Fluent Essays

***Before this marketing plan project can begin a topic must be picked and approved. I can pick the topic or you, but I have to get it approved first. Suggestions? Marketing Plan Project Instructions For your Marketing Plan Project, you need to create a fictitious company with a product (or line of products) or service that you want to analyze and promote. You can make up your product/service or use an existing one. If you use an existing one, you may want to add something that makes it unique. Just look around your house or office and you will find many of them. You can use websites such as amazon or ebay for ideas. Once you have found a product/service, please email it to me via “MyCourses” for my approval. Please approach the project with a “real world – manager’s” mentality. How would you do it if you were faced with this task in the real world? How would you present it? What would you include? There are many examples that you can use as guidance on the Internet. There is no reason to ask how you should do the project.Contains a minimum of 2,500 words.Is easy to read and understand: The use of graphics is highly recommended.Is appealing to your audience. Make it interesting.Follows a format. You can use APA (6th) edition or MLA. Choose one format and follow it. Please do not mix formats.Cite all your sourcesPrefer APA format. Attached are additional directions, rubric and outlines. alternative_marketing_plan_outline__book___detailed_.pdf marketing_plan_project_instructions.docx marketing_project_rubric.pdf suggested_marketing_plan_outline__book_.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview ALTERNATIVE MARKETING PLAN OUTLINE (DETAILED) FOLLOWS THE SAMPLE PROVIDED IN THE BOOK ON PAGE 60 Your project should include but is not limited to the following outline: 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (should include Mission Statement) 1.1 Mission Statement 1.2 Company Overview (includes a brief summary of the company, as well as its goals and objectives) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY An executive summary is approximately one page long and briefly outlines the main points of the business plan. It is used as a stand-alone summary that can be presented to potential investors, partners, service providers and customers to give them an idea of what the company does, how it operates, its expectations and its needs. Its purpose is to entice the reader to ask to see the entire business plan. Mission Statement: The mission statement is a sentence or, at longest, a paragraph that concisely outlines the character of your company and its goals. Start by defining what your company does, who it serves, why it operates the way it does, how it competes in its industry and what goals it is expected to meet. Your mission statement is the only place in a business plan where superlatives such as best, most successful, largest and premier are acceptable. Your mission statement describes what you want your customers to see in your company. The mission statement explains what your business is all about. • • • • • Focus on a limited number of goals Stress major policies and values Define major competitive spheres Take a long-term view Short, memorable, and meaningful The mission statement should inspire the employees to support the company goals, to tell the world why you’re in business, and to state your values. They often include ways in which the company is making the world a better place to live. Generally speaking, the most effective mission statements are relatively short but they still pack a punch. Company Information: Include a short statement that covers when your business was formed, the names of the founders and their roles, your number of employees, and your business location(s). Growth Highlights: Include examples of company growth, such as financial or market highlights (for example, “XYZ Firm increased profit margins and market share year-over-year since its foundation). Graphs and charts can be helpful in this section. Products / Services: Briefly describe the products or services you provide. Financial Information: If you are seeking financing, include any information about your current bank and investors. Summary of future plans: Explain where you would like to take your business. Examples of Mission Statements Companies, organizations, schools and other groups, committees and individuals use a broad range of information, formats and styles in their mission statements to set forth their goals. Mission statements can also tell the types of services, products and help which can be expected from the group. Formulating a Mission Statement Mission statements can be quite lengthy, or they can be a simple sentence or two. Here are some mission statements from various organizations, groups and individuals, both full statements as well as some quotations: Non-Profits • The mission of Catholic Charities is to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same. from Catholic Charities USA • The ASPCA Animal Behavior Center is dedicated to promoting balanced, respectful and enriched relations between people and pets through graduate and postgraduate programs for aspiring animal behaviorists; continuing behavioral education for shelter personnel, trainers, veterinarians, and other animal professionals; and the provision of practical, humane advice on pet behavior for owners. from the ASPCA • The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. from MADD • The Childrens Center mission is to complement the service and education objectives of the university by: -Providing education, care, and nurturing for the children of students, staff, faculty, and community members. -Utilizing culturally and developmentally appropriate practices. -Serving as a role model of child care excellence for the community at large. from New Mexico Tech Childrens Center • The mission of the Science Museum of Long Island is to: -Stimulate and nurture childrens natural interest in science and help them to discover the power of science through the fun of science. -Provide science education through hands-on learning. Elevate the level of science literacy from the Science Museum of Long Island • People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 3 million members and supporters. PETA focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry. We also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of beavers, birds, and other pests as well as cruelty to domesticated animals. PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns. From