Essay on Marketing Plan

Feedback from Part B

From my previous assignment, most of the areas I tackled were well covered apart from a few that needed some fine-tuning. According to the feedback, my introduction was solid and complete. My mission statement, however, did not follow the guidelines of Peter Drucker’s classic questions as all the queries were not fully answered. I have to rewrite the statement to address the following prompts; who our customers are, how their principal values are being met by the business, and what our firm will be like. On my goals, I did not provide them in details and measurements. The points I used were more of a description of how to achieve the goals rather than the goals themselves. I will also rewrite the objectives using the SMART goals criteria. The measurement of the goals will be according to the following objectives, how much? How many? and how I will know they are achieved. The measurement variables are the number of customers achieved, number of products sold and the revenue collected at a specified time frame. A record of all the variables will be collected, documented, and analyzed then tallied against the goals. If they would not have been met, a change in strategy from the affected area should be introduced. My environmental analysis was on point. I understand the internal environment which entails the factors within the business that I have control over while the external environment involves factors I have no control over but affect the business either direct or indirect.

Marketing, product pricing, communication, and distribution strategies are very crucial for the successful deployment of a product. Raisinable is considering very effective methods of deploying these tools before and when we enter the market as an independent brand. Huge amounts of funding will be allocated for market research and development before coming up with the best strategies. A combination of all the above strategies will ensure that the products are well developed and priced according to the market value at the same time creating a good profit margin. Proper distribution channels will ensure that the products reach the consumer at the right time considering the 4P’s. To wrap it all up, strategic communication channels will create brand awareness to the business partner, win clients, and gain a good market share.

Pricing and Distribution Strategy

When entering a market or pushing a new product, pricing is a very crucial factor of consideration. An ideal market research on prices from competitors is the first step for deciding on the prices. Raisinable will use the following factors when setting a price for their products; market conditions, profit margin, competitors’ actions and the price of input materials. The four variables will be carefully integrated to come up with the optimal price that will attract customers, leave a good profit margin, and the same time deal with competition. Since Raisinable is already in the market as a B2B business, most of these variables are already in knowledge; pricing will not be such a hard task. After factoring in the cost of production, that is, raw materials, labor and branding, Raisinable will incorporate a desirable profit margin rate. From the rule of thumb, according to Nagle and Muller(2017), an appropriate profit margin is 10% but not restricted to that. The final decision on the profit margin will be determined by competitors’ actions for us to keep at per with the prevailing rates.

On the distribution strategy, there is already a well laid out distribution plan that will use the current retail channels that are already in contract to push the newly branded products for the first two years as stated earlier in the plan. As Raisinables sets ground and establishes a good market share, new dedicated outlets will be opened and distribution points established in different states to ease the time and cost of transportation. There will be centralized retailing points that will serve a few states.

After doing an analysis of the demand for specific products in different areas, it will be easy to identify the regions where the distributing points will be located. The main reason for having distribution points is to reduce the chain of supply to keep the prices low. The more the intermediaries a supply chain has, the higher the final price of a product to the consumer. The best distribution strategy will be from the manufacturer to the agent and finally to the consumer. This will be used to keep away brokers and keep the prices optimum for the benefit of the consumer

Communicating and Message Strategy

Today, businesses can utilize many channels to communicate with clients and potential customers. Some businesses have traditionally relied on offline methods of communication. However, these methods have been overtaken by time and are quite unreliable especially in this internet era. Raisinable will make use of technology for communication and relaying of messages to partners, employees, and potential customers. Offline methods will not be overlooked in the communication strategy. Before creating a communication strategy, the business will research the target audience, from which it will know the best tools to use for each situation.

For deployment of an effective communication strategy, an all-rounded approach will be executed. The first approach for online communication will involve the use of social media to the advantage. Today, social media is a very effective tool for sharing messages, content, and information about products, prices, and locations where they can be found. On the social platforms, Raisinable will monitor trends and preferences of customers for accurate product development. Raisinable will listen to customers, respond to their questions, and create conversations about their range of products. Using blogs will also be used to communicate directly to customers and share insights about the products at the same time establishing a good position as a market expert in the industry. Enough research on the target audience will determine the type of content to put out to the readers and capture their attention.

Offline communication will come in handy during networking opportunities where a team of in house marketers will engage potential customers, win business contacts, make new customers, and promote the brand and awareness of products. Events and conferences carry many potential clients, partners and brand ambassadors. During such opportunities, offline communication becomes the best tool to use. It is essential to know the target audience for the purpose of creating custom messages to win deals.

Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Public relations is a critical strategy in a marketing plan that helps in supplementing the market efforts. Public relation is a very cost effective method of marketing that is conducive for small businesses. The method can help Raisinable raise its awareness as an upcoming brand thus growing the influence of the brand in the community. To enhance the public relation, Raisinable is aimed at coming up with developing media alert on the upcoming events. The company will set a date on when they will officially launch their brand to the public. Therefore, they will progress to put media advert on where their stores are located when they will be opened and how much their products will cost. The public relation will also include community involvement where the company tends to come up with a specialized pitch for the local reporters who will explain the company work to the community.

The company also aims at developing an intensive sales promotion plan. The sales promotion will be done at a friendly cost, but should be much appealing to the members of the public. The sales promotion will include developing money off coupons for the first ten thousand sales that are manufactured under the company’s name. The coupons will be on the product’s packaging and are crucial in helping the customers to purchase the same products through reduced prices. Since the company has already produced the products, it would be easier to access the places where the products have been selling and convincing them to buy from our brand. The sales promotion will also involve the provision of competitions where customers who have matched certain numbers will be allowed to take part in certain draws. Lastly, in sales promotion, Raisinable will erect point of sale materials. The point of sale will include posters that will alert that the company is retailing at certain shops. Raisinable Company aims at putting marketing team members at different retailing places where they will explain to the customers the importance of choosing the brand as compared to the rest.

Online Marketing Plan

Online marketing is a major boost for any company if it is carried out effectively and intensively. The world has been connected to the internet and the majority of the people access the internet daily (Sharma, 2016). Thus, the company aims at utilizing this opportunity to come up with an attractive brand through building on a solid online image. Raisinable has come up with a different strategy to develop its online presence. First, the company will develop Raisainable website, on the website the customers can check on the products that are being offered together with services (Sharma, 2016). The site will also include the pricing index for various products and where the products can be found. The company website will also contain an online purchasing option where customers can view the product and purchase them online directly without going through the retailers. However, this option will be limited to customers within 1km from the manufacturing point.

The Raisinable will develop online adverts portraying attractive and brief information on the products offered. The adverts, including Facebook ads, YouTube ads, and website ads and will help in marketing where they attract a certain group of people. Facebook is common amongst the young generation and middle-aged adults who form part of the target market(Chaffey & Smith, 2017). The adverts will be appearing on pages where foods and home baking products are sold. The ads are crucial in creating an online image and attracting new buyers. YouTube ads appear once you search products with similar specs as offered by Raisinable Company.

Raisinable Company will also venture into Google ads, which are generated according to the user most recent searches. The online marketing includes coming up with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts where the company will be communicating on the release of any new products and changes in pricing. The pages also help create a good communication gap between the company support team and the customers. The marketing will also include coming up with an attractive advert that will be spearheaded by paid influencers who will market the products on all social media platforms(Chaffey & Smith, 2017). The events will also be advertised on the television to illustrate when it will be launched and what will be available. Online marketing is a trend that should be carefully analyzed to match the target market. Digital and online marketing trends are set to influence future buying and selling trends in the world.

Social Responsibilities

Social responsibility of a business acts as a way of giving back to society. According to business ethics,besides making profits a firm has an obligation to participate in actions that benefit society. Every business should balance between the performance and carrying out the societal and environmental issues. The social activity should involve the company employees together with the society members. The activity should not interfere with the normal social way of doing things rather should improve society.

Raisinable Company intends to indulge in various community activities to promote the community as well as increasing the community awareness on the products. First, the company will intend monthly visits to children home where the company will distribute the various products it offers free to the children on children home. This will be done monthly and the company will be visiting one children’s home per month. On the visits, we will give the different products that we offer which include the baked pieces of bread, cakes among other products.

The Raisinable Company also plans to holds various exhibitions, which will be carried out annually at the end of the year. On these exhibitions, various groups would take part in different competitions. The main aim is to promote youth talents among the members of society. Ten winners on the competitions will then be sponsored to take parts on national and international events. One football team would be sponsored by the company to compete with the country football winner during the end of the year. These activities will create awareness and help foster the well-being of society. Coming up with projects that bring the society together helps associate the product with the society, they feel like part of the company.

In a nutshell, marketing strategies should be well evaluated and executed in a company. The marketing strategy determines the impact the company will make in the markets and the number of customers it will attract. The marketing strategy should be in line with the advancements in technology as technology has connected many people and using the right method can attract many members of society. Carrying out activities that promote the well-being of the community is not only suitable for advertisement and marketing, but they encourage wellness of the community and create a sense of association

References

Batra, R., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Integrating marketing communications: New findings, new lessons, and new ideas. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 122-145.

Chaffey, D., & Smith, P. R. (2017). Digital marketing excellence: planning, optimizing and integrating online marketing. Taylor & Francis.

Nagle, T. T., & Müller, G. (2017). The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more profitably. Routledge.

Sharma, A. (2016). What personal selling and sales management recommendations from developed markets are relevant in emerging markets?. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 36(2), 89-104.