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MKT-315 Benchmark

Submitted to Grand Canyon University

Colangelo College of Business

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This is an electronic template for the Marketing Plan Template in APA style (American Psychological Association, 2020). The purpose of the template is to help the student set the margins and spacing, headings, tables and figures, and table of contents. Margins are set at 1 inch for top, bottom, left, and right. The type is left-justified only—that means the left margin is straight, but the right margin is ragged. Each paragraph is indented five spaces. The line spacing is double throughout the paper, even on the reference page. The Normal style for body paragraphs is set to present in this format. One space is used after punctuation at the end of sentences. The font style used in this template is Times New Roman and the font size is 12.

In addition to spacing, APA style includes a special way of citing resource articles. It is recommended to review the APA manual for specifics regarding in-text citations (American Psychological Association, 2020, pp. 253-278). GCU has prepared an APA Style Guide available in the Student Writing Center for additional help in correctly formatting according to APA style.

Executive Summary

Written last, your executive summary is a summary of all of the other sections of your marketing plan. Your executive summary will give you and other parities (employees, advisors, lenders, etc.) an overview of your plan. Remember, this could be the first time your audience learns about the unique value proposition of your business. Be enthusiastic, professional, complete, yet concise.

Brand Summary

This is an electronic template for the Final Marketing Plan in APA style (American Psychological Association, 2023). The purpose of the template is to help the student set the margins and spacing, headings, tables and figures, and table of contents. Margins are set at 1 inch for top, bottom, left, and right. The type is left-justified only—that means the left margin is straight, but the right margin is ragged. Each paragraph is indented five spaces. The line spacing is double throughout the paper, even on the reference page. The normal style for body paragraphs is set to present in this format. One space is used after punctuation at the end of sentences. The font style used in this template is Times New Roman and the font size is 12.

In addition to spacing, APA style includes a special way of citing resource articles. See the APA manual for specifics regarding in-text citations (American Psychological Association, 2020, pp. 253-278). GCU has prepared an APA Style Guide available in the Student Writing Center for additional help in correctly formatting according to APA style.

The reference list should appear at the end of a paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text. A sample reference page is included at the end of the template. In-text citations are provided here to serve as examples representing sources from a book (American Psychological Association, 2020). Please refer to the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center, for more specific information on and examples of citing sources.

Background

Gather information about the company’s history, mission statement, products or services, target market, and any notable achievements or challenges it has faced. You can use a variety of sources, such as IBIS World, the company’s website, news articles, and industry reports. Using your research and organized findings, write a company background that provides an overview of the company’s history, mission, products or services, target market, and any notable achievements or challenges. You may want to use headings as shown below to make it easy to read.

Mission

The mission statement can provide overall guidance for your business and marketing efforts. Answer the question, What is the resounding purpose of your business?

Vision

A vision statement outlines the company’s long-term goals and aspirations for the future regarding its long-term growth and impact on the world. While the mission statement defines what the brand does and what it stands for, the vision statement speaks to the goals and ideals for the future.

Company Marketing Objectives:

Marketing objectives are a crucial part of any marketing plan. They are specific, measurable goals that you set for your company to achieve within a specific timeframe. Your marketing objectives should include a clear description of what you intend to accomplish, along with concrete, numerical goals and an associated marketing timeline.

To set your marketing objectives, you should review your past sales numbers, recent business growth in different markets, the size of typical new customers, and how new product introductions have fared. Use these numbers as a guide for the future. Here are some typical categories that you might want to use as thought-starters when writing your marketing objectives:

• Increase sales of a particular product, in a specific market or price range
• Extend or regain market share for an existing product or service
• Introduce a new product or product line
• Bundle or cross-sell some products/services with others
• Enter new geographies
• Raise prices without damaging sales numbers
• Enhance your manufacturing and/or product delivery process

Remember to make your marketing objectives specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.

Company Marketing Strategies and Tactics

In this section, you should identify the marketing objectives and strategies. Briefly describe the marketing mix elements (product, price, place, and promotion) and how the brand is using each of them to achieve its marketing goals. For example, you might discuss how the brand is using pricing strategies to appeal to a specific target market or how it is using social media to promote its products. Overall, your goal is to provide a clear and concise overview of the specific marketing tactics that the brand is using to achieve its objectives. Be sure to use credible sources and cite your references properly.

Consumer Behavior

Describe your target market segmentation and specific characteristics within each segment. Who is most likely to buy your products and services in the future? If you have more than one target market, please describe each market. For greatest success, you want to focus your marketing efforts on the individuals would be your best customers. Suggested length is one or two paragraphs for each target market.

