Develop a Marketing Plan
Assessment Task 1 - Devise strategies and plan marketing tactics
Unit description
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to research, develop and present a marketing plan for an organisation.
Purpose of this unit
This unit applies to individuals working in senior marketing positions who are responsible for formulating a marketing plan by developing specific marketing strategies and tactics in accordance with the organisation's overall marketing objectives.
Individuals operating at this level may receive input from people working under their supervision who collect information required to devise specific marketing strategies and tactics.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Performance objective
In this assessment task, you are required to review and evaluate marketing opportunities for an organisation and develop marketing activities that reflect strategic directions of the organisation.
Assessment description
For the organisation outlined in the case study provided, identify two marketing opportunities and evaluate each opportunity for risks, strengths, weaknesses and alignment with organisational objectives. After you have reviewed the opportunities, select the best-fitting opportunity for the organisation and develop marketing strategies, approaches and activities to take advantage of the opportunity.
Procedure
You are required to submit a report that addresses all of the elements listed in the procedure. The report should be structured using the headings below.
Organisational overview
1. Develop an organisational overview that:
a. outlines the strategic direction and organisational objectives
b. outlines the current size, capabilities and resources of the organisation, including any notable strengths and weaknesses
c. Identifies any gaps between the objectives and the current capabilities and resources.
Opportunities
1. Identify two marketing opportunities that meet the objectives, and evaluate the risks and benefits of each opportunity (Opportunities could range from franchising/ strategic alliance/Joint venture/acquisition or new business to achieving greater market penetration with existing products)
2. Recommend the opportunity that best addresses organisational objectives and:
a. develop a marketing mix strategy that fits within the capabilities and resources of the organisation (remember to use the 4Ps)
b. describe how your strategies align with the strategic direction of the organisation, and give justifications for your selection
c. detail a marketing performance review strategy using an appropriate tool (competitive analysis, life cycle model, value chain analysis, etc.) to review the performance of the organisation against marketing objectives
d. Include the metrics to be used in measuring marketing performance.
Tactics
1. Detail the tactics necessary to implement the strategy you have outlined, including:
a. scheduling of activities to enact the strategy
b. costing
c. accountabilities and responsibilities
d. A plan for coordinating and monitoring scheduled activities, including KPIs.
2. Outline any legal and ethical requirements that impact on the selected tactics.
3. Draw up a plan for ongoing review and adjustment of tactics (If the marketing performance expectations have been set too high, then determine what is realistic and reset the benchmarks accordingly).
4. Describe how the tactics fit within identified organisational resources and capabilities.
Specifications
This assessment can be completed in your own time, as you work through the related topics in either the Student Workbook, or under the guidance of the assessor.
The assessment is due at the completion of Section 2 of the Student Workbook unless another submission time/method is suggested by your assessor.
Check with your assessor whether it is appropriate to use a computer for the submission of the report (electronic), or if the assessor requires a hard copy (printed) version.
You must provide:
- A report containing documents that support all of the instructions outlined in the procedure above.
Your assessor will be looking for whether you have:
- identified a suitable marketing opportunity
- conducted research to assess and analyse the market
- prepared a report outlining your marketing strategies to best take advantage of the identified market opportunities
- Organised your report under the headings suggested in the procedure.
Adjustment for distance-based learners:
- No variation of the task is required.
- A follow-up interview may be required (at the discretion of the assessor).
- Documentation can be submitted electronically or posted in the mail.
Case study
Houzit is a chain of homewares stores in Brisbane that specialise in bathroom fittings, bedroom fittings, mirrors and decorative items. They currently have 15 stores spread across the greater Brisbane area, with all stores being managed and coordinated from their head office in Milton.
You have recently been appointed as the marketing manager and must now review the organisation and devise marketing strategies that will move Houzit towards its strategic goals.
