Marketing Plan Outline Video Guide by Professor Sedky (5.5 minutes) (Links to an external website.) https://cccconfer.zoom.us/rec/play/dvWnOiPsu7_VyndOeLQw9gBD6EvjtkNBBDcKX29RhQskFijKCte3fI_VkrwWNY6k6z9j_2yLK28vuge-.M8paUfKQKkFzP-Zy?startTime=1607557959000&_x_zm_rtaid=0XmKY1MxQCGnIMO8pNvlTw.1658099479280.e04198b7e0db4f57d9c84653ccbee960&_x_zm_rhtaid=2
You will create an outline for your Marketing Plan based on the Final Project: Mini-Marketing Plan assignment .
The purpose of this assignment is to help you structure the main points of your marketing plan so when you start to write the final marketing plan report (next week) you will have a strong foundation. You should be incorporating concepts and marketing techniques in this class and bold them in the report.
Keep in mind this is a preliminary warm-up to your final project which will require much more detail and analysis. Be sure to read all of the information in the Final Project so you can see how much is involved.
Submit your draft by using the text box on this page (after clicking the submit assignment button) to submit your outline (I recommend creating it in a document in Word/Google Docs/Pages then copying and pasting into the text box).
Potential Organizations/Requirements
-SMC
-Small organizations you are a part of
-A business that you work for (as long as you get permission)
-A small to medium business that you are familiar with and can research/get information on
Resources to Help You get Started with Your Outline
USC Libraries: Making an Outline (Links to an external website.)
Georgia Tech Library: Why Outline & Example (Links to an external website.) (should be a lot more detailed than this example)
–Use all the bolded Marketing Plan sections as headings in your outline.
Planning Phase
Client Organization (2-3 sentences or bullet points)
Describe your client organization. What it the mission and goals? How may customers (students) of they serve? What is the demographic makeup of the customers (students)? Where do the students come from? What is the reputation/brand of the organization?
Competition (2-3 sentences or bullet points)
Think of 2-4 competitors for your organization. How is their brand and customer value proposition better or worse than your customer? How are their customers different? Discuss the market and segmentation in relation to competition.
SWOT Analysis (2 bullet points for each Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat)
How to do a SWOT Analysis (Links to an external website.)
Primary Research (1 bullet point on who you will interview and 2 bullet points on what types of questions you will ask)
This should be a summary of your findings by interviewing existing or potential customers (at least 2). Think of this as a focus group. Ask questions about usage, how they access the product/service, and what they like and dislike about the product/service.
Marketing Strategy
Objective (1 sentence on your objective)
For this plan you should have one objective. The objective should be specific and measurable (eg, increase sales by 4% over the next two years). It should measure both the impact on the company due to the marketing plan (in a measurable way, usually in a % or $) and should have a time associated with it (3 months, 6 months, 1 year). Make the objective realistic.
Strategy (1-2 sentences on your strategy)
Given the objective the marketing strategy is the overarching statement of how the objective will be achieved.
For example, sales might be increased by increasing the awareness (which was found in the situation analysis to be exceedingly low relative to competitors). Another strategy to increase sales might be targeting a new segment that has not yet been captured, or stealing a certain competitors share. The section outlines the rationale for selecting these strategies.
Marketing Tactics (3 detailed sentences on what your 3 marketing tactics are)
Describe 3 specific actions to take to achieve your marketing strategy. Think about the how these strategies incorporate the 4 Ps (marketing mix). Be very specific. An example might be to launch an IMC or hire sales people to focus on a target market (this would also include a lot more detail). We have studied many concepts from class so please review course content. These should be numbered and provide details and examples. This is the most important section as it tells the reader how you will achieve your marketing objective and strategy.
Differences between Strategy and Tactics and List of Tactics (Links to an external website.)
Control Phase
Evaluate Performance (1-2 sentences or bullet points on how you will measure your marketing efforts)
How and when can you quantify the results of your marketing plan. Think about multiple ways or metics to measure.
Also, this section should directly measure back to this objective that is set).
