THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING PLAN

It is important for marketers to create a marketing plan to provide focus for their brand, product, or company. A detailed plan prepares a business to launch innovative new products that are designed to increase sales to current customers and to reach potential customers within their target market segments. The marketing plan is designed to be subsumed under the broader company-wide strategic plan. The marketing plan documents how the organization’s strategic objectives are to be achieved through specific marketing strategies and tactics. The customer is the focus and starting point of the marketing plan. The marketing plan is an efficient communications tool that is linked to the plans of other organizational departments. This Unit III Project assignment represents the first in a series of project assignments that will enable you to build a marketing plan for a product or product line of a company of your choosing. The final product is to be delivered in Unit VII. The marketing plan consists of the sections listed below. *Executive Summary *Situation Analysis -Market Summary -SWOT Analysis (i.e., analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) -Competition -Product Offerings -Distribution *Marketing Strategy -Objectives -Target Markets -Positioning -Strategies -Marketing Mix -Marketing Research *Financials *Controls -Implementation -Marketing Organization Over the course of the next several units, you will create a marketing plan using research from the CSU Online Library (e.g., Mergent Online database, ABI/INFORM Collection database). Each project assignment will enable you to complete a portion of the marketing plan, and the completed marketing plan will be submitted in Unit VII. For this unit’s assignment, you will choose and research one of the following companies for your marketing plan: -JPMorgan Chase, -AT&T, -Walmart, -ExxonMobil or -Proctor & Gamble. After choosing one of the aforementioned companies, you will research, analyze, and create the marketing plan sections described below for your company of choice. *Situation Analysis: Using the sections below, analyze the competitive market, the company’s targeted market segments, and how your company’s capabilities stack up to the competition. *Market Summary: Describe, in detail, the target market segments by determining their segment size, segment needs, segment growth, and segment trends. Using more detail to describe these market segments will prove to be beneficial as a basis for the marketing strategies and tactical programs presented later in your marketing plan. *SWOT Analysis: Include the sections described below. -Strengths: In this section, list and describe your company’s internal physical and financial capabilities that can enable it to reach its stated objectives. -Weaknesses: In this section, list the internal elements that may prevent or slow your company’s ability to achieve itsstated objectives. -Opportunities: In this section, list the external and potentially profitable areas in which your company may find an interest in which to target, engage, and perform. -Threats: In this section, list the external and potentially unfavorable trials that can negatively affect your company’s business model and competitiveness. -Competition: List your company’s main competitors, and describe what positions they occupy in the market in which your company wishes to compete. Also, this section is where you should provide a summary of the competitors’ strategies. -Product Offerings: Review the company’s products or product lines, and identify their main features. -Distribution: Describe and provide an overview of each of your company’s product distribution channels. Your assignment will be a minimum of three pages in length. Ensure that you introduce the company you have chosen, and identify each section with a heading in your assignment. You should reference at least three sources to support this section of your marketing plan. As aforementioned, your sources should be from the CSU Online Library, but you may also include outside sources as well. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced and follow APA formatting, and quoted or paraphrased material must have accompanying in-text citations.