Mktg Paper 4
Kristin Velix
Assignment3Mktg500.docxRunning head: MARKETING 1
MARKETING 6
Marketing Plan
Kristin Velix
Dr. Burger
Mktg 500
Marketing Plan
A brand is the image of the organization to the business world. It entails the principles of the company and how it carries out its activities. It is imperative that a good brand is established to provide the pride for both the workers and the clientele for being associated with the company. Developing a brand involves building a culture. The principles of business practice must be observed at all times in the dealings of the firm both in business-related and non-business engagements (Aaker, 2013). Stansoft software Corporation’s core values can be summed up as Dependable, Authentic, Reliable, and Efficient (DARE). DARE is guided by the company's slogan which is "A Change for the Better," and the mission of the business which is to make it possible for people in different parts of the world realize their full potential in their daily life by offering the best quality services to our clients at their convenience in terms of time and price. We will always be there to provide our services and products no matter the situation.
Moreover, our pricing policy will be structured in such a way that it corresponds to the market forces of demand and supply. Furthermore, the business will offer competitive prices that are lucrative to the customers as compared to other competitors. Our distribution will significantly depend on the reach of potential clients, and as such we will focus on brand development to increase the market base (Armstrong et al., 2015). The company will adopt a logo which best defines our brand. Because we focus on software production, our logo is based on items that relate to software which are technological gadgets such as laptops. The logo will be distributed and placed everywhere for the potential clients and employees to see.
Other aspects of the brand development which needs particular focus include creation of a voice for the Stansoft Software Corporation which will champion the brand; a celebrity figure who is associated with the values of the company, integration of the brand in all our services and products including phone calls, signatures, salespeople dressing codes and business outlet paintings. It is essential to be consistent and faithful to the brand to make it a permanent culture in the organization. Consistency begets dependability from our clients, and thus they can easily recommend our brand to new customers based on their excellent experience while doing business with us. Moreover, consistency will ensure that our business culture is ingrained into our practices and the employees can efficiently practice the set standards with minimal supervision due to the establishment of a routine (Luxton et al., 2015).
The company has competition in the market which needs the strategic review to achieve our goal of being the leader in the industry. Competition faced is from within the organization's practices and outside the primary operation of the business. The main competition faced is from outside the company operations in other companies that offer similar products and services. These offer direct competition for the clients. Our primary strategy to overcome competition from outside is through identification of a niche in the services and products we offer (Aaker, 2013). With improved marketing and better service and product delivery, we will be able to outdo our competitors and establish dominance in the industry due to the creation of a reliable brand.
Moreover, sticking to our brand will earn the respect of clients and maintain their loyalty. Stansoft Corporation will apply the 4Ps of marketing that is the price, product, promotion, and place. As such, the cost will be flexible and lucrative to the clients compared to our competitors, our service delivery will be of the best quality and according to the standards of our customers compared to our competitors, and we will locate our distributors in strategic locations with a higher reach for the consumers who will easily access our services and products. Moreover, the company intends to offer promotional services which will target loyal consumers to encourage their continued use of our products and services. Furthermore, potential clients will also be attracted to the deals offered by our organization and try out our services. The promotional services will also ensure that the image of the business is well known throughout the regions of operation and globally. For instance, the company is set to offer discounts to the clients who have received our services for more than twenty times. Direct mailing and phone messages will also be offered to ensure active interaction between the clients and the business is maintained. A business website shall also be set up to provide that customers can visit at their discretion. The practice mentioned above will significantly differentiate our business from the closest competitor we face in the industry (Armstrong et al., 2015).
Due to the increased adoption of new technology and advanced communication practices, the company needs to establish a market communication plan that is coordinated with the modern trends to maintain our relevance in the society. Adopting a social media platform for communication of our services and products will not only maintain our significance but also increase the reach to potential clients immensely (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2016). Therefore, we have identified two relevant social media platforms that are important for achieving our marketing purpose with the best interest of the company. The two social media platforms identified are Facebook and YouTube. Both platforms have the highest number of subscribers worldwide compared to other social media platforms that are present (Hays et al., 2013). Facebook is a preferred option because it has millions of subscribers, higher than any other social media platform. Thus, the number of potential clients that the company can interact with on Facebook is high, and this potentiates our company's target to be a global brand. Facebook subscribers come from all parts of the world.
