Reference no: EM131037220

This is project for my marketing class. my part is to cover the Business Mission and the Objectives. click on The link it is our product,
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/world-s-first-artificial-gills-oxygen-respirator--2#/

INTRODUCTION/ASSIGNMENT

• You will be writing a marketing plan for a company. You have your choice:

1. A NEW (yes, you create it) product typically purchased by a college student. For example: soft drink, snack food, energy drink, consumer electronics items etc. Be creative.

2. Any existing business that you have access to - except for a leisure travel company(i.e. Travelocity, Orbitz & Kayak) or any ride sharing services (Taxi, Uber, Lyft Etc.)

3. There may be other companies that I may NOT approve. This is why it's important for you to submit your company name to me for review/approval.

• You will be developing the marketing plan as you progress through the course. You'll also be receiving ongoing feedback from me through checkpoint assignments.

• Your team sizes should be roughly between 5-7 group members per team.

• If you have a "problem" group member, that member can be removed from your team but only after a. you first tried to resolve the issue more than one time and b. you talked to me about it.

• I encourage you collect information from outside resources. For example, use the online tools that Robert Sage introduced you to in order to support your marketing plan.

STRATEGIC QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS IN YOUR MARKETING PLAN

I. BUSINESS MISSION

• What is the mission of the firm? What business is it in? How well is its mission understood throughout the organization? Five years fromnow, what business does it wish to be in?

• Does the firm define its business in terms of benefits its customers want rather than in terms of goods and services?

II. SITUATION ANALYSIS (SWOT ANALYSIS)

• Has one or more competitive advantages been identified in the SWOTanalysis?

• Are these advantages sustainable against the competition?

A. INTERNAL STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES

• What are the firm's internal strengths and weaknesses?

B. EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES/THREATS

With regards to this section, in addition to any opportunities and threats that you find on your own (i.e. emerging markets that make sense for your product/service),you'll need to find the following information:

Current Market Situation

U.S. Forecasted Expenditures

• What are the currentexpenditures (consumer dollars spent) in the U.S. for your industry? Have the increased, decreased or remained the same over the last two years? Are they expected to rise fall or stay the same over the next 5 years?

Mobile/Social Technology

• How is technology impacting planning & buying for your product in the last 1-2 years?

- i.e. Do people prefer to research on their tablet/iPhone first then purchase the product at the store?

Market Size

• What is the estimated/forecasted market size for this product/service?
- i.e. if I've developed a new allergy product, I know that there are approximately 46MM allergy sufferers in the U.S.

Consumer Interest

• Are there any outside factors that may impact whether or not people buy your product/service (i.e. tax relief stimulus, poor economic/job forecast)?

• Are there any trends to be aware of?

- For the Spring 2013 travel project, there were travel trends such as traveling shorter distances, shortening stays and booking in advance.

• Of the people that are currently buying products similar to yours, are they being resourceful with their planning/purchasing?

• Examples: use of coupons, bargains and discounts

Competitive Analysis

• Which organizations are competing with the firm directly by offering asimilar product?

• How effective is the competition?

• What benefits do competitors offer thatthe firm does not?

• What kind of advertising or marketing materials/programs are the competitors doing?

- Print, TV, social media universe etc.
- What is their unique selling proposition?
- What are the messaging points that support the USP?
- Who is the competition targeting?
- How much money are they spending on advertising?
- What does the advertising creative look like?

III. OBJECTIVES

What are the firm's business objectives?

What are the firms marketing objectives?

IV. MARKETING STRATEGY

A. Target Market Strategy

• What are the demographics of your target group?

• Age, sex, gender, income, geography

• What are the psychographics of your target group/key insights?

• Attitudes, lifestyles, values, needs, wants, stressors, fears, & buying behavior

B. MARKETING MIX

• Product

• What are the major product/service offerings of the firm? Do they complement each other, or is there unnecessary duplication?

• What are the features and benefits of each product/service offering?

• Are there any pressures among various target groups to increase or decrease the range and quality of products/services?

• What are the various types of customer guarantees, if any. Are there other ways to guarantee customer satisfaction?

• Does the product service offer good customer value?

• How is customer service handled? How is service quality assessed?

• Place/Distribution

• What products are made available to users during what time frames (season of year, day of week, time ofday)? Are these times most appropriate?

• Marketing Communications (including social media component)

• How does a typical consumer find out about the firm's products?

• What is the primary message that you will deliver to the consumer?

• Does the message the firm delivers gain the attention of the intended target audience?Does it address the wants and needs of the target market, and does it suggestbenefits or a means for satisfying these wants?

a. Advertising

• Are you going to advertise? If so which media will you use to reach your best reach your target audience? What is your rationale (support points for choosing this media?

• Are the types of media you are using cost-efficient and do they contribute positively to the firms image?

• What dates and times will the ads run? Of the dates and times you chose, why does this make the most sense?

b. Sales Promotion

• Are you going to recommend any specific sales promotional activity? If so, what is it and what is the specific purpose of the sales promotion activity? Why is it offered? What is it trying to achieve?

• What categories of sales promotion are being used? Is sales promotion directed to the trade, the final consumer, or both?

c. Pricing

• What levels of pricing and specific prices should be used?What mechanisms does the firm have to ensure that the prices charged are acceptableto customers?

• How price sensitive are customers?

• Which method is used for establishing a price: going rate, demand oriented, or costbased?

• What discounts are offered, and with what rationale?

• How are price promotions used?

• Do interested prospects have opportunities to sample products/service at an introductory price?

• What methods of payment are accepted? Is it in the firm's best interest to use these various payment methods?