Strategic Marketing Report Plan Assessment: Instructions for assessment

The mode of assessment: A written report on the design of a marketing strategy and implementation plan for a new or improvedproduct or a service of your choice underpinned by academic and professional literature. The proposed product must be marketed by an existing, well-known company.

Your final report should include the following sections

Part 1: Introduction and Product/Service Description

A brief description and rationale for introducing the new or improved product or service that is the focus of your report. Agree your choice with your tutor by week 3.

Part 2: A Critical Analysis of the Market Context
Include a brief analysis of the market:
• Key market trends (e.g. growth trends)
• Who are the key competitors and how are they positioned?
• Summarise the current customer attitudes/behaviours in this market
• Identify the main issues / opportunities you think are relevant including social and/or ethical issues (if relevant)

Part 3: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP)
• What base(s) of segmentation you have used and why?
• Include size, geodemographic, psychographic etc.
• Summarise the profile and persona of your target marketand, if not a completely new product, how is the target market different from the segment(s) targeted in the past?
• Include a statement that identifies why your target market should buy your improved product or service- i.e. what benefits it now offers and what problems it solves?

Part 4: Your Recommended Extended Marketing Mix (given your analysis above)
Traditional marketing mix elements:
• Product (include, for example branding and packaging and service quality)
• Pricing Strategy
• Promotional Strategy including Digital Media
• Channel or Distribution Strategy
Services marketing mix elements (where appropriate):
• Process
• Physical evidence (e.g. including essential and peripheral evidence, servicescape etc.)
• People (including role of customer in the value creation process as well as employees and/or relationship marketing challenges)

Part 5 A discussion of Implementation Issues
This section should discuss issues related to implementation such as co-ordination between different departments and the role of internal marketing, as well as resources and capabilities required to implement your chosen marketing strategy.

- Summative Assignment

Requirement: A written report on the design of a marketing strategy and implementation plan for a new or improved product or a service of your choice underpinned by academic and professional literature. The proposed product must be marketed by an existing, well-known company.

Service Description

A brief description of the new or improved product or service (can use photographs to illustrate) for the consumer market
What is the additional value that the new product will be offering to potential customers that existing products don't offer?

Outline Market Analysis

Include an analysis of the market:
Key market trends (e.g. how big the market is, which bits of it are growing - use Mintel/WARC data or similar)
Who are the key competitors and how are they positioned? (which firms make which brands)
Summarise the current customer attitudes/behaviours in this market (use consumer behaviour theory - e.g. in your market do customers engage in habitual purchasing - buying the same brand every time, or variety seeking behaviour - buying from a repertoire of brands etc. )
Identify the main issues / opportunities you think are relevant (e.g. are there new developments, is the technology of the product changing, is consumers' behaviour changing).

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

What base(s) of segmentation you have used and why, how big are the segments - use theory: behavioural, geo-demographic, psychographic
Summarise the profile and persona of your target market
Include a statement that identifies why your target market should buy your improved product or service- i.e. what benefits it now offers and what problems it solves?
How is the new product/ service going to be positioned in the market

Your Recommended Marketing Mix

Product (include branding of the product and how it fits in with existing branding strategy of the organisation)
Pricing Strategy
Promotional Strategy including Digital Media
Channel or Distribution Strategy
Additional 3Ps - People, Process and Physical Evidence
Use theory! E.g. on pricing mention whether you plan to use, say, a premium pricing strategy

Implementation

This Section should discuss
Issues relating to co-ordination with other departments
Internal Marketing
Resource and capabilities required to implement chosen marketing strategy

Presentation
Ensure that your report is well structured and easy to follow.

Good idea to use lots of charts (e.g. on market information), photographs, diagrams - to make your report interesting.

Cite your sources in the body of the text using the Harvard format -and include a list of all sources used at the end.