instructions.
Highlighted sections need more attention.
Section 5 needs to be in writing style
For the Marketing Plan, use the Outline and include the six (6) numbered bold headings to organize your team’s report (*.docx file).
Write the report using a paragraph structure with complete sentences rather than an indented list throughout.
Also need to add appendix
Instructions
Marketing plans guide a business through the marketing process and serve as the foundation for
directing and coordinating resources. For this assignment, each team will prepare a written Marketing
Plan for a fictional new or improved product or service –offered by an existing company. The
assignment focus is on the marketing plan rather than new product/service development. The
preference is to select a product or service from the team’s professional experience to draw on
industry knowledge.
In developing your marketing plan submission, use the Outline and include the six (6) numbered
bold headings to organize your team’s document. The Key Components highlight the important
items typically included. Instructions and guidance are in italics. Note that marketing plans come in
many forms depending on your industry, and this is one template.
Outline
1) Executive Summary: This section abstracts the complete marketing plan and provides an
abbreviated overview of the proposed product or service and critical aspects for executive review
(maximum 2 pages).
- Key Components:
o Overview of major points
o Product/Service Overview
2) Company & Industry Overview: This section provides a brief description of the existing
company, including Strategic Business Units (SBUs), Mission & Vision statements, and industry
information.
- Key Components:
o Company Profile/History
o SBU’s / Structure
o Mission & Vision or Purpose
o Industry Description and Analysis
3) Market & Situation Analysis: This section presents relevant background data on the internal and
external influences on marketing decision-making, including competitors and customers. This
section also assesses the current situation through a SWOT to uncover and identify problems and
opportunities.
- Key Components:
o Current Product/Services, Competitors, Gaps
o Customer profile (B2B or B2C, factors?)
o SWOT Analysis
4) Marketing Strategy and Mix: This section identifies specific marketing objectives and strategies
to achieve them. Marketing strategy includes identifying target markets, positioning, and
implementing the marketing mix in addition to risk planning.
- Key Components:
o SMART marketing objectives (e.g., sales, market share, awareness, financial,
social)
o Target markets, positioning, and Value proposition
o Integrated marketing mix implementation strategy (7 Ps)
o Potential issues, risks, challenges, and mitigation strategies
5) Marketing Program Management: This section details the process used to monitor progress
towards objectives and measure return on marketing investment. In addition, this section includes the
controls to allow management to review the implementation and address underperformance to
objectives. This topic broadly includes budgets, schedules, success measures, controls, corrective
actions, and contingencies for market environment changes.
- Key Components:
o Rough budgets for costs and timelines of each mix element
o Success Measures
o Controls and Feedback
o Corrective Actions and Contingency Planning
6) Appendix: This section includes any documents or information relevant to the marketing plan.
Append mandatory items only and a list of all relevant reference sources used in the plan.
- Key Components:
o Relevant references, citations, and other important content
Formatting
• Use 12-point font with single line spacing.
• Include and organize your paper using the six (6) bold section headers in the Outline.
• Cite any references for your work - MLA/APA format or similar is acceptable.
• Proofread, spell check, format, set margins, etc. – poor grammar and writing will result in point
deductions.