Unit IV Essay
Marketing Plan: Part II
Throughout this course, you will compile a comprehensive marketing plan using one of the product/service scenarios listed in the Unit II assignment. (Note: You will use the same scenario throughout the course.) This scenario will be the basis of your start-up company and will be the catalyst for the subsequent marketing plan that you will compile. The company that you choose to submit a marketing plan for is a fictional start-up company (not an existing company).
This unit’s submission should consist of the items listed below.
Provide a segmentation and target market analysis.
In this section of the marketing plan, you should identify the four criteria useful in segmenting the market, and apply them to your company. Explain how identifying the target market is more clearly defined once a marketer has conducted segmentation on the population. Explain several target markets for your company using detailed explanations.
Include a competitive and industry analysis.
This section of the marketing plan should identify three or four competitors of your company. These can be direct or indirect competitors. (Note: Not all companies have competitors.) Differentiate each competitor based upon multiple criteria. Additionally, conduct an industry analysis by looking at the health of the industry in which your company resides. Identify whether the industry has grown or shrunk in the last 5–10 years. Explain why understanding the competitors and the health of the industry are important elements of the marketing plan.
Provide a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.
In this section, you will compile a SWOT analysis of your company. The internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the external opportunities and threats need to be identified and explained (include at least 2–3 elements under each area of the SWOT). The value proposition will be demonstrated through a strong showing in the strengths section of the SWOT analysis. Reference the SWOT analysis explanation in the Unit I Lesson for additional insight on how to compile this analysis.
Ensure you provide an introduction for this assignment that is engaging and provides a clear background to the purpose of the assignment. The format of the submission should be in essay format using subheadings. Use APA format. Additionally, you need to include a minimum of five sources, three of which must be peer-reviewed, academic sources that are no more than 5 years old. The submission should be a minimum of three pages in length (not counting the title and reference pages).
