Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Marketing Management (Marketing Plan)

A marketing business plan is a written document describing the nature of the business, the sales and
marketing and the financial background, and containing the proposed product of the proponents.
Students taking up BSBA major in Marketing Management are required to produce a marketing business
plan at the end of their course. This is under Industry Research and Market Analysis class. This course
deals with the study of the planning, collection and analysis of data relevant to marketing decision
making and communicating the results of this analysis to management. It further deals with the function
which the consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information that is used to identify
and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine and evaluate marketing actions;
monitor marketing performance and improve understanding of marketing as a process.
Before a student take this course, they must first finish the subjects: Statistics (STA101) and Consumer
Behavior (MKG301). The group must be composed of maximum of three students. They need to produce
an actual or prototype product which should have a great relevance at the institution.

The format for the Marketing Plan:

 Executive Summary
 Chapter I: Business Concept
 Chapter II: Situation Analysis
 Chapter III: Industry Profile
 Chapter IV: Proposed Product Profile
 Chapter V: Production Process
 Chapter VI: Marketing Plan
 Chapter VII: Business Schedule

Executive Summary
It is an overview of the marketing plan and highlights the most important parts. The following points are
included in the executive summary:
 Brief Description of Products or Services,
 Define Target Market
 Competitive Advantage
 You need to tailor your offer so that your target customers believe that it is superior to
what is offered by your competition - this is your competitive advantage.
 Competitive advantage can come from any element of your marketing mix - creating a
superior product, more attractive designs, better service, more effective distribution or
better advertising.
 Competitive advantage comes down to understanding what your customer values,
delivering it and doing it better than your competitor.
 Positioning Statement
 Positioning is the way your product or service is defined by consumers and how you are
different to your competitors.
 Where do your products/services fit in the market? Are they high-end, competitive or
budget? How does this compare to your competitors?
 Anticipated sales, profits and market share

At the beginning of the summary, the following must be indicated: Title, proponents, degree, and no. of
pages.
Chapter I: Business Concept
a. Overview of the Business Concept
The overview is the introduction of the marketing plan. Here, the researchers should explain
what their business is.
b. Type and Nature of Business
The researchers should explain what type and nature of business they are. (ex. Manufacturing,
merchandising, service or hybrid business)
c. Business Structure
The researchers should explain what the structure of their business is. (Sole-Proprietorship,
Partnership or Corporation)
d. Organizational Chart
It is the structure of the organization. It must be a hierarchical organizational chart.
e. Consideration in Forming the Organization
The researchers must explain the reasons for creating the structure of their business (ex. Limited
partnership or general partnership)
f. Location
It comprises of the location of the business and the picture of its location
g. Business Objectives
A business aim is the goal a business wants to achieve. A primary aim for all business
organizations is to add value and in the private sector this involves making a profit, more
strategic aims include expansion, market leadership and brand building.

Chapter II: Situation Analysis

a. Industry Review
 What are the trends in your industry? Are there new entrants in the market? Has a substitute
product been introduced? Are there changes in industry practices or new benchmarks to
use?
 What are your competitors doing? How many competitors do you have? What is your
advantage over your competitors? Is the market large enough to support you and your
competitors?
b. PESTLE Analysis – Details of the external factors that will affect your product/ services/
company.
 Political Environment – Consider the political environment for the areas that your business
will trade and operate in. Is there a stable political system? Are there any licenses and
regulations that you should be aware of? Do you need to win support to be able to operate?
What are the pertinent laws related to your business?
 Economic Environment – Here you should look at the factors that affect your consumers’
purchasing power and spending patterns. What is the economic environment that you are
operating in? Is it a growth, recovery or recession? Will it be easy to find staff? What is the
current interest rate i.e. is it increasing or decreasing? What is consumer confidence like?
 Social Environment – What are the social and demographic trends? Is the population aging?
Are family structures changing? Are there changes in the level of education?
 Technological Environment – The technological environment changes rapidly. You need to
make sure that you are aware of trends in your industry and other industries could affect your
business. New technologies create new markets and can influence you consumers and
competitors.
  Legal Environment – Current and Future Legal and regulatory requirements impacting on the
business. What regulations and Laws apply to our business? Do they help or hinder our
Business? Do we understand the laws across all our markets?
 Environmental Aspect/ Forces - impacting your business and or customers geographical
location, the surrounding environment and natural resources used by your organization. How
does our physical environment affect us and vice versa? What are the effects of climate,
weather or geographical location? Are we prepared for future environmental targets?

