Suggested Marketing Plan

1. Executive Summary

This part is about presenting a summary of marketing decisions you have taken to
launch your offering.
You should emphasise the important- vital facts that are relevant to your project.
What are the relevant facts and data you have gathered and mined to justify and
lead to a marketing success?
You need to cross-reference if necessary. Often your innovation is not only related
to one industry but a few.

2. Value Proposition

You need to be clear about what is the offering; a service? A product? In addition,
what is innovative about it?
What is the value of your offering? Think deep and think clearly. Have insight!
What needs are you full filling? Who are your consumers? Why are you doing
better than your competitors are? Your Value proposition should not be more
than six words

3. External Marketing Audit – FOCUS ON THE OPPORTUNITES

Use the ICEDRIPS1 model. It is more detailed than a PESTL analysis.

1. Innovation including new technology and the Internet (of course) but
other innovations too, which may be particular to an industry.
2. Competitors. Not only direct competitors but also threats from
substitute products etc.
3. Economic factors such as inflation, exchange rates, downturns in the
industry, public spending etc.
4. Demographics. The relevant statistics of age, gender, geography, social
class etc. and changes in these.
5. Regulatory environment, i.e. laws, regulations, agreements and
conventions.
6. Infrastructure such as telecommunications networks, transport, public
services and utilities.
7. Partners. Strategic alliances with other companies or organisations.
8. Social trends, including acceptance of technology, use of leisure time,
fashions and changing beliefs.

1
http://www.davidparrish.com/the_icedrips_ch/ ICEDRIPS, accessed 18/1/19
4. Internal Marketing Audit – FOCUS ON THE STRENGTHS! This part is optional

Here student may use the PRIMEFACT2 to highlight your strengths. Be frank and
honest about your strengths. Focus on these. You do not need to outline your
weaknesses. They are obvious.
This PRIMEFACT is a checklist to help you underline the strengths you have. You
can ignore the weaknesses
1. People.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of our people? Employees, directors,
members, associates, advisers and other stakeholders.
2. Reputation (or Brand).
What is our reputation with our target customers? What are the strengths –
or weaknesses – of our brand or brands?
3. Intellectual Property.
What intellectual property do we have? How is it protected? How easily can
it be turned into income streams?
4. Market Research/ Market Information.
What information do we have about market segments and market trends?
What do we know about individual clients and their specific needs?
5. Ethos (or Values or Culture).
What is our ethos, our values and our organisational culture? Do all
stakeholders subscribe to this same ethos?
6. Finances, i.e. money.
What is the current state of profitability, cash flow and assets? How much
money do we have to invest or can we borrow?
7. Agility (or nimbleness or change-ability).
Are we agile enough to seize new opportunities? Are people prepared to
change and ready for change? Or are we unable to change?
8. Collaborators (Alliances, Partnerships and Networks).
What are the strengths and weaknesses of our associations with other
businesses and organisations (including government)?
9. Talents (competencies and skills).
What are our core competencies? What skills do we have available and what
gaps are there? Are we able to learn new skills?

2
http://www.davidparrish.com/primefact-checklist-for-internal-analysis/, PRIMEFACT internal
analysis, accessed 18/1/2019
5. Segmentation- Targeting- Differentiation – Positioning

Provide a clear segmentation and targeting marketing strategy

1. What business are you in?

To Business To consumers To Government

Initiated by Business B2B B2C B2G

Initiated by C2B C2C C2G

Consumers Donedeal.ie

Initiated by G2B G2C G2G

Government Entreprise- Motortax.ie
Iireland.com Revenue.ie
Etenders.gov.ie

2. What is your target market?

Bases Geographic Demographics Psychographics Behaviour

Identifying City Age Activities Benefits Sought

Profiling Country Income Interests Usage Level

Variable State Gender Opinions Online Engagement

Examples Region Education Personality User Status

Country Ethnicity Values

Try to be as descriptive as possible and present your market data to justify there is
a market for your offering.
You can include Quantitative and qualitative data gathered from your own primary
research.
You must quantify the potential demand for your offer. This comes from
commercial databases that you have available through the DBS electronic databases
(https://libguides.dbs.ie/az.php , accessed 18/1/19).

 Mintel and Passport databases will be your main sources of information to

mine market information for your offer.

3. Develop a Perceptual Map to identify the market space you are taking in
the market.

The issue with Perceptual maps is to be clear about the variables you are choosing to
differentiate yourself from the competition. How innovative are you? What is your
strategy to differentiate your product/service from the competing products?
6. Marketing Objectives

What are your strategic Objectives?

What are your sales Objectives?

Be realistic and try to project the number of sales by unit and by price that
you can achieve the first 6 months, first year up to three years. What
percentage of the market you have identified can you reach?

What is the market valued at?

What percentage can you realistically target?

7. Core Marketing Strategy

Target Markets: Review and describe your markets carefully after your
research. Profile your target market. Create Persona. Explain who they are,
what is their behaviour and their characteristics.
Competitor Targets
Competitive Advantage: USP

8. Marketing Mix Decisions

 o Product characteristics focusing on the innovative aspect – how can
your product help the environment? Maximise the positive effects on
society?
o Price strategy: Skimming, Market Penetration, first mover, second
mover, could you use pricing as an innovation?
o Promotion: online and offline strategy – Use Guerrilla marketing –
CRM, etc.
o Place: Distribution strategy and Omni channel strategy – Where are
you available? How are you delivering your product to create a
difference that is going innovative and competitive?
o People: Review the people delivering the process and how can they
offer a difference
o Processes: are processes more effective?
o Physical evidence: Describe the Physical evidence in details, design,
and atmosphere. Since the presentation

9. Control/ BUDGETS

Additional Notes:

Executive Summary

The executive summary describes the report’s major findings and recommendations. It is designed to
provide a busy reader with the major issues contained in the report. The executive summary allows
the reader to gain insight to key outcomes without having to read all the report. Bullet-points can be
used to present the key points in the executive summary.

