StudentWorkbook(3)

Implement and monitor marketing activities

BSBMKG514A

Student Workbook

Part of a suite of support materials for the

BSB07 Business Services Training Package

Student Workbook BSBMKG514A Implement and

monitor marketing activities 1st Edition 2010

Acknowledgment

Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council (IBSA) would like to acknowledge Box Hill Institute of TAFE for their assistance with the development of this resource.

Writer: Mandy Lingard

Industry reviewer: Tracy Willis

Copyright and Trade Mark Statement

© 2010 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

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Published by: Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Level 11 176 Wellington Parade East Melbourne VIC 3002 Phone: +61 3 9815 7000 Fax: +61 3 9815 7001 e-mail: [email protected] www.ibsa.org.au

First published: July 2010

Print version: 1.0

Release date: July 2010

Printed by: Fineline Printing 130 Browns Road Noble Park VIC 3174

ISBN: 978-1-921788-68-0

Stock code: MKG514ACL

Table of Contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................1

Features of the training program .....................................................................1

Structure of the training program ....................................................................1

Recommended reading ....................................................................................1

Further reading ..................................................................................................2

Section 1 – Implement Marketing Strategies and Tactics ...................................3

What skills will you need? ................................................................................4

The marketing implementation process ..........................................................4

Briefing stakeholders ........................................................................................7

Briefing marketing and non-marketing personnel ....................................... 10

Prioritising and planning implementation of marketing strategies ............ 14

Communication and team building strategies ............................................. 17

Strategies for monitoring marketing activities ............................................. 22

Section summary ........................................................................................... 29

Further reading ............................................................................................... 29

Section checklist ............................................................................................ 30

Section 2 – Monitor Marketing Strategies and Tactics ..................................... 31

What skills will you need? ............................................................................. 32

Monitoring and implementing promotional activities against communication objectives ............................................................................ 32

Product pricing and distribution decisions ................................................... 38

Monitoring marketing results ........................................................................ 47

Monitoring marketing revenue and costs .................................................... 53

Preparing and presenting marketing reports ............................................... 56

Section summary ........................................................................................... 61

Further reading ............................................................................................... 61


Section 3 – Evaluate and Improve Marketing Performance ............................. 63

What skills will you need? ............................................................................. 63

Assessing marketing performance ............................................................... 64

Identifying opportunities for marketing performance improvement .......... 66

Meeting the changing needs of the customer ............................................. 69

Documenting recommendations for improvement ...................................... 71

Communicating changes to marketing objectives ....................................... 72

Section summary ........................................................................................... 74

Further reading ............................................................................................... 74


Glossary ................................................................................................................ 75

Appendices ........................................................................................................... 77

Appendix 1: Individual action summary ....................................................... 77

Appendix 2: Action planning templates ........................................................ 78

Appendix 3: Marketing plan and implementation template ....................... 81

Appendix 4: Consumer responses – school supply store ........................... 83

Appendix 5: Marketing plan .......................................................................... 84

Student Workbook Introduction

BSBMKG514A Implement and monitor marketing activities © 2010 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd Page 1 of 97

Introduction Features of the training program

The key features of this program are:

Student Workbook (SW) – Self-paced learning activities to help you to understand key concepts and terms. The Student Workbook is broken down into several sections.

Facilitator–led sessions (FLS) – Challenging and interesting learning activities that can be completed in the classroom or by distance learning that will help you consolidate and apply what you have learned in the Student Workbook.

Assessment Tasks – Summative assessments where you can apply your new skills and knowledge to solve authentic workplace tasks and problems.

Structure of the training program

This Training Program introduces you to implement and monitor marketing activities. Specifically, you will develop the skills and knowledge in the following topic areas:

1. Implement marketing strategies and tactics

2. Monitor marketing strategies and tactics

3. Evaluate and improve marketing performance.

Note: the Student Workbook sections and Session numbers are listed next to the topics above.

You facilitator may choose to combine or split sessions. For example, in some cases, this Training Program may be delivered in two or three sessions, or in others, as many as eight sessions.

Recommended reading

Some recommended reading for this unit includes:

Kotler, P., Adam, S., Denize, S. and Armstrong, G., 2008. Principles of marketing, 12th edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Perreault, W., Cannon, J. P., and McCarthy, E. J., 2008. Basic marketing: A marketing strategy planning approach, 17th edn, McGraw–Hill, Roseville, NSW.

Russell, E., 2010, The fundamentals of marketing, AVA Publishing, London.

Tong, E. and Taylor, D., 2004, Understanding market research, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Introduction Student Workbook

BSBMKG514A Implement and monitor marketing activities Page 2 of 97 © 2010 Innovation and Business Industry Skills Council Ltd

Further reading

‘Marketing’, About.com, viewed June 2010, <http://marketing.about.com/>.

Business Dictionary, viewed June 2010, <http://www.businessdictionary.com>.

Know this, viewed June 2010, <http://www.knowthis.com/>.

‘Marketing dictionary’, Monash University, viewed June 2010, <http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/mkt/dictionary/mmm.html>.

‘Marketing Insight Business Results’, ITSMA: Information Technology Services Marketing Association, viewed June 2010, <http://www.itsma.com>.

QuickMBA, viewed June 2010, <http://www.quickmba.com/>.

Small business notes, viewed June 2010, <http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com>

‘Marketing’, Wikipedia, viewed June 2010, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing>.

Student Workbook Section 1 – Implement Marketing Strategies and Tactics


Section 1 – Implement Marketing Strategies and Tactics

This section is about implementing marketing strategies and tactics, briefing stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities, identifying and briefing marketing and non–marketing personnel on the objectives of the plan, performance measures, and their roles and responsibilities.

Prioritising marketing strategies and identifying resources for their implementation, communicating and team building strategies to ensure that personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix work together to meet marketing objectives and implement strategies for monitoring marketing activities and analysing marketing performance, in accordance with the marketing plan.

Scenario: Aldi enters the Australian market

Aldi’s appearance in the Australian supermarket industry was successfully achieved due to the exit of Franklins. This was primarily due to Franklins’ decision in the early 1990s to expand into the fresh food market segment whilst continuing to offer discounted prices. Overall the process confused their customers and caused the chain considerable difficulty as they had little experience in the fresh food market and were unable to match the buying power of their larger competitors Coles and Woolworths. Franklins’ inability to attract the expected new customers and the loss of their previously loyal discount consumers caused the chain to be divided up and sold in 2001.

Previously the marketplace was divided into the premium, convenience and discount segments, with each retailer positioned to appeal to their specific target consumer. Franklins’ demise was attributed to its unsuccessful repositioning. Aldi’s snapped up several of the Franklins stores and continued their expansion into the Australian marketplace successfully filling the identified void of the discount segment with little competition.

The privately owned Aldi was established in 1948 in Essen Germany, and had considerable experience in the industry with over 5000 stores in Europe the US with an annual turnover in excess of 35 billion euro ($66 billion) annually. Much of Aldi’s success has been attributed to their range of 700 popular Aldi products. This is compared to Coles and Woolworths primarily stocking national brands extending to over 20,000 products with minimal consumer acceptance of their home brand labels.

Aldi’s ability to position stores in price conscious areas combined with limited choices at lower prices enabled them to easily enter the Australian market by successfully identifying the needs and wants of a large consumer segment. Aldi’s ability to satisfy their target market ensures they are able to maintain their competitive edge and discourage new entrants.

This provides an example of market segmentation and the importance of organisations assessing their capabilities in order to maintain their specific target market and competitive advantage over rivals.

Section 1 – Implement Marketing Strategies and Tactics Student Workbook


What skills will you need?

In order to work effectively as a marketing manager, you must be able to:

describe the marketing implementation process

brief stakeholders who participated in the marketing planning process on their implementation roles and responsibilities

identify and brief marketing and non-marketing personnel critical to the success of the marketing plan, on the objectives of the plan, performance measures, and their roles and responsibilities

prioritise marketing strategies and identify resources for their implementation

implement communication and team building strategies to ensure that personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix work together to meet the organisations marketing objectives

implement strategies for monitoring marketing activities and analysing marketing performance, in accordance with the marketing plan.

The marketing implementation process

Many organisations place a great deal of effort into creating a marketing strategy and documenting this into a marketing plan, but fail to implement the required actions and then wonder why the marketing plan failed to deliver the results the organisation was aiming for.

While deciding what to do is important, the actual implementation of the strategies and tactics is equally as important. This means that a systematic approach is required to identify the marketing strategy or strategies of the organisation and then implement the tactics and activities required for each strategy. This initial information can typically be obtained by looking at the organisation’s marketing plan.

The marketing plan

The marketing plan is a document created by an organisation to outline their overall marketing objectives and the strategies, tactics and actions that will be needed to achieve the objectives. It aims to help organise the strategy of the organisation in relation to its products or services. (See Appendix 5 of this Workbook for an example of a marketing plan.)

Like the other internal plans of the organisation, a marketing plan should be aligned to and support the overall plan and objectives of the organisation, as shown in the following diagram.



