marketing

MP-2: Marketing Plan Student Guide 112

STUDENT GUIDE FOR WRITING A MARKETING PLAN MGM 301

Professor Michael Krupski 1. Executive Summary

The Executive Summary “sells” the marketing plan to readers through its clarity and brevity. The summary should present a description of the product/service, its target market, and its need within the market. The tone should have a goal of building enthusiasm for the marketing plan. Text: Very brief description on page 57.

2. Company Description

The company description should highlight the recent history and successes of the organization. This is an interesting section because almost all of you don’t own a company! Therefore, you can fictionalize this if you would like to. For example, one group that developed a new heated shovel claimed that they had been in the snow removal industry for 20 years. This is acceptable to do as long as you apply this factor in your SWOT analysis (#4a below). Some students just keep things simple and say they are “5 students at UB that have started a company… and explain that they have no history for the company.”

3. Strategic Focus and Plan

While not included in all marketing plans, the Strategic Focus and Plan sets the strategic direction for the entire organization. For your Strategic Focus and Plan, just discuss the three items listed below: (mission statement, goals, core competency and sustainable competitive advantage).

a. Mission Statement

The Mission statement is a qualitative statement that specifies the markets and product lines in which a business will compete. A mission statement can dramatically affect the range of a firm’s marketing activities by narrowing or broadening the competitive playing field. An effective mission statement must be clear and direct. Text: pages 40- 44. Page 84 has a good example of Timberland.

b. Goals

The Goals section of a marketing plan sets both financial and non-financial targets. Goals should be in quantitative terms, where possible, to facilitate measuring the company’s future performance. Text: page 44. The Student Sample (Bagels by the Bay) provides good examples of financial and non-financial goals. Also, refer to the examples below:

 An example of a non-financial goal: “Philip Morris will diversify its product lines to achieve 50 percent of sales revenue in non-tobacco products in the next five years.”

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 An example of a financial goal (note it is specific and measurable): “XYZ Inc. will increase sales from $10 million in 2005 to $15 million in 2010.”

c. Core Competency and Sustainable Competitive Advantage

 Whereas the mission defines the scope of a business or business unit and the goals define its strategic performance dimensions, its business unit competencies determine the means for achieving success.

 An example of a competitive advantage: “McDonalds’ competitive advantage is its large number of restaurants, more than double its competitors, making it more convenient for customers than any other fast food restaurant in the world.”

Text: Page 218 & rest of Chapter 7. Also, listen closely to Professor Krupski’s lecture when he talks about core competency and competitive advantage.

4. Situation Analysis

The essence of the situation analysis is taking stock of where the firm or product has been recently, where it is now, and where it is headed. The situation analysis is the first of three steps in the planning stage. Text: pages 55-56 and more in Chapter 2.

a. SWOT Analysis

 The SWOT analysis is an effective shorthand summary of the situation analysis.

The acronym is used to describe an organization’s internal Strengths and Weaknesses and its external Opportunities and Threats. This analysis provides a solid foundation to identify subsequent actions in the marketing plan.

 The SWOT analysis can be effectively presented in a tabular format (see Appendix 1), followed by a text discussion that elaborates on the information in the table.

 An analysis to identify internal strengths and weaknesses usually includes the following areas in an organization:

For this assignment, you must cover every area listed below.

When analyzing: Consider:

Management experience level, management style, size

Offerings uniqueness, quality, price

Marketing type and scope of marketing plan

Personnel quality and experience of workforce

Finance sales revenues

Manufacturing quality and dependability of suppliers

R & D plans for continual product improvement, budget

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 An analysis to identify external opportunities and threats usually includes the following factors:

When analyzing: Consider:

Consumer/Social size and stability of market

Economic current and projected economic situation of market

Technological the effect of technology on any facet of the business

Competitive number and size of competitors

Legal/Regulatory the effect of legal/regulatory issues on any part of the business

b. Industry Analysis

The industry analysis section should provide the backdrop for a more detailed analysis of the competition, the company, and the customer. An in-depth analysis will give both internal and external readers of the plan confidence in the company’s ability to understand its own industry.

c. Competitor Analysis

An effective analysis of the competition should demonstrate that the company has a realistic understanding of its major competitors and their marketing strategies. As in with the industry analysis, a realistic assessment makes readers feel confident that the marketing actions in the plan are well grounded.

d. Company Analysis

The company analysis provides details of a company’s strengths and marketing strategies that will enable it to achieve its marketing goals. (Some of this section will be repetitive with information from strengths in the SWOT section.)

e. Customer Analysis

A thorough customer analysis answers the question: “Who are our customers?” Understanding your customers and what they want is critical in satisfying them and providing genuine value. Text: Chapter 7.

5. Market-Product Focus

a. Marketing and Product Objectives

 Setting product objectives and identifying target market segments significantly increases the chance that a product will be successful.

 The objectives and goals should be stated in measurable terms.

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b. Target Markets

 Because an organization cannot satisfy the needs of all consumers, it must concentrate its marketing efforts on the needs of specific niches or target markets.

 Consider why a particular target market was selected and how the product or service meets the needs of the target market. Text: Chapter 7.

c. Points of Difference

Points of difference are those characteristics of a product that make it superior to competitive substitutes. The greatest single factor in a new product’s failure is the lack of significant points of difference. Text: Chapter 7.

d. Positioning

A product’s unique points of difference are communicated by way of a positioning statement. Text: Page 222 & more of chapter 7.

6. Marketing Program

Everything that has gone on before in the marketing plan sets the stage for the marketing mix actions—the 4 Ps—covered in the marketing plan. Product, price, promotion, and place (distribution) strategies are all detailed in the Marketing Program section of the plan. Text: Pages 54-55.

When describing these strategies:

Include these elements:

Product features, brand name, packaging, service, warranty Text: Chapter 8

Price

list price, discounts, allowances, credit terms, payment period Text: Chapters 10 & 11

Promotionn advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity Text: Chapters 15 & 16

Place/distribution Retail outlets, channels, coverage, transportatio Text: Chapters 12 & 13

7. Financial Data

All the marketing mix decisions covered in the marketing program have both revenue and expense effects. In this section of the marketing plan, you are required to calculate a break- even analysis for both units and dollars. Text: Page 640.

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8. Organization

A marketing program needs a marketing organization to implement it. This section of the marketing plan needs to include an organizational chart with both current and projected positions represented.

9. Implementation Plan

a. The implementation plan shows how a company will turn plans into results. To implement a marketing program successfully, hundreds of detailed decisions are often required.

b. These marketing tactics are detailed operational decisions essential to the overall

success of marketing strategies. Unlike marketing strategies, marketing tactics involve actions that must be taken immediately.

c. Your assignment is to provide a detailed list of steps to carry out your Marketing Plan.

10. Evaluation and Control

a. The purpose of the control phase of the strategic marketing process is to keep the marketing program moving in the direction set for it.

b. In the control phase, the marketing manager compares the results of the marketing

program with the goals in the written plans to identify deviations. The marketing manager then acts on the deviations to correct the negative and exploit the positive ones.

A. Appendices

The appendices contain pertinent supplemental information that is too detailed to be included in the body of the marketing plan. Examples include sample ads for the company or its competitors, detailed break-even calculations for various sets of assumptions, etc. Final Notes About This Marketing Plan Assignment: 1. In the text, page 57, there is a table called “Contents of a Marketing Plan”. You will

notice that this is an abbreviated version of your assignment. Do not use the text’s Table 2.2 as your writing guidelines.

2. In the text, Appendix 1 begins on page 631. It has some valuable information about writing a marketing plan. It is slightly different than your assignment, but you can still learn a lot from it.