Download Developing a Marketing Plan

Developing a
Marketing Plan
Unit 6
Differentiate Market
Segments
• Marketing Strategy—specifies the way marketing
activities are planned and coordinated to achieve
an org.’s goals
o Two step process: carefully select a target market,
develop a marketing mix for that target
• Start with a market
o Recognize differences and similarities
• Segmenting factors
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Needs and Wants
Demographics
Psychographics/Lifestyle
Behavioral
Factors Used to Segment a
Market
Needs and Wants
• Necessities
• Convenience items
• Luxuries
Demographics
• Age
• Gender
• Education
• Occupation
• Income
• Geographic location
Psychographics/Lifestyle
• Interests
• Hobbies
• Values/beliefs
• Religion
• Attitudes
• Leisure activities
Behavioral
• Preferences and habits
• Life cycle
• Buying behavior
patterns
Select Target Markets
• Four criteria:
o People in target must have common, important needs
o People outside the target should have enough differences
from those in the market
o The company needs adequate information about the
people in the target so they can be identified and located
o The important wants and needs of the target and their
buying behavior must be understood well enough
Question…
• If a company changes the product element of the
marketing mix, will it also have to change one or
more of the other mix elements?
• Why or why not?
Product Mix Element
• Basic product
o Most important part of this element
o First factor considered by the consumer in deciding
whether or not to purchase
• Product Features
o Makes product more competitive
• Options
o Gives customers choices on the features they want
Product Element Cont.
• Associated Services
o Services that come with a product
• Brand/Image
o The brand of certain products is an
important factor in making a purchase
decision
o To be effective, the image must match important needs of
the consumer
• Guarantee/Warranty
o Provides insurance that the product will be repaired or
replaced if there are problems
Product Element Cont.
• Packaging
o Often overlooked
o Provides protection and security, information that helps the
customer make a better purchasing decision
o Attracts attention
• Uses
o Can be more satisfying to customers or appeal to new
markets if other uses are found
Question…
• What types of features might each family member
prefer when purchasing a large-screen television for
their home?
Distribution Mix Element
• Facilitates the physical exchange of products and
services between businesses and their customers
• Important questions in planning distribution:
o Where will the customer obtain the product?
o Where will the customer use it?
o Are there special requirements to transport, store, or display
the product?
o When should distribution occur?
o Who should be responsible for each type
of distribution activity?
Price Mix Element
• The amount that a buyer pays as well as the
methods of increasing the value of the product to
the customers
• Several decisions to affect the perception of value:
o Does the business want to increase sales, increase profits,
or enhance the image of the product?
o Should price be based on costs, what customers are willing
to pay, or what competitors are charging?
o Will there be one price for all customers?
o Will customers be allowed to negotiate price?
o Will discounts or sales be used?
o Will the price be clearly communicated?
Promotion Mix Element
• Includes the methods used and information
communicated to customers to encourage
purchases and increase their satisfaction
• Many decisions:
o Will promotions be directed at a general market or specific
segments?
o Is the specific goal of promotion to increase knowledge, to
change attitudes, or to influence behavior?
o What specific information does the audience need to
make a decision?
o How will promotion be most effective?
o What is the total amount of money needed for effective
promotion?
Product Life-Cycle
Analysis
• Product Life-Cycle: the stages a product goes
through from the time it enters the market until it is
no longer sold
• 4 Stages:
Product Life-Cycle Cont.
• Introduction:
o Customers may not be
aware of it or don’t
realize how it can satisfy
their needs
o No direct competitors,
price will be high
• Growth:
o If product is successfully
introduced, it will attract
more customers
o More competitors
o Calls for a change in the
marketing mix
• Maturity:
o Sales peak and profits
begin to decline
o Competition is more
intense
o More attention to price
• Decline:
o Product no longer
satisfies or they discover
a new product
o Little opportunity for
product improvement
o Price is reduced
Marketing Planning
• Marketing Plan: a clear written description of the
marking strategies of a business and the way the
business will operate to accomplish each strategy
• Includes:
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Objectives/goals
Strategies
Budgets
How you plan to meet
objectives/goals
Developing Marketing
Plans
• Marketing objectives/goals should:
o Be clear
o Be measurable
o Have a stated time frame for achievement
• Examples:
o Increase product awareness among the target market by
30% in one year
o Inform target market about features and benefits of our
product and its competitive advantage, leading to a 10%
increase in sales in one year
o Decrease or remove potential customers’ resistance to
buying our product, leading to a 20% increase in sales in six
months or less
Analyzing the Market
• Market Analysis: identifies a business’s strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)
o Strengths:
• builds on what a company does well
o Weaknesses:
• improves on weaknesses that could interfere with the strategy
o Opportunities:
• uncovers opportunities for new customers and new products
o Threats:
• identifies possible threats to the company posed by
competition or changes occurring in the economy, laws, and
technology.
Activity
• Your marketing team is advising a new fitness
center, FastFit, which offers 30-minute, high-intensity,
aerobic workouts for people with busy schedules.
• Develop a marketing strategy (target market,
product, distribution, price, and promotion) for the
business.
o Include a positioning statement
• A specific description of the unique qualities of the marketing
mix that make it different from the competition and satisfying
to the target market
Activity Cont.
• Layout of assignment:
• Target Market
o Identifying characteristics
o Unique needs, attitudes, behaviors
• Marketing Mix
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Product
Distribution
Price
Promotion
• Positioning Statement