Marketing Plan Components

Competencies

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:

Apply elements of the marke!ng mix to inform business decisions that support organiza!onal objec!ves Determine appropriate marke!ng and communica!on distribu!on channels

Explain how marke!ng decisions are made to target the consumer

Scenario

Chocolate Bliss started as a small, family-owned store in Sea”le, Washington in 1976. While once a bou!que chocola!er selling handmade “secret

family recipe” chocolate bonbons, the company today has a wider variety of product offerings including boxed chocolate candies, chocolate baking products, and carob (chocolate alterna!ve) candies and health bars. Chocolate Bliss products are sold online and in their stores to consumers and to other businesses, specifically grocery stores, throughout the Northwest.

The company has maintained its “secret family recipe” brand even as it has expanded its product offerings, and today enjoys strong brand awareness in the states where it is sold.

The company’s primary compe!tors are:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Company

Chocolate Bliss’s higher-price range baking products, sold to grocery stores, compete directly with Ghirardelli.

Chocolate Bliss also competes with Ghirardelli for its boxed chocolate candies sold in their stores and online to consumers, and sold to grocery stores.

Nestlé

Chocolate Bliss’s mid-price range baking products, sold to grocery stores, compete directly with Nestlé. Rise Bar

Chocolate Bliss competes with Rise Bar for its carob (chocolate alterna!ve) products sold in their stores and online to consumers, and sold to grocery stores.

Chocolate Bliss is financially healthy and has plans to expand into the midwestern United States. This expansion will include the launch of a new product.

You have been with the company for a few years and have been selected to be on the team that will develop a marke!ng plan for the new product launch. The execu!ves at Chocolate Bliss will use the marke!ng plan to make decisions about how to best use the marke!ng budget to ensure a successful product launch, so you need to have sound research and reasoning to support your work that will contribute to developing a marke!ng plan. You also realize that the marke!ng plan is not just about a successful product launch; it is about building the Chocolate Bliss brand and posi!oning the company strongly against its compe!tors, especially when it comes to price point.

Direc!ons

1. 1. Product Selec!on: Begin by selec!ng which product you want to be the basis of your en!re project. Specifically, choose one of the following products:

Gourmet truffles with fruit, herb, and flower extract infusions Semisweet chocolate baking chips

“Healthy” carob (chocolate subs!tute) bars

Then, based on your product selec!on, complete the components below, which will contribute to the development of a marke!ng plan. You will use the Marke!ng Plan Strategy Template in the What to Submit sec!on to help structure your marke!ng plan submission.

2. 2. Persona (Target Market): Research the target market (poten!al buyers) for your chosen product to develop a persona. Specifically, address the following:
3. A. Conduct target market research to iden!fy key demographic and psychographic characteris!cs.
4. B. Develop one persona that represents users of your chosen product. Use the Module Two Milestone Worksheet in your Soomo webtext to create your persona.
5. C. Dra% this por!on of the project as part of the Module Two milestone, and a%er you receive feedback from your instructor, revise your persona as needed for inclusion in your project submission.
6. 3. Promo!on: Recommend marke!ng communica!on channels for your chosen product. Specifically, address the following:
7. A. Recommend two marke!ng communica!on channels for your chosen product. Briefly describe each and explain why they are appropriate based on your persona.
8. B. Dra% this por!on of the project as part of the Module Four milestone, and a%er you receive feedback from your instructor, revise your marke!ng communica!on channel selec!ons as needed for inclusion in your project submission.
9. 4. Price: Consider how pricing for your chosen product should be set. Specifically, address the following: A. Explain how one of the following is used to determine the approach to pricing for any offering.

Company profitability Compe!tor pricing

Target market price sensi!vity

1. B. Iden!fy which one of the four basic pricing strategies you feel is most appropriate for your chosen product and persona from the Module Two milestone. Describe the general advantages and drawbacks of that pricing strategy.
2. C. Dra% this por!on of the project as part of the Module Four milestone, and a%er you receive feedback from your instructor, revise your pricing strategy selec!on as needed for inclusion in your project submission.
3. 5. Place (Distribu!on Channels): Consider how decisions on distribu!on channels should be made. Specifically, address the following:
4. A. Describe how one recent change in the marketplace (e.g., purchasing habits or social, economic, and poli!cal events) has affected distribu!on of products.
5. B. Recommend one poten!al distribu!on channel for your chosen product and explain why it is appropriate, given your persona.
6. C. Dra% this por!on of the project as part of the Module Five milestone, and a%er you receive feedback from your instructor, revise your distribu!on channel selec!on as needed for inclusion in your project submission.
7. 6. Product: Iden!fy considera!ons for the ways in which your chosen product should be marketed. Specifically, address the following:
8. A. Explain, in one to two paragraphs, how your chosen product should be marketed in rela!on to mee!ng the needs and wants of your persona (e.g., the features and benefits of your chosen product that directly address your persona’s needs and wants).
9. i. Consider how a product you regularly purchase is marketed in terms of consumer needs and wants. What is the marke!ng message, and what other methods are used to convey the benefits of the product? Use this as a guide to describe how you would suggest marke!ng your chosen product to your persona.
10. B. Describe, in one to two paragraphs, how bringing this product to the marketplace can help support and build the company’s brand.
11. i. Describe the Chocolate Bliss brand based on the scenario. Explain how offering your chosen product is in alignment with the brand, and how bringing the product to the marketplace will help the company increase awareness of its brand.
12. 7. Evalua!on: Iden!fy how you would evaluate the effec!veness of the marke!ng plan. Keep in mind that you need to collect data on the target market and the compe!!on.
13. A. Iden!fy two specific quan!ta!ve data-collec!on tools you should use and explain, in two to three paragraphs, how they can help you evaluate the marke!ng plan. Quan!ta!ve data comes in the form of numbers.
14. B. Iden!fy two specific qualita!ve data-collec!on tools you should use and explain, in two to three paragraphs, how they can help you evaluate the marke!ng plan. Qualita!ve data comes in the form of words and sentences.