There is no set structure for a marketing plan, and a search of the internet or your workplace will reveal many variations. However, a marketing plan typically includes all of the information required by management to approve the marketing strategy.

A marketing plan also includes most of the information required by the marketing department to implement the plan. It is therefore a key document to obtain when planning for the implementation of marketing strategies and tactics.

The following is an overview of the information found in a typical marketing plan.

An overview of the organisation and the industry it in which it operates.

An overview of the current market. This may include a SWOT analysis, a competitor analysis and results from any market research that was commissioned.

The marketing objective or goal of the organisation. This is a statement of what the organisation is trying to achieve or their aim for example, to be the number one online shopping site for electronic goods.

A list of the marketing strategies. A marketing objective or goal may require multiple strategies. The strategies are the long-term actions required for the goal or objective to be achieved. For example, to improve online visibility, to increase awareness of the website and to educate customers.

An action plan. The action plan should outline the tactics or activities required for each strategy. For example, action purchase top placement in internet searches for relevant commonly searched terms, run an advertising campaign on radio and television, establish a loyalty program to increase repeat business and referrals. As with all action plans, it should contain information about the actions required, who will be responsible for them, when they need to be done and the costs associated with each.

The projected budget associated with the plan. This should include estimates of income or revenue resulting from the marketing activities, as well as detailed breakdowns of all costs associated with the plan.

Information relating to control or monitoring the implementation and evaluation of the plan. This typically involves the use of schedules and charts, such as Gantt charts, or similar project management tools.

Organisation plan and objectives

Marketing plan Production planHuman

resources plan



Learning activity: Marketing plans

Use your workplace, the internet or other sources (one is also provided in the appendix to this workbook) to locate three examples of either completed marketing plans or marketing plan templates.

Tip: the following website includes some sample plans that may be useful:

<http://www.mplans.com/sample_marketing_plans/>.

Review these documents and answer the following questions.

What are the common structural elements of these plans?

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List the additional information provided in the plans or templates.

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The implementation process

Having obtained and reviewed the marketing plan, it is essential that you take a systematic approach to implementing the required steps. This will usually involve three keys steps:

planning and implementation

monitoring strategies and tactics

Evaluating and improving marketing performance.



Step 1 of this process is discussed in the remainder of this section. Steps 2 and 3 are covered in later sections of this workbook.

Briefing stakeholders

When implementing marketing strategies and tactics it is necessary to brief participating stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities to ensure the implementation process runs smoothly and efficiently.

There are many definitions of a stakeholder, but in the context of a marketing plan, the stakeholders are generally seen as those who either have an interest, or will benefit from the marketing activities, or those that may have an influence on the completion of marketing activities.

This may include:

board of directors

finance staff

human resources staff

it staff

managers

marketing personnel

owners

production staff

supervisor.



At this point in the implementation process, it is important to identify and brief only those stakeholders that were involved in the marketing planning process. This is due to the roles and responsibilities that these stakeholders will play in ensuring the success of the marketing plan, for example:

Board of directors may be required to approve the plan and therefore will need to be briefed on the details prior to final approval being granted. The board of directors may also need to comment on or approve progress reports and as such, this should be explained at the outset. Typically a presentation to the board of the marketing plan would be used to brief these stakeholders.

Human resources staff may need to recruit or arrange training for staff involved in the implementation of the marketing plan. Their briefing would therefore need to include this information, as well as information on skills and knowledge that new recruits, or staff to be trained, will need to have. Typically a report or staffing request, with details from the marketing plan to support the request, would be used to brief these stakeholders.

Finance staff may need to make adjustments to the internal records of the company, such as setting up a separate cost centre to hold the budget associated with the plan, and to record associated income and expenses. In a smaller organisation, they may simply require a code to be allocated to track income or expenses associated with the plan. Typically a written request for a budget allocation, or similar, would be used to brief this stakeholder group.

Managers may need to be aware of any possible impact that the marketing activities will have on their departments / teams and their staff. This may include changes in procedures, new products or services, special pricing, etc.

Other stakeholders will generally be informed of marketing activities in the same manner as all other staff, through the use of internal marketing.

In order to identify the relevant stakeholders, you will need to consider the type of marketing being discussed in the plan. The various types of marketing may include:

business-to-business marketing

direct marketing

public sector marketing

services marketing

telemarketing.

Learning activity: Briefing stakeholders

Interview two to three colleagues, or review current marketing policies and procedures to determine how stakeholders are briefed on marketing activities in your workplace. If you do not have a workplace, interview friends or family members to find out how this occurs in their workplace.



1. Which stakeholder groups are typically involved in the marketing planning process?

2. How are they briefed on marketing plans (e.g. report, email, internal memo, presentation etc.)?

3. What are the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder group in relation to the implementation of marketing plan activities?

Record your findings below.

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Briefing marketing and non-marketing personnel

As well as the stakeholders, marketing and non-marketing personnel critical to the success of the marketing plan also need to be identified and briefed. Following on from briefing stakeholders, marketing and non-marketing personnel also need to be briefed on the plans objectives, performance measures, and their roles and responsibilities to ensure the combined success of the marketing plan. This type of briefing is often referred to as ‘internal marketing’.

Internal marketing

The success of any marketing activities is equally shared between both external and internal customer groups. Internal marketing is the function of advising the internal customers, i.e. the staff about the marketing activities.

Internal customers are those that will need to respond to customers about the external marketing activities. This could be direct responses through processing requests, handling queries or promoting the product or service at the centre of the marketing activities. Indirect customer responses are also important, such as the care and efficiency with which orders or requests are actioned and payments are made, how any complaints, issues or problems are dealt with, and even any public comments that are made in relation to the organisation, product or service or the marketing activities themselves.

A positive attitude from internal customers to the marketing activities, and their roles and responsibilities in ensuring that required actions are taken, is an essential component of any successfully executed marketing plan.

Marketing and non–marketing personnel

The details of the plan will assist in identifying the relevant marketing and non–marketing personnel. However those critical to the success of the marketing plan should not be restricted to the staff directly responsible for implementing the plan, they should include staff involved in all aspects of the marketing and follow up activities and may include:

advertising personnel

managers

public relations personnel

sales manager

sales team

staff

supervisors.

‘Whatever functional aspects of marketing an individual may be involved in, that person should never lose sight of the fact that the process of making sales is the only methods of perpetuating the life of the organisation.’

Source: G. Lancaster and P. Reynolds, 1995, Marketing, Butterworth–Heinemann Ltd, Oxford.



Briefing information

When conducting internal marketing, the information your provide personnel will generally include information on:

the objectives of the marketing plan

their roles and responsibilities in relation to the success of the plan

any performance measures associated with their role.

The level of detail provided will depend up the nature of their involvement in the marketing plan activities. For example, staff in the marketing department may have direct roles in relation to the implementation and as such they may require significant details about the overall plan as well as each of the strategies and the related tactics. Sales staff may simply need an overview of the plan and the strategies or tactics to be used but detailed information of the activities that will affect them, such as new special offers/pricing or changes to sales processes. For staff directly responsible or accountable for activities listed in the action plan section of the marketing plan, an individual action summary may be used to record relevant information for later use in measuring their performance or contribution to the marketing plan.

A sample of an individual action summary template is included in Appendix 1.

Learning activity: Briefing personnel

Research your workplace, the workplace of a friend or family member or another organisation you are familiar with that undertakes marketing activities.

1. What methods does this organisation use to advise marketing and non-marketing personnel of marketing plan information?

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2. How are the roles and responsibilities in relation to the marketing plan activities recorded?

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Measuring performance

When briefing personnel on their roles and responsibilities, it is also important to ensure that performance measures for the marketing plan are communicated.

Performance measures can be allocated on an individual, team or organisational basis. Typically sales personnel have general performance measures that are not specific to a particular marketing activity, but will relate to the overall marketing goal of the organisation, e.g. increase sales by 20%.

Similarly, marketing personnel may have performance measures that relate to overall marketing activities, e.g. deliver all marketing campaigns on time and within budget.

Team-based performance goals are also commonly related to marketing goals rather than specific marketing activities.

Organisational performance measures for marketing usually related to marketing metrics that measure the contribution of marketing activities to the growth and success of the organisation.

The most common metric applied in the current workplace environment is the balanced scorecard approach. This enables executives and owners to monitor and manage overall business strategy by looking at the drivers of current and future success for the organisation. The balanced scorecard approach focuses on the link between the marketing plan and the four critical areas of the business operations.

1. Customer – how does the plan improve or contribute to an increase in customer satisfaction?

2. Financial – how does the plan contribute to the bottom line?

3. Internal business processes – does the plan help to identify and improve how the organisation operates and whether products and services meet customer needs?

4. Learning and growth – does the plan provide opportunities for individual employee and organisational growth and what can the organisation do to improve or sustain its capacity for change?

Vision and

strategy

Customer

Internal business

processes

Learning and growth

Financial



Learning activity: Performance measures

Research examples of marketing related performance measures for two to three roles at your workplace or a workplace you are familiar with that undertakes marketing activities.

