepare a marketing channel (distribution) strategy for your product (3-4 pages). This will complete your marketing plan. The distribution strategy must fit the product/service, target market, and overall marketing objectives for the student’s hypothetical company.
Provide rationale for your strategy decisions. For example, explain the advantages of using a particular distribution channel. • Assessment # 7: In-Class “Marketing Management Exercise”. (Due no later than 3/30) This is an in-class exercise based on the business scenario provided by the Instructor. Given a business situation (provided by the instructor), assume you are in charge of marketing this company’s product in the United States. Your task is to develop recommendations for each of the items below that will be used in the marketing the product: You need to explain and provide rationale for your decisions. . How would you apply the market segmentation concept in developing a marketing strategy in this case? Based on your analysis, identify at least two segments for targeting. Explain why you selected the segments for targeting. 2. Marketing includes developing CRM in order to enhance the value of the product/ brand and to build long-term customer relationship. Recommend three CRM actions for customer retention and enhancing the perceived value of the product. Explain your decisions. 3. Recommend an Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) campaign that involves at least two promotional tools.
Also, develop a theme/message for the campaign, and specify any recommended sequence of the promotional activities. Explain your decisions. 4. Configure at least two product distribution channels and logistics to meet the marketing objectives and fit a variety of market environments, utilizing strategies to increase channel cooperation and minimize conflict. Explain your decisions. 5. Develop a pricing strategy for the product to meet the marketing objectives, taking into consideration different pricing approaches. (This is not the specific product price, just the approach for pricing the product) Explain your decisions.