Posted: February 11th, 2015

Marketing Project

Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

Phase 2: The company, External Environment and the Market

1. Identify the mission statement of the company you chose to work on. Remember that the mission statement identifies the role of the company in the society and defines the company’s customers, Markets, products and technology. (Chapter 2)
2. Identify the marketing research used in the project. Remember that all of the sections in the report need to be supported with credible sources of data. Thus in this section you will identify: (Chapter 8)
   1. The sources of secondary and primary data used.
   2. For primary data, you need to identify which method you have used (e.g., focus groups, in-depth interviews, surveys)
   3. Explaining what the data from each source was used for (objective ).
3. After studying the external environment (CREST) you must conduct a SWOT analysis. The opportunities and threats are identified from your analysis of the external environment (social, economic, technological, competitiveness and legal), while internal environment can be analyzed through strengths & weaknesses ( Chapter 2 & 3)
4. Then you are to apply the STP process to you product. (What are the different segments in the market, which ones will you target and why, and what is the positioning that you will occupy). (Chapter 9)
   1. You first need to identify what your broad market is. A market is set of all potential buyers with both the desire and ability. You have to strike a balance between making sure it is not too broad or narrow. For example, it might be too broad to say that Toyota is in the transportation market, but might be more appropriate to say it is in the automobile market.
   2. Next, you need to identify market segments using segmentation bases (page). For example, let’s assume we are conducting a segmentation study for the skin care market. Let us also assume that we will use two variables:

This will result in the following four segments.

1. Next you want to develop profiles for each segment profile. You will provide detailed descriptions of each segment profile. Describing them in terms of their needs, behaviors, preferences, demographics and shopping styles etc..
2. Next you will evaluate the attractiveness of each segment and select your target market. You will evaluate attractiveness based on several factors like market size, expected growth, competition, cost and compatibility with the organization’s resources.
3. Finally, you write your positioning statement. Here’s a basic template for writing a positioning statement:
4. For [insert Target Market], the [insert product] is the [insert Point of Differentiation] among all [insert Frame of Reference] because [insert Reason to Believe].
   1. The point of differentiation (POD) describes how your product benefits customers in ways that set you apart from your competitors.
   2. The frame of reference (FOR) is the segment or category in which you compete.

• The reason to believe is just what it says. This is a statement providing compelling evidence and reasons why customers in your target market can have confidence in your differentiation claims.

Example:

For World Wide Web users who enjoy books, Amazon.com is a retail bookseller that provides instant access to over 1.1 million books. Unlike traditional book retailers, Amazon.com provides a combination of extraordinary convenience, low prices, and comprehensive selection.

Phase 3: Develop a marketing strategy of your product through the marketing mix ( 4p’s )

1. Product: a good, service or idea to satisfy the consumer needs. Points that must be addressed in this section: (Chapter 10 and 11)
   1. What is the type of the product (convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought) and how does this affect
   2. What will the product look like? Show us a prototype.
   3. What is the product life cycle of your product’s category? And how does it affect your marketing?

• Do you expect quick consumer adoption?

1. Pricing : what is exchanged for the product (Chapter 13 and 14)
   1. What is your pricing objective? And why did you select it?
   2. What pricing strategy/method are you going to adopt? And why did you select this strategy/method?

• What is the price to be charged for your product? On what basis did you determine the price?

1. What are the prices of your competitors?

1. Place: a means of getting the product to the consumers. (Chapter 15)
   1. Draw your distribution channels
   2. How many distribution outlets.

• Location of these outlets.

1. Promotion: a means of communication between the seller and the buyer. (Chapter 17)
   1. Which elements of the promotional mix will you use? And why?
   2. What are your promotional objectives?

• What are the obstacles you are likely to face you?