Assignment Objectives

Analyze marketing decision support systems and their impact upon marketing management systems Analyze the appropriate marketing strategies to apply at each stage of the product life cycle Assess 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 Construct a strategic marketing plan 

Assignment Details

Assignment Description

Strategic Marketing Plan

Introduction

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

Product or Service

This assignment requires the 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 or 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 go to market. If you are developing a new product, assume that the development phase is over and that you are ready to launch the product into the marketplace.

Objectives and Mission Statement

Create a mission statement. State your short-term (1 year) marketing objectives. Assume that the product or service is ready to launch at the beginning of the year (planning and testing have been completed).

• Marketing objectives include goals for sales, profits, and market share (as examples).
• Objectives need to be quantifiable. Use SMART—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 is the U.S. 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 or forecasts in the industry? How does your product or service fit in? Business Source Complete in the Library is a good tool for this section; it may be accessed under "Find Articles & eBooks."

Product or Service Features

Provide a brief overview of the product or service.

• State the features of your product or service. Show how it is 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 and objectives. Include a discussion on product or service positioning.

Marketing Mix: Communications and Promotion

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

• Discuss the aspects of the IMC. (The elements of the communication mix include advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, publicity or public relations, and personal selling.) Define each, and discuss the pros and cons of the individual elements.
• 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 or service matures?
• Describe the message that 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?
• 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 or service. The objectives should be based on the various theories presented in marketing literature and take into 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

Specify the type of distribution channel that you will use, and include your rationale.

Marketing Mix: 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

This 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 e-books or reference books. The most popular databases in marketing are the following:

• ABI/INFORM Collection
• Academic Search Complete
• Business Source Complete

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 that words like I, we, and you are not appropriate. The use of direct quotes is discouraged, but they may be used sparingly in appropriate situations.

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