The CEO has also asked you to consider some marketing opportunities that may assist Houzit in reaching its goals, and provide him with a brief summary evaluating two alternatives, including the benefits and risks associated with each option, and making a recommendation for the opportunity most likely to produce results.
You have gleaned the following information about Houzit:
- Houzit is close to entering its fifth year of operation; offers a wide range of homeware items on easy-to-manage payment terms and supplies a three-year guarantee on every item sold.
- The typical target customers have the following characteristics:
? sophisticated people who are houseproud
? shoppers who will drive to an easy-to-access store
? customers who require payment plans to spread their commitment over an extended period
? renovators and new home builders
? 20-50 years old.
- Houzit recognises the following trends and focuses its efforts on them.
? Quality - Preference for high-quality items is increasing as customers are learning to appreciate differences in quality.
? Unique items - Customers want homewares that stand out from mass- produced, low-quality items.
? Selection - People are demanding a larger selection of choices, and are no longer accepting a limited selection of homewares.
- The typical Houzit store has the following characteristics.
? Location - A commercial, suburban neighbourhood, or urban retail district.
? Design - Bright and functional.
? Size - 1,000-1,500 m2.
? Employees - 15-20 full time, plus several casuals
? Types of transactions - 60% cash, 40% on long-term repayment plan.
- Sales break-ups between the existing Brisbane stores reveal sales of:
? 30% bathroom fittings
? 35% bedroom furnishings
? 20% mirrors and decorative items
? 15% lighting fixtures (recent addition).
- A new customer's first purchase is generally of mirrors and decorative items, and this gives us the opportunity to sign them up to our loyalty program.
In a brief discussion with the CEO, you asked about the changes taking place in legislation that could impact on Houzit's operation. The CEO explained:
‘There is a big push by governments on the issue of sustainability. This focuses mostly on environmental issues of waste management and energy conservation. Houzit stores have been deliberately designed in the past to be bright and comfortable places to shop. This means a significant cost in electricity usage to run the lights and the air conditioners. With the new regulations, we are going to have to find ways to still provide customers with what they want without the high electricity usage.'
Strategic plan (extract)
Vision
Houzit will be a national retail brand, catering to the needs of home makers with a range of unique, high-quality homewares made accessible to all through our easy-to- manage payment plan.
Mission
By 2020, Houzit will have a significant retail presence in homewares in every Australian capital city, starting with 15 stores in the greater Brisbane area and growing to 100 Australia-wide.
Objectives
1. Increase sales from $15 million per year to $20 million per year in the next three years.
2. Increase our loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 15,000.
3. Establish brand recognition in Brisbane so that at least 1 in 3 people recognise our brand in a random survey taken in 18 months.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
- Excellent staff who are highly skilled and knowledgeable about homewares.
- Great retail space that is bright, functional and efficient for a commercial urban district.
- High customer loyalty among repeat customers.
- Assortment of offerings that exceed competitors' offerings in quality, range and accessibility.
Weaknesses:
- A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness due to the lack of critical mass and store cover.
- The struggle to continually fund the growing long-term repayment plans taken out by our customers.
Opportunities:
- A growing market in a high growth area with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware of Houzit's offer.
- Increasing sales opportunities outside of our target area - greater Brisbane.
Threats:
- Competition from local independent retailers can drive down prices, as owner- operators have lower overhead costs than our staff-run stores.
- Competition from national chains moving into the Brisbane market.
- A slump in the economy reducing customers' disposable income spent on homewares.
Assessment 2 - Prepare and present a marketing plan
Performance objective
In this assessment task, you are required to develop a presentation and written report describing your marketing strategies and activities, including clear descriptions of how your strategies reflect organisational objectives.
Assessment description
In this assessment task, you are required to review the strategies and tactics you devised in Assessment Task 1 and describe how they meet the requirements for the organisation. You also need to develop a presentation of your marketing strategies that outlines the strategies, your approaches and your reasoning for developing these. Your presentation should incorporate feedback from key stakeholders.
