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"MM522 Marketing Plan -- FIRST Draft Writing Tips" Thanks for downloading this. You'll find it helpful, especially if marketing is new to you and/or you are wondering "what is it that I'm to submit?" Your Marketing Plan FIRST Draft that you submit should focus on three of the first four sections of your Marketing Plan: Executive Summary Product/Service Description, Situation Analysis Target Market Competitors & Substitutes Pricing Channels of Distribution Promotion (Advertising, Sales Promotion, PR, Personal Selling, Direct Marketing) Promotion BUDGET What about the Executive Summary? That would be completed when you submit the FINAL Marketing Plan Draft. As your Marketing Plan is a "work in progress" and the Executive Summary is a synopsis of all seven sections that follow, you would not want to enter your Executive Summary until Week SEVEN. You'll find additional information about the Executive Summary at the end of this document. Be sure to access the "MM522 Marketing Plan Evaluation Criteria" in DOC SHARING. There, you will find all of the eight (8) component sections that you would want to include in your finished Marketing Plan, which is due in Week Seven. Importance of RESEARCH The importance of RESEARCH cannot be overstated. You are in a graduate-level marketing course and, as part of the course measurement, you will demonstrate your assimilation and application of marketing via your diligent efforts to bring a product or service to market. As with any entrepreneur who is considering a venture into the world of business, one should not blindly walk into minefields. You are already aware that the business environment is highly competitive. Thus, the more you know about the market into which you are going, the more you know about the competition, the more you know about similar ventures (successful or not so), the more you have explored the potential market for your product or service, the better prepared you are to create a PLAN that minimizes risk and maximizes the likelihood of success. Do research and plenty of it . Demonstrate in your Marketing Plan that you have done this research. For the same reason

MM522 Marketing Plan FIRST Draft Writing Tips (2009)[1]

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Page 1: MM522 Marketing Plan FIRST Draft Writing Tips (2009)[1]

"MM522 Marketing Plan -- FIRST Draft Writing Tips"

Thanks for downloading this. You'll find it helpful, especially if marketing is new to you and/or you are wondering "what is it that I'm to submit?"

Your Marketing Plan FIRST Draft that you submit should focus on three of the first four sections of your Marketing Plan:

Executive Summary Product/Service Description, Situation Analysis Target Market Competitors & Substitutes Pricing Channels of Distribution Promotion (Advertising, Sales Promotion, PR, Personal Selling, Direct Marketing)

Promotion BUDGET

What about the Executive Summary? That would be completed when you submit the FINAL Marketing Plan Draft. As your Marketing Plan is a "work in progress" and the Executive Summary is a synopsis of all seven sections that follow, you would not want to enter your Executive Summary until Week SEVEN. You'll find additional information about the Executive Summary at the end of this document.

Be sure to access the "MM522 Marketing Plan Evaluation Criteria" in DOC SHARING. There, you will find all of the eight (8) component sections that you would want to include in your finished Marketing Plan, which is due in Week Seven.

Importance of RESEARCH

The importance of RESEARCH cannot be overstated. You are in a graduate-level marketing course and, as part of the course measurement, you will demonstrate your assimilation and application of marketing via your diligent efforts to bring a product or service to market.

As with any entrepreneur who is considering a venture into the world of business, one should not blindly walk into minefields. You are already aware that the business environment is highly competitive. Thus, the more you know about the market into which you are going, the more you know about the competition, the more you know about similar ventures (successful or not so), the more you have explored the potential market for your product or service, the better prepared you are to create a PLAN that minimizes risk and maximizes the likelihood of success.

Do research and plenty of it. Demonstrate in your Marketing Plan that you have done this research. For the same reason you would not purchase stocks blindly and would investigate such a purchase before plunking down your hard-earned money, so is it with a Marketing Plan.

Know into what and where you are going.

On the next few pages, let's look at the three sections that you would want to submit for your Marketing Plan's FIRST Draft in Week THREE.

Product/Service Description, Situation Analysis

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You'll want to provide a complete description of the product or service to be offered, along with an explanation of any competitive advantages or challenges. This can be a totally new product or a line extension. Consider the “core” product or service, as well as any related services or components that are a part of the total offering. Don't assume the reader understands exactly what it is you are bringing to the marketplace. Describe it in detail.

