The project is to create a marketing plan for a UPS (Lisle, IL) store that has a 3D printer.
F. Marketing Program (Marketing Mix)
It is in this section the marketing mix is approached in the areas of product/service, place, price and promotion. In many marketing plans this section can be very extensive. Please list and describe the marketing mix in the following order: product/service, place, price and promotion.
Product/Service: This is a recap or summary of what was included in Section B OR you may use this area to provide more detail about your product or service.
Place: This is where your target market can go to purchase your product/service (specific location (address), online (website address), telephone (phone number), direct mail (address), Facebook (location) etc…)
Price: This is how much the product/service costs. There may be a unit price, flat fee, hourly rate, insurance consideration, package pricing, etc…this will vary based on product/service. If multiple products/services are offered you can provide a category range and then include a copy of specific pricing for each item in the Appendix. Please be sure to note what page or what Appendix letter the specific pricing can be found.
Promotion: This is how you are going to communicate your product/service message to your target market. Please be very careful when developing this section. You do not want to recast/duplicate/copy ideas that your client has already done. They are looking for new ideas, refreshing concepts, and different ways to break through the clutter to reach their target markets. As you identify which promotional vehicles you will use (minimum of four), put them under the appropriate promotional element (refer to page 445 of your textbook) and then clearly explain how each promotion would be utilized and implemented. Ultimately, you may come up with many more promotional ideas for your client for future use. Please capture those ideas with a brief description in the Appendix section of your marketing plan. If you have noted any promotional activities in your strategies or tactics, you would need to identify those in this section also. Example:
Public Relations
A press release would be developed and sent to (list specific newspapers). The press release would highlight X and be released (date). Some ideas that should be included in this press release include……..
•Fully develop THREE of your promotional ideas. For example, if you are going to place an ad in a newspaper, design the ad copy, or if you are going to do a mail campaign, develop the direct mail piece. If you decide to do a commercial or radio spot, please include the written copy (script) in your marketing plan. The radio spot or commercial you create would be played or viewed in class as part of your oral presentation. As a team, this is YOUR work. You are not hiring a designer or outside resource to create the promotion. Remember the promotional pieces you select to develop for your client must fall within their promotional budget.
Be sure to identify the page number(s) of your fully developed promotional ideas in your plan and explain what was created and for what purpose. THE PROMOTIONAL PIECES MUST BE COMPLETED AND HANDED IN AT THE TIME OF YOUR ORAL PRESENTATION. These do not need to be handed in with the rough draft unless you would like the instructor to review. Promotions must demonstrate an integrated marketing message.
G. Financial, Budgets, Forecasts
In this section, offer a financial review of your product and/or service as it relates to the marketing activities. Chapter 13 of your textbook can offer a “refresher” in these areas. The following elements would be part of this analysis:
1) Breakeven Analysis
Include a chart/table that identifies where your breakeven point would be between revenues and costs. Then include a paragraph that describes your Breakeven Analysis and your interpretation of the data.
2) Expense Forecast for Promotional Activities
Include a table that lists all the promotional ideas you have and include the cost for each item. It is important to get feedback from the business owner to determine how much they have available to spend within this area. Their budget will often help you determine what options are available to you and how creative you need to be with the allotted dollars. To help you obtain some costs the instructor will share some pricing with you during class. In addition, you can easily go online to identify what advertising costs will be. Most companies have advertising pricing available for viewing. We want to obtain a “rough” idea, knowing that if this plan were going to be implemented actual costs would need to be obtained at the time of placement. Another helpful online resource is www.gaebler.com to obtain some general pricing.
3) Sales Forecast
Include a chart/table that illustrates what you hope to achieve in monthly sales during the duration of your marketing plan. If you identified a financial goal, you would want to tie this sales forecast back to that goal. You would also want to integrate the impact your promotional ideas would have to the sales forecast based on when those would be initiated. In addition, depending on the nature of the business, it is not always accurate to show a gradual increase in business. You may be serving a client that has definite “slow” time during the year. This analysis needs be reflected in this Forecast. Again, please include a paragraph that describes your Sales Forecast and your interpretation of the data.
Your client may or may not want to share this information. Financial information is confidential and must remain that way during the course of this project. If an owner does NOT want to release certain financial information, that is okay. We will discuss how to handle that in class.
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H. Product/Service Evaluation
Product/service evaluations can be measurable targets to aid in the success or continued success of a product/service. Examples include conducting a customer satisfaction survey (sample must be included in plan) or to implement two monthly sales meetings to obtain customer feedback. One of the best ways to identify your evaluations is to review your goals. From your goals you would then determine how you would measure the success of that goal. Be thorough in your evaluation process and be sure to address each goal at least once in your analysis.
