Running head: WHAT IS A MARKETING PLAN 1

What is a Marketing Plan?

MKT/571

May 23, 2016

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Objectives and Target Market

This essay delineates the marketing plan for a startup luxury shoe company. The

marketing objectives for the firm are:

1. Become one of the top 5 brands in the region within 5 years.

2. Increase the number of people making a purchase while browsing the online

store by 40%.

3. Increase the sales among people above 35 years by 50%.

4. Increase brand awareness regionally to become a distinguished name in the

industry.

Target Objectives

Market segmentation is a widely used in marketing planning; it entails the

breakdown of heterogeneous markets into smaller units that may be targeted more

effectively with products that are likely to satisfy their expectations. The company

adopts a retail selling strategy such that it reaches the clientele directly who make

purchases either from the company’s physical or online stores. The target market

can be segmented based on various criteria. Age is the principal demographic

characteristic used in market segmentation for the company. The brand shall target

individuals older than 35 years because they are more likely to have a strong

financial base that allows them to spend on luxury items (Finn). The brand

produces goods for individuals of all ages since people of this age group are also

more likely to have families and may wish to make purchases for any member of

their household.
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The company also segments the market based on their psychological

characteristics. Part of the luxury shoe market purchases shoes to wear on a daily

basis as a display of their lifestyle. There are those who buy these shoes less

frequently since they are reserved for special occasions. There is a fashion

segment, who buy these shoes for their aesthetic appeal to fit them into their

fashionable looks (Finn). This group is very closely intertwined with the group

comprising individuals who buy these shoes with a desire to impress their friends

and close relations. The marketing strategy shall focus on the two last groups: the

ones buying for special occasions and the ones seeking to make a fashion

statement. The first group described is more likely to be dedicated buyers of

established brands in the market and are not willing to experiment with newcomers

in the market (Bass). However, the growth in average income has resulted in the

growth of the middle-class with money to spend on luxury goods. As such, these

segments may be more easily convinced with the manufacture of high-quality

goods coupled with a friendlier pricing strategy that still conforms to the luxury

goods industry.

Since the company is recent startup, it shall target the population within the

region which may be either reached directly or through making deliveries at a cost-

effective price. The marketing strategy shall include an online strategy that shall be

designed to appeal to individuals of all ages. As such, shoes for adults, teenagers,

and children shall be advertised on the online store and on the company’s social

media platforms. This strategy is likely to increases sales directly through appealing

to the target market or indirectly through appealing to their children and other

close relations who may like the firm’s products (Allen). The firm shall utilize
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different channels of communication including email, telephone, and through social

media. Targeting the selected market segment is likely to result in increased sales

and enhance brand awareness among people of different age groups such that it

facilitates future company operations.

The Importance of a Marketing

1. Marketing Is an Effective Way of Engaging Customers

It’s important for your business to engage its customers. Marketing is a tool to keep

the conversation going. Engaging customers is different from pushing your offers.

Engaging involves furnishing your customers with relevant information about your

products and your business as well. It’s all about creating fresh content. Tell your

customers what they don’t know. Let it be interesting and worth their time. Social

media is one of the best platforms where you can engage your customers. Some

organizations use short videos and other humor-laden tricks to engage their

customer base. By engaging your customers, marketing gives them a sense of

belonging.

2. Marketing Helps to Build and Maintain the Company’s Reputation

The growth and life span of your business is positively correlated to your business’s

reputation. Hence, it’s fair to say your reputation determines your brand equity. A

majority of marketing activities are geared towards building the brand equity of the

company. Your business’s reputation is built when it effectively meets the

expectations of its customers. Such a business is considered a responsible member

of the community. The customers become proud to be associated with your

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products. Marketers use effective communication, branding, PR and CSR strategies

to ensure that a business’s reputation is maintained.

3. Marketing Helps to Build a Relationship Between a Business and Its

Customers

Businesses need to build a relationship of trust and understanding with their

customers. How does marketing establish this relationship? Marketing research

segments should be based on demographics, psychographics, and consumer

behavior. Segmentation helps the business meet the needs of its customers hence

gaining their trust. The product team ensures the business delivers what’s promised

at the right time. This makes the customers brand loyal. Loyal customers will have

the confidence to buy more products from you. The trust and understanding

between the business and its customers make your commercial activities more

fruitful.

