Overview
Marketing management is structured around the framework of the marketing plan. In a nutshell, the marketing plan is a playbook that describes the actions marketing will take to promote a product/service. Marketing management and leadership use the marketing plan to execute the marketing effort. Knowing how to craft the actionable sections of the marketing plan is an essential job requirement for anyone performing graduate-level marketing work.
In this course, students will craft actionable marketing plan sections as assignments in weeks 2-8. Students need a topic for their marketing plan sections. This forum will help students identify their marketing plan topics.
Before you complete this discussion forum, read this assignment carefully; multiple steps are involved. Thinking through your topic selection before you start writing in this forum is important.
THINK about the following questions before you complete this discussion forum:
- Identify a topic for the marketing plan. It should be a product, service, campaign, project, or other activity that will serve as the subject of your marketing plan.
- What problem or need does the topic solve or address?
- Who is the customer in demographic terms?
- What is the customer's psychographics?
- Where is the customer located? Pick a zip code for your target market. Do this so you can easily pull data. If you go wide (a city, a state, a county, or a country), you must pull data for this entire area for each assignment. Going wide will make the assignments in this course more challenging to complete. Go narrow to simplify your focus.
- How does your customer behave? Behavioral data can include online activity, such as social media use, website visits,
product and content use, where they click, the usual consumer path on your site, and other
relevant buying habits, including brand preferences and product usage. How does your customer behave as a consumer? - Consider the 5 Ps --- product, place, promotion, price, and people in the marketing mix. You will need data on the marketing mix for all marketing plan sections. You should have a sense of this before you finalize your topic.
- Research your topic concept thoroughly. Assignment #1 includes an annotated bibliography. Did you find adequate data to inform an annotated bibliography? If not, rethink your topic. You must have at least ten solid data examples proving your topic is viable.
- How is your topic innovative? What does it do that makes it innovative? Note: your topic can be new or existing, but it must be innovative. For example, a caramel frappuccino is an innovation of a basic cup of joe; a self-serve point of sale kiosk is an innovation of a supermarket checkout stand; a smartphone is an innovation because it combines a pager, cell phone, computer, and PDA into one device, an ice chest with wheels is an innovation over the type that one must carry.
Think of all these things during your ideation process. Keep it simple, focused, and narrow, very narrow.
A focused topic will help you complete the marketing plan assignments in weeks 2-8.
Perform the annotated bibliography assignment (in assignment #1) to be sure your topic can be appropriately researched. If you are unsure how to create an annotated bib, see Course Information. When you perform the research for the annotated bib, are you finding enough information and enough data? If not, rethink your topic.
Now you are ready to write your main post. In this forum, you will share your topic concept with the class. This discussion forum allows you to socialize your ideas for the topic before you finalize your selection. The professor may comment on your idea. When the professor comments, this does not mean they have "approved" of your topic; they are simply discussing it with you.
Next, post your idea for the marketing plan. Explain your idea in detail, and provide the basis of your thinking. "Pitch" your product/service concept; defend your idea to the class so they can comment on your concept. Help the other students brainstorm their topics in your subsequent posts.
- What is the topic? What problem or need does your topic address?
- What demographic/psychographic/geographic/behavioral profile does your topic serve?
- Did you find adequate data? Share five examples of solid data that prove your idea is viable. You will need ten references in the annotated bibliography but socialize only five in this forum.
- How is your topic innovative? What does it do that makes it innovative? Note: your topic must be innovative. It can be an innovation or a major improvement of something that already exists. Innovation can be size, flavor, bling, color, or shape -- something that differentiates it.
Consider all feedback carefully as your topic is finalized. The professor must approve your topic before you move on to assignment #1. The professor will tell you how to obtain approval. Plan to get approval before the end of this week (week one), so you can complete assignment #1 on time