This assignment will allow the group to conduct a situational analysis with a marketing

plan for the headphone industry based on the Music$2$Go online simulation $($please use

simulation materials only for this assignment$).$ This assignment will be completed

before the start of the first round. The following course learning outcomes for the

assignment:

$$ Explain the customer relationship management process.

$$ Assess the elements within the marketing mix $(4$ Ps: product, price,

promotion, and place$)$

$$ Create a marketing plan.

Guidelines $-$ Music$2$Go Marketing Strategy Report

Your goal in Music$2$Go is to achieve your class$$s highest Total Marketing Contribution

$($TMC$)$ by the end of the Multi$-$Player simulation. To do this, you must create a Strategic

Marketing plan for your Music$2$Go firm. This plan will be the basis of what you intend

your firm to achieve over the next seven rounds in the Multi$-$Player version. It should be

marketing focused and detailed enough that you have a clear picture of how you intend to

achieve the goal of the highest TMC in your class. For more guidance on Strategic

Marketing Planning, refer to your textbook, the Music$2$Go QuickStart Guide, and the

Music$2$Go Player$$s Manual.

For this assignment, you are required to:

$1.$ Conduct a Situation Analysis: This is an overview of the current market and

financial position of your Music$2$Go firm. Analyze your firm$$s existing marketing

program, how it is performing, and what challenges you will likely face in the years

ahead. To complete this, you will need to view your Industry Benchmark Report,

Marketing Budget report, the Market Research reports, the Music$2$Go QuickStart Guide,

and the Music$2$Go Player$$s Manual.

$$ Describe your firm, your current product, what market you are currently serving,

and how you are performing compared to your competitors. $($Hint $$ all firms start

in an identical position in the Music$2$Go Multi$-$Player$).$

Include specific metrics such as

o Your current Total Marketing Contribution $($TMC$).$

o How many Competitors are in your market?

o How much are you currently spending on Advertising?

o Your annual Marketing Budget.

o How much of your Marketing Budget is currently used$/$available$?$

o Your current sales revenue.

o Your current market share.

o How many units are you currently selling?

o Did you satisfy all the available demands of the market?

o Retail price, cost price, retail margin $\%,$ and unit margin of your existing

product.

o Any other useful or relevant information.

$$ Briefly describe the Standard, Sports, and Youth market segments,

including:

o How sensitive each segment is to Price, Advertising, Distribution, and

Product Development.

o Projected Market Size in units.

o Price Range $($min $/$ max$).$

o Which Media Channels are most important for each Market Segment?

o What changes $($if any$)$ do you predict for these market segments in the

future?

$2.$ Create a Strategic Marketing Plan: Based on the above situation analysis, write a

Strategic Marketing Plan that will allow your firm to achieve the highest Total Marketing

Contribution $($TMC$)$ over the next seven rounds. You should at least discuss the

following:

$$ Your overall Product Strategy $-$ e$.$g$.$ do you intend to be a high volume $/$ low$-$cost

manufacturer or a lower volume $/$ higher margin manufacturer?

$$ Which Market Segments do you intend to enter and when?

$$ How do you intend to manage your Retail Margins to encourage Distributors to

stock your Products $($Distribution Strategy$)?$

$$ What is your Positioning and Differential Advantage? Note: Differential

Advantage refers to any feature of an organization or brand perceived by

customers as desirable and different from the competition. In Music$2$Go$,$ this is

how you plan to combine Price, Promotion, Distribution, and Product

Specifications to position your Products in the Market Place and how to

distinguish them from Competitors.

$$ Any specific tactics or changes in tactics planned over the next seven years to

maximize Total Marketing Contribution? For example, a tactic could be to

provide Distributors reasonable Retail Margins for the first two years to build

Market Share and then gradually reduce these as Sales volume increases.

Note $-$ you will be able to launch a new product each year starting from the third year

onwards $($up to a maximum of four products by Year $6).$ However, you should think

carefully about how many products you wish to have, as each new product requires a

significant cash investment and ongoing costs. In addition, you have a fixed Marketing

Budget each year, so it is easy to stretch this budget too thinly if some of your products

are unsuccessful.

Instructions on Deliverable

$$ The group paper $($estimate about $2-3$ pages, single$-$spaced$)$ should cover all the

abovementioned points.

$$ Professional report format single$-$spaced with:

$$ Title page

$$ Executive summary $($an overview of the report$)$

$$ Cover all points mentioned a