Student Instructions: A Marketing Plan is a long, detailed document that provides information about the organization and its products and/or services that are provided to its customers. This Assignment is NOT a Marketing Plan. It is a Marketing Proposal. Each area described in the following document would be many pages long for a Marketing Plan. For a Marketing Proposal, you cover each area in a few paragraphs. The entire Plan should be four or five pages long. You can either do research to get answers to the questions below or you can make your details up. When you submit this assignment, it should be laid out the same way you would lay out a Marketing Plan, just shorter. Marketing Mix (Four Ps) Product Strategy Briefly describe your product or service. Where is it in the product life cycle? What recommendations do you have for improving the offering to fit your target markets needs? Be sure to consider: How can it improve? What improvements would help your offering compete more effectively? Pricing Strategy How is your product or service priced today? How does this compare to competitors, assuming competitors are at or near break-even point with their pricing? Analyze pricing alternatives and make recommendations about pricing going forward based on the following: How sensitive are your customers to changes in price? What revenue you need to break even and achieve profitability? What does the price says about your product in terms of value, quality, prestige, etc.? Place: Distribution Strategy What is your current distribution strategy? What missed opportunities or disconnects are you seeing in this distribution approach? Make recommendations about your future distribution strategy based on the following: What are the best distribution channels and methods for you to use, and why? Will you have a retail outlet and if so, where will it be located? In what geographic area(s) will your product/service be available? Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy Use the template below to lay out your design for a marketing campaign aimed at your target segment. Approach How will you achieve your goal? What promotional or engagement strategies will you use? Think creatively about campaigns youve seen for companies or brands that have caught your attention, and how your campaign will make an impact on your target audience. Will your campaign influence? Engage? Educate? Nurture? Build awareness? Etc. Example: Use email marketing, social media and a sales promotion (prize drawing at conference) to encourage veteran attendees to post online about their experiences and plans for attending the user conference using the event hashtag. Use these testimonials to amplify dialogue about the conference (via social media), build awareness (via email marketing, Web site and targeted digital advertising) and convince peers they should attend. Goal In consideration of the of your previous analysis, you need to identify at least one goal for the campaign. Describe the target segment for your campaign. What is the goal you want to achieve with the campaign? What is your call to action? Make sure your goal is S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timed.) Example: Audience: HR professionals who are casual and power-users of Chumber systems Increase event registration by 20% by the start date of the annual user conference. Call to action: Register online today. Messages Identify the primary message for your campaign, 2-3 message pillars and proof points for each. Be sure to include a call to action that helps to achieve your goal. Remember that messages should align reinforce your positioning statement. Be sure to include a call to action that helps to achieve your goal. Example: Primary Message: The annual user conference provides phenomenal value for training, professional development, peer networking and learning how to get the most out of your investment. Message Pillar: This conference welcomes you into a dynamic, well-connected and highly competent professional community. Proof Point: Veteran attendees return year after year because it is recharges their skills, knowledge and professional networks. Call to Action: Register online today. Promotional Mix and IMC Tools Identify the key marketing communication methods and specific IMC tools you will use in your marketing campaign. How will you use each of these tools? Look for ways different methods and tools can build on each other: advertising, direct marketing, public relations, digital marketing, guerrilla marketing, personal selling, sales promotion. Example: Digital Marketing Web site: Add testimonials from prior attendees, event hashtag, rolling hashtag Tweets box, social media buttons to make registration easy to share via social media Direct Marketing Email marketing: Reach out to prior years attendees who are already registered. Ask them to post about plans to attend upcoming conference. Conduct email campaign with target audience list to generate awareness, interest, desire to attend conference. Sales Promotion + Digital Marketing Contest/giveaway: Offer giveaway where Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posts trigger entries in a conference evangelist contest/giveaway to take place at conference opening session, one entry per social media tool per day Sales Alignment At what point(s) in the sales process (or sales funnel) does this campaign operate? Sales process stages are: 1) generate leads; 2) build relationships/discover needs; 3) present solution/resolve concerns; 4) close the sale; 5) monitor and follow up. How does your campaign support sales activity? Measurement (KPIsKey Performance Indicators) How will you measure the success of the campaign? Select 3-6 KPIs (key performance indicators) that you will measure. Briefly explain why each KPI you select will be a good indicator of whether your campaign is successful. Examples of KPIs: Total sales/revenue New/incremental sales Number of qualified leads generated Net Promoter Score Web site unique visitors Number of registrations/sign-ups Impressions views of content CTR click through rate Engagement comments, likes, shares, pageviews, video views Followers social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) Awareness Etc. Budget Budget: List marketing budget and resources required to execute your marketing campaign, and estimate what it will cost. Include items such as labor, materials and other expenses such as: print materials, online media tools or development, public relations services, design services, content development services, space or equipment rental, etc. Also, estimate the increased sales or revenue the campaign will generate for the company. Item Purpose Cost Estimate Example: White paper authored by technical writer Lay out business case for why recruiting managers need an easier tool for vetting resumes and reference checking in the technology industry $500.00 Item #1 Item #2 Item #3 Item #4 Add additional rows as needed. Estimated campaign impact: [insert] Action Plan Outline the specific activities you must complete in order to execute your marketing campaign. Each element of your integrated marketing communications plan should be listed as a separate activity. List actions in the order they need to take place for the plan to be successful: first things first, later steps last. Follow-up activities and evaluation of campaign effectiveness also should be captured in this action plan. For the purposes of setting due dates in this action plan, you should assume you must complete the marketing campaign within 312 months. Timing Activity Type Brief Description Audience Owner Todays Date Example: Web site Update Add new key messages that fit repositioning strategy and audience focus Tech company hiring managers Jim Hill Date Date Date Date Date Launch Date Add additional rows as needed. Risk Factors Contingency plans and risk management: You should consider the possible risks to your business and make contingency plans to address them. You note some possible risks under the weakness and threats sections of your SWOT analysis. Identify steps you can take to either reduce risks or work around them if they occur. Executive Summary Do this section last. This short summary should provide a holistic overview of your marketing plan. All of this information is covered in more detail in the rest of the marketing plan. For the Executive Summary, provide a clear, concise overview of the following points: Company Description Briefly description the organization and offerings (products and/or services) your marketing plan focuses on, and the problem(s) they solve. Target Segment Identify and briefly describe your target segment. Competitive Advantage Explain your organizations competitive advantage. Positioning Statement Provide the positioning statement your marketing plan will apply. Marketing Plan Objectives List the objectives of marketing plan: What will it accomplish? Be as specific as possible: anticipated increase in sales, profits, market share, etc.
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