Moreover, the platform provides tools for easier communication like a translation for foreign languages; meaning that all potential clients from different cultural backgrounds can get our brand message. YouTube is also another preferred platform due to its high integration of video blogging (Hay et al., 2013). YouTube advertisement would be best done using a high-profile opinion maker who will also be the voice of our company brand. According to Tsimonis and Dimitriadis (2014), selecting a celebrity who is influential in the platform will mean that all his/her followers will access the information about our company and because it will be coming from someone whose opinion they respect, they will probably try out our products and services.
The best marketing strategies have tools that are capable of complementing each other towards achieving a common goal (Armstrong et al., 2015). Therefore, our company will seek ways to achieve a united front in the marketing field. The functional integration of each marketing tool suggested needs to be considered. For example, despite the focus on brand awareness, it does not mean that knowledge of our brand by the consumer population will translate to higher sales. We must provide the emphasis on outreach with a supporting structure to increase the chances of purchase for our products and services. Therefore, it is important that all aspects of the marketing procedures be integrated to function in harmony towards achieving the common purpose of increased sales and consumer approval (Luxton et al., 2015).
According to Baker (2014), the establishment of a framework which will guide the communication of all marketing strategies is the best way to integrate all the plans for them to work in harmony. A model framework ensures integration of the message, functionality, media platforms, time factor and other stakeholder requirements to the marketing plan. It does the tasks above by addressing some fundamental concepts in the established marketing plan. These concepts involve harmonization of the market requirements, market goals, corporate goals, and timing of the marketing plans, resources for implementation and agencies of the marketing plan. When all these factors are harmonized together with research on the market, the marketing plan that will be established will have higher chances of success. There are three approaches to developing the framework mentioned above. These are: an approach from the inside to the outside of the organization, approaches from the outside to the inside of the organization and cross-functional approach.
Approaches from the inside to the outside of the organization consider the business needs as the primary area of priority. All the marketing plans are streamlined towards achieving the goals set by the organization management. As a result, the approach is best when the organization has few competitions in the market because it tends to disregard the needs of the clients. Proposals from the outside to the inside of the organization focus on the needs of the consumers first. It relies on market research to streamline the advertisement plan based on satisfaction of the needs of the market as found by its study results (Luxton et al., 2015). As a result, the business can gain an advantage over the competition that does not address the requirements of the market. Therefore, this approach is best when stiff competition is present in the market. A cross-functional plan is a loop mechanism which involves feedback from both the market and the organization (Schultz et al., 2013). It uses constant communication between the market and the organization to establish adjustments as it suits the agenda of the two categories.
Establishing a marketing plan requires more than addressing the needs of the business. It involves active research on the requirements set by the market and constant adjustments with some aspect of regular, dependable practices to win the clients over. Moreover, the primary target of a market plan should never be neglected in the plan. Every market plan should aim at increasing actual sales rather than increasing the popularity of the business among the potential clients. It is therefore imperative that plans should consider how to align all the needs of the market and increase the probability of customers buying the offered products and services. As such, it is imperative to establish a framework that will be the guideline for the establishment of a comprehensive marketing strategy which will consider the requirements of all stakeholders and avoid conflict of interest.
References
Aaker, D. A. (2013). Brand relevance: Making competitors irrelevant. Jossey-Bass.
Baker, M. J. (2014). Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2016). Digital marketing. Pearson.
Hays, S., Page, S. J., & Buhalis, D. (2013). Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organizations. Current issues in Tourism, 16(3), 211-239.
Luxton, S., Reid, M., & Mavondo, F. (2015). Integrated marketing communication capability and brand performance. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), 37-46.
Schultz, D., Patti, C. H., & Kitchen, P. J. (2013). The evolution of integrated marketing communications: The customer-driven marketplace. Routledge.
Tsimonis, G., & Dimitriadis, S. (2014). Brand strategies in social media. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 32(3), 328-344.
