Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-1
CHAPTER CONTENTS
PAGE
POWERPOINT RESOURCES TO USE WITH LECTURES .......................................... A-1
KEY TERMS .......................................................................................................................... A-1
LECTURE NOTES
• Marketing Plans and Business Plans............................................................................ A-2
• Sample Five-Year Marketing Plan for Paradise Kitchens, Inc. ................................... A-7
KEY TERM
• business plan
CONNECT APPLICATION EXERCISES ………………………………………………A-23
• Situation Analysis Click and Drag*
• Consumer Analysis Click and Drag*
• Information Sources and Priority Case Analysis
• Market-Product Grid Case Analysis
• Fine Tuning the Product Strategy Click and Drag*
• Stage of the PLC Case Analysis
• Working Towards a Final Price Case Analysis
• Selecting Channels and Intermediaries Case Analysis
• Developing an IMC Program Click and Drag*
• Choosing a Retailer Case Analysis
• Prioritizing Media Case Analysis
*Note: An alternate version of each Click and Drag exercise is available in Connect for students with
accessibility needs.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-2
LECTURE NOTES
“If you have a real product with a distinctive point of difference that satisfies the needs of
customers, you may have a winner,” observes Art Kydd, who has helped launch more
than 60 start-up firms.
MARKETING PLANS AND BUSINESS PLANS
Appendix A provides guidelines for writing a marketing plan.
A. Meanings, Purposes, and Audiences
• [Figure A-1] A marketing plan is a road map for the marketing activities of an
organization for a specified future period of time, such as one year or five years.
• A business plan is a road map for the entire organization for a specified future
period of time, such as one year or five years.
• There is no generic structure for a marketing or business plan.
• The specific format for a marketing plan depends on:
a. The target audience and purpose.
• Internal audience.
– Consists of board of directors, senior management, and other
employees.
• External audience.
– Consists of friends, banks, venture capitalists, crowdfunding sources,
and other potential investors.
– Has financial information that:
* Is far more detailed because the plan is used to raise capital.
* Tells prospective investors how they will get their money back,
earning a profit on their investment.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-3
b. The kind and complexity of the organization.
• A small, local business:
– Will have a relatively simple plan that…
– Is directed at prospective customers in its local target market.
• A large, hierarchical company in a tiered marketing plan.
c. The industry. Small and large organizations:
• Analyze their competitors in the industry within which they compete.
• Have geographic scopes that are different.
• Have different complexities with respect to their offerings.
• Have different time periods covered by their plans.
– One year for small businesses.
– Five years for large organizations due to their product development
cycles.
d. The difference between marketing and business plans.
• A business plan contains details on the R&D, operations, or manufacturing
activities of the organization.
B. The Most-Asked Questions by Outside Audiences
• An external audience, particularly prospective lenders and investors, is probably
the toughest audience to satisfy. The most-asked questions from an external
audience are:
a. Is the business plan or marketing plan valid?
b. Is there something unique or distinctive about the product or service that
separates it from substitutes and competitors?
c. Is there a clear market for the product or service?
d. Are the financial projections realistic and healthy?
e. Are the key management and technical personnel capable, and do they have a
track record in the industry within which they must compete?
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-4
f. Does the plan clearly describe how those providing capital will get their
money back and make a profit?
• Make a positive impression in the first five minutes or the plan will be rejected!
C. Writing and Style Suggestions
• There are no magic one-size-fits-all guidelines for writing successful marketing
and business plans.
[ICA 2-1: Calculating a “Fog Index” for Your Own Writing]
• Still, the following writing and style guidelines generally apply:
a. Use a direct, professional writing style.
• Use appropriate business terms, not jargon.
• Use active voice with present and future tenses:
– “I will write an effective marketing plan” versus…
– “An effective marketing plan will be written by me.”
b. Be positive and specific to convey potential success.
• Avoid superlatives (terrific).
