A marketing plan provides direction and purpose for an organization. A detailed plan is essential whether it's for a business launching its new product or service or a nonprofit organization engaged in fundraising and outreach efforts. Let’s assume your marketing team (i.e., you and a couple of classmates) make up a business startup that is seeking funding for a new product or service concept. Your team’s assignment is to select a new consumer/business good or service that you feel has substantial market potential. You will create a fictitious brand and company name and prepare a short proposal for funding. The report should be limited to 5 pages (single-spaced) including Figures and/or Tables. This class project is worth 20% of your grade.
A marketing plan provides direction and purpose for an organization. Let’s assume your group’s new organization is seeking initial funding from a venture capital group in the range of $100K to $1 million to develop a marketing plan for a new brand. You should select a new product in an established product/service category which is in the growth or maturity stage of the product lifecycle. Some examples include home gyms, nonprofit organizations, mobile apps, refrigerators, health/beauty products, smart home assistants (hubs), digital cameras, golf equipment, all-purpose household cleaners, fashion/tech eyewear, virtual reality devices, yogurts, lifestyle products, deodorants, craft beers, wearable tech, pet care, fitness gyms, or fashion/lifestyle shoes. Some common B2B services include specialized staffing, marketing/advertising, computer repair, business travel management, executive search, event planning, and office support services. You do not have to select from this list, and I am flexible on the type of product or service. But it needs to be realistic in terms of technology and startup costs. Again, please avoid anything that requires more than $1 million to bring a prototype to market. Proposing a new airline or a direct competitor to Amazon is not realistic!
The new brand marketing plan should have the following parts:
NOTE: To provide additional guidance, the Chill Beverage Company Marketing Plan (Appendix 1, pages 618-627) is a useful example. I will also provide a few examples of prior projects.
You should provide a brief description of the product/service being offered as well as the mission and purpose of your company. What is your company’s mission? What’s the brand name and what is the brand positioning? In other words, how do you position the brand based on product/service attributes, what benefit it provides, or against competition? Lastly, what are your specific first-year marketing objectives (e.g., sales, market share, communications goals)?
This is where you highlight your research on the industry! You should identify top competitors and their strengths and weaknesses. Also, you are required to provide an overview of key indicators such as industry sales and trends in the macroenvironment (e.g., technology, legal, demographics, economic, and social/cultural).
Next, you are required to prepare an Opportunity/Threat Matrix (see Figure 2.7, page 54) to help describe the situation your new brand will face in the marketplace with respect to opportunities, the business environment in which it operates, and the likely actions of your direct and indirect competition. Your analysis should be informed by marketing intelligence (e.g., review of competitors' websites, expert blogs, customer reviews, industry newsletters).
Note: Since this is a startup company, there is no need to discuss strengths and weaknesses.
Describe consumer motivation for your new brand. What underlying need does it satisfy? Your discussion of buyer behavior might include some of the following considerations: What type of buying behavior (complex, habitual, etc.) do you anticipate? What sources of information are consumers (or business managers) likely to use in buying your brand? What role, if any, do social influencers such as family members, opinion leaders, bloggers, etc., play? What are the key attributes consumers will use in evaluating alternatives? If targeting a business market, who within the organization is most influential?
You should perform a customer need/benefit analysis to better understand how it stands out from its competitors. What benefits does your target market seek compared to other segments within the product category? Construct a table similar to Exhibit A1.1 (page 621) in which you label the major market segments. The segments should reflect demographics such as age/lifecycle stage, gender, education, occupation, household size, sex, race, geographic location, or any other characteristics relevant to the market. If you are marketing a business product/service, characteristics such as industry/business type, SIC (or NAICS) classification, geographic considerations, etc., should be noted. Note that your brand may only target one or two of the major target segment groups. Please state which of the various target market segments you plan to reach. Remember, it’s impossible to be all things to all people!
Describe the key attributes and benefits that will appeal to target customers. What are your product/service features, design, packaging, warranty, delivery, and service quality levels that will enable your brand to be differentiated in the marketplace? How is your new brand positioned in the marketplace? How will your product be different? Be specific.
The pricing strategy specifies the general price range and how it might vary across different types of customers or channels. What is the price point for your new brand? Describe the general pricing objectives. What pricing method will be employed (e.g., markup, value, EDLP, going rate)? What price adjustments (discounts, allowance, promotional pricing) will be made?
An integrated marketing communication plan provides high-level guidance for message and media strategy. Some of the relevant questions to address include: What communications objectives will be prioritized during the brand launch? What communications channels (e.g., traditional advertising, web marketing, social media, search engines) will be utilized? Would creative approaches such as event marketing, viral marketing, or co-branding be valuable during the launch window? Which social media platforms and networks will be used? Be as specific as possible. Please design a print ad for your new product or service. How is it being positioned in the market?
You’ve done all the hard work. The research has been completed. You’ve outlined how the new brand will be different and how you plan on communicating it to the market. It’s time to wrap things up and make an impassioned argument for the long-term success of your new brand. So, make the case!