Influenced by the key skills and attributes of the working marketer in its curriculum design, Principles of Marketing requires you, the student, to work on a Marketing Plan for a chosen company from the first to the last session. You will develop an innovative product/service for a company of your choice which operates within the Asian healthcare industry. Your forward-looking written report must be based on credible research describing the recommended marketing activities for the chosen company in relation to the innovative product/service. Your report will include a detailed explanation of the following sections:
1. Introduction: Company, Brand and Product
The introduction should describe the chosen company very clearly, summarising or paraphrasing to show understanding. This section should be accurate and up to date as of 2022. The key attributes of the innovative product/service must be introduced here.
2. Internal (Micro) Analysis: Customer, Competitor and Company
This section is all about the marketing elements related to the current situation internally and with direct competitors as well as existing customers over which the company exerts some control or influence. It presents and describes research from relevant, up-to-date and credible sources on customers and competitors and builds on research on the chosen company. Competitors’ Strengths and Weaknesses are to be presented. Customers’ Social and other media feedback on the company is described and analysed.
3. External (Macro) Analysis: PESTEL
This section presents and describes research from relevant, up-to-date, and credible sources on all parts of the external environment or matters over which the company has no direct control, in the form of a PESTEL Analysis. These findings are to be applied to the innovative product/service in question. Opportunities and Threats that come from the research need to be explored.
4. SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
For this report, a SWOT is simply a summary in the form of a table of Sections 2 and 3 of the report and need only be a half to one page in length. It is vital that the facts summarised here are put in the appropriate sections. As a general rule, items from the Internal Analysis should be presented as Strengths or Weaknesses and items from the External Analysis as Opportunities or Threats. The SWOT is a summary of earlier sections, and no items should stand alone (i.e., all things presented should be able to be found in the earlier sections).
5. Marketing Strategy (S, T, D and P) and Recommendations
This section outlines the proposed segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning of the innovative product/service and should be forward looking. Target market segments should be clearly defined. The product should be clearly differentiated from its competitors and a positioning
statement must be recommended.
6. Marketing Mix (the 4 P’s) and Recommendations
This section outlines the recommended Mix – Product, Place, Price and Promotion – for the innovative product/service. Product branding, packaging, labelling and support (augmented) services should be succinctly and clearly described. A recommendation on strategy for sustaining the product life is well made. Channel types and levels need to be described with a clear diagram.
A recommendation on a more effective channel shows relationship of product to market to channel. The pricing strategy (one of the 5 main) is to be defined with examples. Promotion analysis use examples to outline the Theme and Appeal of future promotions.
