Marketing Plan
Prepare Part A of your Marketing Plan for the focus company that you selected and your instructor approved in Module 2. Use the Build a Marketing Plan Template (also available following p. 72) to assist you and be sure to include your responses to each question in that template.
You should use the questions listed in each section of Part A on the template to formulate your responses. However, your responses should be in paragraph format, not bullet points or Q & A format. This will assist you when you pull together your final Project Summary in Module 14. Note that there are three parts to this segment: Part A-1 Internal Environment (8 points), Part A-2 External Environment (8 points), Part A-3 SWOT Analysis (9 points). Be sure to answer all of the questions provided in the template for each of these three parts.
Your final submission must be written in APA format style. Information on APA style can be found in the Course Project Folder on the Learning Modules page and in the Orientation for this course. Spelling and grammar do count, so utilize the spell check feature to assist you if needed.
Part A-1: Internal Environment (8 pts) Remember that the internal environment includes any strengths or weaknesses inside the company or organization. Research the Mission Statement, corporate culture, what you have done in the past with your target markets, products, pricing, promotions, and supply chain. etc. Then provide examples of resources (including management expertise) that your company has that made them unique. How has your company added value through its offerings in the past? Be sure to use the questions in the template as a guide to help you research the Internal Environment.
Part A-2: External Environment (8 pts) Continue with a review of the external environment: Look at various examples outside your focus company to find opportunities and threats. Describe the nature of the overall domestic vs. global market (either in terms of their locations or sales). Describe their competitors and describe their marketing strategies (who are their target markets, what products do they offer, what pricing strategies do they use, what types of promotion do they use, what is their supply chain? Then provide one example each of the key trends that affect your focus company in terms of the economic environment, changing technology, regulatory environment (this could be a law, lawsuit, recall), and social/cultural environment. Be sure to use the questions in the template as a guide to help you research the External Environment.
Part A-3: SWOT Analysis (9 pts) Complete your Situational Analysis with a SWOT analysis of your focus company. What are the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your company? Include at least two of each in your SWOT analysis. Remember that Strengths and Weaknesses come from internal sources and Opportunities and Threats come from external sources. When you list these examples, provide a short description of how they relate to your focus company, not a bulleted list.
For example, don’t just list competition as a Threat – briefly describe who are the competitors of your company and why do you consider them a threat? If you list employees as a strength, give a brief reason why you feel that way. You can use bullet points to respond to this SWOT analysis; but next to each bullet point, provide an explanation or description of each.
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