4.2

• Marketing Plan

  1. Fundamental part of the marketing planning process

  2. Conducted at the beginning of the process

  3. Considers both internal & external influences on marketing planning, as well as a review of the plan itself
• Marketing Strategy


  Long term plan for how the Marketing Objectives are going to be achieved
• Marketing mix

  Product, price, promotion, and place
• Detailed marketing plan gives managers and employees clear focus and direction. It enables the business to formulate appropriate marketing strategies in order to meet the marketing goals of the organization
• Market segments are the individual sub-groups of a large market, consisting of customers who share common or similar characteristics
• Market segmentation describes the process of dividing a market for a product into smaller or distinct groups of customers in an effort to meet their specific desired needs and wants
• Examples of Market Segmentation

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Household income
  • Religion
• 3 ways in which a market can be segmented:
• Demographic Segmentation

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Family size
  • Religion
  • Ethnicity
  • Income
• Geographic Segmentation


  • Population density
  • Climate (weather)
  • Geographical locations (countries & international regions)
• Psychographic Segmentation

  • Lifestyle choices (personal interests)
  • Personal values (moral beliefs)
• Socio-Economic Segmentation

  • Splits the market according to consumer or household income levels
  • Linked to their profession and/or their level of education
  • Businesses create marketing mixes, targeted at each market segment based on their income level of social status
• Target market is a clearly identifiable group of customers that an organization focuses its marketing efforts on
• Examples of products

  • Kellogg’s Rice Krispies
  • Rolex watch
  • Patchi
  • Twix
• Market segmentation

  1. Identifying a clearly identifiable group of customers that the organization focuses its marketing efforts on

  2. Customers in the same target market have unique needs, tastes, and preferences
• Marketing mix

  Creating and using a suitable marketing mix and appropriate marketing strategies to achieve the organization’s marketing objectives
• Segmentation


  Enables businesses to have greater knowledge about their customers in order to have more focused marketing
• Businesses do not tend to compete against all other brands within the same market
• Position mapping can help a business to identify potential gaps in the market


  For example, Mercedes Benz and BMW began to produce smaller cars to cater for a different target market
• Position maps show the perceptions of customers surveyed at one point in time
• Product Position Map (Perception Map)


  A graphical illustration of “customer perception” of a business, its products or brands in comparison to other firms in the industry based on price and quality
• Premium products are perceived by customers to be of “high quality & high price”
• Cowboy products are perceived by customers to be of “low quality but high price”
• Bargain products are perceived by customers to be of “high quality but low price”
• Economy brands are perceived by customers to be of “low quality & low price”
• Position maps enable marketing managers to improve their product portfolio management
• Having a better picture of the way customers perceive a particular organization, product or brand helps a business to adjust its marketing mix and improve its marketing strategies in order to increase sales revenues and profits
• ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
• The role of marketing planning

  • AO2
• Segmentation, targeting, and positioning

  • AO2, AO4
• The difference between niche markets and mass markets

  • AO2
• The importance of having a unique selling point (USP)

  • AO2
• How organizations differentiate themselves and their products from competitors

  • AO3
• A NICHE market is...
• Characteristics of a NICHE market

  • Identifying and meeting the needs and wants of a small market segment
  • Supplies highly specialised products to cater for a small and select target market
  • A clearly identifiable group of customers who have unique needs, tastes & preferences
  • Create business opportunities for small firms to compete with larger companies that may have an established customer base and a large market share
  • A strategic form of marketing that aims to sell a good or service to a very specific (focused) and narrow group of customers with very specific needs
• Prices are generally higher in a niche market
• Under Armour started when the founder, a former football player, wanted a shirt that wouldn’t be soaked with sweat after a few minutes of playing football. He developed a compression shirt made of material that stayed dry and invested a few thousand dollars in producing 500 shirts. Those shirts were given to former teammates to try and they loved them. Word spread, people wanted more, and the company was born. It has since expanded into many kinds of activewear and footwear but still targets a niche market: those who don’t want sweaty clothes when they exercise
• Market Capitalization of Under Armour is $3.16 B as of 7th September 2023
• There is a lack of direct competition in a niche market
• Limited, if any, competition in a niche market means that customer loyalty is likely to be high