Marketing Assignment
You should begin working on the Stand-Alone Project early in the course. Each lesson provides a benchmark for completing the Stand-Alone Project in a timely manner while working through the course. You will find this information in the "Stand-Alone Project Benchmark" section of each lesson.
Instructions: The Stand-Alone Project requires you to assume the role of the director of marketing for an organization. You have been tasked with developing a marketing plan for the promotion of your organization's newest product or service. Your deliverable is to create a marketing plan that includes the following parts. (A 10 pages response is required for the combination of Parts I through V.)
Part I: Executive Summary: After completing your marketing plan, write a brief summary that concisely captures the essence of the plan, including your rationale. Place it on its own page as the first element of your Stand-Alone Project.
Part II: Product Description: Determine the product or service that you will promote. The product may be for either the consumer or the business-to-business markets. Provide a general background and description of your proposed product or service and its associated industry. Include in your discussion, the product's key characteristics, features and options, and benefits.
Part III: Situation Analysis: Conduct a situation analysis, including a SWOT analysis. Your situation analysis should include the following components.
1) Market Summary: Conduct a market analysis and provide market segmentation by determining the target consumer groups and how the target market is divided. Discuss market needs, trends, and growth. Define your target market in terms of user behavior, demographics, and lifestyle.
2) SWOT Analysis: Based on your research findings, conduct your SWOT analysis. Include three internal strengths and three internal weaknesses, as well as three external opportunities and three external threats. Your external analysis must include identification and discussion of your competitors, including any brands, forms, and generics. Research how competitors' offerings compare with one another in terms of strengths, weaknesses, and other characteristics, determining how they would impact the sale and distribution of your product. The SWOT analysis should also address market potential, consumer behaviors, and environmental impact.
Part III: Situation Analysis: Conduct a situation analysis, including a SWOT analysis. Your situation analysis should include the following components.
1) Market Summary: Conduct a market analysis and provide market segmentation by determining the target consumer groups and how the target market is divided. Discuss market needs, trends, and growth. Define your target market in terms of user behavior, demographics, and lifestyle.
2) SWOT Analysis: Based on your research findings, conduct your SWOT analysis. Include three internal strengths and three internal weaknesses, as well as three external opportunities and three external threats. Your external analysis must include identification and discussion of your competitors, including any brands, forms, and generics. Research how competitors' offerings compare with one another in terms of strengths, weaknesses, and other characteristics, determining how they would impact the sale and distribution of your product. The SWOT analysis should also address market potential, consumer behaviors, and environmental impact.
Part IV: Marketing Strategy: This is your game plan for introducing your product, based on your research and analysis thus far. In this part, you will complete the following components.
1) Objectives: You must define your marketing and financial objectives: that is, what you hope to achieve with your marketing program. Objectives must be specific, measurable, and quantifiable. List at least five objectives.
2) Target Markets: Here you will identify and describe those market segments to which you will direct your marketing program. The more you know about your target markets, the greater your chances of success. Use any of the tools discussed in the course to define and describe them with as much demographic and psychographic detail as possible. You should target at least two market segments.
3) Positioning: Here you will establish your product's competitive position relative to your competition in the market. Your product position should be based on and discussed relative to your five objectives.
4) Marketing Mix: Discuss how you will price, promote, and distribute your product or service. Include two promotion options and two possible distribution channels.
Part V: Controls: Describe your controls. Include your start-up costs, monthly budget, and expected return on investment (ROI).
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.