Marketing Strategies Project #2: Marketing Plan Analysis

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!  Marketers set goals and objectives they plan to fulfill  Marketers establish a plan of action, or strategy, to meet their goals and objectives  These strategies are carried out with tactics – the specific actions used to carry out the strategy

Planning a Strategy  Find out the company’s overall plan  Figure out specifically where the firm needs to be by a particular date  Write down agreed upon goals – where it is they want to go  Example: a restaurant wants to increase this year’s sales by 10% over last year’s sales.  Lay out their plan of action – their strategy – to show how they will reach their goal  Example: the restaurant evaluates its many options and decides to add a kids’ menu to increase sales  To be efficient, marketers choose their short-term actions – tactics – to carry out their strategy; tactics must be in line with their goals/objectives and strategy  Example: tactics that the restaurant might use:  Introduce meals which kids like  Offer a free ice cream cone to each child selecting a kids’ meal

Best Option??  Marketers have many options to choose from to reach their goals/objectives  Selecting the best option available should consider:  How the marketing concept applies to the situation  When they want to reach their goal  Which resources are on hand

Best Option??  Remember, business situations change all the time requiring marketers to look for challenges/opportunities along the way  Examples:  Finding out the company can’t handle distribution on its own  Hearing about a new product with better features than the one currently offered  Figuring out that the price is slightly high for customers  Seeing the company’s ad in the back of the newspaper instead of in the section in which it was expected  Learning of new government regulations that impact the business  Watching the economy improve/worsen  Marketers must react quickly and accurately to changes to be able to achieve their goals  They must remain alert to changes in their environment  They must adjust/combine strategies to achieve goals

Marketing Mix  Definition: the combination of the four elements of marketing:  PRODUCT  PRICE  PLACE  PROMOTION

Product  Product – the goods, services, or ideas a business will offer its customers  Marketers conduct research and use their creativity to determine what customers need and how they will meet that need  Questions marketers ask to answer the question:  Should we offer one product – or more than one?  Is the product a good, service, or idea?  Does the product have special features?  Does the product have multiple uses?  What resources are necessary to research and develop the product?  What level of quality should be produced or provided?  Which brands should be used?  How should the product be packaged?  How might the product affect the company’s image?  How might customers view this product in relation to others?  Should the company offer a warranty, maintenance contract, or other support?  Marketers have succeeded with the product element when customers view the product as the best solution to their needs

Price  Price – the amount of money a business asks in exchange for its products  Marketers must find a good balance between customer value and satisfaction and between company cost and profit  Marketers start by determining their pricing objectives:  Getting their products into more customers’ hands – might be accomplished by lowering the price  Helping customers view the business as distinct from its competitors – might offer something unique  Bringing in the amount of income they need/want – involves pricing the product high enough to cover expenses and provide a profit  Raising the product’s value in the customer’s eyes – involves getting customers to view the product as higher quality  Matching the product’s value with what customers expect to receive – setting prices at the level customers expect  Marketers also determine how they will accept payment – cash, credit, debit, or check  Marketers decide whether they will offer discounts  Marketers know they’ve been successful with the price element when customers feel that the benefits they receive outweigh the costs, and the business is bringing in enough revenue to make a profit, while keeping prices low enough to encourage sales

Place  Place – getting a selected product in the right place at the right time  Considerations marketers address:  Which businesses to buy from  When to buy the product  How much of the product to order  How to protect the product from damage  How to store the product until it’s needed  Where to make the product available  How to get the product where it’s needed  How to process customers orders  Which businesses to involve in the process  How to answer customer questions  How to coordinate all the steps involved  Marketers are successful with the place element when customers can buy a desired product when and where they want

Promotion  Promotion – letting customer know the product’s value and its benefits that meet customers’ current needs and refers to the various types of communication that marketers use to inform, persuade, or remind customers about their products  Seeks a positive response from customers – they buy  Types of communication included:  Advertising  Personal selling  Publicity/Public relations  Sales promotion  Factors marketers need to consider to use communication channels effectively:  Which messages to send  Which media to use  When they want messages delivered  How often they want messages delivered  How to coordinate communication efforts  How to evaluate results

Promotion (cont.)  Marketers adapt their marketing mix to suit each situation  Marketing mix elements are interrelated; a change to one element affects the other elements  Improving product features will probably result in a price increases  Simplifying the place element will probably result in price decreases  When marketers assemble the mix, they carefully determine which elements to include and to what degree – keeping in mind that the mix works as a unit

IMPORTANT  Identifying goals and objectives before identifying strategies and tactics so that marketers know what they are trying to achieve before determining how they’re going to go about it.