Demographic Characteristics

Describe their general demographic characteristics, paint a picture of your current customers. How old are they? What sex are they? Where do they live and work, and what is their income level? What other characteristics do they share? What are their lifestyles, interests, beliefs? Describe your market’s behavior patterns and attitudes (psychographics). Where do they shop? What do they read? What else do they buy? Your main goal in this section is to paint a picture of your ideal customer. Later in the plan, when you discuss marketing channels, having a clear picture of who you are selling to and what makes your products or service different than the competition, will help you write your marketing messaging.

Competitive Analysis and Positioning

Your unique selling proposition, also known as your competitive advantage, is the one thing that makes your business’ products or services do better than the competition. What makes your business unique? What pain point are you fixing for your target customer? What makes your business different from your competition? Present the positioning statement for the company using the formula found in Topic 2.

Describe your competition, both direct and indirect; this will help you identify what makes your business unique. Direct competitors sell products and services similar to yours. Indirect competitors sell products and services that are substitutes for yours. All businesses have both direct and indirect competitors. Your goal is to identify others competing for the same market, get ideas about good practices you should adopt, and avoid competitors’ errors. Competition is not a bad thing – it is the basic element of the fee market concept of capitalism. Being unable to identify or differentiate yourself from the competition is!

Describe a consumer buying behavior model for this company and brand.

SWOT Analysis

Explain the trends you can identify from the SWOT analysis. For example, can the brand, build on a strength, correct a weakness, exploit an opportunity, and/or avoid a threat?

Products/Services

In one or two paragraphs, you should identify the product lines and mix, and explain where each product line falls in the product life cycle. You should also explain how this impacts the brand’s marketing objectives.

You will also discuss the services provided by the company. Provide details about the service blueprint. You will also discuss how the employee impact and are impacted by the company’s culture and service triangle.

Finally, you will discuss the brand equity for the major brands within the company. Explain how the elements of brand equity are addressed with the marketing objectives and how they could improve.

Overall, your goal is to provide a clear and detailed overview of the company’s products and/or services, including benefits, employee involvement, as well as brand equity/branding.  Be sure to use credible sources and cite your references properly.

Distribution (Place) and Pricing Objectives and Strategies

In this section, you should list the specific distribution and marketing channel strategies your company uses to get products to your customers and include the requirements for each distribution method. This includes both your company’s requirements and those of any intermediaries involved in the process. Identify and explain the five steps of the supply chain for your brand. If the brand does not utilize a step, explain why this would make business sense. Explain any possible channel conflicts and describe how you recommend the company avoid these conflicts.

Additionally, you should discuss how your distribution methods relate to your product mix, target market, controls (display, pricing, and promotion), estimated life cycle, and regulations and taxes.

Finally, you should also consider the cost of distribution to your company. This includes the cost of transportation, storage, and any fees associated with working with intermediaries.

Overall, your distribution plan should provide a clear and detailed overview of how customers will purchase your products and how you will get those products to them. Be sure to use credible sources and cite your references properly.

Finally, you will explain the company’s current pricing objectives. How do these objectives align with the company’s mission, vision, and objectives? Identify the pricing strategies the company currently has in place and provide examples. Explain how these pricing strategies align with the needs of the target market.

Promotion/IMC Objectives and Strategies

In this section you will discuss the company’s promotional and integrated marketing communications objectives and strategies. Identify the elements of the promotion mix the brand currently uses. Identify the traditional and digital media types that the brand currently uses and compare the strengths and weaknesses. Provide three to five specific examples to justify your response, both types of media should be represented the examples provided. Be sure to include links and or screenshots with your explanation. You must include at least one digital and one traditional example. Explain how the messaging (e.g., the types of appeal, execution style) addresses the consumer’s needs. Summarize how the brand has implemented (IMC) throughout the messaging and promotional mix.

Marketing and Research Recommendations for the Future

In this section you will provide three to five marketing recommendations the brand can implement to achieve the mission and vision of the company. This will address changes to the marketing mix the brand can take to move the business forward and to better serve the consumer.

You will also include a brief paragraph of how the brand can implement conscious capitalism while also bringing a Christian worldview into its marketing practices.

Be sure to include an explanation of the research you have conducted to complete this plan as well as research recommendations (secondary and primary) the company should conduct in the future.

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

APA Style Guide – Student Success Center

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