Marketing Applications Paper

Company G is a well-established firm that is highly regarded in the electronics market. Its mission statement is as follows:

“We enable consumers to improve the quality and convenience of their lives by providing high-quality, innovative electronic solutions.”

Company G’s engineers and designers have developed a line of small appliances that the company feels can be very successful in the small-appliance market. The company feels that the current marketing plan for its products does not put them in a position to reach the profit potential for the small appliances.

Success with the new line will depend upon an accurate assessment of the market and a well-crafted, effectively implemented marketing plan that will fit the current market.

As the marketing manager, you are charged with the responsibility of developing a new marketing plan that will enable the company to reach the full profit potential of one small appliance from the new product line.

The president has suggested that you use the “clean sheet of paper” concept as you develop the plan; therefore, during the time you are creating the new plan, all details of the company’s existing electronics marketing plan are to be considered irrelevant. The intent is that current strategies, practices, etc., will be considered for relevance and possible continuance only after your new plan has been presented to and is understood by top management.

Company G’s team of engineers and designers have developed a line of top-quality small appliances, and through concept and prototype testing, they have shown that the visual design features are very appealing to potential buyers and give a distinct impression associated with quality and artistic elegance. Extensive testing has demonstrated that the new products may be the most reliable line of products in the small-appliance industry. Additionally, the team has designed a production process that is very efficient in terms of labor and production-line time and that will result in very little raw materials waste. The combination of these efficiencies and the relatively small front-end investment for this line will result in the company’s ability to produce each of the products in the line at a cost that should enable them to emerge as the lowest-cost producer in the small-appliance industry.

Company G has a low debt-to-equity ratio and a high credit rating. It enjoys excellent relationships with current suppliers, but because of differences in material requirements, new raw material suppliers will be needed to support the small appliance line. Company G will also need new suppliers for two component parts that will be purchased ready for assembly into some of the small appliances.

The credit terms Company G offers to intermediaries in their distribution channel are typical for their industry. Marketing research has shown that the company’s brand and logo are readily recognized by most categories of electronics product consumers.

Requirements:

Prepare a one-year marketing plan (suggested length of 5–7 single-spaced pages) using the attached “Company G One-Year Marketing Plan Template” for one of the small appliances from the new line. Carefully examine the details provided in the given Company G marketing scenario and identify the specific information that should be considered while developing the plan. Consider other information from the real world that you should incorporate as you develop the plan. Include the following sections in your plan:

A. Product Support of Mission Statement

1. Describe the specific appliance you have selected.

2. Explain how the small appliance you have selected supports Company G’s mission statement provided in the scenario.

3. Classify Company G’s proposed product using the three-way consumer product classification system.

a. Justify the designated classification.

B. Target Market

1. Describe the target market for the company’s product, including two variables related to demographic information, psychographic information, or geographic information.

C. Analysis of Competitive Environment

1. Analyze Company G’s competitive environment, addressing each of the components of Porter’s Five Forces Model.

D. SWOT Analysis

1. Describe three of Company G’s strengths that would support the marketing of the new product.

Note: This description should address Company G’s strengths, not the strengths of the product itself.

a. Justify your choice of each of these elements as company strengths.

b. Identify two strengths that should be considered core competencies.

2. Describe three of Company G’s weaknesses that would undermine the marketing of the new product.

Note: This description should address Company G’s weaknesses, not the weaknesses of the product itself.

a. Justify your choice of each of these elements as company weaknesses.

3. Describe three current or potential opportunities that would support the marketing of the new product.

a. Justify your choice of each of these as opportunities.

4. Describe three current or potential threats that would undermine the marketing of the new product.

a. Justify your choice of each of these as threats.

E. Marketing Objectives

1. Identify one SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) marketing objective for each of the following marketing mix elements:

a. product

b. place

c. price

d. promotion

F. Marketing Strategies and Implementation

1. Describe three distinct strategies for each of the following market mix elements that are appropriate for the target market and supportive of the related objective:

a. product

b. place

c. price

d. promotion

2. Explain why this is the best collection of strategies to achieve the objectives identified in part E.

3. Describe one implementation tactic for each of the strategies identified in parts F1a-F1d.

a. Include a due date and responsible party for each implementation tactic.

G. Monitoring Procedures

1. Describe the specific actions that will be taken to measure the progress toward the objectives identified in the plan.

2. Describe the frequency for each of the actions described in part G1.

H. When you use sources, include all in-text citations and references in APA format.

Note: For definitions of terms commonly used in the rubric, see the Rubric Terms web link included in the Evaluation Procedures section.

Note: When using sources to support ideas and elements in a paper or project, the submission MUST include APA formatted in-text citations with a corresponding reference list for any direct quotes or paraphrasing. It is not necessary to list sources that were consulted if they have not been quoted or paraphrased in the text of the paper or project.

Note: No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. For tips on using APA style, please refer to the APA Handout web link included in the APA Guidelines section.