Use this template to organize your ideas, brainstorm, and map out your marketing initiatives.
Step 4: Position
Step 1: Purpose
What is your organization’s vision or purpose?:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Mission Statement for your organization’s marketing plan:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What are your organization’s values? How are these reflected in your proposed sports marketing initiative(s)?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What is your organization’s culture? How does this culture align with your mission? With your consumers culture and values?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What is the purpose of your proposed sports marketing initiative? What are the goals of this initiative? How does it align and/or extend your organizational goals?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
How will you manage the marketing mix to ensure your marketing goals are congruent (or fit) your overall organizational goals and values? Specify any product, promotional, pricing, place, platform issues you may encounter with your marketing initiative. What steps will you take to mitigate these issues and create organizational value?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What type of sports marketing research will you perform to ensure success for your propsed marketing initiatives? Specifically, what is the problem your initiative seeks to solve? What information do you need? How will you capture this information for future analysis? How will you collect data? What methods will you use (qualitative or quantitative)?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 2: Product
What market gaps are there in your sports industry? How will your proposed marketing efforts fill this market gap? Why is there a market gap? What are some of the challenges you foresee in filling this gap?:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What are some of the barriers to entry in your sports industry? How do will your organization overcome these? How do you believe your competitors will overcome these issues and how will your proposal allow you a competitive advantage over your competition? What are some alternative strategies to place your organization in a competitive position to take advantage of the marketing gap over your competition?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Formally indicate who you believe are the main competitors to your organization. What are their product/service offerings? How are they priced? What’s their market share? Will you compete for the same market share or an overlapping portion?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Formally describe your market and its segmentation. Who are your primary customers? What is your primary market? Tertiary market(s)? Do your proposed marketing initiatives address a specific customer need? Can you describe the customer need and how your product/service will fill this gap? How will you target this consumer?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What are your product/service offerings? How does this meet your customers needs? How will you price your offerings? How do you know this will be successful? How will you verify your customer needs are met?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
What is your organization’s vision or purpose?:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Step 3: Project Market
Analyze your organization/product’s external environment using a PESTEL analysis:
What is the current
P
olitical landscape/stability of your sport business/product/service? Does your sport marketing initiative require international marketing? Are you entering developing nations? What are the political regulations impacting your marketing initiatives (i.e. taxes, wage requirements, work permits, venue permits, pricing regulation, etc)?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What are the
E
conomic factors affecting your sport industry or organization? The economic climate dictates the behavior of sport consumers, suppliers, and other sport stakeholder. Will your marketing initiative enter a time of economic prosperity, depression, recession, or recovery? How has your industry been impacted by these issue? What are exchange rates if you will be entering international markets? What is your target market’s employment rate and discretionary income? What is the skill level of the area where you will be implementing your marketing efforts? What is the current infrastructure?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
S
ocial forces such as family, friends, work colleagues and the media affect the attitudes, interests, and opinions in consumers. What is the current social opinion of your organization, sport industry, product? Will your market be socially accepting of your marketing initiatives? Will you be entering a different social landscape requiring a greater sensitivity to a specific culture? Attitude?Class or socio-economic sensitivity?Gender or sexual orientation sensitivity?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What is the current
T
echnological environment like? How will that impact your marketing initiative? Will you be able to communicate on traditional and new media? What specific platforms will be appropriate for your marketing plan? How will you make modification in your distribution channel to accommodate for technology? How innovative are your consumers and which technological platforms will they be receptive to?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What are the current
E
nvironmental impacts of your marketing initiatives? How will the current attitudes towards the environment impact participation rates? Will your venue or facility require modifications for the current environmental attitudes held by your organization? What is the environmental impact of your marketing initiative? How will you address the growing concern for green practices and sustainability?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Will your organization be
L
egally bound by the macro-environment? Do you have any regulations set forth by the International Olympic Committee? Sport Federation? Sponsor Agreements? Competition laws?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Analyze your organization/product’s internal environment using a SWOT analysis:
What are the Strengths of your sport business/product/service?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What are the Weaknesses of your sport business/product/service?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What Opportunities are available in the market (e.g., untapped consulting areas)? _____
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What are the Threats in the market (e.g., competitors)?___________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Will you implement an expert approach or a product approach? __________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What will you promote (e.g., experience, services, potential clientele, etc.)? ________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Who are your customers? What are their need? How do they like to be reached? How do they search for information? How do they make purchase decision?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Who are your competitors?What services/products do your competitors offer and how are your offering different?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
How are your organizational, product, or service values communicated to your customers?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
How will you address niche markets? What is your primary market? Secondary market? Any tertiary markets? How will you reach consumers in each of these markets? How are your consumers similar or different based on each market? How will you accommodate your marketing efforts based on these similarities or difference?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Step 4: Market Position& Strategy
What unique services do you offer? ________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
How will you enter your specific market? What barriers do you see to entry in your primary, secondary or tertiary markets? What positioning and marketing strategies will you utilize to overcome these entry issues?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
How do you plan to sell your product or service? What sales strategies or vehicles will you use? What type of sales force will you require? What are their skills? How metrics will you use to evaluate sales figures? How will you incentivize your sales force?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
What is your brand identity and strategy?What strategies will you use to foster brand awareness, recognition, and brand value? What are some advertising or promotional strategies?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
How will you launch your marketing initiatives? Time-sensitive components? What are some possible bottlenecks? How will your organization deal with any launch setbacks? What’s your time-line and plan?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Depending on your product, will you need to be aware of any operations or organizational issues? Will you handle production in-house? Outsource? What are some potential human resource issues you may encounter (i.e. facility being ADA compliance). How will your management reflect your organization’s values and culture? How will this affect your marketing initiatives?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________