MARKETING PLAN EVALUATION WORKSHEETS

Your task is to describe and evaluate the marketing plan of an automobile brand and model of your choice. For the marketing aspect of your evaluation focus on a particular model not the whole company: for example consider the Chevrolet Camaro, not GM as a whole. For the situation analysis you will need to consider more than just specific model, i.e. what is the situation of GM as a whole and how is this impacting the marketing of your particular model. You focus should be primarily Canada while recognizing that for the situation analysis especially, there may be issues globally (e.g. world economy) that will be relevant.

These worksheets are designed to assist you in your project. Worksheets are a useful tool because they help to ensure that important information is not omitted from your evaluation. Answering the questions on these worksheets will enable you to:

1. Organize and structure the data and information you collect during the situation analysis.2. Use this information to better understand your firm's strengths and weaknesses and to recognize the

opportunities and threats that exist in the marketing environment.3. Identify if goals and objectives that capitalize on strengths.4. Identify if a marketing strategy that creates competitive advantages.5. Identify and critique a plan for implementing the marketing strategy.

By downloading these worksheets in an electronic format, you will be able to change the outline or add additional information that is relevant to your situation. Remember that there is no one best way to organize an evaluation of a marketing plan. The outline was designed to provide an analytical framework and to be flexible enough to accommodate the unique characteristics of the company you are reviewing. It is possible that not everything in the worksheets will apply equally to your company.

You could start by reviewing Figure 2.6, the overview of the marketing planning process found on page 62 of the text. You should also review Table 2.2 and appendix 2 of your text.

As you complete the worksheets, you should refer back to the text of the chapters as suggested throughout.

In completing the situation analysis section, be sure to be as comprehensive as possible. The viability of your analysis depends on how well you have identified all of the relevant environmental issues. Likewise, as you complete the analysis, you should be accurate and realistic about the firm's characteristics. Do not attribute strengths to the firm that it does really does not possess. Being accurate also goes for your listing of weaknesses.

I. Executive Summary

The executive summary is a synopsis of the overall evaluation. The executive summary is easier to write if you do it last, after you have written the entire evaluation . Include a description of the product, the target market, and the need for it in the market. You should give an overview of the main points of your evaluation. Most importantly, keep in mind that this is your opportunity to sell your marketing plan and entice your audience to read the details of the report.

II. Company Description and Input from Corporate Strategies (pp. 45 - 54)

Include a description of the company’s recent history and successes and touch briefly upon the strategy for the organization as a whole. This may include elements such as:

MissionCorporate objectives Strategic Business Unit (SBU) objectives

Description:

     The Honda Civic, Made and manufactured by Honda is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars. The time periods were: Subcompact car (1973–2000) Compact car (2001–present). When Honda was expanding in the 1990 the Honda civic, prelude and Accord were the three main cars which composed the vehicles sold in North America. Its predecessors are the Honda N360 and the Honda Z600.The civic now occupies a larger spot in the market after going through many generational changes especially in the last decade.The Civic went further and has been the top-selling car in Canada for 14 years

The first model started selling in 1973 even though it was made in 1972. The car included a 4 cylinder engine using water for the cooling system. The engine was able to run on leaded or unleaded fuel. This option gave drivers fuel choices flexibility over other vehicles. This was considered an advantage due to the 1973 oil crisis which raised the demand for fuel efficient vehicles.

During that time, also came the CVCC engine (1975) which was a head design that allowed for more efficient combustion, and the benefit of the CVCC system was that it did not require a catalytic converter or unleaded fuel to meet 1972 North American emissions standards.

After the first generation the civic was followed by nine other generations each one of them contained a more advanced engine and a modified body which increased the car’s performance.

In 1980, Honda came up with the second generation civic which included increased engine power and a more regular look. The Honda civic also kept its fuel efficiency.

The third generation which was introduced in 1984 was called the Honda Civic Shuttle, based on its different aesthetics. It also had a lighter weight. There were other models realised between 1984 and 1987 that had a few upgrades including better suspensions better fuel economy which meant better engines.