• Specifics are better than glittering generalities.
c. Use numbers for impact.
d. Use bullet points for succinctness and emphasis. They enable key points to be
highlighted effectively.
e. Use A-level and B-level headings.
• Helps readers to make easy transitions from:
– One section to another.
– One topic to another.
• Forces the writer to organize the plan more carefully based on the
sequence and level of topics covered in the plan.
• The size of headings should give a professional look to the report and not
overwhelm the reader.
• A heading should be spaced closer to the text that follows (and that it
describes) than the preceding section to avoid confusion for the reader.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-5
• Use liberally: One every 200 to 300 words.
f. Use visuals where appropriate.
• Photos, illustrations, graphs, and charts enable massive amounts of
information to be presented succinctly.
• Photos or sample ads can illustrate key points effectively, even if they are
not in color.
• A brief caption on photos and sample ads ties them to the text and
highlights their reason for being.
• A graph shows more clearly the effect of a trend (such as sales growth)
than data presented in a table would do.
• Sometimes short tables are woven into the text rather than given a figure
number and a title.
g. Shoot for a plan 15 to 35 pages in length.
• Excludes financial projections and appendices.
h. Use care in layout, design, and presentation.
• Laser printers give a more professional look than ink-jet printers do.
• Use 11- or 12-point type (you are now reading 10.5-point type) in the text.
• Use a serif type (with “feet,” like that you are reading now) in the text
because it is easier to read.
• Use sans serif (without “feet”) in graphs and charts like Figure A-1.
• Use a bound report with a nice cover and a clear title page adds
professionalism.
• Use a bound report with a nice cover and a clear title page adds
professionalism.
• When creating a list:
• To improve readability:
– Each numbered section usually starts on a new page.
– This is not done in this plan to save space.
• Each long table, graph, or photo is given a figure number and title.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-6
– It appears as soon as possible after the first reference in the text,
accommodating necessary page breaks.
– This avoids breaking long tables in the middle.
– Short tables or graphs:
* Are often inserted in the text without figure numbers because…
* They don’t cause serious problems with page breaks.
– Effective tables seek to summarize a large amount of information in a
short amount of space.
• Most readers find that indented paragraphs in marketing plans and long
reports are easier to follow.
• An “introductory overview” sentence tells the reader the topics covered in
the section.
• These guidelines are used, where possible, in the sample marketing plan that
follows.
SAMPLE FIVE-YEAR MARKETING PLAN FOR
PARADISE KITCHENS, INC.
To help interpret the marketing plan for Paradise Kitchens, Inc., that follows, we will
describe the company and suggest some guidelines in interpreting the plan.
A. Background of Paradise Kitchens, Inc.
• Co-founders Leah and Randall Peters have more than 40 years of food industry
experience.
• Paradise Kitchens produces and markets a new line of high-quality frozen chili
products.
B. Interpreting the Marketing Plan
• The Paradise Kitchens marketing plan:
a. Is based on an actual plan.
b. Is directed at an external audience.
c. Has some details and dates have been altered to:
• Protect proprietary information about the company…
• But the basic logic of the plan has been kept.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-7
• Notes in the margins next to the Paradise Kitchens plan fall into two categories:
a. Substantive notes are in blue boxes. These notes:
• Elaborate on the significance of an element in the marketing plan.
• Are keyed to chapter references in this textbook.
b. Writing style, format, and layout notes are in red boxes. They:
• Writing an effective marketing plan:
a. Is hard but also…
b. Is challenging and satisfying work.
• Dozens of the authors’ students have used effective marketing plans they wrote
for class in their interviewing portfolio to:
a. Show prospective employers what they could do.
b. Help them get their first job.
C. Five-Year Marketing Plan for Paradise Kitchens, Inc.
Table of Contents
The Table of Contents provides quick access to the topics in the plan, usually
organized by section and subsection headings.
1. Executive Summary
• Many experts see the Executive Summary as the single most important element in
the plan.
• The two-page Executive Summary “sells” the plan to readers through its clarity
and brevity.