PETA. Education • “The advancement of all good literature, arts, and sciences; the advancement and education of youth in all manner of good literature, arts, and sciences; and all other necessary provisions that may conduce to the education of the … youth of this country….” from Harvard University • The mission of The Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities shall be to fund and otherwise encourage graduate study in the humanities by Ertegun Graduate Scholars, a group of highly qualified students from throughout the world who: (i) have a plan to enlarge their knowledge; (ii) have the desire to extend their vision; and (iii) seek the opportunity to exchange their ideas. From Ertegunn Graduate Scholarship Program in the Humanities, Oxford University. • ...Georgetown College is committed to the Jesuit traditions of an integrated education and of productive research in the liberal arts, including fine arts, humanities, languages, sciences, and social sciences. The College seeks to expand the imagination, foster the life of the spirit, cultivate lifelong learning, encourage service to God and humanity, and promote respect for diversity in an age of global community. From Georgetown University. • Penn State is a multicampus public research university that educates students from Pennsylvania, the nation and the world, and improves the well being and health of individuals and communities through integrated programs of teaching, research, and service...As Pennsylvanias land-grant university, we provide unparalleled access and public service to support the citizens of the Commonwealth. We engage in collaborative activities with industrial, educational, and agricultural partners here and abroad to generate, disseminate, integrate, and apply knowledge that is valuable to society. From Pennsylvania State University. • University of Phoenix provides access to higher education opportunities that enable students to develop knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their professional goals, improve the productivity of their organizations and provide leadership and service to their communities. From the University of Phoenix. • Columbia University is one of the worlds most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world. From Columbia University. Corporations • Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad from Apple • Our vision is to be earths most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. from Amazon • To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. from Nike • Our mission at McMath Woods P.A. is to provide each of our clients with the most effective ethical representation possible, and to preserve and promote the civil justice system from a law firm, McMath Woods P.A. • Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions. To refresh the world... To inspire moments of optimism and happiness... To create value and make a difference. From the Coca-Cola corporation • Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. FromStarbucks 2. SITUATION ANALYSIS Situation analysis refers to a collection of methods that managers use to analyze an organizations internal and external environment to understand the organizations capabilities, customers, and business environment. The situation analysis consists of several methods of analysis: The 5Cs Analysis, SWOT analysis and Porter five forces analysis. A Marketing Plan is created to guide businesses on how to communicate the benefits of their products to the needs of potential customer. The situation analysis is the second step in the marketing plan and is a critical step in establishing a long term relationship with customers. 2.1 Market Summary (Target Market - Customers) 2.1.1 Market Demographics 2.1.2 Market Needs 2.1.3 Market Trends 2.1.4 Market Growth 2.2 SWOT Analysis 2.2.1 Strengths (Internal) 2.2.2 Weaknesses (Internal) 2.2.3 Opportunities (External) 2.2.4 Threats (External) Strengths: What advantages does your organization have? What do you do better than anyone else? What unique or lowest-cost resources can you draw upon that others cant? What do people in your market see as your strengths? What factors mean that you get the sale? What is your organizations Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?: Why to specifically customers should buy the company’s products. Consider your strengths from both an internal perspective, and from the point of view of your customers and people in your market. Also, if youre having any difficulty identifying strengths, try writing down a list of your organizations characteristics. Some of these will hopefully be strengths! When looking at your strengths, think about them in relation to your competitors. For example, if all of your competitors provide high quality products, then a high quality production process is not a strength in your organizations market, its a necessity. Weaknesses: What could you improve? What should you avoid? What are people in your market likely to see as weaknesses? What factors lose your sales? Again, consider this from an internal and external basis: Do other people seem to perceive weaknesses that you dont see? Are your competitors doing any better than you? Its best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible. Opportunities: What good opportunities can you spot? What interesting trends are you aware of? Useful opportunities can come from such things as: Changes in technology and markets on both a broad and narrow scale. Changes in government policy related to your field. Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, and so on. Local events. Threats What obstacles do you face? What are your competitors doing? Are quality standards or specifications for your job, products or services changing? Is changing technology threatening your position? Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems? Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business? 2.3 Competition: What do similar companies offer? Why is your company different? 2.4 Product Offering: Product/s or Service/s offered by your company 2.5 Keys to Success: Brief summary of the Marketing Strategy. Why will the company be successful? 2.6 Critical Issues: Crucial steps that the company needs to take to become successful 3. MARKETING STRATEGY An organizations strategy that combines all of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business. The marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan. 3.1 Mission 3.2 Marketing Objectives: What do you want to achieve? What are customers looking for? Which customers are the most profitable? 