4. Marketing Is a Communication Channel Used to Inform Customers

Marketing informs your customers about the products or services you’re offering

them. Through marketing, the customers get to know about the value of the

products, their usage and additional info that might be helpful to the customers. It

creates brand awareness and makes the business stand out. There’s stiff

competition in the market and you need to be a constant voice to convince the

customers. Inform your customers of discounts and other competitive tricks you

intend to use. Through communication, marketing helps your business become a

market leader. This post explains more about how to gain a competitive advantage.
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5. Marketing Helps to Boosts Sales

Marketing utilizes different ways to promote your products or services. Once a

product has been advertised, it’s already on the radar and this increases your

chances of selling it. Customers may want to try your products or services and this

will trigger a purchase decision. When customers are happy about your products or

services, they become your brand ambassadors without your knowledge. They will

spread the word and your sales will start to increase. Ensure you offer high-quality

products and services to complement your marketing efforts.

6. Marketing Aids in Providing Insights About Your Business

Every marketer understands the need for targeting the right audience. However,

you must have the right content to share with such an audience. Your marketing

strategies can help you establish what business messaging will convince the target

audience. At this point, you have to test different messages and see what works.

Once you have tested different sets of messaging on the target audience, you will

find a viable baseline for your marketing efforts. It acts as a metric and provides

the insight needed to make you avoid guesswork.

7. Marketing Helps Your Business to Maintain Relevance

Every marketer understands the need for disrupting a potential consumer’s opinion

about other products. But don’t make a mistake of taking this chance for granted.

Most businesses assume that they will always remain the client’s favorite brand

because up to now the client has never complained. This is the wrong mindset. You

need to find ways to remain at the top of the client’s mind. Every relationship needs
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to be maintained. Marketing helps your business to maintain a good relationship

with customers by making you remain relevant. Don’t focus on gaining new

customers before addressing the need to retain the present ones.

8. Marketing Creates Revenue Options

During the startup phase, your options are sparse since you’re mostly cash-

strapped. This limits your options. As your marketing strategies generate more

customers and revenue opportunities, you’ll begin having options. Having options is

comparable to having a nice war chest. Having options will give you the courage

you need to penetrate new markets. You will have the freedom to start letting go of

customers who are too demanding to your sanity and well-being. Without

marketing, you will be forced to continue working with clients who you have

outgrown and are paying you peanuts.

9. Marketing Helps the Management Team to Make Informed Decisions

Every business is confronted with problems such as to what, when, for whom and

how much to produce. A complex and tedious process determine your business’s

survival. As a result, businesses heavily rely on marketing mechanisms to make

these decisions. Why should you rely on marketing mechanisms? These

mechanisms serve as a reliable link between your business and society. They

cultivate people’s mind, educate the public and convince them to buy.

Why Is Marketing Important in Beating Your Business Rivals?

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Your competitor is actively marketing their products, doesn’t this tell you why is

marketing important? The only way to gain a competitive advantage over your

competition is aggressive marketing. However, you don’t have to be sleazy or

negative while marketing against your competitor. Simply conduct research on

what your target market is expecting, and then find ways to deliver better products

or services. If you’re offering a product or service that is new to the market, you

need to be more aggressive and strategic.

The Difference Between Vision And Mission

The primary difference between a vision and mission statement is the timeline,

although there can be an overlap between the two. In general, a mission statement

defines what an organization is currently doing, while a vision statement is basically

the ultimate goal of what they'd like to accomplish. The mission is what people do

in order to achieve the vision. It is the how (mission) versus the why (vision).

The mission statement can also be used as a cohesive management tool. It is

mutable and changes when circumstances or the needs of the company change.

Employees' duties, actions, and behaviors should all fall under the mission of the

organization. Because the vision statement is a goal that may or may not be

elusive, it's not an effective way to direct individual employee behavior and

expectations regarding day to day activities. However, it does give an employee an

idea of what the organization hopes to accomplish as a team. The vision is always
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forward-thinking and because of this, it cannot be used for the daily operations of a

company.

At times, different language is used by companies to describe vision and mission

statements based on the type of organization. For instance, in the non-profit sector,

organizations will often use the term action plans instead of "mission statement."

The term core values is sometimes used instead of "vision statement" as well. No

matter what term is used, it is meant to describe overall goals (mission) and broad

strategy (vision).

Mission and vision statements, while primarily geared toward businesses, can help

guide us in our professional and private lives. It may be difficult for an individual or

company to develop them, but they don't have to be developed alone. BetterHelp

can help with the advice of a behavioral expert at an efficient cost. Your visions and

missions are waiting to be engaged. Take the first step today.