1. What are some examples of individual or team performance measures for marketing activities?

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2. Does the workplace you looked at use a balanced scorecard approach for setting performance measures? If not, describe the approach used to determine an overall performance measure for the marketing plan.

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3. Give an example of an overall performance measure for a marketing plan.

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Prioritising and planning implementation of marketing strategies

According to organisational requirements, prior to implementation, marketing strategies need to be prioritised and relevant resources need to be identified. The required actions and the required resources should have identified as the marketing plan was created and documented in the action plan.

Marketing strategies

There are several different types of strategies, a combination of which you may find in the marketing plan.

Defensive strategies These are designed to retain existing customers

Developing strategies

These are designed to offer existing customers a wider range of your products/services

Attacking strategies These are designed to generate business through new customers

The matrix developed by Ansoff is a useful way of looking at the type of strategy that may be suitable. This matrix indicates that the safest way to try to expand your business is in the areas you know best with your existing products in your existing markets.

Ansoff Matrix – the risks of various strategies

The type of selected strategy will obviously impact on the action plan.

Action plan

Is a documented plan that identifies required tasks, resources and timelines? It defines what needs to be achieved, by when and how.



As well as a summary of the goals, measures of success and scope of the plan, each activity on the plan should have be documented as an action item. The action item documentation should incorporate three major elements:

activity description – a description of what needs to be done

deliverables – what the outcome of the activity should be and when will it be done

resources needed – a list of the financial, human, it, physical and technical resources required for the activity.

A sample action plan template is included in Appendix 2. The dates on the action plan will assist you to prioritise each activity.

Resources needed

The resources needed for each action should include a comprehensive list of all resources types including:

financial

human

information and communication technology (ICT)

physical

technical.

Financial resources are essentially any budget allocation required for the item. This could include salaries for contract or outsourced work, supply, distribution or printing costs.

Human resources relates to the people required to undertake the activity. This usually includes general staff needs as well as any administrative resources.

ICT resources are the technology and communication requirements. Examples include computers, phones, internet access, website, scanner etc.

Physical resources are those relating to the premises or location needs for the activity. This could be a desk, meeting room, call centre, or combination of these.

Technical resources are usually those that may not be part of the team, or part of the organisations’ usual staff. This may relate to specialist personnel, such as contractors, or specialise services such as an outsourced call centre, or graphic design company.

Learning activity: Action plan

Assume Aldi have a goal of increasing their local customer base at a new store opening scheduled in six weeks. One of the strategies is to provide special discount vouchers to customers in the local area, attached to advertising brochures that will delivered in the week prior to the opening.

You have been asked to arrange the production and delivery of vouchers and brochure. Create an action plan for this activity.

Use an action plan template from your workplace, or the template provided in Appendix 2.



Obtaining relevant resources for implementation

Involving your organisation’s team with relevant aspects of the marketing plan, will ensure they have sound knowledge of the goals and objectives and are able to accommodate queries and issues as they arise. This will contribute to the overall success of the marketing campaign by enabling you to:

capitalise on existing knowledge and expertise available inside the organisation

reduce possible costs associated with outsourcing activities

respond faster to changing needs resulting from the marketing plan activities

create opportunities for learning and growth through mentoring and coaching experiences.

Following is an example of a table which can be used to list team members’ roles and responsibilities. You could also adapt this table to capture any identified expertise within team members.

Roles and responsibilities

Marketing Mix Tasks

Personnel required

Resources Times and dates

Location

For example, email potential customers to create awareness of new services

John Smith List of potential customers two days, one Customer Service staff

01/02/2010–03/02/2010

Office



Communication and team building strategies

In order to meet marketing objectives, communication and team building strategies need to be implemented to ensure that personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix unite and work together to achieve set objectives. It is also imperative for individual team members to be fully aware of the following.

The project goals and objectives as outlined in the marketing plan.

For example, prior to commencing the project a team meeting should be held with each team member present to receive a summary of the overall project action plan with the goals and objectives detailed in a schedule timetable detailing implementation and points of measures. It would also detail each team member’s area and tasks of responsibility. At this point it would also be beneficial for interactive discussion amongst all present to present any issues of concern.

Individual targets and key performance indicators.

For example, the action plan will specify individual tasks and responsibilities and the relevant KPIs to ensure each individual is meeting their expected targets at the scheduled time. This will alert the manager if there is a problem hopefully prior to it becoming a major issue that has a ripple effect.

Scheduled implementation and monitoring points to measure achieved goals and objectives.

For example, depending on the type of marketing campaign and employed marketing mix it may be necessary to schedule a 15-minute update every second day to monitor the implementation and track the overall progress of the campaign. Alternatively the start of each week or month may have a scheduled meeting on a Monday morning to monitor the overall campaign progress, discuss individual tracking and highlight any unexpected issues that need attention.

Timetabled evaluation and review.

The action plan will have a detailed timetable identifying each relevant element, its ongoing evaluation and the points for overall review. Communication is the key for every single aspect of the project and an effective team.

The 5 Cs of effective communication

Effective communication is essential in any workplace and is essential for building or improving business and work relationships. One popular model for effective workplace communication is Heather Hansen’s ‘5 Cs’ of effective communication.

Articulate clearly Messages are ineffective is the listeners cannot understand what you are saying. Ensure that your thoughts are organised and concise. In verbal communications, slowing down your rate of speech will often improve clarity. In written communication, write logically and have someone else check your work.



Speak correctly Human beings are often judged on how they speak. Poor speech patterns, the overuse of slang or inappropriate language and poor grammar are often perceived as signs of diminished intelligence, disrespect or laziness. Use correct grammar and a wide vocabulary, but take care not to use language that is too unfamiliar to people to avoid being seen as pretentious.

Be considerate Speak with a smile, be polite and make eye contact. Being considerate of others will encourage them to do the same and build better and more positive relationships.

Give compliments Compliments are an easy means of showing your appreciation to others and building instant rapport. Congratulate people on work well done or good ideas. Take care not to make compliments personal (i.e. about their appearance) unless it is appropriate and you have a personal relationship with them.

Have confidence Believe in yourself and your message and let this be evident in the way you communicate. Adjust your tone, pitch and pace in verbal communications to convey your confidence. In written communications, use words that demonstrate your confidence. Take care not to be seen as arrogant.

Other models with the same name have different words but use similar themes. You should keep these in mind when planning a communication strategy to keep personnel informed. Consider factors such as:

how often you will communicate with each group / individual?

what means will you use for these communications?

what will be your key messages for each type of communication?

Learning activity: Communication Strategy

Think back to the previous action plan you created for the brochure activity for Aldi.

Design a communication strategy for this activity by addressing the following questions.

1. Who will you need to communicate with to ensure this activity is conducted in an effective manner?

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2. What would be the best means for communicating with these individuals / groups?

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3. How often would you communicate with them?

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The 5 Cs of effective team building

Team-building strategies are also essential in effectively running an organisation or team. Large and small businesses need a team of committed and capable employees who can get the job done.

A team doesn’t happen by itself, implementing team building strategies takes time and effort. The end result is to create a work environment in which every team member feels their contribution is valued and essential to the organisation’s success. One effective strategy for effective team building is to use another ‘5 Cs’ approach.

The 5 Cs of effective team building are:

Clear expectations One of the key characteristics of a successful team is ensuring every person knows the role they are expected to play as well as the roles of other team members. Each and every employee needs to clearly understand how and where they fit in the organisational structure.

Channels of communication

It is essential to create and maintain open channels of communication with all employees. This must involve everyone including directors, managers, team leaders and team members.

It is imperative to ensure a working atmosphere where employees know that their concerns are always acknowledged and considered. Also encourage employees to discuss genuine issues amongst themselves. Team building cannot be achieved without open channels of communication.



Conflict resolution When a group of people work together there will invariably be times when the going gets rough and differences emerge into the open. It is essential to develop conflict resolution skills amongst your employees. Create a mechanism for redressing grievances, if they can’t resolve their problems without assistance. Implement mediation with an impartial third party. It may also be necessary to conduct workshops on this subject.

Consequences Ensure team members feel responsible and accountable for team achievements. Ensuring they understand that each individual contribution is a vital piece in the whole puzzle. At the same time, encourage individual creativity to evolve by implementing a system of rewards and recognition.

Celebrating achievements as a team

Every employee plays an important part in the success or failure of an organisation. It makes sense to celebrate achievements as a team. Depending on the achievement, the celebration can be as simple as a casual staff party or as spectacular as a company weekend trip

These five team building strategies will ensure that people who are employed by the organisation unite as a team and work together to achieve the same goal. Empowering and instilling a sense of belonging in your employees, will build a successful team that works hard to achieve the best results for the organisation.

Learning activity: Team building

Some business commentators have suggested that in addition to the 5 Cs mentioned above, there are three more that need to be added:

coaching

collaboration

community.

Use the internet to research this statement and then complete the following.