Procedure
1. For the organisation outlined in the case study materials from Assessment Task 1, and using the strategies and tactics developed in Assessment Task 1, you will need to prepare a marketing plan using the headings below. Ensure that information is accessed from a range of sources and that they are properly acknowledged through appropriate referencing.
a. Executive summary - Provide an overview of the organisation and the plan, which simply states what is to be achieved.
b. Situation analysis - An analysis about the market environment, competition and organisation's internal analysis.
Include the following analyses:
1. Market environment & context (Market demographics, market needs, trends and political analysis)
2. Competition analysis (current market share, national & local competitors)
3. SWOT analysis - Submit an overview of the organisation's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (analysed in Assessment Task 1).
c. Marketing objectives - Include the objectives of the organisation as defined in the mission statement and strategic objectives (discussed in Assessment Task 1) -Provide rationale for the objectives.
d. Marketing Strategies - Outline the marketing opportunity selected and strategies developed in Assessment Task 1.
Include your reasoning for the marketing mix decisions that you made and the strategies you selected, referring to the SWOT, risk and gap analyses undertaken.
Include the marketing performance review strategy, including identified metrics.
e. Financial forecasts - If the marketing budget were to be less than 5% of the target sales ($200,000), calculate and provide sales forecasts, expense forecasts and break-even analysis.
Evaluate how these forecasts influence the marketing strategy.
f. Marketing Implementation and control - Provide an outline of the tactics devised for implementation in Assessment Task 1. You need to provide your reasoning for choosing these tactics, and outline the process for reviewing performance.
Outline a contingency plan guided by the risk analysis you have undertaken.
2. When you have finished writing your marketing plan, you need to:
a. liaise with your supervisor (your assessor) to arrange a suitable time and format for presentation
b. present the plan to key stakeholders (a group assembled by your supervisor) in the format specified by the assessor and at an agreed time
c. Allow for feedback on the plan from stakeholders within your presentation.
3. During your presentation, you will need to ensure you demonstrate:
a. the appropriate communication skills to relate to a diverse range of people
b. The leadership skills to gain the trust and support of stakeholders for the plan you present.
4. After you have presented your report and incorporated feedback from key stakeholders, you need to revise and send your final written report to your supervisor (your assessor). The report must be in the prescribed formal style of writing.
Specifications
This assessment task can be completed in your own time as you work through the related topics in either the Student Workbook or under the guidance of the assessor.
The assessment will be due at the completion of Section 3 of the Student Workbook, unless otherwise advised by the assessor.
You must:
- Submit and present a marketing plan that follows the instructions as set out in the procedure above.
Your assessor will be looking for whether you have:
- followed the instructions to develop a detailed marketing plan
- structured your plan according to the headings listed above
- sufficiently justified your selection of marketing strategies and implementation tactics
- allowed an opportunity to receive feedback during your presentation to key stakeholders
- Demonstrated the communication skills to convey your message succinctly.
Adjustment for distance-based learners:
The presentation can be adjusted for distance learning. The presentation for this task can take place with an online video conferencing tool, such as Skype.
Distance learning option 1: Assessor as observer
The learner can conduct the presentation as specified in the assessment task, but may need to adjust the way that the report is presented and how feedback is incorporated.
- The presentation can be varied to take place by Skype conference. If this is possible, the process followed does not need to be varied greatly.
- The student should email presentation material (PowerPoint slides) to the assessor prior to the presentation.
- Additional evidence (documents, photos and videos) may be required and can be sent electronically, but must conform to the format guidelines provided to student.
Distance learning option 2: Tape the presentation
The presentation may involve skills that are too active or complex for video conferencing. This might involve skills or demonstrations of complex tasks.
In this case, the candidate may be able to video the presentation and send it to the assessor.
The student should send presentation material (PowerPoint presentation) and any additional evidence together with the presentation to the assessor.