Question

QUESTION 2

You are the marketing manager for a new brand of soft drink – “MEGIN ONE” – in your country or region. You are responsible for developing a marketing strategy for this new soft drink. Within this context:

i) develop a precise marketing plan for this new soft drink in your country or region.

Answer 1

A marketing plan is a written document that details the necessary actions to achieve one or more marketing objectives. It can be for a product or service, a brand list of actions, a marketing plan without a sound strategic foundation is of little use. or a product line. Marketing plans cover between one and five years. A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan.
A marketing plan outlines the specific actions you intend to carry out to interest potential customers and clients in your product and/or service and persuade them to buy the product and/or services you offer.
The marketing plan implements your marketing strategy. Or, as I put it in my article, "The Key to Marketing: Use a Plan", "the marketing strategy provides the goals for your marketing plans. It tells you where you want to go from here. The marketing plan is the specific roadmap that's going to get you there. "

A marketing plan may be developed as a standalone document or as part of a business plan. Either way, the marketing plan is a blueprint for communicating the value of your products and/or services to your customers.

n most organizations, "strategic planning" is an annual process, typically covering just the year ahead. Occasionally, a few organizations may look at a practical plan which stretches three or more years ahead.
To be most effective, the plan has to be formalized, usually in written form, as a formal "marketing plan." The essence of the process is that it moves from the general to the specific; from the overall objectives of the organization down to the individual action plan for a part of one marketing program. It is also an interactive process, so that the draft output of each stage is checked to see what impact it has on the earlier stages - and is amended.

Marketing planning aims and objectives

Marketing plan helps a firm in many ways, It heips not only in formulation of goal but also fulfilment of goal. In a sales-oriented organization, marketing planning function designs incentive pay plans to not only motivate and reward frontline staff fairly but also to align marketing activities with corporate mission.
This "corporate mission" can be thought of as a definition of what the organization is; of what it does: "Our business is this definition should not be too narrow, or it will constrict the development of the organization.
The most important factor in successful marketing is the "corporate vision. If the organization in general and its chief executive in particular, has a strong vision of where its future lies, then there is a good chance that the organization will achieve a strong position in its markets.

Review of the marketing environment

Review of the detailed marketing activity. A study of the company's marketing mix; in terms of the 7 Ps.
Review of the marketing system. A study of the marketing organization, marketing research systems and the current marketing objectives and strategies. The last of these is too frequently ignored. The marketing system itself needs to be regularly questioned, because the validity of the whole marketing plan is reliant upon the accuracy of the input from this system, and `garbage in, garbage out' applies with a vengeance. A study of the organization's markets, customers, competitors and the overall economic, political, cultural and technical environment; covering developing trends, as well as the current situation.

Situation Analysis

Market Analysis:
The market analysis investigates both the internal and external business environment. It is vital that Company carefully monitor both the internal and external aspects regarding it’s business as both the internal and external environment and their respective influences will be decisive traits in relation to its success and survival in the soft drink industry.

Internal Business Environment
The internal business environment and its influence is that which is to some extent within the business’s control. The main attributes in the internal environment include efficiency in the production process, through management skills and effective communication channels. To effectively control and monitor the internal business environment, Company must conduct continual appraisals of the business’s operations and readily act upon any factors, which cause inefficiencies in any phase of the production and consumer process.

External Business Environment
The External business environment and its influences are usually powerful forces that can affect a whole industry and, in fact, a whole economy. Changes in the external environment will create opportunities or threats in the market place Company must be aware off. Fluctuations in the economy, changing customer attitudes and values, and demographic patterns heavily influence the success of Coca Cola’s products on the market and the reception they receive from the consumers

Portfolio planning. In addition, the coordinated planning of the individual products and services can contribute towards the balanced portfolio.
80:20 rule. To achieve the maximum impact, the marketing plan must be clear, concise and simple. It needs to concentrate on the 20 percent of products or services, and on the 20 percent of customers, which will account for 80 percent of the volume and 80 percent of the profit.
7 P's: Product, Place, Price and Promotion, Physical Environment, People, Process. The 7 P's can sometimes divert attention from the customer, but the framework they offer can be very useful in building the action plans.
It is only at this stage (of deciding the marketing objectives) that the active part of the marketing planning process begins'. This next stage in marketing planning is indeed the key to the whole marketing process.
The "marketing objectives" state just where the company intends to be; at some specific time in the future.
The marketing objectives must usually be based, above all, on the organization's financial objectives; converting these financial measurements into the related marketing measurements.Simplifying somewhat, marketing strategies can be seen as the means, or "game plan," by which marketing objectives will be achieved and, in the framework that we have chosen to use, are generally concerned with the 8 P's. Examples are:
Price - The amount of money needed to buy products
Product - The actual product
Promotion (advertising)- Getting the product known
Placement - Where the product is located
People - Represent the business
Physical environment - The ambiance, mood, or tone of the environment
Process - How do people obtain your product
Packaging - How the product will be protected