2. Company Description
The Company Description highlights the recent history and recent successes of the
organization.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-8
• Paradise Kitchens was:
a. Started by co-founders Randall F. Peters and Leah E. Peters to develop and
market Howlin’ Coyote® Chili.
b. A unique line of single serve and microwavable Southwestern/Mexican style
frozen chili products.
c. First introduced into the Minneapolis-St. Paul market and expanded to Denver
two years later and Phoenix two years after that.
• To the Company’s knowledge, Howlin’ Coyote:
a. Was the only premium-quality, authentic Southwestern/Mexican style, frozen
chili sold in U.S. grocery stores.
• Paradise Kitchens believes its high-quality, high-price strategy has proven
successful.
• This marketing plan outlines how the Company will extend its geographic
coverage from 3 markets to 20 markets by the year 2022.
3. Strategic Focus and Plan
• The Strategic Focus and Plan sets the strategic direction for the entire
organization, a direction with which proposed actions of the marketing plan must
be consistent.
• This section is not included in all marketing plans. See Chapter 2.
• Three key aspects of the company’s corporate strategy are:
a. Mission/Vision.
• The qualitative Mission statement focuses the activities of Paradise
Kitchens for the stakeholder groups to be served. See Chapter 2.
• Paradise Kitchens intends to market Howlin’ Coyote Chili:
– As the highest-quality line of single serve and microwaveable
Southwestern/Mexican-style frozen chili products.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-9
b. Goals.
• The Goals section sets both the nonfinancial and financial targets—where
possible in quantitative terms—against which the company’s performance
will be measured. See Chapter 2.
• There are two types of goals in a plan:
– Nonfinancial goals.
1. To retain its present image as the highest-quality line of
Southwestern/Mexican products in the food categories in which it
competes.
2. To enter 17 new metropolitan markets.
– Financial goals.
1. To obtain a real (inflation-adjusted) growth in earnings per share of
8 percent per year over time.
c. Core Competency and Sustainable Advantage.
• Core Competencies.
– Provide distinctive, high-quality chilies and related products using
Southwestern/Mexican recipes that appeal to and excite contemporary
tastes for these products.
• Sustainable Advantage.
– Will work closely with key suppliers and distributors to…
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-10
– Build the relationships and alliances necessary to satisfy the high taste
standards of our customers.
4. Situation Analysis
• A Situation Analysis is a snapshot to answer the question, “Where are we now?”
See Chapter 2.
• A situation analysis of Paradise Kitchens starts with a snapshot of the current
environment in which the firm finds itself in.
• The SWOT analysis:
a. Identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to provide a solid
foundation, which…
b. Is the springboard to identify subsequent actions in the marketing plan.
• [Figure 1] SWOT Analysis for Paradise Kitchens
a. Strengths.
• An experienced management team and board of directors.
• Unique, high-quality, high-price products.
b. Weaknesses.
• Small size can restrict options.
• Many lower-quality, lower-priced competitors.
• No national awareness or distribution; restricted shelf space in the freezer
section.
• Big gap if key employees leave.
c. Opportunities.
• Upscale market, likely to be stable; Southwestern Mexican food category
is fast-growing segment due to growth in Hispanic-American population
and desire for spicier foods.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-11
• Distinctive name and packaging in its markets.
d. Threats.
• Premium price may limit access to mass markets; consumers value a
strong brand name.
• Industry Analysis: Trends in Frozen and Mexican Foods
a. The Industry Analysis section provides the backdrop for the subsequent, more
detailed analysis of competition, the company, and the company’s customers.
b. Without an in-depth understanding of the industry, the remaining analysis
may be misdirected. See Chapter 2.
c. Frozen Foods.
• Consumers are flocking to the frozen food section of grocery retailers.
The reasons:
– Hectic lifestyles demanding increased convenience.
– An abundance of new, tastier, and nutritious products.
• Total sales of frozen food in supermarkets, drugstores, and mass
merchandisers reached $32.8 billion in 2017, the latest year for which data
are available.
