Student Instructions

Complete the following information about the organization and products and/or services you will focus on as you develop a complete marketing plan throughout the course. You may need to do research to get answers to the questions below. Be sure the organization and offering you select will 1) remain interesting to you for the duration of the course, and 2) have sufficient information available for you to conduct research and make informed recommendations in your marketing plan.

Company Profile

• Company Name:
• Industry:
• Major products and/or services (names, types):
• Products and/or services your marketing plan will focus on:
• Target customers:
• Distribution channel(s):
• Headquarters (city, state, country):
• Year founded:
• Number of employees:
• Annual revenue (estimated)
• Key competitors:
• Link to Web site:
• Link to Yahoo! Finance information page (for public companies):

Market Segmentation and Targeting

• What problem does your product or service solve?
• Describe the total market for your solution: Who are potential customers?
• What are the key segments within this market?
• Identify and briefly describe 1–3 segments that this company serves.
• Which segment does this marketing plan focus on, and why? Why do you believe this segment will offer growth and profit opportunities?

Situation and Company Analysis

Economic Environment

Discuss factors that affect your consumers’ purchasing power and spending patterns. What is the economic environment that you are operating in? Is it a growth, recovery or recession? Will it be easy to find staff? What is the current interest rate i.e. is it increasing or decreasing? What is consumer confidence like?

Technical Environment

The technological environment changes rapidly. You need to make sure that you are aware of trends in your industry and other industries could affect your business. New technologies create new markets and can influence you consumers and competitors.  Industry environment What are the trends in your industry? Are there new entrants in the market? Has a substitute product been introduced? Are there changes in industry practices or new benchmarks to use?

Competitive Environment

How many competitors do you have? Who are the key competitors? What are the key selling points or competitive advantages of each one. What is your advantage over competitors? Is the market large enough to support you and competitors?

Political Environment

Consider the political environment for the areas that your business will trade and operate in. Is there a stable political system? Are there any licenses and regulations that you should be aware of? Do you need to win support to be able to operate?

SWOT Analysis

Instruction: Complete the table below with descriptive responses and explanation as you answer the questions below.

Strengths

• Does the organization have a strong brand presence?
• What resources are available for marketing activities?
• Does the the company have unique products or services that satisfy the needs of their target market?
• What makes the company’s products or services unique?
• What value is brought to customers?

Weaknesses

• Does the organization have a weak brand presence?
• Are resources insufficient for marketing activities?
• Does the company lack distinctive products or services?
• Do current products or services fail to satisfy the needs of customers?
• Do current products or services fail to bring value to customers?

Opportunities

• What is the unique opportunity that the company is trying to take advantage of?
• Does the target market have any unfulfilled needs that the company can satisfy?
• Are there emerging target markets with needs that the company can satisfy?
• Are there ways the company and its competitors can benefit by working together?
• Are there opportunities for collaborating with customers to build brand presence?
• Describe and analyze if market demand is increasing?
• Are there changes in the government regulations that will affect the company?
• Describe any emerging global issues that will affect the company?

Threats

• What are the tactics that competitors use to pursue customers?
• What are the strengths of the company’s biggest and or emerging competitors?
• In what ways are the competitors’ products or services superior to the company’s offerings?
• How are competitors likely to respond to any changes in the way the company markets?
• Is the company behind in adopting new technologies for marketing?
• Describe any ways in which international competitors are taking away market share?
• What do customers dislike about the company?
• Describe and analyze if market demand is decreasing?

Mission, Objectives, and Goals

State the mission or business purpose: what the organization wants to achieve, in market-oriented terms. (Example: Disney’s mission could be, “We create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages.)

List 1–3 objectives that move the organization a step closer to achieving the mission. (Example: A Disney objective could be, “To be the most popular theme park for international visitors.”)

Convert objectives into specific marketing goals that are easy to measure and evaluate. (Example: Our goal is to increase market share of international theme park visitors by 10% in the next two years.”)