Reference no: EM132709393

Learning Outcome 1: Knowledge and Understanding: Critically evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in a sector of the economy with respect to marketing concepts and theories.

Learning Outcome 2: Intellectual, Practical, Affective, and Transferable Skills: Construct the framework for an integrated strategic marketing plan as it relates to an organisation operating in the chosen sector of the economy.

Learning Outcome 3: Intellectual, Practical, Affective, and Transferable Skills: Design marketing campaigns, or parts thereof, embracing new and innovative concepts which push forward the knowledge base of the discipline, for example in the arts, services, relationship or technology marketing.

Learning Outcome 4: Intellectual, Practical, Affective, and Transferable Skills: Develop a critical working knowledge of the important management tools and techniques in the marketing planning process, synthesising and applying these where possible towards new customer/client solutions and benefits.

Strategic Marketing Plan

You are required to write a 3,000 word strategic marketing plan for a company of your choice. Please choose a non-diversified company (one industry only, e.g., Clarks Shoes or IKEA) or the business unit of a corporation (e.g., BT Consumer, rather than BT Group; Unilever Foods, rather than Unilever).

Your audience is the management team/board of the company. Your aim is to secure senior management buy in and any resources that are required by providing the data and argument to support implementation of the marketing initiative you have proposed.

Your audit of the marketing environment of your company will identify a new, previously unexplored, market for your product/service. To do this you must employ creative thinking and an entrepreneurial approach not limited by current assumptions.

Strategic Marketing Plan Guidance
Your marketing plan should be written in report style. The detailed guidance which follows provides a suggested format.

You should draw upon the module material to inform the development of your marketing plan.

This material should be referenced according to the Harvard referencing system. You should also utilise one or more marketing text books from the reading list to help you write your assignment. For example, you will need to use one of the text books in respect of analysis of the competitive environment by applying Porter's Five Forces framework.

You might consider using a marking planning model such as SOSTAC as an underpinning framework for your strategic marketing plan. Critical application of the model is required and once again Harvard referencing is required.

In addition to the module material, you should find the following e-text books which are available in the University Library useful resources in the development of a strategic marketing plan:

You should refer to Chapter 3 ‘Developing marketing strategies and plans', in the core text book by Philip Kotler (2016) Marketing Management. It is important to read the entire chapter.

Towards the end of the chapter there is a section that addresses ‘The nature and content of a marketing plan' (p.106). There is also a sample marketing plan presented on page 108.

Additionally, the text book Marketing Essentials by Dibb & Simkin (2013) is a useful resource. Chapter 15 addresses planning and implementation. Table 15.2 (p. 458) shares the component parts of a typical marketing plan which you will find helpful. Table 15.1 illustrates the core steps of the marketing planning process (p. 457). Again, it would be advisable to read the chapter.

I also personally like Essential Guide to Marketing Planning by Marian Burk Wood. You should be able to find a copy on Amazon for £2.00 - £5.00.

1. Title page

Clear report title disclosing the company name and focus of the marketing plan. Word count utilised stated.
2. Contents page
Number headings and sub-headings.

3. Introduction to company and current challenge(s) - 10 marks (approximately 300 words)

The introduction to the company should include the current situation and a summary of the key challenges it needs to overcome.
Include any existing purpose statements the company has e.g. vision and mission statements, core values and strategic objectives (citing academic and organisational references). Discuss how the statements inform the company's challenge(s). Statements should be critically analysed.

You do not have to address all purpose statements - select those that are available for the company, or the most relevant. If no purpose statements are available reflect on purpose based on other types of information (e.g., the ‘About us' section of the organisation's website; CEO/director's interview, Annual Report etc.). Another approach is to suggest your own purpose statements.

4. Environmental analysis - 45 marks (approximately 1,500 words)
MACRO trend environment analysis:

(PESTLE) analysis to identify key drivers of change (based on possible level of impact). Consider strategies to either mitigate possible impact of threats or take advantage of opportunities that might be presented.
MICRO trend environment analysis

Industry (Five Forces) analysis to understand intensity of competition and relative attractiveness of market.
Customer (Segmentation) analysis to share a summary of current customers/users utilising segmentation variables.
Summarise the macro and micro analyses by clearly articulating what they represent in terms of opportunities and threats for the company.
Internal environment capability analysis

Application of McKinsey's 7S Framework (1980) and Barney's VRIN Framework (1991). These analyses should point to the company's strengths and weaknesses.

5. Proposed strategy - 40 marks (1,200 words)

Presentation of a SWOT analysis which summarises the main findings from your macro and micro trend analyses.

Informed by the environmental analyses, the SWOT analysis will facilitate identification of key marketing opportunities.

A single marketing opportunity should be selected and justified applying relevant theory (duly referenced) and articulated in the form of a SMART marketing objective.

Based upon your preceding analyses and informed by your SMART marketing objective, develop an outline strategic marketing plan for a single marketing opportunity.

You should explicitly apply (and reference) appropriate planning models and frameworks to develop the outline strategy. By way of illustration, one example of a relevant planning model is application of the marketing mix.
Triangulation is required and can be achieved as follows. Link back the proposed strategy to the content of the introduction. Does your strategy address the challenge(s) you identified?

How does the proposed strategy exploit the opportunities in the environment and/or avoid the threats? How does the proposed strategy capitalise on company's strengths and/or avoid or remedy the weaknesses? Do the resources and competences currently exist to implement the strategy effectively? If not, can these resources and competences be obtained, and how? Does the proposed strategy align with the purpose of the company?

The feasibility of your proposed new direction should be considered with an implementation plan provided which identifies key milestones and resources required to achieve these. You should also briefly consider risks and how these might be overcome or mitigated.

Insight into the marketing controls that will be employed to monitor & evaluate the relative success of the strategic marketing plan needs to be provided. As part of this analysis Key Performance Indicators should be devised which provide some sales projections. The SMART objective you developed at the outset is also a means to measure success.

Attachment:- Assessment description and marking criteria Marketing Planning.rar