Objectives of the Marketing Plan
“Setting objectives for a marketing plan is not simple and straightforward matter. It is an iterative process whereby objectives are set, strategies and action plans are developed, and then it is decided whether the planned objectives are impossible, achievable or easy. Marketing objectives should be difficult, but they must be achievable. The aim is to set objectives that a challenge, but can be achieved with effort. They must be motivating rather than discouraging.” (Westwood, 2002).
To be useful, the stated objectives should meet several criteria which are known as SMART objectives. [Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timed]
According to Marketingteacher.com (2012), the purposes of SMART
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Price interacts with all other elements of the marketing mix to determine the effectiveness of each and of the whole. The objectives that guide pricing strategy should be a subset of the objectives that guide overall marketing strategy. Thus, it is probably wrong to view price as an independent element of marketing strategy or to assert that price, by itself, is a central element in the marketing mix.” (Webster, 1979)
In Dove, we use three types of strategies. Namely, Competition-based pricing, Product line, Product Bundle pricing.
Competition-based pricing is setting a price in comparison with competitors. Surely a firm has three options and these are to price lower, price to same or price higher. For example: Dove Damage Therapy Shampoo (700 ml) cost $11.70 versus Pantene Shampoo (700ml) cost $10.90 in FairPrice.
Product line pricing is pricing different products within the same product range at different price points. For example: Dove Beauty Moisture Body Wash (1L) cost $9.75 versus Dove Firming Moisture Body Wash (1L) cost $10.70 in FairPrice.
Product Bundle pricing means offering a group of related products at a combined low price, so as to get rid of slow moving products. For example, Dove charges $7.50 for a bottle of Dove Beauty Moisture Body Wash and $13.90 for a bundle of two bottles at CK Departmental Store.
REFERENCES
Westwood, J., 2002, The Marketing Plan: A step-by-step Guide. 3rd ed., London, Kogan Page Limited, p
This marketing plan lays the foundations on which to build a solid and successful entry and entail a marketing campaign promoting core brand attributes and aligning them with our target market. To keep the plan on track specific objectives have been created to guide all strategic decisions. The objectives are divided into marketing and financial objectives
With any pricing strategy, the price must match the branding of the product. For example, for a luxury item branded product, the price needs to be higher to coincide with the branding perception. A few pricing strategies to focus on include product cost based strategy, customer-focused strategy, and product life-cycle strategy. The distribution strategy also plays a crucial role in the successful implementation of a new product. Furthermore, MM Inc. needs to determine what distribution channels will have the greatest influential means to market and sell the new product.
Before proceeding with the next section (objectives), it is recommended that you complete the Marketing Plan Worksheet. Ask the academic mentor in the learning community for this if you do not have it.
Of the four P’s in the marketing mix, the pricing strategy is arguably of primary importance. In fact, price is the only element in the marketing mix that generates revenue and drives profitability. The revenue generated by price is also essential to cover the cost of the other three P’s, namely, product, place, and promotion. Therefore, none of the other strategies in the marketing mix would be possible if a company’s pricing strategy does not generate revenue (Hill, 2013). Recognizing the critical importance of an optimal pricing strategy, Cabela’s implemented a SKU level profitability and price optimization system supplied by Revionics Inc. in 2013 (“2013 Annual Report”, 2014).
Perreault, Jr., W.D., Cannon, J.P., & McCarthy, E.J. (2011). Basic Marketing: A Marketing Strategy Planning Approach [University of Phoenix Custom Edition eBook]. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, MKT/421 website.
A good and successful marketing plan should include a marketing strategy, mission statement, a SWOT analysis, an implementation and evaluation plan, and the main objectives of the marketing campaign. The objectives include the sales expectations of the campaign. The plan should also be able to define the businesses’ ideal customers, which will help in acquiring new customers and maintaining the existing ones. The marketing plan should also analyze and define the target territory geographically. The plan should also be able to identify the main competitors, and help the business in understanding how they function and operate.
Competition based pricing is setting prices based on competitors strategies, prices, cost, and market offerings (Armstrong, 2015 p. 273). So Bailey Box is significantly lower than the Hair Bow Box selling for $16 per box. The difference in their pricing is that they offer half the amount of items in their boxes than The Hair Bow Box. When subscribing to So Bailey Box consumers are paying less for much less (Armstrong, 2015 p.194).
Pricing strategy, a very critical component of the marketing mix. Price is usually an important factor affecting the success of the transaction, but also the most difficult to determine the marketing mix of factors. The goal of enterprise pricing is to promote sales and profit. This requires enterprises to consider both the cost of compensation, but also to consider the ability of consumers to accept the price, so that the pricing strategy has a bidirectional decision-making characteristics of buyers and sellers. In addition,
The marketing plan habitually comprises time limits, budgets and allocations of staff and this can help the business identifying the definite marketing activities and specifications for the budget, setting and achieving marketing goals, bringing a marketing strategy in the company for life (Mcdonald et al, 2011)
Numerous price approaches can be seen all over the place in the contemporary society. Whenever we switch on the TV, look from side to side a newspaper, or take note to the radio advertisements, diverse price strategies straight away jump into our view. These comprise the Internet, mailboxes, and many more. Advertisements offer us with up-to-date information concerning the latest products as well as are a good way to bring in products and help manufactures to endorse their new products. The objective of advertisement is to power people to perceive their products.
Pricing is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix as it is the only mix, which generates a turnover for the organization; the remaining 3p's are the variable cost for the organization. It costs to produce and design a product; it costs to distribute a product and costs to promote it. Price must support these elements of the mix. Pricing is difficult and must reflect supply and demand relationship (Constantinides, 2006). Pricing a product too high or too low could mean a loss of sales for the organization. Pricing should take into account the following factors:
The markets today are so complex and deal with so many variables it can be difficult to understand just exactly how they operate. In the following I will reveal the different kinds of market structures along with their different pricing strategies. Relating to these topics, I will focus on the importance of cost, competition and customer.
There are various things the researcher would also want to explore to earn more knowledge in this category. For instance, the researcher would want to know more about how to develop a pricing strategy. Regarding the advertising blend some would state that pricing is the slightest alluring component. Marketing organizations should concentrate on creating as high an edge as could reasonably be expected. The contention is that the advertiser ought to change item, place or advancement somehow before falling back on valuing diminishments. However, cost is an adaptable component of the blend as we will see. Pricing strategy us done in various ways and techniques. The methods are shown below;
Price, which is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix, can be difficult to get right. Pricing too high, or low, can negatively impact on customer satisfaction and revenue. Adopting a pricing strategy is necessary to achieve desired sales objectives (Chan & Wong 2005).
Price is the most important factor in doing business especially in a service industry. It is because there is a tight competition in a service industry. So marketer need to consider a price that is similar or even lower than the market price. This is to help the industry to penetrate into the market as customer usually will consider price as the most important factor in selecting their service provider. Marketer can increase the price only if the company can provide better service than other competitors.