1. Describe what is meant by each of these terms in relation to effective team building?

Coaching:

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Collaboration:

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Community:

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2. Do you agree or disagree that these are valid additions to an effective team building strategy? Why/Why not?

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3. How would these additional terms assist if a balanced scorecard approach was being used to measure marketing performance?

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For an organisation to meet marketing objectives, communication and team building strategies need to be implemented to ensure that all personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix unite and work together to achieve set objectives.

Marketing mix

Marketing mix

A marketing mix will comprise several elements that make up the marketing campaign



When determining the personnel responsible for the marketing mix, it is essential that you identify all personnel involved in:

distribution

level of service

pricing

product or service variables such as:

o design

o quality

o range

o safety features

o technical features

promotion.

Open and effective communication involving all team members needs to be implemented and encouraged to ensure that personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix unite and work together to achieve set objectives.

The following illustrate examples of marketing plans, marketing mix and implementation strategies.

‘Marketing mix strategy example’, YmhMarketingPlan, viewed June 2010, <http://www.ymhmarketingplan.com/marketing_mix_strategies.htm#Marketing_Mix_Example>.

‘Sample marketing plan’, More business.com, viewed June 2010, <http://www.morebusiness.com/templates_worksheets/bplans/printpre.brc>.

A planning template is available in Appendix 3 for assistance in defining the team’s roles, responsibilities and time requirements relevant to their specific element in implementing the marketing mix effectively.

Strategies for monitoring marketing activities

The marketing plan requires the monitoring of all marketing activities in order to analyse their market performance. Implementation strategies for effective and accurate monitoring processes need to be considered and implemented.

Planning tools

In conjunction with an action plan you can utilise other planning tools. These can assist with the successful development and monitoring of a prioritised action plan and ensure that implementation of marketing activities runs as trouble-free as possible.



Learning activity: Planning tools

Research the internet for examples of planning tools including:

flow charts

Gantt charts

pert diagrams

milestone charts.

Copy these into a document and write a brief explanation of when and how each is used.

It is important to track your required resources. This can be done by utilising a Gantt chart, a simple example of which is shown below. A Gantt chart illustrates a project schedule using a bar chart style. The Gantt chart illustrates the start and completion dates of each self-contained stage or process in the project. The chart reveals process sequence and highlights the dependencies of some processes on other processes.

Example Gantt chart:

Week 1 Date:

Week 2 Date:

Week 3 Date:

Week 4 Date:

Week 5 Date:

Week 6 Date:

Pamphlet distribution

Printing of pamphlet

Graphic design/logo/ photos

Write copy for promotional pamphlet

Monitoring and evaluation

The marketing plan requires the monitoring of all marketing activities in order to analyse their market performance. Implementation strategies for effective and accurate monitoring processes need to be considered and implemented.

On the following page is a process that can be used to monitor and evaluate performance.



Each aspect of the marketing plan should be monitored and evaluated. Whilst this is not always easy, as results will not always be immediate, it is imperative to implement systems to measure and determine whether goals are being achieved.

These goals can relate to:

timelines

resources

costs

sales

contacts made

relationships built.

Learning activity: Monitoring workplace marketing activities

Interview two to three colleagues, or review current marketing policies and procedures to determine how marketing activities are monitored at your workplace. If you do not have a workplace, interview friends or family members to find out how this occurs in their workplace. You should be looking for information in relation to:

how marketing activities are monitored?

how often this process is undertaken?


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Monitoring

Assess the situation to observe any changes which may occur over time, using a monitor or measuring tool of some sort.

An evaluation of information and data collected will help to determine if there are problems. Early detection will enable adjustments and improvements to be implemented and contribute to the overall success of the marketing plan.

Collected data could include:

the number of hits on a website

inventory records to track stock

invoices to track sales

recorded queries.

For example, a bookstore issues discount vouchers to clients on its email list and has different vouchers that are given out as part of register receipts issued to clients who spend over $50. A check of their records shows that of the 200 email vouchers issued each month, only 2% are redeemed, and that very few email customers actually read the monthly email, whereas 50% of the vouchers issued on register receipts are redeemed.

The bookstore could use this data to infer that the email list and related vouchers are not as effective as the register receipt vouchers in encouraging repeat business and therefore they should focus more of their marketing activities on activities relating to the register receipts.

Learning activity: Feedback for evaluation

Analyse the consumer response data in Appendix 4 for the school supply shop.

What does this data infer about the marketing activities of the school supply shop and how would you suggest they retailer use this information when planning future marketing strategies and tactics?

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Depending on what is being measured, you will need to implement different tools to measure individual aspects and activities. Collecting information should be a managed process. The types of data you are collecting will depend on what product or service is being marketed and how it is performing against allocated goals and objectives.

Collected data provides valuable information enabling analysis of the impact of the marketing mix. Depending on the information collected it will provide qualitative or quantitative information.

Quantitative data is measurable and can be numerically analysed.

Qualitative data is subjective, how people are feeling or behaving – this type of data is not as easily analysed.

Employee feedback

As noted in Section 1, when devising and implementing a marketing campaign internal feedback is an essential tool for measuring to improve. A brief form should be circulated to all appropriate personnel weekly for all employees to note customer satisfaction, events or problems that need to be addressed, as they happen each day.

Employees are to record action taken when customers aren’t satisfied with products or services.

A summary of this internal feedback containing relevant comments on improving customer satisfaction (or solving customer problems) should be circulated each week to all employees to inform, educate, and improve total organisation problem–solving for customers. This will also assist in improving communication.

Customer feedback

Customer feedback can also be used to obtain information on products and services offered by the organisation and how relevant these are to the needs of the organisation. For marketing activities, customer feedback can be used to obtain information on the effectiveness of marketing activities.

Does your organisation have a mechanism they use to obtain feedback to confirm if they are meeting and servicing its customer’s needs and to detect problems when it is not? Consider if the feedback they obtain is timely and what is then done to action it.

Once customers know that you are interested in feedback, your organisation must act on customer responses and then provide status reports or presentations on the successful resolution of each problem or follow up action each opportunity.

Other options include:

a survey that could be sent to customers to gather their input on how well your organisation is satisfying their needs.

a monthly or quarterly review with specific customers to determine:

o summary of sales information compared to previous years

o current customer service problems, detailing what they were and steps that were implemented to resolve the issues.



o customer service improvements summary

o customer feedback utilising a single form survey.

Learning activity: Feedback

Interview two to three colleagues, or review current marketing policies and procedures to determine the feedback processes for marketing activities at your workplace. If you do not have a workplace, interview friends or family members to find out how this occurs in their workplace. You should be looking for information in relation to the following questions.

What processes are used to obtain feedback?

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How effective are they?

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What information do they provide?

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Who do they obtain feedback from?

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What benefit is the feedback to the organisation?

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Log onto the link below and read through the information provided.

‘Sample marketing plan’, More business.com, viewed June 2010, <http://www.morebusiness.com/templates_worksheets/bplans/ printpre.brc>.

Section summary

You should now understand how to implement marketing strategies and tactics, brief stakeholders on their relevant roles and responsibilities, identify and brief marketing and non-marketing personnel on the objectives of the plan, performance measures, roles and responsibilities. You should understand how to prioritise marketing strategies and identify resources for their implementation. You should also understand how to effectively communicate and build team strategies to ensure that personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix unite and work together to meet marketing objectives and implement strategies for monitoring marketing activities to analyse marketing performance, in accordance with the marketing plan.

Further reading

‘Marketing goals and objectives’, How stuff works, viewed June 2010, <http://money.howstuffworks.com/marketing-plan18.htm>.

‘Marketing plan’, Learn marketing.com, viewed June 2010, <http://www.learnmarketing.net/marketingplan.htm>.

‘Marketing plan objectives and strategies’, Small business notes, viewed June 2010, <http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/planning/marketingplan/marketplanobjectives.html>.

‘Sales and marketing plans’, Business owner’s toolkit, viewed June 2010, <http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/sbg.aspx?nid =P03_8070>.



Information about the 5 Cs of communication can be found at:

‘Communicating in the workplace – The 5 C’s of becoming an effective communicator’, EzineArticles, viewed June 2010, <http://ezinearticles.com/?Communicating-in-the-Workplace---The-5-Cs-of-Becoming-an-Effective-Communicator&id=922601>.

‘The 5 Cs of effective communication in the workplace’, Hansen communication lab, viewed June 2010, <http://www.hansenslt.com/scan0001.pdf>.

Information about the 5 Cs of team building can be found at:

‘The 5 C’s of team building’, Shine.com, viewed June 2010, <http://info.shine.com/Career-Advice-Articles/Leadership-Teamwork/The-5-Cs-of-team-building/1604/cid31.aspx>.

‘A collaboration parable and 8 “C”s of teamwork’, Stronger teams blog, viewed June 2010, <http://strongerteams.wordpress.com/2007/03/11/a-collaboration-parable-and-8-cs-of-teamwork/>.

‘Team building strategies – Remember the five C’s’, Smart entrepreneur, viewed June 2010, <http://www.smartentrepreneur.net/team-building-strategies.html>.