Indicate what need your product or service is intended to fulfill; in effect, for a product or service to be successful, it should solve a problem for your target audience. Make it clear to the reader what is the problem that your product or service is solving for the target market… and that is not being addressed effectively by other companies.

Spend time defining and describing your product/service in detail. Demonstrate a thorough understanding and clear articulation of your product and the market need it fulfills. Assume the reader may be a Small Business Administration loan officer or a venture capitalist who is in a position to provide funding. Does your description help them understand what you want to bring to market? Don't assume!

In addition, you will want to offer a situation analysis, including a S.W.O.T. analysis. Describe the current market situation, the opportunity you plan to address, any micro and macro environmental influences, and any relevant historical data you see as important.

S.W.O.T. Analyses

Your Kotler text provides some excellent insight if you go to pages 52-56. Please review these pages carefully so that you have the benefit of our author’s wisdom when you submit your SWOT Analyses.

To help you prepare a good SWOT, it is important to break down each of the SWOT elements and look at the company that you have... and the product and/or service you wish to bring to market.

S.W.O.T. is an acronym for Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats. The first two (Strengths and Weaknesses) are found WITHIN the four walls of your company. The latter two items (Opportunities and Threats) are found in the macro environment in which your company operates… in effect, outside your company walls.

The purpose of a SWOT Analysis is to have YOU take a hard, realistic, candid look at your company. If YOU are going to compete, it is time to take an HONEST look at what you are about to face. Although you may think, “you’ve the greatest product since sliced bread,” that rarely is the case. Putting things on paper means that you are facing the reality of “what is.” This is not an exercise in fiction writing.

Here is a description/examples of each SWOT component.

STRENGTHS – This is not a list of 101 things that you have going for you. That you have enthusiastic employees or that they are well-trained is not a STRENGTH. A STRENGTH is something that you clearly bring to the table. Your competition may be saying, “Drat! I wish we had that… could say that… could do that!” A STRENGTH consists of those things found within your company's “four walls.” It could be your management expertise within the industry… your financial backing… your manufacturing capability. Whatever it is, your STRENGTHS found within your company's four walls are what make you a formidable competitor. If you're lucky, you have a distinctive competency, i.e., something that no other company has!

STRENGTHS:

Strong management experience with over 25 years in the widget industry, specifically in prototype manufacturing.

Guaranteed $4.2M financial backing from bank.

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Strategic alliance with Goodman Engineering Systems to do manufacturing.

Patented technology that gives us a competitive lead in the industry.

WEAKNESSES – This is your “soft underbelly” at which your competition cackles with glee. It is where you are exposed. For many in our class, one weakness may be that you have no BRAND recognition – no one has ever heard of you. It could be your lack of financials. Whatever your WEAKNESSES, these are the things within your company's four walls that you need to address quickly. You're vulnerable.

WEAKNESSES:

Lack of experienced employees with background in this business.

Minimum financial reserves, and no guaranteed line of credit at the bank.

Owner has no previous experience in this kind of business.

Poor location with minimum traffic flow – no “anchor” stores from which to draw.

Company has no brand recognition

OPPORTUNITIES – This is where you see opportunities to grow your market, make profit, establish a foothold. It may be where you can build upon your internal strengths to capitalize in your target market. Opportunities could be "other" target markets that you see as ripe for exploitation; it may be markets that your competition has overlooked or ignored. Your OPPORTUNITIES are those business niches in which you see yourself exploiting. Where is the business that you might develop today... or tomorrow? What opportunity exists for your company and on which it can capitalize? In effect, where is the money opportunity for you?

OPPORTUNITIES

Create satellite offices in Northumberland, Cayuga, and Hillsborough

Possible franchise possibilities

Expand business to include offering of complementary services.

THREATS – THREATS are those things in your macroenvironment and about which you have virtually no control -- what is happening with your competition, technology, government/legal, environment, etc., that can have an unwanted effect on your business as you attempt to bring your product/service to market? You need to be aware of these… and never assume “that can’t happen to me.” It does… and they do.

THREATS

Recessionary economy means consumers may be unwilling to spend.

Competitive marketing from ABC and XYZ companies may accelerate.

City Zoning ordinance may not allow this kind of business on property.

IMPORTANT: When you submit your MARKETING PLAN FIRST Draft Document, your SWOT analysis should be submitted in BULLET Form!

It is not written as an essay.