The fourth generation (1988-1991) was introduced with of course a new look and increased dimensions, the Honda civic was now introduced to different markets with different features.

The fifth generation had the sporty style under focus; it had a more aerodynamic core. This Honda civic was only available in the Japanese market because it did not meet standard regulations in other countries.

The sixth generation was the civic which contained fewer modifications than the previous ones, with its 1.6L and 1.8L engine the style is what mostly changed. Canada received this model in the SE and SI trims (style).

In September 2000 the seventh generation was released. This time the redesign was a little more focused on the inside of the car also and of course the engine was still improving. This was available in Canada as a sedan and a coupe style.

The generation which was split in two different platforms to serve two different markets was the eighth generation. This generation had introduced a new civic including a more aggressive looking civic for the European Market. During this year (2006) 16.5 million civics were sold all over the world, out of the 16.5 million, 7.3 million were sold in the U.S.A.The Canadian Acura was also changed from the Acura EL to the Acura CSX. After this generation the Civic Type-R in Japan was over. The Japanese Type-R came to an end.

The latest generation would be the ninth generation which officially went on sale on April 10 of 2011. This car was mostly modified for better fuel efficiency. Also it included many safety features which were the ABS system, the Vehicle Stability Assistance, and the Electronic Brake Distribution. Besides the new description of being "energetic, sleek and aerodynamic” given to this evolving car, all these systems added to the new civic made it a safer car.

The models which were the most accepted in Canada were the sixth and seventh generation which lead to the creation of the Acura EL. Also another popular style was the 2 door Hatch-back which we see many young men driving.

The Honda civic is leaning more to the “race car” look and style for the year 2013.Also it will include High tech features to make the drive more enjoyable like the Bluetooth, and Rear-view camera. The Honda civic is staying on the edge of technology

Honda started with the civic as a local car which quickly after that became an international sensation. One of its success ingredients was to adapt to each market and regulations by creating

an almost customized model to every country without losing the original look and performance of the Honda civic. There were modifications concerning the engine or the body trim to adapt better to the fuel used in a certain country or the types of road conditions they have like Brazil and the USA. Sharper and aggressive looking Civics were sent to Europe.SBUs: in 1900 the Honda civic was a star now became a cash cow.

Corporate objectives:

The Civic has been the bestselling car for 14 years in Canada and as for a major objective, just like most other car companies, the Honda Civic is willing to keep evolving in all aspect which it has been doing effectively since 1973. Introducing new looks and new features by keeping everything balanced and of course keeping its famous performance and fuel efficiency which is becoming a “must” type of feature today based on the global economy.

One department which is always busy is the designers department. The Civic never disappointed its customers when it came to aesthetics. Its Objective is to keep the love relationship between the driver and the car by keeping it old school under the hood with a high efficiency and powerful i-VTEC engine while improving the outer looks of the car. Also, the Civic is always at the front edge of technology. By installing new technology features in its car (rear camera, Econ mode) it is far safer and efficient.

The Civic is also looking to maintain high safety standards. The new safety features are so modern that they do not seem to be just basic standards.

III. Situation Analysis

Internal Analysis Review of marketing goals and objectives

Firm's current marketing goals and objectives:

The Civic has a few standard current goals; one major one is to maintain the love between the customer and the car. To do so, the Civic has been improving and modifying the performance, design, and safety of the car. All of these modification and work obviously demands many investments but with the civics’ successful sales the profitability is positive. All of those three major departments have been working really hard lately due to all the competition in the market. Consistency with the firm’s mission has always been present. By keeping the high performance fuel efficient engine which keeps getting better and better especially with today’s customers tendency towards fuel efficient cars.The designers department is also keeping busy; the civic is looking sharper with its new exterior and interior design. Staying up front in the cars market competition, the civic improved its body in every area.Front and rear bumper, lights and rims all these features have been improved for performance, safety or aesthetic reasons. For the interior, just like every other car in the same class in the market, the civic is installing more technology inside the car. Hands free devices are more common now for easier and safer use. For the design, the civic has made modification to bring the driver’s senses to life. The controls on the steering wheel are modified to make the driver feel the control over the car. The civic did not forget to make the ride even more enjoyable with the new sound system and of course the SiriuXM radio which is becoming a “standard” feature in every new car.Safety wise, the new body offers shock absorber front and rear bumper for maximum collision suction. Breaks, vehicle stability, airbags, child and pedestrian safety all have been improved, not only to meet standards but to surpass the competition.