Section checklist

Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you are able to:

describe the marketing implementation process

brief stakeholders who participated in the marketing planning process on their implementation roles and responsibilities

identify and brief marketing and non-marketing personnel critical to the success of the marketing plan, on the objectives of the plan, performance measures, and their roles and responsibilities

prioritise marketing strategies and identify resources for their implementation

implement communication and team building strategies to ensure that personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix work together to meet the organisation’s marketing objectives

implement strategies for monitoring marketing activities and analysing marketing performance, in accordance with the marketing plan.

Student Workbook Section 2 – Monitor Marketing Strategies and Tactics


Section 2 – Monitor Marketing Strategies and Tactics

This section is about implementing and monitoring promotional activities against communication objectives in the marketing plan and monitoring product, pricing and distribution decisions against organisational policy. This section also discusses monitoring marketing results against targets, and analysing marketing revenue and cost against allocated budgets to record variations. Preparing marketing reports to present and communicate ongoing progress towards marketing objectives.

Case study: Braaap!

The following is an extract from the braaap website. <http://www.braaap.com.au/AboutBraaap>.

If you’re a dead-set racer, a hard core trail rider, want to ride with the whole family, if your freestyling, if this is your first bike or your keen as to get into braaapster riding for the flat out fun of it, you’ve come to the right place!

Mini Motocross has been around for years and it all started when some professional motocross riders in America used mini bikes for fun with their mates and to just get back to loving dirt bike riding with limited stress, limited fitness and limited funds.

These days every pro rider has a mini and a track in their back yard, every pub has been home to some mini motocross bench racing and every kid wants a mini bike, and many people can afford to buy them. Mini motocross has carved its way into the motorcycle industry because of these exact reasons, its fun, fast and affordable, it’s for everyone.

I started braaap with the goal to bring mini motocross to Australia; it was huge in America and still is today. In the USA they have pro mini race events with prize money over $50,000 for the event, it’s a big deal!

When I started braaap, I researched to find a bike that myself and all my mates could ride all day, jump and do what ever, I needed a bike that could be rode and jumped with confidence by adults. I had no option but go to China and find a manufacture that would listen to our needs, follow strict quality control and build the bike myself and the braaap team designed. After five years of research, trials and development we have a mini motocross bike which we consider to be the best of its type in the world. The braaapster.

At braaap we live, eat and breathe mini motocross, we work in-store through the week and spend our weekends at the local track. This is the reason we are considered the mini motocross specialists, our mechanics are sought after by other companies and their experience on our bike is second to none. We are always testing new products, doing hot ups and making sure we are at the top of our game, heck it’s our life! We travel all round Australia to race and support the sport. Braaap riders have finished on the podium at every event we’ve entered so far, Australia Wide, Motard, motocross and supercross!

With braaap opening two flat tracks, two super cross tracks, a motard track and mini motocross events Australia wide. Our goal is looking pretty good.

Section 2 – Monitor Marketing Strategies and Tactics Student Workbook




monitor and implement promotional activity against communication objectives in the marketing plan

monitor product, pricing and distribution decisions against organisational policy and the objectives of the marketing plan

monitor marketing results against targets in the marketing plan

monitor marketing revenue and costs against budget, and analyse record variations

prepare and present marketing reports that indicate ongoing progress towards marketing objectives.

Monitoring and implementing promotional activities against communication objectives

In accordance with the marketing plan it is essential to monitor and implement promotional activity against its set communication objectives.

Objectives and goals of the marketing communication

What goals and objectives are required to ensure the success of the marketing campaign? A good place to start is defining the objective of the marketing communication.

This information will include issues that have been identified that the product category may encounter and market opportunities that have been identified. The specifics will generally be defined in the marketing strategy and state a time frame in which the goal of the objective can be measured.

The objective of the marketing communication will identify the target markets perception. This perception will incorporate what they think and feel. Also detailing the action they are likely to implement upon receiving exposure to the stimuli.

It is important to identify what the target market will benefit from the product, to ensure an effective marketing message. Too often the marketing message is not clearly communicated to the target market leaving them unmotivated to action a purchase.

Marketing communication objectives may include:

creating increased brand awareness for your organisations products and services

determining the need which the product or service will accommodate

encouraging action from the target.

While defining your objectives may be an initial challenge, once you have a clear objective, then you will be able to move forward with your marketing communication strategy.



Learning activity: Braaap communication strategy

Review the braaap case study at the start of this section. Further information can be found on their website at the address below.

<http://www.braaap.com.au>.

Answer the following:

1. What message is braaap communicating to its customers?

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2. Research the braaap message and present your thoughts on its effectiveness within the market.

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To implement your marketing plan you will need to action the tactics defined in the marketing communication or marketing mix.



The marketing mix will communicate the message through the various avenues such as personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, advertising and direct marketing an organisation utilises to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives.

Advertising utilises a paid sponsor to present and promote the product or service.

Personal selling is the personal presentation by the organisations sales team to generate sales and develop customer relationships.

Sales promotions encourage the customer to purchase the product or service by offering incentives.

Public relations is about building good relationships with the organisations various publics by obtaining favourable publicity and building a good ‘corporate image’.

Direct marketing is communicating directly with targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships.

Promotion mix

When deciding how to effectively utilise a marketing mix to achieve defined objectives it is important to identify and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the marketing mix components.

The marketing plan must define the allocated budget to maximise the return on investment by selecting an effective marketing mix. For each marketing mix component to be successful, a balance of the various elements must be created to ensure an integrated approach to marketing communications ensuring the budgeting of sufficient resources.

Aspects that need to be considered includes:

Advertising far-reaching, high frequency covering large, geographically dispersed audiences

relatively high cost averaged at low cost per exposure

consumer’s perception of advertised goods is considered more legitimate

the company and brand are dramatised

brand image is developed and built

stimulates short-term sales

costly.



Personal selling an effective tool for building buyers’ preferences, convictions, and actions

feedback and adjustments can be implemented from personal interaction

rapport and relationship-oriented

attentive buyers

a long-term commitment is represented by the sales persons

this promotional tool is considered the most costly.

Sales promotion targets trade or end consumer

employs a variety of formats

premiums, coupons, contests, etc.

incorporates worthwhile incentives, dramatises offers and increases lagging sales

generate a quick response

generally short-term

unable to effectively building long-term brand preferences.

Public relations highly credible and believable

various forms: news stories, news features, events and sponsorships, etc.

communicates to prospects possibly missed via other forms of promotion

an under-used element in the marketing mix; considered relatively inexpensive, however, certainly not ‘free’ as many people think as there are costs involved).

Direct marketing Various methods: telephone marketing, direct mail, online marketing, etc.

four distinctive characteristics:

non-public

immediate

customised

interactive

well-suited to highly-targeted marketing efforts.



Product life cycle

When selecting marketing communications mix, consideration needs to be given to the ‘product life cycle’, which allows you to decide how and when to emphasise different parts of the mix according to the stages of a typical product life cycle. The diagram below describes the product life cycle.

The stages of the product life cycle are:

pre-introduction: sprinkle of advertising, pre-introduction publicity

introduction: concentrated and intense advertising, incorporating public relations to generate awareness and sales promotion for trial

growth: advertising and public relations incorporating branding and brand marketing including personal selling for distribution

maturity: the decreasing of advertising , sales promotion and personal selling incorporates reminder and persuasion

decline: advertising and public relations have decrease with limited sales promotion and personal selling for distribution.

Prior to preparing your promotions plan, you need to select the right marketing channels for your organisation and product from those available. The distribution plan must also be considered as it involves the physical distribution of goods and customer service.

The promotions plan should consider and include the present structure of the organisations sales team and any changes proposed for the implementation of the marketing plan. It should include:

details

schedules

cost of advertising

promotion activities.

Ultimately the main objective is to increase profits.

Learning activity: Braaap Promotion





Formulate a promotions mix for braaap defining and incorporating the following tactical elements as applicable.

Note: An alternative, such as a recent Apple product, can also be used.

Advertising:

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Personal selling:

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Sales promotion:

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Public relations:

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Direct marketing:

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Product pricing and distribution decisions

Objectives of the marketing plan stipulate the monitoring of product, pricing and distribution decisions against organisational policy.

The positioning plan must be written in accordance with organisational requirements.

Positioning strategies

Positioning incorporates seven strategies that can be pursued.

1. Product attributes: The specific product attributes.

2. Product benefits: The product benefits to the customer.

3. Product usage: The products usages, how, when and where.

4. Product users: Identify the products target market.

5. Product competitors: Product is positioned in direct competition with competitors.

6. Product distinction from competitors: The product is set apart from competitors.

7. Product classes: Where the product sits within the class of products.

Learning activity: Braaap positioning strategies



Define the above seven positioning strategies for braaap.

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2. ________________________________________________________________

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4. ________________________________________________________________

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5. ________________________________________________________________

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6. ________________________________________________________________

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7. ________________________________________________________________

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Positioning differences

An important aspect of positioning is in how you promote a product’s difference. This may include considering aspects such as:

Importance How this product delivers the target market with a highly valued benefit.

