Essentials of Marketing
2520:101
Prof. Feldt
The Marketing Plan
Directions: Your assignment is to pick a business of your choice (real or an idea), and
develop a marketing plan following the outline below. If you are starting your own
business, you will need to come up with a company name, logo and slogan. Detailed
instructions of writing a marketing plan can also be found in Appendix 2, starting on page
551 in the text. I have also posted sample marketing plans from students on Springboard.
Your paper should be in APA format including the cover page. Please make sure you
have at least two references in your reference section.
Deliverable: 5-6 pages, not including title and reference page.
Total Points: 190
Due Date: See Brightspace for Due Date. Submit your paper to the drop box marked
for Marketing Plans. Make an attractive cover page for this report and include the name
of the company, your name, company logo and slogan, and the date. Good papers will
incorporate the material we covered in this class. Be creative, neat and professional.
Papers delivered late are penalized 10 points per day. Do not email your marketing plan,
use the drop box.
Outline of the Marketing Plan Paper
I. Executive summary
-Provide a brief overview of your business and product line
-Include your current product’s name, location, size, logo, symbols, slogan,
models, etc.
II. Strategic Plan/Focus- Mission, goals, core competencies
III. SWOT analysis
IV. Market-Product Focus
This section explains your unique selling proposition (USP) is of critical
importance as it distinguishes your company from competitors. The hallmark of
several great companies is their USP. For example, FedEx’s USP of “When it
absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” is well-known and resonates
strongly with customers who desire reliability and quick delivery. Jimmy John’s
is freaky fast delivery.
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Also in this section of your marketing plan, detail the positioning you desire and
how your pricing will support it. In other words, what do you want your
customers to think of when your company is mentioned?
V. Marketing Program/Strategies
A. Target Market and Marketing Mix:
This section describes the customers you are targeting. It defines their
demographic profile (e.g., age, gender), psychographic profile (e.g., their
interests) and their precise wants and needs as they relate to the products
and/or services you offer.
Being able to more clearly identify your target customers will help you both
pinpoint your advertising (and get a higher return on investment) and better
“speak the language” of prospective customers. This section also covers your
four “P”s.
Be sure to discuss special offers deals you put together to secure more new
customers and drive past customers back to you.
Offers may include free trials, money-back guarantees, packages (e.g.,
combining different products and/or services) and discount offers. While your
business doesn’t necessarily require offers, using them will generally cause
your customer base to grow more rapidly.
VI. Financials
This part of your marketing plan is to create financial projections. In your
projections, include all the information documented in your marketing plan.
For example, include the promotional expenses you expect to incur and what your
expected results will be in terms of new customers, sales and profits. Likewise
include your expected results from your new retention strategy. And so on.
While your financial projections will never be 100% accurate, use them to
identify which promotional expenses and other strategies should give you the
highest return on investment. Also, by completing your financial projections, you
will set goals (e.g., your goals for your referral program) for which your company
should strive.
VII. Organization
This section covers the management structure. It explains who is in charge of
what activities.
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VIII. Implementation Plan
This section is the calendar of events for the marketing activities discussed in
your paper. It’s the “When and Where” of all the marketing activities i.e.
advertisements, promotions, sales, etc.
IX. Evaluation and control
This section covers how you will know if the marketing plan was successful. For
example, did sales increase? Has customer satisfaction gone up or down?