Value Proposition

The Value Proposition is a broadly defined, enduring statement of the needs you are meeting;

“What are you offering?”

Google “organise the world….”

It is not about making or producing it is about stating what value you offer to the consumers of your
services or products

External Marketing Audit

A marketing audit is a systematic examination of a business-marketing environment, objectives,

strategies and activities, with a view to identifying key strategic issues, problem areas, and
opportunities. It provides the basis upon which a plan of action to improve marketing performance
can be built.

Macro environment or External Market Audit analysis

Not every heading may be used; if it is not likely to impact the company, leave it out. For every event,
state its likely impact on the company and the resulting implications.

The Market

The market consists of:

 analyses of market size, growth rates and trends;

 customer analysis including who they are, what choice criteria they use, how they rate
competitive offerings and how the market is segmented;

 distribution analysis, which covers significant movements in powerbases, channel attractiveness

analyses, physical distribution analyses and analysis of the role and interests of decision-makers
and influences with distributor organizations.

Competition

Competitor analysis examines:

 Who are the competitors to the company (actual and potential)?

 What are there objectives and strategies, strengths and weaknesses, market shares, size and
profitability?

Finally, any entry barriers that make market entry from new competitors difficult should be identified.

Internal Marketing Audit

The internal marketing audit focuses on the activities and performance of the company in the light of
the external marketing environment:

Strategic Issues Analysis

Strategic issues analysis will answer the following questions:

 What are our current marketing objectives?

 How do we currently segment the market?
 What is our competitive advantage (if any)?
 What are our core competencies?
 How are our products positioned in the marketplace?
 How are products placed in terms of market attractiveness and company strength (portfolio
analysis)?

Each answer will be evaluated to produce strengths and weaknesses.

Marketing Mix Effectiveness

Each element of the marketing mix (product, promotion, price, place, people, processes, physical
environment) will be evaluated in the light of the external marketing environmental analysis.

Marketing Structures and Systems

The marketing structures and systems of the company will be evaluated to identify what exists and its
effectiveness. Marketing structures include marketing organization, marketing training, and intra and
interdepartmental communication. Marketing systems include marketing information systems, the
marketing planning system and the marketing control systems.

Marketing Objectives

Because of the marketing audit and SWOT analysis, relevant marketing objectives will be set. Two
types of objectives need to be considered: strategic thrust and strategic objectives

Strategic Objectives

Strategic objectives for products need to be set. The options are build sales and market share, hold,
harvest (improve profit margins) and divest (drop or sell product).

Core Strategy

Core marketing strategy involves the achievement of marketing objectives through the determination
of target markets, the setting of competitor targets and the creation of a competitive advantage (see
the next three sections).

Target Markets

A choice of target market(s) must be made. A target market is a group of consumers/organizations

(segment) that the company wishes to aim its offering and communications at. It defines where the
company wishes to compete.

Competitor Targets

Besides targeting consumers/organizations, the company will choose competitor targets. Weak
competitors may be viewed as easy prey and resources channelled to attack them. The choice of
target market may define competitor targets and be influenced by them: market segments with weak
competitors may be attractive targets.

Competitor Advantage
A competitive advantage is a clear performance differential over competitors on factors that are
important to target consumers/organizations. This provides the basis of how the company competes.
Major success is dependent on the company creating a competitive advantage by being better (e.g.
superior quality or service), being faster at anticipating or responding to customer needs than
competitors, or being closer by establishing close long-term relationships with customers.

Marketing Mix Decisions

By defining a target market and understanding the needs of their consumers/organizations, a

marketing mix can be created to meet those needs better than the competition. Decisions must be
made regarding product, promotion, price and place.

Product
Product decisions involve choices regarding brand names, features (that create customer benefits),
quality and design, packaging, warranties, and the services that will accompany the product offering.

Promotion
Promotion decisions involve choices regarding advertising, personal selling, direct and Internet
marketing, sales and promotions and public relations.

Price
Pricing decisions involve choices regarding list price, discounts, credit terms and payment periods.

Place
Place decisions involve choices regarding the distribution channels to be used and their management,
the location of outlets, methods of transportation and inventory levels to be held.

People
People are an integral part of a service business offering and staff and customers need to be designed
into the service. People decisions involve selection and recruitment, training and development,
motivation and reward.

Processes
Processes are all the activities that a service organisation engages in to deliver the service offering
comprehensively, consistently and efficiently. Blueprints can be used to describe the service process
and industrialising and de-skilling can contribute to improved efficiencies, but beware sacrificing
quality in the process.

Physical Environment
Service purchases are risky and there are often very few tangible cues. Physical evidence provides
some indicator of the service and its quality. Examples of tangible cues are design of buildings, staff
uniforms, and brochures.

Organization and Implementation

A marketing plan needs a marketing organization to implement it. Reorganization may mean the
establishment of a new marketing structure (e.g. brand management) or the creation of a marketing
department for the first time.
Consideration should also be given to implementation issues. These focus on who is responsible for
various activities, how the strategy should be carried out, where things will happen, and when action
will take place.

Control

The aim of control systems is to evaluate the results of the marketing plan so that corrective action
can be taken if performance does not match objectives.
 Sales Projections
 Profit and Loss statements3

3
http://www.bplans.com/marketing_strategy_business_plan/financial_plan_fc.php , accessed 29/9/15