heres heaps of info from my notes
take what u find that is relevant and say what U think r the strengths and weaknesses of them
some of them are in here:
*SITUATION ANALYSIS:
A description of the market and the biz’s position in it
PARTS OF A SITUATION ANALYSIS:
Market analysis
product analysis
Competitor analysis
swot analysis
-MARKET ANALYSIS: Examines the internal & external situations, and also attempts to predict what might happen in the future.
*PRODUCT ANALYSIS:
•The product analysis examines various issues relating to the different goods and services provided by bizs.
•An important aspect of the product analysis is looking at the product lifecycle.
PRODUCT LIFECYCLE:
The 4 stages of the product will move through in its life:
1. INTRODUCTION STAGE:
Sales grow very slowly
Product is new-people are yet to try/ accept it
Production costs are high-> biz makes loss rather than profit
2. GROWTH STAGE:
More and more people buying the product
Sales rise->profits rise
No. of competitors
3. MATURITY STAGE:
Growth rate of sales-starts to slow down
Most of the market has the products.
Market has become saturated
Profits start to fall
4. DECLINE STAGE:
Sales activity start to fall-could be due to a new product being developed, or the product becoming unpopular
Sales falling->profits falling=loss
Once a product is in decline, competitors, either move on to new industries or shut down.
-COMPETITOR ANALYSIS:
Examines competitor’s strengths & weaknesses and attempts to predict their future strategies
Competitor Analysis – looks at:
•Their objectives
•Their current strategy
•Their strengths/weaknesses
•Own relative position
*SWOT ANALYSIS:
Biz’s can use the SWOT ANALYSIS when evaluating themselves and their competitors.
It is a very useful tool in biz planning
SWOT stands for:
STRENGTHS-the things that a biz does better than its competitors
WEAKNESSES-the things that the biz does not do as well as its competitors.
OPPORTUNITIES-That can arise from the external biz environment.
THREATS-That can arise from the external biz environment.
Figure 3.27: Questions asked in the SWOT analysis
STRENGTHS-does the biz have?
• Enough financial resources to operate freely?
• A good reputation with the customers and suppliers
• A competitive advantage in a particular area
• Well developed management skills
WEAKNESSES-does the biz have?
• Outdated technology?
• A poor reputation in the marketplace?
• A limited product/service offering?
• Poor strategies?
OPPORTUNITIES-does a biz have?
• Entering new markets with our products?
• Developing new products for a growing demand?
• Improved economic conditions?
• Poor competition?
THREATS-Is there a possibility of?
• New competitors entering the market?
• Change in govt. regulations?
• Increasing interest rates?
• Cheaper substitute products?
By answering these questions, a biz can work out its COMPETITVE ADVANTAGE, as well as future directions and strategies.
*ESTABLISHING MARKETING OBJECTIVES:
-Objectives guide the biz’s activities.
-Marketing objectives should involve specific goals that the biz wants to achieve through its marketing plan.
-They need to be SMART-that is
-SPECIFIC:
Stated as clearly and precise as possible
[M]-MEASURABLE:
So that the biz can see if the objective has been achieved.
E.g. have sales increased by 5 or 10%
[A]-ACHIEVABLE:
With the resources and capabilities of the biz.
[R]-REALISTIC:
In terms of time frame, present technology and environmental conditions.
E.g. it would be too hard to increase sales and profit in poor economic times.
[T]-TIMED:
A time period must be set for the goal to be reached.
E.g. within 6 months, or 5 years.
GENERAL MARKETING OBJECTIVES:
*To increase the share of the market
*To develop new products/services
*To expand existing markets
*To enter new markets
These marketing objectives relate directly to the objectives in the biz plan.
The same general objectives are expressed using SMART characteristics on the next page…
*IDENTIFYING THE TARGET MARKET:
Biz’s need to identify & select target markets so they can specifically aim at their products at these markets.
SELECTING TARGET MARKETS:
•A biz needs to consider a number of factors before it decides on which target market to select
•The segment needs to be large enough to generate revenues and profits.
•he biz also needs to be able to serve the market segment in cost efficient ways.
It should also be compatible with the resources and objectives of the biz.
TARGET MARKET STRATEGIES:
A biz can adopt 3 strategies:
1. Undifferentiated 2. Differentiated 3. concentrated
*DEVELOPING MARKETING STRATEGIES:
Marketing strategies should:
-satisfy the target market
-meet objectives of the biz/marketing plan
-capitalise on corporate strengths and minimize the effects of any weakness
-work together in achieving overall marketing objectives.
Marketing strategies that can be used to achieve objectives:
•To increase the share of the market
STRATEGY->develop new products, reduce price of existing products, increase promotional activities
•To develop new products/services
STRATEGY->research and development, use of new technology
•To expand existing markets
STRATEGY->encourage present customers to buy
•To enter new markets.
STRATEGY->change old products, develop new products; exporting
MARKETING MIX TACTICS:
•Probably the most crucial stage of the marketing planning process
•This is where the marketing tactics for each product are determined.
•The marketing mix is made up of the following elements:
-PRODUCT –PRICE -PROMOTION -PLACE
•The marketing mix is an important stage of marketing planning and is based on the 4 P’s
PRODUCT: A biz needs to consider its products & their stages on the product lifecycle
PRICE: Most biz’s use a cost plus method for setting prices for their products, and this requires determining unit production costs & adding a profit margin
PLACE: Refers to the location of product sales as well as the methods of distribution.
PROMOTION: Achieved through a combination of advertising, personal selling, sponsorship and publicity.
*IMPLEMENATION, MONITORING AND CONTOLLING:
*IMPLEMENTATION: Process of turning a plan into action and involves all the activities that put the marketing plan to work.
-The key aspects of implementation include:
•Developing a financial forecast
•Monitoring the performance plan by comparing actual vs. planned
•Revising the strategies based on evaluation
*REVISING THE MARKETING STRATEGY:
CONTROLLING:
•Looks at actual performance compared with the forecast that were set before the plan was implemented.
•It is necessary to see if objectives are met
-if not then why, and what needs to be changed
•After monitoring is assessed, the biz has a clear idea of what action needs to be taken.
• This might include:
Product: Change packaging, remove unprofitable products.
Price: Reduce price, new packaging strategy, discount offers.
Promotion: Change advertising approach, new type of sales promotion, new sales reps.
Place: Find new outlets, warehousing/transport may need to be revised.
hope that helped
good luck!