3.3 Financial Objectives: Where do you want to be financially in the short and long term? 3.4 Target Markets: How will you target the right potential customers? Are there groups that you can target effectively? 3.5 Positioning: What will your market share be? How will you achieve it? The best positions are the ones you can own. To do this, your position must truly leverage a key point of difference in your product. This makes it much harder for your competitor to take it for themselves. And remember: a winning position does not try to be all things to all people—there is sacrifice involved. Positioning is not real estate. You cannot own one space well if youre trying to own them all. 3.6 Strategies: How will you do to reach your marketing and financial objectives? What will make you different? What will your marketing strategy accomplish? How will you communicate with your customers? How will you ensure customer loyalty? How will you remain competitive? 3.7 Marketing Program (4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, Promotion) 3.8 Marketing Research: How will you do or have done to make sure your company will be successful in its objectives. 4. FINANCIALS 4.1 Break-Even Analysis: Breakeven Analysis: How to Know When You Can Expect a Profit Breakeven analysis is used to determine when your business will be able to cover all its expenses and begin to make a profit. It is important to identify your startup costs, which will help you determine your sales revenue needed to pay ongoing business expenses. For instance, if you have $5,000 of product sales, this will not cover $5,000 in monthly overhead expenses. The cost of selling $5,000 in retail goods could easily be $3,000 at the wholesale price, so the $5,000 in sales revenue only provides $2,000 in gross profit. The breakeven point is reached when revenue equals all business costs. To calculate your breakeven point, you will need to identify your fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs are expenses that do not vary with sales volume, such as rent and administrative salaries. These expenses must be paid regardless of sales, and are often referred to as overhead costs. Variable costs fluctuate directly with sales volume, such as purchasing inventory, shipping, and manufacturing a product. To determine your breakeven point, use the equation below: Breakeven point = fixed costs/ (unit selling price – variable costs) 4.2 Sales Forecast: How much will your company sell per year in the next 3 to 5 years. It is advisable to include the cost of sales to be able to calculate the Gross Profit per year. 4.3 Expense Forecast: Used to keep the company / business units / departments on target. 5. CONTROLS What elements of the business will be monitored to ensure performance and profitability? 5.1 Implementation: How will the controls be implemented? More detailed 5.2 Marketing Organization: What entity, manager, or person will be responsible for the marketing of the business? 5.3 Contingency Planning 5.3.1 Difficulties and Risks 5.3.2 Worst-Case Risks 6. SUMMARY Conclusions of the entire Marketing Plan CREDITS http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing-strategy.html http://www.mplans.com/gift_basket_marketing_plan/marketing_strategy_fc.php http://www.ideastogo.com/blog-faq-positioning http://www.sba.gov/content/breakeven-analysis http://content.moneyinstructor.com/1208/executive-summary.html http://smallbusiness.chron.com/mission-statement-vs-executive-summary-10742.html http://www.sba.gov/content/business-plan-executive-summary Marketing Plan Project Instructions For your Marketing Plan Project, you need to create a fictitious company with a product (or line of products) or service that you want to analyze and promote. You can make up your product/service or use an existing one. If you use an existing one, you may want to add something that makes it unique. Just look around your house or office and you will find many of them. You can use websites such as amazon or ebay for ideas. Once you have found a product/service, please email it to me via “MyCourses” for my approval. You should have your product/service approved by me before the end of the second week (Module 2). There is a great example of a Marketing Plan in your book (page 60) that you can use as a model. Basic Guidelines: 1. View the Marketing Plan Project Grading Rubric to understand how you will be evaluated. 2. Please approach the project with a “real world – manager’s” mentality. How would you do it if you were faced with this task in the real world? How would you present it? What would you include? There are many examples that you can use as guidance on the Internet. There is no reason to ask how you should do the project. 3. There is not a right or wrong format to do the project. Please make sure that your project: 1. 2. 3. 4. Contains a minimum of 2,500 words. Is easy to read and understand: The use of graphics is highly recommended. Is appealing to your audience. Make it interesting. Follows a format. You can use APA (6th) edition or MLA. Choose one format and follow it. Please do not mix formats. 5. Cite all your sources 4. Make sure you touch on all the elements mentioned in the Marketing Plan Outline. 5. Analyze and summarize your work. 6. View the Suggested Marketing Plan Outline and/or the Detailed Alternative Marketing Plan Outline Additional Sources: There are literally thousands of sources such as books, libraries, and the Internet that would help you with your Marketing Plan Project. The following is a list of some Internet sources that I have found and believe to have accurate relevant information to help you with your project. You are not limited to these sources. Should you use other sources, please make sure to check their validity before using their information. QuickMBA Mplans KnowThis.com - How to Write a Marketing Plan MSBDC Boston Regional Office and Minority Business Center - Marketing Plan wikiHow to Create a Marketing Plan MARKETING PLAN PROJECT RUBRIC CATEGORY Excellent (25 points) Satisfactory (20 points) Needs Improvement (15 points) Presentation The project looks very professional. The use of graphics and images help make the project fully understandable and visually attractive. The use of tables is perfect to help understand the presentation of the data. The overall presentation of the project is satisfactory. The student uses some graphics and tables but there is room for improv ... Purchase answer to see full attachment