Distinctiveness Why competitors are unable to match the organisation’s offer or how the organisation’s product is unique.

Superiority Why the benefits of this product or service are superior to others that are available.

Communicable Ensuring that the differences are clearly communicated and explained.

Pre-emptiveness Acknowledging similar products that are available and pre-empting the comparison by stating the difference and why this is unique and unable to be copied by competitors

Affordability Are buyers are willing and able to afford to pay the difference?

Profitability Is the organisation able to profitably introduce the difference?



Learning activity: Braaap positioning differences



Define each of the positioning differences for braaap.

1. ________________________________________________________________

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2. ________________________________________________________________

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3. ________________________________________________________________

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4. ________________________________________________________________

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5. ________________________________________________________________

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6. ________________________________________________________________

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7. ________________________________________________________________

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Place

Place, or distribution channel, is the method for making a product available to the consumer.

Generally distribution channels involve eight main functions:

1. Information: Providing market research information.

2. Promotion: Implementing and conveying specific offers.

3. Contact: Communicating and generating a rapport with potential buyers.

4. Matching: Modifying the process to meet the buyers requirements.

5. Negotiation: The discussion and agreement of payment terms and price.

6. Physical distribution: The mode of transport and storage of goods.

7. Financing: Acquiring funds to finance distribution.

8. Risk Taking: Channel work risk assumption.



For example, if you wish to promote and sell your own compilation CD, there are various ways to distribute your CD.

Retail – Obviously the most difficult is retail (selling your CD in music stores). This is difficult for independent musicians or bands because you usually need to have a relationship with a distributor.

Online – You can easily and cheaply set up a webpage with your information, sample audio files, show dates, and how to order your CD.

In person – At performances, you should sell your CDs. You can mention that you are selling CDs and where to buy them while you are performing. Directing customers to a designated person will ensure you don’t have to worry. The designated person can collect the money, hand out the CDs, etc. so you do not have to worry about it during a show.

Price

What is the amount charged for a product or service? You will need to understand the product positioning prior to setting a price. It is important to ensure the price is not too low, and the product is taken seriously, alternatively the customer may not take the risk if the price is perceived as too high.

Learning activity: Pricing the CD

Consider the above CD example regarding price, and answer the following questions.

1. How would you price the CDs?

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2. Why would you need to consider?

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Pricing strategies

Generally there are six pricing strategies.

1. Product line: This refers to a line of product items and the setting of price steps between them.

2. Optional product: This refers to optional pricing or accessory products.



3. Captive product: This refers to the pricing of the ancillary product that must be used in conjunction with the main product.

4. By-product: This refers to by product being lowly priced to clear the stock of them.

5. Product bundle: This refers to products that are bundled together for a set price.

6. New product pricing: This refers to new products (as detailed below).

Upon release of a new product an organisation can implement one of two pricing strategies:

market-skimming

market penetration.

Market-skimming:

This process is where high prices are initially set to ‘skim’ revenue from the market layer by layer.

This process is effective when:

the higher price is supported by product quality and image.

the required volume of buyers want the product at that price

the cost of producing a small volume is effective

it is not easy for competitors to enter the market.

Market penetration

This involves setting a low initial price in order to penetrate the market quickly and deeply and to gain a large market share.

This process works when:

market is highly price sensitive

production and distribution costs fall as sales volume increases

slow price must help keep out the competition.

Price adjustment

Changing situations will require the following are price adjustments:

Incentives and discounts: Reward consumers who promote the product and pay promptly.

Discriminatory: This encompasses the varying customers, products and locations and adjusts prices accordingly.

Psychological: This process plays of customer perception and adjusts prices such as $19.95 vs. $20.00 for psychological effects.

Value: The combination of quality and service allows the adjustment of price offering value for money.

Promotional: This process is a short-term reduction of the product price to increase sales.

Geographical: This process incorporates the geographic location of customer and adjusts the price accordingly.



Learning activity: Price

Review the Aldi scenario at the start of Section 1, and answer the following questions.

1. How has Aldi achieved its market penetration?

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2. Has pricing been a factor? Elaborate.

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Analyse promotion methods

There are often misconceptions of the elements that most people believe to be marketing such as selling and advertising etc. Unfortunately it is these same people who underestimate what marketing can do.

Effective promotion methods for communicating with customers are:

branding

advertising

direct mail

public relations

sales promotions

sponsorship

product presentation

direct selling

the internet.

For example, a colleague recently entered into a senior marketing role within a large organisation. Over the initial weeks, one of the biggest problems she experienced was a constant supply of ‘promotional opportunities’ being offered by a varied range of agencies and promotional companies. She found it difficult to decide which of these opportunities were good and which were inappropriate as she did not have a clearly defined marketing strategy.



However, she knew that within a matter of time, she could put together an agreed marketing strategy and then select the most appropriate of those promotional ideas.

It is easy for marketing managers to become totally snowed under by such a variety of conflicting and costly opportunities. This often leads to a promotional campaign based on ‘which agency sent in the most visually exciting brochure’ rather than on a promotional campaign that supports the marketing objectives/strategies.

Many marketing managers, who are unfamiliar with a market-led approach, often jump straight to this stage in the process and waste large sums of money and effort. They may recruit a full-time marketing person to sort out the problems of the organisation and then expect the marketing person to produce a new corporate brochure which will suddenly dramatically increase the turnover of the organisation.

If an organisation is not achieving the sales or profits it projected, then it is usually not simply a failing of the organisation’s promotional tactics. Something more fundamental is usually the cause, it may be necessary to bring in an outside marketing consultant to take a more global look at the organisation’s weaknesses.

A large amount of work should be done prior to arriving at this stage in the market planning process if a promotion is to be successful and profitable.

Channels of distribution

As mentioned previously, place, or channel of distribution, generally refers to the customer’s mode of purchase for the product.

This includes the place of purchased and the actual distribution route. Common means for purchasing products or services include:

at a shop

over the telephone

online via a website

at a warehouse.

The distribution chain

Consumer products are generally purchased from a retailer; in turn they purchase them from a wholesaler/distributor, which has purchased them from a manufacturer.



Imported goods may have more components within their distribution chain, however occasionally this distribution chain is altered and components bypassed. For example, in the air-conditioning industry, some manufacturers retail their product directly to end consumers whilst also selling them to installation companies and national distributors.

Various distribution channels running parallel with each other can provide different levels of profitability with the implementation of a strong pricing strategy. For example:

a consumer may purchase immediately when there is only one variant of a product.

a retailer is likely to stock a limited number of variants and expect payment terms.

a distributor will offer discount rates for large volumes of product in all its variants

a distribution policy needs to take account all of these variables. If it does not, then you could find yourself in a situation with a customer, which may result in the loss of a sale.

To further complicate this approach, you need to consider your ‘customer’ might be a:

consumer

retailer

distributor.

Each of these customers will require different features or different levels of service.

Learning activity: Promotional methods

Research promotional methods used in your own workplace, or another workplace you can easily gain access to. You should be looking for information in relation to the following questions.

What type of customers does the organisation provide products or services to?

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How does this impact on the pricing strategy?

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How does this impact on the distribution chain?

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The internet

This technology has opened a new ‘Place’ for many business sectors. It has enabled the bypassing ‘middlemen’, which has resulted in price advantages for customers thus generating increased volume for the seller. This can be done by selling directly to the customer, thus bypassing the retailer, or by dealing directly with your retailer, and bypassing the wholesaler.

Given the relatively low set-up costs, this approach is favoured because it provides enormous flexibility in developing a commercial site. This is particularly beneficial to small businesses will little medium. A site can be develop over a few months and fine-tuned as the results generate information for your relevant market sector at minimal cost.

Business owners can embrace a new strategy to develop and build their business with minimal risk.

Learning activity: Internet marketing

Research how your organisation, or another workplace you can easily gain access to, utilises the internet for marketing activities. You should be looking for information in relation to the following.

How does this impact on the channels of distribution?

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If not, how would it impact on the channels of distribution?

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Monitoring marketing results

To achieve designated targets in the marketing plan, marketing results need to be monitored to measure against marketing plan target goals.

Marketing performance

Monitoring marketing performance involves looking at what has happened and why. To determine what has happened you need to consider the facts of your results and how do they compare with your goals? Ask yourself the following questions.

Did marketing efforts reach the target groups?

Did the campaign run to schedule?

Was the target market responsive?

To determine why it happened you need to consider how the marketing program influenced the results? Ask yourself the following questions.

Were there misdirected marketing efforts?

Did a specific marketing activity help our results?

What part of the marketing plan did what?

Now that you have analysed what worked and what didn’t work, it is time to plan how to redirect marketing efforts and how to capitalise on successful elements. Monitoring and evaluating marketing efforts is a very difficult task and can often be unsuccessful due to lack of detailed information. To successfully achieve desired objectives it is important to utilise a suitable monitoring and control system.