Target Market

The first thing to consider when marketing a product or service is "what is my target market?" A target market should be responsive to that which you are bringing to them.

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That market WILL be responsive if they see your product or service solving a problem that they have. When a consumer or business has a problem, they "want or need" a solution.

Markets are most easily segmented by demographics -- ages, education, sex, income, etc.There are other segmentation variables, too, as our Kotler text will share.

You will want to provide a complete description of your target market(s), indicating how you segmented the larger market. Describe your target market and its characteristics and tell me why you have selected this market.

As an example, is your product of interest to families… or married women ages 25-49 with young children… or senior citizens who have difficulty when they walk? What market segmentation variables have you selected? Chapter EIGHT will be helpful to you.

If you decided to open an Italian restaurant, in theory, your target market is everyone. After all, everyone has to eat. Yet, your promotional approach will not target everyone. If your restaurant is more upscale, your promotion will target those with greater incomes, more education, etc. Your target market would be identifiable by certain demographics, as well as geographic considerations.

What makes the target market you have chosen attractive to you in terms of profitability, sustainability, and potential for growth? Be as specific and detailed as is appropriate for your product or service to describe and explain why the target market is attractive to you as a marketer. Indicate the size of the target in dollars or units, potential for growth, and other important characteristics. Address any ethical considerations or possible risks.

It is important that you clearly describe your target market, as your communications objectives (promotion) will want to reach those who fall within this target market. If you haven't clearly defined whom you want to reach, your promotional dollars will be wasted.Be sure to include a description of any related components of your total market offering. Clarify the needs and wants of your target market that your product or service addresses. In effect, tell the reader the problem your product or service solves for the target audience that you have chosen… and to which the target market would say, “yes, that is a problem… and no one is addressing it (or addressing it well).”.

Competitors & Substitutes

You will want to take a good hard look at your likely competitors. If you have something that is good, someone else will likely want "in" on your profitable market. In this section, you should include a comprehensive list of current and potential competitors and substitutes. This list could be organized by industry, company type or by firm. If this list is a very long one, focus on those two (2) competitors that you see as most important and indicate why.

For your top two (2) primary competitor(s), offer a detailed analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the strategies likely to be used by each competitor upon your entry into the market. This is another area in which your diligent RESEARCH should be fruitful. You want to demonstrate a keen understanding of your competition and how they market to their target market (which likely is the same market to which you are promoting).

Consider, too, that when you enter the market, if you have competition, your competition will likely respond to your entry into the market. What will they likely do and how will you counteract their new ventures? Provide as much relevant information as you can find about your chief competitors: size, current market share, product quality, growth, financial stability, image, marketing strategy, target markets, and any other data you consider important.

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If you don't have competition, you will! Any successful company spawns other companies that want "in" on the action. Who will likely compete? How will they compete with you? What will be your response to their likely competitive effort?

Discuss how your product/service compares (features and benefits, target market, etc.), how you plan to differentiate your product from the competition. It will be important that you clearly delineate why people in your target market would buy your product/services instead of the others offered in the same general category by your competition.

Be sure to address substitutes. Are there any substitutes for your service or product offering? Identify the primary substitutes; discuss strengths and weaknesses of those substitutes compared to your offering. If there are no substitutes, indicate this.

Additional thoughts…

Remember that marketing exists to solve consumer/business problems with a SOLUTION.

Your Marketing Plan will be written in the THIRD Person.

Please note that fact again! Marketing Plans are not an editorial essay and they are not written in the FIRST person. The words I, me, my, you, your, his, her, our, et cetera should not appear. In addition, Marketing Plans are not a "hype" for the reader, i.e., they should not attempt to promote the product or service. A Marketing Plan is crisp, factual, and demonstrates critical thinking.

Marketing plans are written in the THIRD person.

Incorrect: My company, Crispy Cookie Company, will market delicious, home-baked cookies in the Atlanta area to the more demanding market that is willing to pay me premier pricing for a premier cookie. I chose this market because even in hard economic times, the upper class seems impervious to the impact of economic downturns and I know the money is there.

Correct: The Crispy Cookie company will market delicious, home-baked cookies in the Atlanta area to the more demanding market that is willing to pay

premier pricing for a premier cookie. The market was chosen because even in hard economic times, the upper class seems impervious to the impact of economic downturns.

