[MT450: Marketing Management]

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Unit 1 Assignment Assignment

There are two parts to this Assignment be sure to complete both parts.

Part 1: Write a brief paragraph that answers the following questions. (This should not be in Question/Answer Format).

1. "Which company did you choose as your focus in this Marketing Management Assignment? Where are that company's headquarters located?" 2. What is the mission statement of the company you chose to study?

3. The previous marketing manager developed an advertising campaign before the marketing strategy. How could this advertising campaign potentially create problems for the product?

Part 2: You are making your first presentation to the CEO of the organization. Your goal is to complete the following tasks for your consumer and business-to-business marketing strategy planning document:

● Using the SMART acronym, list several objectives you wish to accomplish. ● Discuss the customer targets (target market). Provide for the CEO a more specific description of which customers you (the marketing manager) want to persuade to buy the product or service. ● For each customer target the competitor targets must be identified. Which are the brands or companies that offer the most likely competition for that customer? ● What do you see as the value proposition? Summarize into a single paragraph. o The customer. o The competitive targets. o The customer’s reason for buying your brand. ● The value proposition forms the basis for the marketing mix. Describe your marketing mix for your consumer market and business-to-business market. ● Discuss your competitive advantage – the strategic development of some basis on which customers will choose a firm’s product or service over its competitors’. Examples:

o Cost-based or price-based advantage o Quality-based or differentiation advantage o Perceived quality or brand-based advantage ● The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is defined for a product category (not a particular brand) and illustrates the sales history of the category over time. The strategic options available to the marketing manager vary over the life cycle, as does the importance of various marketing-mix elements. Although the PLC should not be followed religiously because category characteristics can vary widely, it is a useful conceptual tool. Where do you see your product on the PLC? What would be your strategy based on your response? ● Thinking of your consumer market, how can you get current customers of the product or service to buy

[MT450: Marketing Management]

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more? Do the same for your business-to-business product or service. Provide a 3-5 page (APA formatted) marketing strategy plan paper with at least three supporting references that addresses this Assignment. You should include at least one illustration which can be included in the body of your paper or appendix.

Assignment Checklist:

• Write your original response in Standard American English, paying special attention to grammar, style, and mechanics. • Respond to the Assignment criteria in a thorough manner, by addressing the specific objectives listed in the grading rubric. • Ensure that your viewpoint and purpose are clearly stated. • Demonstrate logical and appropriate transitions from one idea to another. • Your paper should be highly organized, logical, and focused.

NOTE: Your paper should be in APA format and cite all references used.

Submit to the Unit 1: Assignment Dropbox.

For assistance with APA format and citation style, visit the Kaplan University Writing Center.

Grading Rubric Unit 1 Assignment: 100% 40

Percent

Possible Points

Specific Paper Objectives: Assignment Checklist (80%):

Company information 8 3.2

Mission statement 9 3.6

Marketing strategy question 9 3.6

SMART Goals 9 3.6

[MT450: Marketing Management]

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Target market 9 3.6

Competition 9 3.6

Value Proposition 9 3.6

Competitive Advantage 9 3.6

PLC 9 3.6

80 32.0

Writing Style, Grammar, APA (20%)

Grammar and Spelling 8 3.2

Responses are concise and direct 7 2.8

Reference list and citations are provided 5 2.0

20 8.0

Total 100% 40.0