All these modification do lead to increases in sales volume but they also make the sales fluctuate. Sales volumes have been higher in the U.S.A than in Canada for population reasons but the sales increase is present in all of North America. These modifications have been done to surpass competition but they were not the reason for doing so. It is becoming tough to beat competition nowadays because of all the new technologies. The Mazda 3 and the Toyota Corolla are also on the same level as the Honda civic but what helped the Civic overcome competition was its reputation and charisma. With a market share of 9.1% in year 2012, the Honda is behind GM, Toyota, and Chrysler.The civic has been much criticized by reporters and journalists in the past two years for lack of improvement when compared to other generations, but the reputation it has maintained for 20 years covers all of the negative comments and helped increase sales and positive profitability. The Civic is the favorite brand for teens, young adults, middle age adults and also families because it is known for its reputation of being a reliable car. The civic also has a huge brand recall.

Concerning Awareness, the goals are met properly with TV commercials which bring out the values that the Honda Civic wants to share with its customers. Always focusing on the statement of “things can always be better” which is sending the awareness that the civic is a car that improves and can always be improved and modified to be a better car. Honda Civic is certainly consistent with its customer’s environments. It has been making modification to touch upon the main and more important environment which is the economic environment by making the engine more fuel efficient than before.

Current marketing performance:

With a market share placing after Toyota, Chrysler, and the Big GM the civic is a tough competitor and has always been. Even though the civic has been performing at a high level with all the modification in all different features, the civic did not reach the high performance levels it reached few years ago. Changes did not go unnoticed of course but they did not surpass higher competition. They are more considerably at level with the other cars in the same class. To simplify things, we could say that the Honda civic keeps on improving except that the level of changes and improvements fluctuates or slows down.

Review of current and anticipated organizational resources:

Currently the state of the organizational resources whether it is in the financial, capital or human sector is generally stable.

The Honda civic keeps a very loyal relationship with their suppliers; this makes improvement easier due to the collaboration. Unlike GM, even though they are very demanding, the Honda Civic stays loyal and respects its supplier’s capabilities. Since the financial domain depends more on costs due to the natural shortage of raw materials, having a good relation with suppliers will help reduce production costs which is great for the firm as a whole.

The Honda civic does not only keep a good relationship with its suppliers, but it also keeps a good relationship with its customers. The Civic does not discriminate; it keeps it self-suitable for all ages every lifestyle, and all social classes. To begin with, the Civic keeps itself affordable, reliable and it goes beyond that by making itself cheaper to insure. The Honda Civics’ parts are easily found and available almost everywhere, this helps the customer in the maintenance of the car after the sale.For the teens and young adults, the Civic is also known to be easily modified or as they say “pimped”. We could say that the Honda civic owes some of its popularity to the young men who love driving it. Like other Japanese companies, the Honda civic keeps relationships good and loyal.Planning for the after sale situation is a very careful thought about the customers which makes the great relation between the customer and the firm.

Levels of these resources:

Without any doubt, natural resources are limited and scarce. This means that the less resources there is, the higher the cost of raw materials used in production. Having good relations with suppliers will help reduce the production cost which is a push to be ahead of competition. The Civic is also trying to both improve and lower the car price. These two things do not go well together because reducing cost means using cheaper material or cheaper parts. It does make the car affordable but it also limits the modifications that could be made. Fortunately, for the latest civic, the lack of better modification (compared to the previous modifications made in the past generations) was covered up by its reputations.

