Bus 620 Managerial Marketing (Marketing Plan)

Remember: you are not writing a business plan, but rather a marketing plan. You may choose any product or service that interests you. Be mindful of picking a product that is interesting, it will make the assignment much more exciting. Make sure you meet the page requirements and double check your spelling, grammar, and APA formatting. I will use the rubric for grading so review it before submitting your assignment to make sure that you meet all of the requirements. The marketing plan should include a section on each of the following areas:

* Describe the product/service (your choice)

* Analyze the general business situation - use a SWOT analysis in this section.

* What are the current trends in the industry? Government websites are a great place to obtain data. For example, the United States Census is conducted every ten years. The last Census was taken in 2010 and the next one will take place in 2020. You can access data from the Census at http://www.census.gov/. Besides the 10 year Census in which much demographic information is gathered, the Census also conducts an Economic Census every five years. The last Economic Census was taken in 2007 so the data from 2012 should be available soon.

* Develop an organizational mission.

* Forecast performance goals.

* Create a marketing strategy based on the above.

* Who is your target market?

* Decide an appropriate marketing mix (the 4 P's).

A note about promotion:

Think about how many times a day you see public relations efforts. Also, think about the ways you think are most effective in getting a message across. Are there some forms of media that are becoming irrelevant with the changes in technology? For example, do you think radio is as effective as it used to be? I have Sirius radio, which has few commercials so I do not hear many PR messages anymore. Before I had Sirius, I listened to many PR messages. Think about these mediums that you think are effective and ineffective.

* Other elements that you deem important to your strategy.

You may want to think corporate philanthropy as part of your strategy. I think it is important in our world and I tend to give my business to companies who I know give back to their communities. For example, I used to work for UPS and I know they give back. Representatives from the United Way used to come by to ask us to give part of our paycheck to help the organization. We could give as little as $2.00 per week. Besides that, I lived near Louisville, KY at the time and it was very common to see UPS signage at various community events. It is good to know that major corporations take the time to invest in their communities and for the greater good of people. Think about companies in which you patron and how they give back. Also think about how philanthropy plays a role in public relations and how it may benefit your product/service.

* Summarize and develop specific recommendation to execute the plan.

* Include an appendix if necessary.