c. SWOT Analysis
 Strength – explain the strengths of the product
 Weaknesses – explain the weaknesses of the product
 Opportunity – the opportunities of the business
 Threats – the threats of the business

d. Five Porter’s Forces Model

 Competitive Rivalry – This looks at the number and strength of your competitors. How many
rivals do you have? Who are they, and how does the quality of their products and services
compare with yours?
 Bargaining Power of the Suppliers – This is determined by how easy it is for your suppliers to
increase their prices. How many potential suppliers do you have? How unique is the product
or service that they provide, and how expensive would it be to switch from one supplier to
another?
 Bargaining Power of the consumer – Here, you ask yourself how easy it is for buyers to drive
your prices down. How many buyers are there, and how big are their orders? How much
would it cost them to switch from your products and services to those of a rival? Are your
buyers strong enough to dictate terms to you?
 Threat of New Entrants – Your position can be affected by people's ability to enter your
market. So, think about how easily this could be done. How easy is it to get a foothold in your
industry or market? How much would it cost, and how tightly is your sector regulated?
 Threat of Substitution – This refers to the likelihood of your customers finding a different way
of doing what you do. For example, if you supply a unique software product that automates
an important process, people may substitute it by doing the process manually or by
outsourcing it. A substitution that is easy and cheap to make can weaken your position and
threaten your profitability.

Chapter III: Industry Profile

• Market infrastructure / distribution – how the product is distributed? (B2B or B2C)
• Market size – how large is the market? (Population in the area)
• Competitors – Who are the competitors in the market? (Major or Direct Competitors, and Minor
or Indirect Competitors)
• Industry Life Cycle – what are the strategies in life cycle of the business? (From Introduction,
innovation, maturity then decline stage)
• Supply Indicators –Availability of Raw Materials, Storage Space Utilization, Production Cost,
Production Time Availability, Number of Labor Force
 • Supply Drivers – Decrease in Cost of Production, Efficient Production Equipment, Seasonal
Variation of Production, Good Delivery System, High Quality Promotions, Rapid Procurement of
Raw Materials

Chapter IV: Proposed Product Profile

• Product Description and Specification – Explain clearly what the product or service is and what it
does.
• Background to its Development – What are the reasons for the creation of the product?
• Benefits and Features – What are the benefits to the customers?What is your proposition to the
buyer?What can you guarantee to the consumers?
• Unique Selling Position
 How will your products/services succeed in the market where others may have failed?
What gives your products/services the edge?
 Relative Advantage
 Differentiating Features
• Value to Customer – How do your customers view your products/services? Are they a necessity,
luxury or something in between?
• Disadvantages or Weak Points – what are the weak points of the product and the business?
• Growth Potential – What is the anticipated percentage growth of the product in the future? What
will drive this growth?
Chapter V: Production Process
• Production Requirement Plan
 Sourcing of Resource Inputs for Production

Raw Materials Price Per Unit Estimated Production Provider

 Raw Materials – the raw material used (with pictures)

 Utilities – Water, electricity, telecommunication tools and thrash services
 Plant Layout – graphical presentation of the production area
 Plant Size and Location
 Machinery and Equipment – the machines and equipment used (with pictures)

• Production Process and Capacity

 Expected Production Schedule and Volume – How are the processes to create the product and
how long it can be produce?(Operational Hours)
 Waste Disposal – What to do with the excess materials?

Chapter VI: Marketing Plan

 Market and Market Segmentation

 Target market/segment characteristics
You can profile your target market/segments using four categories:
Geographic: location, population size or climate.
Demographic: age, gender, family size, family life cycle or income.
Psychographic: social class, lifestyle, motivation or personality.
Behavioral: product benefits, frequency of use or brand loyalty.
  Market Segmentation
Although all of your customers use your product or service they will value different aspects of it
such as price, design, or ease of access. You can segment your market by customers that have
shared values.

 Anticipated Demand
Who is the major product user and what is the anticipated quantity of products/services your
customers are likely to purchase?

 Demand Indicators
 Demand Drivers

 Strategies and Tactics

 Pricing Strategy

 customers sensitivity to changes in price;

 what revenue you need to break even; and
 what the price says about your product eg: value, quality and prestige.

 Product Strategy

 what level of quality and consistency does the product have;

 how many features does it have and can they be removed or added; and
 does the design and/or service deliver what the customer values?

 Place Strategy

 what distribution channels and methods you will use;

 If you will have a retail outlet and where it will be located; and
 the geographic area your product/service will be available in.

 Promotion Strategy

 The communication element includes personal and non-personal communication

activities. Activities that communicate the merits of the overall product, which
include:

Should we promote? What should we promote? To whom should we promote? What

economic and discount levels should we offer? What form of promotion should we
offer? What features? How frequent?
 People Strategy
 Think about the people who sell your product or service and are involved in its
delivery. Your people strategy is not just about your internal staff, it also covers
associates and strategic partners, channel partners and suppliers.
  Process Strategy
 Your process strategy is concerned with the planning, development, implementation,
documentation and review of the systems that help you achieve the other aspects of
your marketing strategy.

 Physical Evidence
 Packaging Strategy
 Payment Strategy
 The consideration for the delivery of products and services. It can be in different
formats: cash, cheque, credit and even barters or loyalty program points. Terms of
payment affect the ease of transaction which may also affect the buying behavior of
the consumers.

Chapter VII: Business Schedule

 GANTT Chart of Business Activities

 Budget Summary