The monitoring and control process involves:

Establishing standards

These relate to the budgeted sales and costs, and the timelines for the action plans implementation

Measuring performance

This captures and compares actual performance against the standards

Proposing measures to correct deviations from the standard

Detailing, corrective procedures to be implemented if the variation from standard exceeds certain limits as defined in the marketing plan.



Learning activity: Monitor and control processes

Research how your organisation, or another workplace you can easily gain access to, monitors and evaluates marketing activities. You should be looking for information in relation to the following.

How is performance measured?

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If standards are not achieved, what are the corrective procedures?

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The control system operates on the personnel responsible for implementing the plan, rather than on the schedules and the costs themselves. The system needs to be easy to operate and allow reasonable variation from the standards before it comes into action.

It is often said that:

‘80% of customers contribute only 20% of profits, while the remaining 20% of customers provide the bulk of profits to an organisation.’

While this percentage obviously varies between industries, it does illustrate the fact that misdirected marketing is responsible for a great deal of wasted resources. Often the same amounts of resources in an organisation are directed towards a high profit item as towards a low profit item.

When reviewing the marketing performance, marketing personnel often do not have access to the information that enables them to see where marketing resources are being wasted. They don’t know what percentage of total sales and profits come from a particular product line or customer type.



Market share analysis

A share market analysis is an excellent method in auditing the marketing plan results. This studies the sales of an organisation and how the organisation compares to the rest of the industry. This data is often difficult to obtain, but trade associations and government bureaus (such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics) are often an excellent source of data.

Goals versus results

Once industry comparisons have been obtained it is necessary to break down the results into product lines and by market segments. In a marketing audit, the sales breakdown can be done in many different manners.

How the marketing manager chooses to break down sales is dependent on how they have chosen to segment the market.

Once the sales breakdown has been made, the marketing manger then needs to look at the goals made for each segment.

As much information as possible should be gathered about competitors’ success in different segments of the markets and from there, analysis of why performance has fallen short of, or exceeded goals can take place. This analysis is an extremely difficult task.

Learning activity: Monitor and record progress



List five ways for braaap to record the performance of its marketing campaign.

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There are numerous methods of obtaining feedback, but all of these incorporate the managed process of reviewing and reporting on your marketing campaign. Earlier, we touched on quantitative and qualitative data; the feedback you receive contributes to this data. Collecting feedback is imperative; there are several sources from which we can obtain feedback.

Personnel Important information regarding the marketing activities will come from the personnel involved. This can offer you a valuable insight into the evaluation process.

Target market Feedback from your target market is imperative. Communicating with your target market is the whole objective of the exercise. Feedback during the marketing campaign will assist you with the evaluation process and provide important data. Target market feedback is crucial.

Management Management need to know how the marketing team and campaign are performing. Openly communicating with management provides a basis for two way communication to provide and obtain feedback.

Stakeholders Business and financial managers need to know the status of the budget to ensure appropriate decisions are being made.

The media Often you can receive coverage from unexpected areas. The way your marketing activities are perceived and reported by the media can have an enormous impact on the overall success of the marketing campaign.

Gathering information to measure customer reaction enables us to analyse and gather invaluable information but it needs to be a managed process. This information can be used to improve the targeting of our marketing activities.

There are several ways to collect information that will assist in evaluating your marketing campaign. However, it is imperative that you and your team have clear goals.

What information needs to be collected?

How will the information be collected?

Will the chosen methods provide the information required to draw conclusions?

Use the same method to collect further information later in the campaign.



Learning activity: Collecting and evaluating marketing results

Research how your organisation, or another workplace you can easily gain access to, collects and evaluates marketing results? You should be looking for information in relation to the following.

What and how is the information collected?

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Has the chosen method provided the required information?

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What conclusion have you been able to ascertain?

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Periodically assessing customers’ feelings and opinions of the organisation and how well their needs are being satisfied provides further valuable information.

Consider what processes would best capture the required information for each of the questions below:

What has been the customers’ feedback?

What was our key focus of appeal?



Did we successfully appeal to our targets?

What improvement suggestions do we have?

What product features were promoted?

What benefits of the product were promoted?

Applying the following steps to the review of your strategies and planning processes is beneficial.

1. Review your action plan.

2. Examine the various options for assessing your action plan processes.

3. Consider each element and consider the best way to identify if it is working.

4. Develop a review schedule for your action plan.

Consider the following.

What are the goals of your review of action plan?

Who you are reviewing the action plan for?

What are your marketing activities and what do you need to know regarding their implementation?

How are you going to collect this information?

How will this information be used?

How will you report and present your findings?

To effectively and efficiently monitor product, pricing and distribution decisions relevant data relating to all elements of the marketing is essential to ensure marketing personnel can make sound informed decisions.

Marketing plans are not set in concrete; during implementation you may need to modify certain strategies to allow for environmental changes, this may alter the implementation of some action plans. Including an updating procedure in the plan will allow for unforeseen circumstances. All marketing plans should be reviewed on an annual basis.

Learning activity: Monitoring competitor activity

Review the Aldi scenario at the start of Section 1.

Consider the view from Coles’ and Woolworths’ position with Aldi’s arrival by answering the following questions.

How will these organisations monitor Aldi’s impact?

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How will the relevant information be collected?

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How will this information be used?

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Monitoring marketing revenue and costs

In any organisation it is imperative to monitor marketing revenue and costs against allocated budget. This vital information requires analysis and variations recorded.

Highlighting the financial impact the marketing performance has on the organisation will show the anticipated results of the actions outlined in the marketing plan. Detailing revenue versus expenses for all marketing decisions, should include, timelines involved in accomplishing the required goals and objectives.

The budget should outline spending requirements for:

each decision

breakdowns by month

breakdowns by year.

Expenses can also be shown by:

individual product

geographic area

distribution network.

An organisation’s financial statements do not include this sort of information. They only illustrate total costs and or total sales. It is important for a marketing manager to determine how sales vary between regions and where the resources are going.



Learning activity: CD revenue

The operating statement of the organisation may show that profits and sales are going extremely well. On the surface it might seem as if the marketing effort is going great guns.

A more detailed breakdown of figures though might reveal that Victorian sales are the source that props up the other sales. Sales in South Australia might have increased by a huge amount while other states are going backwards.

Obviously the marketing department is doing something right in South Australia but its efforts are misdirected in the other states. It would then be the job of the marketing executive to analyse what is working in South Australia and Victoria and why it isn’t working in other states.

Your task is to undertake the following.

To monitor marketing revenue and costs, you have been asked to undertake an analysis of the situation. How would you proceed?

Create a document detailing the processes you would utilise to collect the appropriate information.

Marketing costs must be closely analysed. Marketing managers need to have a comprehensive information detailing:

how marketing costs are spread

where the money is being spent:

o is it on product development, promotion or customer research?

standards of how much should be spent on marketing

how much money needs to be spent on marketing in order for the organisation to be competitive

what results should be expected to result from marketing spending:

o an organisation deciding to spend an extra $100,000 on advertising should be able to estimate what the resulting increase in sales is expected to be and what would have happened if they’d spent the money on product development or other facets of the marketing program.

In other words, when marketing money is spent, it is essential for the marketing manager to know how and why that money is being spent. It is not simply enough to say: ‘Let’s spend a million on marketing this year’.

Documenting and reporting on promotional activities allows you to assess the revenue generated compared to the associated costs and analyse the information to ensure the organisation is in a profitable situation.

Often the generated revenue will be excellent with all targets and objectives being met however, if the associated costs are not comparable you will quickly have a situation similar to Franklins, where the business is not generating the required profit and suddenly the organisation is in a serious situation.



Continual budgeting, monitoring, analysing and reporting will update all parties involved and allow changes to be implemented prior to a critical situation occurring.

Learning activity: Tracking marketing revenue and costs

Research how your organisation, or another workplace you can easily gain access to, collects and tracks marketing revenue and associated costs. You should be looking for information in relation to the following.

What relevant information is collected?

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How this information is collected.

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The process used to track it through the organisation.

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Preparing and presenting marketing reports

To inform organisation personnel and relevant stakeholders of marketing progress, marketing reports need to be prepared and presented indicating marketing progress towards specified marketing objectives.

Documenting and reporting on promotional activities allows you to assess the success of a promotion. Recorded information about promotions will also contribute forecasting and future planning of the business. Facts can be recorded manually, using a formatted promotional sales sheet or electronically.

Records might include:

sales figures

promotional display assessment checklists

foot traffic

factors deterring customer from store, e.g. weather, transportation strike, development of shopping complex

competitor promotions

seasonal changes

complaints / returns

customer comments

supplier issues.

During the recording process, accuracy is important and if you are delegating this task to other team members ensure they are trained accordingly.

Learning activity: Marketing reports

Ask your own workplace or use a simulated workplace such as the workplace of a friend or family member (as negotiated with your facilitator) to provide a marketing report you can utilise for this activity.

If you do not have a workplace, search the internet for a suitable example or use the one at the link provided below:

‘Sample marketing plan – GMMSO: The Case of Sweetlix’, Scribd, viewed June 2010, <http://www.scribd.com/doc/854239/Example-Marketing-Plan-Report->.

