Strategic Planning. Strategic Marketing Plan.

STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN
INTRODUCTION
This assignment entails development of a comprehensive strategic marketing plan for a new
product or service that is ready to “go to market”. A Project Template is provided that allows you
to organize your work in increments and see how the sections come together to produce a
comprehensive plan.
PRODUCT/SERVICE
This assignment requires application of concepts learned to build a strategic marketing plan for a new product or service that is ready to “go to market”. You will not be allowed to mimic plans or
ideas from larger or already “in-place” campaigns. You must develop the business concept in its
entirety.
Describe the new product or service.Discuss the qualities that make this product/service new to
the marketplace and the rationale for your decision to pursue the concept. Be sure to pick a
product or service that is ready to market. If you are developing a new product, assume that the
development phase is over and you are ready to launch the product into the marketplace.
OBJECTIVES/MISSION STATEMENT
Create a Mission Statement. State your short-term MARKETING objectives (one year). Assume
that the product/service is ready to launch at the beginning of the year (planning and testing have
been completed).
Marketing objectives include goals for sales, profits, market share (as examples)Objectives need
to be quantifiable. Use the SMART acronym—simple, measurable, achievable, relevant, and
time-specific—in formulating your objectives. An objective with a 100% goal is not acceptable
TARGET MARKET
Identify your target market. Provide a specific demographic profile and rationale for this decision.
Another source that may help you: The US Census Bureau’s American Fact Finder. Consider the
size of the market and its purchasing power. Research is required to back-up your selection and
to provide statistics to show that it is a viable market.
COMPETITION
Analyze your competition. Who are they? Who are the biggest players? How large is the market?
What are the trends/forecasts in the industry? How does your product/service fit in? Business
Source Complete in the Library is a good tool for this section; it may be accessed under Find
Articles & eBooks.
PRODUCT/SERVICE FEATURES
Provide a brief overview of the product or service.
State the features of your product/service. Show how it’s innovative and different. It may be
unique because of the area in which you plan to market it.Discuss legal and ethical implications
that could affect the marketing process. This will require research.
CORE STRATEGY
Discuss your Core Strategy and make sure to connect it to your Mission & Objectives. Include a discussion on Product/Service Positioning.
MARKETING MIX: COMMUNICATIONS & PROMOTION
The Marketing Mix is the set of decisions about communications and promotion, price, channels
of distribution, and customer relationship management. An integrated marketing communications
(IMC) approach delivers a clear and consistent message to your consumers and is connected to
your Core Strategy.
Discuss the aspects of the IMC. (The elements of the communication mix include: advertising,
direct marketing, sales promotion, publicity/public relations and personal selling.) Define each
and discuss the pros and cons of the individual elements.Provide a detailed description of your
IMC approach. Explain your rationale for choosing or rejecting the specific elements (include
applications to the earlier research section). What changes do you expect to make as the
product/service matures?Describe the message you wish to communicate based on your core
strategy. Explain your rationale for the message. Formulate how you will communicate with your
target market? Be specific. How will the internet be used in your IMC approach?Select and
explain the most suitable method for measuring advertising effectiveness. Your decision must
include research to back up the selected method. Be sure to explain why this is the most
effective method to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
MARKETING MIX: PRICE
Discuss what pricing objectives you would consider for your product/service. The Objectives
should be based on the various theories presented in marketing literature and take in to account
competitor pricing. Including background on value proposition, positioning, and target market is
necessary. All of these components provide rationale for the chosen pricing scheme.
MARKETING MIX: CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION
Channels of Distribution: Specify the type of distribution channel you will use and include
rationale.
MARKETING MIX; CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Customer Relationship Management -Detail how you will incorporate CRM into your plan. Be
sure to include a discussion on the role of technology that will be used to support your CRM.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
The assignment requires the use of ARTICLES from the library’s full-text databases. Articles are
found in periodicals. These are not to be confused with eBooks or Reference Books. The most  popular databases in marketing are: ABI Inform Collection, Academic Search Complete, and
Business Source Complete.
Your report MUST include a reference list. All research should be cited in the body of the paper.
In-text citations and corresponding references should be included in your paper. For more
information on APA, please visit the APA Lab. The paper should be written in third person; this
means words like “I”, “we” and “you” are not appropriate. The use of direct quotes is
discouraged, but may be used sparingly in appropriate situations.
Grading will be based on content, application, research, mechanics (APA format, spelling
grammar, and punctuation), and style (organization, readability, and using your own words).