Marketing Plan

Include the following in your Group Discussion Board Forum:

1. A thread that summarizes your group’s commitment to the project. This must include key criteria such as group expectations for participation by group members as well as a schedule related to member participation. Note that the group project includes individual posts, review and critique of member posts, and, finally, a group consolidation of information for each module/week.

2. Before proceeding with the marketing plan, obtain approval from the course instructor for your new product, provide a short description of the product you have in mind, and the company that you would like to build your marketing plan around.

3. Read Chapter 3 for changing consumer and environmental trends that give rise to unmet or changing needs. You should also read Chapters 8 and 10 to get an idea how marketing research can be used to support the development of new products.

4. Finally, a thread with Draft 1 of your Marketing Plan (MP) attached as a Word file. Your draft must contain the following sections:

· Company Description: See your text for an example of the expected information in this section.

· Strategic Focus: You must research the company and identify the company’s mission (why the company exists; whom does the company serve) and (if possible) their vision (what does the company want to achieve: e.g., grow to become the industry leader, gain #1 status in the market, become known as an environmental leader).

· Company Goals: This one may be more difficult, but you may be able to find annual statements for the company (if it is publicly traded) or comments/speeches by the company CEO/president that will help you to identify either financial or non-financial goals.

· Core Competencies and Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA): Information on these two topics may not be readily apparent (especially the source of the company's SCA, but you should look for information on these topics as you work through the elements of the MP.

Your Collaborative Marketing Plan Draft 1 must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 2.

It is suggested that you organize your Marketing Plan into the four (4) drafts from the beginning so as to follow the logical sequence. The four (4) drafts (color-coded) are shown below:

1. Executive Summary (pt. of Draft 4)

Note: The Executive Summary (#1) is to be completed during Draft 4.

DRAFT 1 (due week 2)

2.        Company Description

3.        Strategic Plan and Focus

3.1.         Mission

3.2.         Goals

3.3.         Core Competency and Sustainable Competitive Advantage

DRAFT 2 (due week 4)

4.        Situation Analysis

4.1.         SWOT Analysis

4.2.         Industry Analysis

4.3.         Competitor Analysis

4.4.         Company Analysis

4.5.         Customer Analysis

DRAFT 3 (due week 6)

Market-Product Focus

5.1.         Marketing and Product Objectives

5.2.         Target Markets

5.3.         Points of Difference

5.4.         Positioning

DRAFT 4 (due week 8)

Note: The Executive Summary (#1) is to be completed during this last draft.

6.        Marketing Program Strategy and Tactics

6.1.         Product Strategy

6.2.         Price Strategy

6.3.         Promotion Strategy

6.4.         Place (Distribution) Strategy

7.        Financial Data and Projections

7.1.         Past Sales Revenues

7.2.         Five-Year Projections

Executive Summary (Table of Contents Section 1)

References

Appendices