Current and anticipated cultural and structural issues:

The firm's overall customer orientation:

The Honda Civic is very customer oriented. They focus their marketing efforts on meeting the customers needs before during and after the sale. By sharing their ideas before sales the Civic gets feedback from itscustomers which is helpful to any firm. The Civic also offers great promotions to its customers whenmaking sales. Even though competition is present in the vehicle financing, Honda Civic still offers great financing services and options. Like explained before, satisfaction is mostly present and the post purchase behavior is positive. Not only that, but the civic offers many easy access services during the post-sale period; whether it is to insure or to repair the car.

The firm's emphasis on short-term vs. long-term planning:

The civic GX has been the greenest car in the world for 5 years in a row (until 2008). The Civics’ longterm planning is mostly focusing on making green vehicles. That is why they initiated the green marketingprogram. Considering our economy state, green marketing is the only way to keep their vehicles fuelefficient based on the future gas prices. It is also the proper move to stay in competition and keepfollowing their mission statement. The Hybrid vehicles are also one big objective for the Civic.

Willingness of the culture to embrace change:

The Civic has been willing to embrace change for 40 years now. Since its first car, it was obligated to embrace change in North America. Due to the rules concerning carbon emissions in the USA and Canada, the very first export of the Civic was a failure because the civic did not meet carbon emission limits. It even resulted in lawsuits. The civic has been making changes to its vehicles since then to improve fuel efficiency as well as performance and aesthetics. Now, with the fast paced information age, the civic has been welcoming technological change in every invention. It is present in every feature and car component.

The overall position and importance of the marketing function:

The marketing function was not as important in the past years because of the reputation the civic has builtconcerning its reliability and performance. Lately, the marketing function is becoming a little more important because the civic might be entering the maturity stage of the product life cycle and the difference between its previous models and the new ones is shrinking. New ideas and inventions are needed but also marketing is now needed to promote the changes that might go unnoticeable, that will help to raise awareness.

C. Customer Analysis Review Chapters 6 & 7There are seven general questions that marketers should ask about their customers:1. Who are our actual and potential customers?2. Why do they buy our product?3. Why do others not buy our product?4. Where do our customers buy our product?5. How do they buy it?6. When do they buy it?7. What do they do with our product?

Who are the firm's current and potential customers?

Describe the important identifying characteristics of the firm's current and potential customers:

DemographicGeographicPsychographicProduct usage

Identify the important players in the purchase process for the firm's products:Purchasers (actual act of purchase)Users (actual product user)Influencers (influence the decision, make recommendations)Financial responsibility (who pays the bill?)

What do customers do with the firm's products?

Where do customers purchase the firm's products?

Identify any trends in purchase patterns across these outlets (e.g., how e-commerce has, or could, change the way the firm's products are purchased).

When do customers purchase the firm's products?

Factors under the firm's control

Factors not under the firm's control

Why (and how) do customers select the firm's products?

Describe the basic benefits provided by the firm's products relative to competing products:

Describe the degree to which customers' needs are being fulfilled by the firm's products relative to competing products:

Describe how customers' needs are expected to change in the future.

Describe the relative importance of transactional (short, one-time) vs. relational (long-term, ongoing) exchange processes when customers make a purchase:

Why do potential customers not purchase the firm's products?

After answering these seven questions, then you can look at segmentation and positioning analysis (see p. 267 for positioning analysis and positioning maps).

D. Competitive Analysis (pp. 121-12,; 295, 387)

Identify the firm's major competitors (brand, product, generic)

Identify the characteristics of the firm's major competitors:

List any potential (future) competitors not identified in the preceding.

IV. SWOT Analysis: The previous analyses should have uncovered the essential elements for a SWOT analysis. This is essentially a summary of the previous findings, and its format may shed further light on the current company situation (pp. 62 – 63; see Blackboard “Things to consider for a SWOT and PESTEL analysis; also review concepts from Comm 101).