• Prepared frozen meals:
– Defined as meals or entrees that are frozen and require minimal
preparation…
– Accounted for 39 percent of the total frozen food market.
• Sales of Mexican entrees now exceed $600 million.
• Heavy consumers of frozen meals:
– Are those who eat five or more meals every two weeks.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-12
– Tend to be kids, teens, and adults 35 to 44 years old.
d. Mexican Foods.
• Mexican foods such as burritos, enchiladas, and tacos are used in two-
thirds of American households.
• These trends reflect a generally more favorable attitude on the part of all
Americans toward spicy foods that include red chili peppers.
• The Hispanic population is growing in the United States.
• Hispanics have:
– A population over 57 million.
• Competitor Analysis: The Chili Market
a. The Competitor Analysis section demonstrates that the company has a
realistic understanding of its major chili competitors and their marketing
strategies.
b. A realistic assessment gives confidence that subsequent marketing actions in
the plan rest on a solid foundation. See Chapters 2, 3, 8, and 9.
c. The chili market represents over $500 million in annual sales.
d. On average, consumers buy five to six servings annually.
e. The market is divided into two segments:
• Canned chili (75 percent):
– Is sold by Hormel, Dennison, Campbell’s, and others.
– Is now sold chili in a glass jar by Bush, a major marketer of beans.
• Dry chili (25 percent):
– Is sold by Lowry’s, Stagg, etc.
f. Canned chili does not taste very good according to a study.
• Company Analysis
a. The Company Analysis provides details of the company’s strengths and
marketing strategies that…
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-13
b. Will enable it to achieve the mission and goals identified earlier. See
Chapters 2 and 8.
c. The co-founders of Paradise Kitchens, Inc, have 44 years of experience
between them in the food-processing business.
d. Both have played key roles in the management of the Pillsbury Company.
e. They are being advised by a highly seasoned group of business professionals,
who have extensive new-product development experience.
• Customer Analysis
a. Satisfying customers and providing genuine value to them is why
organizations exist in a market economy. See Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
b. This section describes:
• The characteristics of customers expected to buy Howlin’ Coyote
products.
• The health and nutrition concerns of Americans today.
c. Customer Characteristics.
• Demographically, chili products in general are purchased by consumers
representing a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
• These consumers represent 50 percent of canned and dry mix chili users.
• Howlin’ Coyote chili is purchased chiefly by consumers:
– Who have achieved higher levels of education.
• While women are a majority of the buyers, single men represent a
significant segment.
• Howlin’ Coyote’s customers:
– Tend to be those most pressed for time.
– Are skewed toward the higher end of the income range because of the
premium pricing it charges.
– Range in age from 25 to 54 years old.
Appendix A - Building an Effective Marketing Plan
AppA-14
– Often live in the western U.S. where spicy foods are eaten more.
d. Health and Nutrition Concerns.
• Food issue coverage by U.S. media is often erratic and occasionally
alarmist.
– Americans are concerned about their diets.
– The major news organizations cover studies that vary widely in terms
of their credibility.
* Studies on the healthfulness of Mexican food have received
• Some Mexican frozen-food competitors:
– Such as Don Miguel, Mission Foods, Ruiz Foods, and José Olé…
– Offered more “carb-friendly” and “fat-friendly” products in response
to this concern.
• Howlin’ Coyote:
– Is not stressing these qualities in its promotions.
5. Market-Product Focus
This section describes Paradise Kitchens’ Howlin’ Coyote:
• Five-year marketing and product objectives.
• Target markets, points of difference, and positioning of its line of chilies.
• Marketing and Product Objectives
a. The chances of success for a new product significantly increase if:
• Objectives are set for the product itself.
b. Diversification analysis helps identify the market segments to target.
c. The objectives also serve as the planned targets against which marketing
actions are measured in program implementation and evaluation.
d. See Chapters 2, 9, and 10.
e. Howlin’ Coyote’s marketing intent:
