Writers Den

Unit: Strategic Marketing Plan II

Due Date: Sun, 3/19/2017

Assignment Objectives

Analyze
marketing decision support systems and their impact upon marketing management systems.

Describe
the key factors, such as demographic, economic, natural, technological,
political, and cultural developments, that affect marketing strategies.

Assess
the major influences in current consumer and organizational buying decisions.

Analyze
the appropriate marketing strategies to apply at each stage of the product life
cycle.

Construct
a strategic marketing plan.

Assignment Details

Assignment Description

STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN

INTRODUCTION

This
assignment entails development of a comprehensive strategic marketing plan for
a new product or service that is ready to “go to market”. A Project Template is
provided that allows you to organize your work in increments and see how the
sections come together to produce a comprehensive plan.

PRODUCT/SERVICE

This
assignment requires application of concepts learned to build a strategic
marketing plan for a new product or service that is ready to “go to market”.
You will not be allowed to mimic plans or ideas from larger or already
“in-place” campaigns. You must develop the business concept in its
entirety.

·
Describe
the new product or service.

·
Discuss the
qualities that make this product/service new to the marketplace and the
rationale for your decision to pursue the concept. Be sure to pick a product or
service that is ready to market. If you are developing a new product, assume
that the development phase is over and you are ready to launch the product into
the marketplace.

OBJECTIVES/MISSION STATEMENT

Create
a Mission Statement. State your short-term MARKETING objectives (one year).
Assume that the product/service is ready to launch at the beginning of the year
(planning and testing have been completed).

·
Marketing
objectives include goals for sales, profits, market share (as examples)

·
Objectives
need to be quantifiable. Use the SMART acronym—simple, measurable, achievable,
relevant, and time-specific—in formulating your objectives. An objective with a
100% goal is not acceptable

TARGET MARKET

Identify
your target market. Provide a specific demographic profile and rationale for
this decision. Another source that may help you: The US Census Bureau’s
American Fact Finder. Consider the size of the market and its purchasing power.
Research is required to back-up your selection and to provide statistics to
show that it is a viable market.

COMPETITION

Analyze
your competition. Who are they? Who are the biggest players? How large is the
market? What are the trends/forecasts in the industry? How does your product/service
fit in? Hoover’s Pro in the Library is a good tool for this section; it may be
accessed under Find Web Resources.

PRODUCT/SERVICE FEATURES

Provide
a brief overview of the product or service.

·
State the
features of your product/service. Show how it’s innovative and different. It
may be unique because of the area in which you plan to market it.

·
Discuss
legal and ethical implications that could affect the marketing process. This
will require research.

CORE STRATEGY

Discuss
your Core Strategy and make sure to connect it to your Mission &
Objectives. Include a discussion on Product/Service Positioning.

MARKETING MIX: COMMUNICATIONS & PROMOTION

The
Marketing Mix is the set of decisions about communications and promotion,
price, channels of distribution, and customer relationship management. An
integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach delivers a clear and
consistent message to your consumers and is connected to your Core Strategy.

1.
Discuss the
aspects of the IMC. (The elements of the communication mix include:
advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, publicity/public relations and
personal selling.) Define each and discuss the pros and cons of the individual
elements.

2.
Provide a
detailed description of your IMC approach. Explain your rationale for choosing
or rejecting the specific elements (include applications to the earlier
research section). What changes do you expect to make as the product/service
matures?

3.
Describe
the message you wish to communicate based on your core strategy. Explain your
rationale for the message. Formulate how you will communicate with your target
market? Be specific. How will the internet be used in your IMC approach?

4.
Select and
explain the most suitable method for measuring advertising effectiveness. Your
decision must include research to back up the selected method. Be sure to
explain why this is the most effective method to measure the effectiveness of your
marketing campaign.

MARKETING MIX: PRICE

Discuss
what pricing objectives you would consider for your product/service. The
Objectives should be based on the various theories presented in marketing
literature and take in to account competitor pricing. Including background on
value proposition, positioning, and target market is necessary. All of these
components provide rationale for the chosen pricing scheme.

MARKETING MIX: CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION

Channels
of Distribution: Specify the type of distribution channel you will use and
include rationale.

MARKETING MIX; CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Customer
Relationship Management -Detail how you will incorporate CRM into your plan. Be
sure to include a discussion on the role of technology that will be used to
support your CRM.

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

The
assignment requires the use of ARTICLES from the library’s full-text databases.
Articles are found in periodicals. These are not to be confused with eBooks or
Reference Books. The most popular databases in marketing are: ABI Inform
Global, Academic Search Premier, and Business Source Premier.

Your
report MUST include a reference list. All research should be cited in the body
of the paper. In-text citations and corresponding references should be included
in your paper. For more information on APA, please visit the APA Lab. The paper
should be written in third person; this means words like “I”,
“we” and “you” are not appropriate. The use of direct
quotes is discouraged, but may be used sparingly in appropriate situations.

Grading
will be based on content, application, research, mechanics (APA format,
spelling grammar, and punctuation), and style (organization, readability,
and using your own words).

Grading Rubric

Grading Criteria	Percentage
Deliverable requirements addressed; understanding of material and writer’s message and intent are clear.	35%
Scholarly research supports the writer’s position and is properly acknowledged, and cited direct quotations may not exceed 10% of the word count of the body of the assignment deliverable (excluding title page, abstract, table of contents, tables, exhibits, appendices, and reference pages). Inclusion of plagiarized content will not be tolerated and may result in adverse academic consequences.	20%
Critical thinking: Position is well-justified, there is logical flow, and there are examples.	20%
Structure: Includes introduction and conclusion, proper paragraph format, and reads as a polished, academic paper or professional presentation, as appropriate for the required assignment deliverable.	10%
Mechanical: No spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors.	10%
APA: Deliverable is cited properly according to theAPA Publication Manual(6th ed.).