A. Strengths

Strength 1: _________________________________________________________

How does this strength enable the firm to meet customers' needs?Does this strength make the firm different from (better than) its competitors?

(Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of strengths)

B. Weaknesses

Weakness 1: ________________________________________________________

How does this weakness prevent the firm from meeting customers' needs?Does this weakness make the firm different from (worse than) its competitors?

(Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of weaknesses)

C. Opportunities

Opportunity 1: _______________________________________________________

How is this opportunity related to serving customers' needs?How can the firm capitalize on this opportunity in the short- and long-term?

(Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of opportunities)

D. Threats

Threat 1: ___________________________________________________________

How is this threat related to serving customers' needs?How can the firm prevent this threat from limiting its capabilities in the short- and long-term?

(Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of threats)

F. Matching, Converting, Minimizing, and Avoiding Strategies

Describe ways that the firm does or can match its strengths to its opportunities to create capabilities in serving customers' needs.

Does the firm convert its weaknesses into strengths or its threats into opportunities? If not, how can the firm minimize or avoid its weaknesses and threats?

Does the firm possess any major liabilities (unconverted weaknesses that match unconverted threats) or limitations (unconverted weaknesses or threats that match opportunities)? If so, are these liabilities and limitations obvious to customers?

Can the firm do anything about its liabilities or limitations, especially those that impact the firm's ability to serve customers' needs?

V. Marketing Objectives and Strategies: from your analysis, what do you infer as the company’s marketing objectives?

A. Marketing Goal A: __________________________________________________

Objective A1: ______________________________________________________

Be as specific as you’re able.

Objective A2: ______________________________________________________

Be as specific as you’re able.

B. Marketing Goal B: __________________________________________________

Objective B1: ______________________________________________________

Be as specific as you’re able.

Objective B2: ______________________________________________________

Be as specific as you’re able.

(Repeat as needed to develop a complete list of goals and objectives)

VI. Marketing Strategies: based on your observations of the company activity, what are the marketing strategies being pursued?

A. Primary Target Market and Marketing Mix (pp. 106-109)

Primary target market: ________________________________________________Review Chapter 7This target's primary need:Identifying characteristics (demographics, geography, psychographics):Purchasing/shopping habits and preferences:Consumption/disposition characteristics:

Product: _______________________________________________Review Chapters 8 & 9Major features and benefits:Sustainable competitive advantage:Differentiation / positioning strategy:Brand name and packaging:Customer service strategy:Complementary products:

Pricing: ________________________________________________Review Chapter 10Pricing objectives:Description of per unit costs:Discount/markdown policy:

Distribution: ____________________________________________Review Chapter 11General supply chain strategy:Intermediaries and channels to be used:Elements of customer convenience:

Promotion: _____________________________________________Review Chapters 12 & 13General IMC strategy:IMC objectives and budget:Elements of the advertising/publicity strategy:Elements of the personal selling strategy:Elements of trade sales promotion (push) strategy:Elements of consumer sales promotion (pull) strategy:Elements of the sponsorship strategy:

B. Is there a Secondary Target Market? If so, repeat the above analysis

VII. Marketing Implementation

A. Structural Issues

What organizational structure is being used to implement the marketing strategy:

Describe any changes to the firm's structure needed to implement the marketing strategy(e.g., add/delete positions, change lines of authority, change reporting relationships).

B. Tactical Marketing Activities: what is the company doing specifically to implement the strategy that you have identified?

Specific Tactical Activities

Product Activities

1.2.3.

Pricing Activities

1.2.3.

Distribution Activities

1.2.3.

IMC Activities

1.2.3.

VIII. Evaluation and Control

A. Formal Marketing Control

Describe the types and levels of formal control mechanisms that should be used to ensure the implementation of the marketing plan.

VIII. Summary and Conclusions

Write approximately one to three paragraphs summarizing your analysis and providing a broad overview of the key actions recommended.