Although not due until the end of the class, it is important that you begin planning for

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Although not due until the end of the class, it is important that you begin planning for this project early in the course. What are your initial thoughts about how you will approach this? Explain. Using the product you chose in Unit 1 discussion board, List two features of the product and assess how they transform into benefits for you; determine consumer behavior towards your product as compared to their current behavior towards your competitor’s product. Discuss how the product fits your lifestyle or psychographic. Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, what level of need will your ‘improved’ product meet? Explain. Draft a mission statement for your product and set three (3) specific applicable marketing goals which you would like to meet in your marketing strategy. A Project Template is provided that allows you to organize your work in increments and see how the sections come together to produce a comprehensive plan. PRODUCT/SERVICE. You will not be allowed to mimic plans or ideas from larger or already "in-place" campaigns. You must develop the business concept in its entirety. Describe the new product or service. Discuss the qualities that make this product/service new to the marketplace and the rationale for your decision to pursue the concept. Be sure to pick a product or service that is ready to market. If you are developing a new product, assume that the development phase is over and you are ready to launch the product into the marketplace. OBJECTIVES/MISSION STATEMENT Create a Mission Statement. State your short-term MARKETING objectives (one year). Assume that the product/service is ready to launch at the beginning of the year (planning and testing have been completed). Marketing objectives include goals for sales, profits, market share (as examples) Objectives need to be quantifiable. Use the SMART acronym—simple, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-specific—in formulating your objectives. An objective with a 100% goal is not acceptable TARGET MARKET Identify your target market. Provide a specific demographic profile and rationale for this decision. Another source that may help you: The US Census Bureau's American Fact Finder. Consider the size of the market and its purchasing power. Research is required to back-up your selection and to provide statistics to show that it is a viable market. COMPETITION Analyze your competition. Who are they? Who are the biggest players? How large is the market? What are the trends/forecasts in the industry? How does your product/service fit in? Business Source Complete in the Library is a good tool for this section; it may be accessed under Find Articles & eBooks. PRODUCT/SERVICE FEATURES Provide a brief overview of the product or service. State the features of your product/service. Show how it's innovative and different. It may be unique because of the area in which you plan to market it. Discuss legal and ethical implications that could affect the marketing process. This will require research. CORE STRATEGY Discuss your Core Strategy and make sure to connect it to your Mission & Objectives. Include a discussion on Product/Service Positioning. MARKETING MIX: COMMUNICATIONS & PROMOTION The Marketing Mix is the set of decisions about communications and promotion, price, channels of distribution, and customer relationship management. An integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach delivers a clear and consistent message to your consumers and is connected to your Core Strategy. Discuss the aspects of the IMC. (The elements of the communication mix include: advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, publicity/public relations and personal selling.) Define each and discuss the pros and cons of the individual elements. Provide a detailed description of your IMC approach. Explain your rationale for choosing or rejecting the specific elements (include applications to the earlier research section). What changes do you expect to make as the product/service matures? Describe the message you wish to communicate based on your core strategy. Explain your rationale for the message. Formulate how you will communicate with your target market? Be specific. How will the internet be used in your IMC approach? Select and explain the most suitable method for measuring advertising effectiveness. Your decision must include research to back up the selected method. Be sure to explain why this is the most effective method to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. MARKETING MIX: PRICE Discuss what pricing objectives you would consider for your product/service. The Objectives should be based on the various theories presented in marketing literature and take in to account competitor pricing. Including background on value proposition, positioning, and target market is necessary. All of these components provide rationale for the chosen pricing scheme. MARKETING MIX: CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION Channels of Distribution: Specify the type of distribution channel you will use and include rationale. MARKETING MIX; CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Customer Relationship Management -Detail how you will incorporate CRM into your plan. Be sure to include a discussion on the role of technology that will be used to support your CRM. CONCLUSION REFERENCES The assignment requires the use of ARTICLES from the library's full-text databases. Articles are found in periodicals. The most popular databases in marketing are: ABI Inform Collection, Academic Search Complete, and Business Source Complete.