Part A: Executive Summary
You will create a fictional
start-up company that serves the U.S. market with a product or service.
Write one to two (1-2)
paragraphs in which you:
1. Provide a detailed
description of your company. The description should include, at a minimum, the
company’s name, its history, founders, business purpose, and mission.
2. Describe, in detail, the
product or service the company produces or services. Include trademark, color,
shape, packaging, labeling, and any characteristics that you deem relevant.
Part B: Targeting Customers
You will now consider who your
customers are and identify your market segment.
It is vital that you clearly
identify your target customers within your marketing plan. Knowing your target
customers will help you to:
·
pinpoint where you should spend your advertising budget
·
determine the type of campaign you intend to run, and
·
ensure that your marketing message speaks the customer’s language (based on
their needs and wants, demographic, location, ethnicity, etc.).
Write one to two (1-2)
paragraphs in which you:
1. Analyze the business
customers / clients that you wish to target. Your analysis should include, but
not be limited to, their:
1. demographic profile
(e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, etc.)
2. psychographic profile
(e.g., interests, routine, habits, etc.)
3. profession (e.g.,
income, occupation, education)
4. geographic location
(e.g., country, region, city, rural, urban, climate)
5. precise wants and needs
as they relate to the products and / or services you offer.
2. Use at least two (2)
quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify
as academic resources.
Journal 2: Marketing Plan Part
C: Unique Selling Proposition
Due Week 6 and worth 100
points
You will now complete your
secondary market research and consider what distinguishes your company from
your competitors, their products, and / or the price of their products and
services.
The key word in Unique Selling
Proposition (USP) is “unique.” There are very few products or services that are
truly one of a kind. In order to target the demographic for your company, you
need to pinpoint what makes your business standout among the competitors (e.g.,
Charles Revson, founder of Revlon, always used to say he sold hope, not makeup.
Neiman Marcus sells luxury and customer service. Wal-Mart sells bargains.
Amazon is earth’s biggest bookstore.)
Use the Internet to research
two (2) of your favorite companies and two (2) companies that are similar to
your company. Identify the USPs of these companies, and consider what the USPs
mean to you. Next, prepare to create a USP for your company.
Tips on creating a USP for
your company:
·
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Consider what your customers
really want. Consider what could make them your repeat customers and instead of
your competition‘s.
·
Research what motivates your customers’ behaviors and buying
decisions. You need to know what drives and motivates customers.
·
Uncover the real reasons why customers buy your product instead of a
competitor’s. As owner of a start up, ask people why they buy your future
competitors’ product. This will help you uncover why they might buy yours. Ask
yourself the following questions:
·
·
What does our product or service do better than anyone else?
·
How is our business model different from that of our competition? How could
our product or service be different?
·
What market category or niche is not being served by our industry?
Write a four to six (4-6)
paragraph journal entry in which you:
1. Identify the target
market and your secondary market for your company. Note: Be as
specific as possible (e.g., women 30-45, with a high school education and some
college; people working full time and living in the Midwest, etc.).
2. Describe your unique
selling proposition (USP). Explain the key factors that make your company
different than competitors within your industry. Describe the primary way in
which the USP for your company targets the two (2) markets you identified in
Question 1.
Example of a USP:
·
My product is t-shirts and coffee mugs with fun and empowering logos for
women.
·
My target market is women ages 35-55, college educated, working full time.
My secondary market trends a little younger at 25-35, women passionate about
their professional life and their personal pursuits.
·
My USP is “Be Authentic, no Apologies.”
·
My reasoning is I want women to buy my sassy slogans, because they want to
show their authentic voice on a shirt or mug.
Note: Insert the information
from the completed Journal 3 entry into “Section 3: Unique Selling Proposition”
in the provided Marketing Plan Template (located in Week 4).
You will now consider your
company’s strengths and weakness, along with your product or service price.
Use the Internet to research
strategies for conducting a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)
analysis. Based on your company’s market information, consider the strengths
and weakness of your company and its products or services.
Write a four to six (4-6)
paragraph journal entry in which you:
1. Determine the key
strengths and weaknesses of your company, as well as both the primary
opportunities and threats that it faces within its industry.
2. Discuss your critical
steps within your supply-chain and operational system. Explain the key aspects
of your strategies for producing and distributing your products and services to
both your stores and customers. Determine whether you will use an outside
vendor or complete the work in house.
3. Analyze the company’s
pricing strategy relative to its pricing objective. Examine major internal and
major external factors that could potentially affect the pricing of the
company’s products or services.
4. Use at least two (2)
quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as
academic resources.
Note: Insert the information
from the completed Journal 4 entry into “Section 4: Pricing and Distribution
Strategy” in the provided Marketing Plan Template (located in Week 4).
You will now consider
mechanisms by which your customers will purchase your products and / or
services (e.g., online, storefront, direct sells) and the primary manner in
which you intend to reach new customers (e.g.,TV, radio, social media, special
events).
Consider the marketing
materials that you intend to use. According to the textbook, marketing
materials are collateral used to promote your business or products. Promotional
strategy may include free trial offers, money-back guarantees, and buy two (2)
for the price of one (1) type of deals. Write a five to seven (5-7) paragraph
journal entry in which you:
1. Determine the
distribution strategy relative to your target market, location, and selection
of distribution channels. Indicate whether or not you will leverage the
following strategies: a.use stores located in different regions b.sell online
c.hire a sales team to sell directly to suppliers and door-to-door
2. Recommend three (3)
strategy options that you could use in order to get your product or services
out to your customer base.
3. Outline your main
marketing goals for promotions, offers, and giveaways. Discuss the key types of
marketing materials that you intend to develop and share.
4. Propose three (3) action
steps that you can use to move your plan forward. Consider how, when, and who
will be involved in the execution of this plan.
5. Use at least two (2)
quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as
academic resources.
Note: Insert the information
from the completed Journal 5 entry into “Section 5: Distribution Plan and
Promotions Strategy” in the provided Marketing Plan Template (located in Week
4).