Executive Summary

Although your Executive Summary will not be submitted as part of your FIRST Draft, let's focus on it for just a moment. Your Executive Summary will be submitted as part of your FINAL Marketing Plan in Week SEVEN. Some things to remember, however, are that the Executive Summary should include a synopsis of the seven (7) sections that follow. A good rule of thumb: a short paragraph for each section. Your Executive Summary should clearly communicate what your company does, where it is located, what you are bringing to market, and other key items, as outlined in the Marketing Plan evaluation criteria.

In effect, it is a mini-version of your Marketing Plan, and includes key information from each of the other seven sections on which you are being evaluated.

Don't forget to create a good Mission Statement… this is different than the company's mission. A good Mission Statement tells the world what business you are in, along with the values important to your company. When a person is done reading the Mission Statement, they should know what your company does and its business.

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Last but not least, does your Executive Summary tell the reader WHAT it is that your Marketing Plan is designed to measurably accomplish in dollars sold or units and within what window of time? A Marketing Plan without a measurable goal cannot be measured for success.

Evaluation of your Marketing Plan FIRST Draft

Your Marketing Plan FIRST Draft is worth 50 points. Marketing Plans not submitted on time in Week THREE risk forfeiture of their points.

Your evaluation is based on the thoroughness of your DRAFT content, based on the MM522 Marketing PLAN Evaluation Criteria that is found in Doc Sharing. Please ensure your completeness of each section's content in accordance with the content criteria for each section.

In addition, 20% of your submission's evaluation will be based on correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling, as expected of a graduate level university student.

Completion of all three sections, with appropriate content (40 Points) 80%.................. /40 Points

Graduate-level writing, including grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax (10 Points) 20%...... /10 Points

Submitting your Marketing Plan

Your FINAL Marketing Plan -- when submitted in Week SEVEN -- will likely run 15-20 pages. Again, you are asked to use the format found in the MM522 Marketing Plan Evaluation Criteria, as found in the DOC SHARING area. That criterion lists eight (8) specific content areas, the first of which is the Executive Summary and the last is the Promotion Budget. As you journey through each MM522 week, the various content areas will begin to make more sense.

How to increase the likelihood of a successful marketing plan? Focus on a narrow target market niche instead of a general "mass marketing" approach. Define that market in detail and cover each of the marketing plan components thoroughly. Don't bite off more than you can chew, e.g., don't try to do the marketing plan for Nike.

Some in the class may be focusing on personal consulting -- that has its own challenges, but is very "doable." Others want to establish a small business for themselves. That's fine, too, as long as it is not a "hobby" business or a day care center.

You can approach the marketing of SERVICES in the same focused manner. You can work with an existing market offering or a new idea you'd like to develop. You may choose to do your plan on a for-profit organization or its services, but be prepared to cover all of the graded components of the assignment, such as pricing and break-even analysis. These concepts apply to not-for-profits, but on first glance may seem somewhat less clear. In addition, please ensure that you select a topic on which you can retrieve adequate research data. This is important, especially those who wish to look at creating their own marketing plan to do personal consulting.

The only topic that I will not accept as a marketing plan topic -- child day care centers or services similar to this that -- once they reach their physical capacity, they cannot grow and are simply "maintained." You are in a graduate-level course and are here to master the creation of a graduate-level marketing plan at a "corporate level." Think "bigger" and demonstrate your ability to perform at the graduate level and to apply a marketing mix via a

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well-planned, executable battle plan that maximizes your likelihood of success in the market.

An ideal situation: Bring your OWN product or service to market. Thinking about starting your own business? What a great way to get professional input on that which you create... your OWN Marketing Plan.

You are asked to provide your instructor a description of your product or service that you want to bring to market. This should be done during Week ONE. Send me email and I will respond. This allows me to ensure that you are not biting off more than you can chew… and also allows me to offer you any initial suggestions to help you get off to a good start.

FINALLY: Your writing should reflect a GRADUATE level of effective communication. Please do not submit papers that have not been proofread for typographic errors, syntax, spelling, and poor punctuation. If writing is not your strong point, please go to the DOC Sharing area and download the "MM522 - Writing Tips for Success." You'll find it helpful!

Marketing Plans should be submitted double-spaced, 12 Point Times New Roman, with 1" left and right margins.

If you have any questions, please contact me by phone or email. I'm looking forward to receiving your Marketing Plan FIRST Draft in Week THREE!