Part -1:
You assume the role of a marketing consultant. You have to develop a detailed Strategic Marketing Plan for a company of your choice or the company you currently work for. As they need to increase their revenue generation and position their organization within the industry to gain competitive advantage, you have been asked to produce a detailed marketing plan for one-year plan.
In the report you will need to demonstrate an understanding of all the aspects of Strategic marketing planning. You should therefore draw a distinction between strategic and tactical marketing planning, credible SMART corporate and marketing objectives, clear segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies and other global marketing strategies. The revenue projections and recommendation on marketing activities using marketing mix. This can also be used to show the financial implications by way of stating clear revenue projections and costs of individual proposed marketing activities. You are also expected to demonstrate your knowledge of how theory can be utilized in practice i.e. all stages of a marketing plan. The presentation and structure of the strategic marketing plan must have a professional outlook.
Does this provide a good summary of the report and encourage further reading? You need to think about the audience, creativity, and competitive advantage. Find away to make sure that your marketing plan stands out from the crowd.
Part -2: Case Study - IKEA: A Long March to the Far East
Questions
1. Based on your analysis, what are the opportunities and challenges for IKEA in their market operations in (a) China; and (b) Japan?
2. In reference to Topic 6, discuss the market entry strategies that IKEA adopt in China and Japan respectively.
3. In reference to Topic 4 & 5, what are IKEA product, pricing, marketing communication and distribution decisions in the two Asian markets? To what extent these marketing mixes have been adapted to the preferences and needs of these markets?
4. For each of these markets, plan, discuss and justify what, in your opinion, IKEA's marketing strategy should be in the near future to gain market shares and achieve higher profitability.