Week 9 Assignment – Part C: Developing the Marketing Mix
Overview
For this assignment, you will conclude your marketing plan by developing your hypothetical company’s pricing and distribution strategies and integrated marketing communications plan.
Note: You should make all assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.
Create the third part of your marketing plan in 6–8 pages using the Part C Marketing Plan Template [DOCX]:
Explain how you will use the feedback you received on Part B of your marketing plan to improve your plan.
Develop the company’s pricing strategy including a rationale for the approach you have chosen.
Develop the company’s distribution strategy, including a rationale for the approach you have chosen.
Develop the promotional mix (message, media, sales promotion, personal selling) appropriate for the target market.
Develop your online and direct marketing plan most relevant for your product or service and target market.
Develop your social-responsibility or cause-related marketing plan most relevant for your product or service and target market.
Use at least three sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Resources
Part C Marketing Plan Template [DOCX].
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Develop marketing strategies and plans related to a given product or service and target market.
COMMENTS FROM PREVIOUS PAPER :
Brand Strategy: You included all four of the required branding elements for your hypothetical business. You included your brand name and rationale for that name. The brand name of a business is a significant touchpoint and should convey the benefits of your brand. You accomplished this very well. You created an original logo that will clearly convey your business idea to your consumer. You wrote an original slogan which is yet another brand touchpoint to speak to your consumer. Finally, an appropriate brand extension was provided to pull all the elements of your strategy together in a cohesive manner to build your brand.
Target Market: Both the primary and secondary target markets are relevant and justified. You used all the relevant bases of segmentation to describe your target market. Your target audience definition used the demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral bases of segmentation to describe your ideal consumer. You also did nice work in prioritizing which of these bases were more important than others. You also provided a description of your secondary target audience. Based on the bases of segmentation that you defined, you clearly demonstrated your understanding of the differences between a primary and secondary target audience.
Positioning Statement and Perceptual Map: Great positioning statement that includes who you are talking to, who are you better than and why you are better; however, your perceptual map does not support the positioning. From your perceptual map, it is hard to tell your unique marketspace. I would have liked to have seen more about the competition relative to your positioning. Be very realistic in this comparison. You can’t be the best with the lowest price. Think of three a legged stool with Quality, Service, and Price as the legs. If you have the lowest price – your quality and service need to match that; otherwise you have a lopsided stool.
Consumer Behavior: You need to explain more about your target market’s consumer behavior – lifestyle values, attributes, wants and needs, etc. with the brand name, logo, slogan and brand extension. Why will your brand resonate with them. It is not clear how and why you developed your branding elements to impact the consumer buying process for your target audience. This section is a good section to use scholarly resources to validate your target market’s consumer behavior.
References and Citations: You provided the appropriate number of four (4) or more academic peer reviewed references, and showed a clear understanding of an academic reference. All APA or SWS formatting is correct.
Overall, I really like the way that you wrote your paper. It was clearly written, and very well-organized, which made it very easy to follow your analysis. There were no spelling or grammar mistakes. You are making terrific progress moving from research into the beginning of your marketing strategy.