Once you have obtained and reviewed the marketing report, answer the following questions.

What is your first reaction to the report?

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Is it visually interesting?

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Is the content easily understood?

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Using charts

It is imperative to present your information to ensure the reader is able to easily understand and establish the results of your analysis. To ensure this objective is achieved we need to examine when to use various types of charts and to ensure your charts are as effective as possible. The type of chart should relate to the type of data being presented.

Chart types include:

column chart – to compare values

pie chart – for displaying proportions

line chart – for comparing time series

area chart – to draw conclusions from data

scatter plots – to display relationships between two variables

bar chart – to display counts.



Other visual images

With any presentation you must state your facts in a simple, concise and interesting manner. Readers learn and retain more information with the use of interesting and informative images.

Data may be displayed using a range of visual images including:

charts

curves

graphs

spreadsheets.

Simple, clear and concise visual images will ensure the reader is able to see the detail in the chart to interpret it correctly, remove items that might be distracting.

Depending on the chart, removing the grid lines will allow the data to create a clearer picture. Images add tremendous strength, concepts that are difficult to grasp can be communicated quickly and easily through the use of well produced visual charts and tables.

Tables

Tables are another format to present numerical data.

Present data in tables when it can’t be easy worded.

Tables should be numbered as they appear ‘Fig 1: Name of Table’.

Tables should be simple and concise including only summative data.

The key to writing a good report is to follow a simple structure, keep it interesting and easy to read. Reports are required to communicate ideas and information clearly and concisely to ensure effectiveness.

Readers need to be able to quickly understand what is being communicated without having to read through masses of irrelevant information.

An effective market analysis report needs to consider:

Why the report is required?

Who is the report for, who is going to read it?

What is the purpose of the report, what do readers hope to gain?

Is the report covering:

o specific ideas and information?

o a solution to a specific problem?

What will be the result of your report, what decisions will be made?



• The following information provides a brief overview of what each section should include.

Report structure

• The title page should gain the immediate attention of the reader. The title should be clearly displayed, positioned highly on the page to accurately reflect the reports content. Ensure the relevant information such as author and date is included. Check with your organisation may have an existing template that can be followed.

Title page

• Often the summary will be the only content a manager will take the time to read. We need to ensure the summary concisely contains all the relevant information and is placed at the beginning of the report.

Summary

• This section needs to acknowledge assistance that you have received whilst writing the report. Especially if it has been from parties outside of your organisation commissioning the report. If others ideas have been used within the report these need to be cited for reference.

Acknowledgements

• This should be concise, set the scene and inform the reader of the details at the start of the project.

Introduction and terms of reference

• The reader needs to know how and by what methods you have you reached your conclusions.

• Typical questions may be:

• The type of equipment and software used?

• The conditions of research undertaken

• What assumptions have been made in the research?

Methodology



There is no need to reinvent the wheel, check with your organisation, they may have an existing report template developed in accordance with organisational policies and procedures.

Learning activity: Report templates

Use your workplace, the internet or other sources to locate a template that is suitable to use for reporting on the progress of marketing activities.

Conduct some research in your workplace, or another workplace that you can get access to, and locate an example of a completed report that you could keep as reference material.

• Tables and charts need to present the data findings to enable the reader a greater understanding of your conclusions and to provide evidence that illustrate our findings to be true.

Results

• This section of the report is the most important and largest. Rather than repeat your findings you need to explain the results in terms of their ideas and justify the basis of which they were formed.

• It is recommended that you write your analysis of results section in the early stages to allow yourself more time to collect relevant data as you write the other areas of the report. This will support your discussion, analysis, results and conclusions.

Discussion and analysis

• A report does give you an opportunity to state your conclusions. Conclusions should briefly summarise the answers to the questions in your introduction and discussion results of the main body, assessing the implications of previously presented evidence.

Conclusions

• Recommendations should be drawn from your conclusions in a clear and concise manner. An action plan outlining issues to follow up on should be provided for your readers.

Recommendations

• Appendices may contain detailed or supplementary information. By removing these issues from the main text it allows the reader to follow the main issues free from distraction.

Appendices



Describe the purpose of the report you collected, the audience and who prepared it.

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Remember to file these reports for future reference.

Section summary

You should now understand how to implement and monitor promotional activities against communication objectives in the marketing plan and monitor product, pricing and distribution decisions against organisational policy. Monitor marketing results against targets and analyse marketing revenue and cost against allocated budget to record variations. Prepare marketing reports to present and communicate ongoing progress towards marketing objectives.

Further reading

‘Marketing mix’, Marketing teacher, viewed June 2010, <http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_marketing_ mix.htm>.

‘Marketing mix’, SEO Services & Website Marketing, viewed June 2010, <http://www.consultancymarketing.co.uk/marketing-mix.htm>.

‘Marketing mix’, How stuff works, viewed June 2010, <http://money.howstuffworks.com/marketing-plan18.htm>.

‘Marketing plans’, Learn marketing, viewed June 2010, <http://www.learnmarketing.net/marketingplan.htm>.

‘Identify marketing strategy’, Know this, viewed June 2010, <http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/how-to-write-a-marketing-plan/identify-marketing-strategy>.



Information about resources can be found at:

‘Free stuff and resources’, Smart thinking, viewed June 2010, <http://smarthinking.com.au/resources.shtml>.

‘Marketing resources: Most recent’, Marketing profs, viewed June 2010, <http://www.marketingprofs.com/marketing/library>.

‘The marketing environment’, Learn marketing, viewed June 2010, <http://www.learnmarketing.net/environment.htm>.

Information about marketing objectives can be found at:

‘SMART objectives’, Learn marketing, viewed June 2010, <http://www.learnmarketing.net/smart.htm>.

‘Part 3: Marketing objectives’, Small business tool kit, viewed June 2010, <http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/dsrd/part/marketing_objectives/1/1/3.html>.

‘Marketing plan: Marketing objectives and strategies’, Small business notes, viewed June 2010, <http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/planning/marketingplan/marketplanobjectives.html>.

Information about target markets can be found at:

‘Targeting’, Learn marketing, viewed June 2010, <http://www.learnmarketing.net/targeting.htm>.

‘Part 3: Targeting’, Small business tool kit, viewed June 2010, <http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/dsrd/part/targeting/1/3/14.html>

‘Marketing planning – setting objectives’, Tutor2u, viewed June 2010, <http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/planning_setting_ objectives.asp>.

Section checklist

Before you proceed to the next section, make sure that you are able to:

monitor and implement promotional activity against communication objectives in the marketing plan

monitor product, pricing and distribution decisions against organisational policy and the objectives of the marketing plan

monitor marketing results against targets in the marketing plan

monitor marketing revenue and costs against budget, and analyse record variations

prepare and present marketing reports that indicate ongoing progress towards marketing objectives.

Student Workbook Section 3 – Evaluate and Improve Marketing Performance


Section 3 – Evaluate and Improve Marketing Performance

This section is about assessing marketing performance against objectives, identifying opportunities for improvement through discussions with customers and relevant marketing mix personnel. The section also covers how to implement changes in business practices in line with changing customer requirements, in order to ensure the business maintains relevance and viability. In addition, this section discusses the need to follow organisational requirements when documenting improvement recommendations, communicating changes to marketing objectives and targets with relevant stakeholders and facilitating implementation.

Scenario: Coles and Woolworths

How are these major competitors combating the Aldi invasion?

Consider the current market. Both Coles and Woolworths are implementing aggressive marketing to cement their positioning in the market and their market share.

Both organisations are currently refurbishing stores with fresh new fit-outs and following through with marketing mixes that reinforce their revised marketing strategies.

Take a moment to analyse what is currently being played out in our daily lives. We are experiencing marketing with a huge force between fierce competitors in our local market. Also, keep abreast with the organisations’ whisperings of entering the global market.

Interesting times are ahead. Keep a track of what is unfolding, for, as a marketing person, it is certainly a learning experience that can be monitored daily.



regularly assess marketing performance against objectives

identify opportunities for improvement through discussion with customers and personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix

change business practices in line with changing customer requirements to maintain business relevance and viability

document recommendations for improvements in accordance with organisational requirements

communicate changes to marketing objectives and targets with relevant stakeholders to facilitate implementation.

Section 3 – Evaluate and Improve Marketing Performance Student Workbook


Assessing marketing performance

To effectively evaluate marketing performance against objectives, it is imperative to constantly monitor, measure and assess marketing performance.

Performance analysis looks for variations from planned performance. In a simple sales analysis, the figures are merely listed or graphed – they aren’t compared to standards. In performance analysis, managers make comparisons; they may compare one store against another, against the same stores performance last year or against expected performance.

The purpose of assessing performance is to improve operations. The sales person, store or other factors showing poor performance can be identified, singled out for detailed analysis, and corrective action can be implemented. Performance can also be analysed to see if the successes can be explained and implemented as an overall rule. Performance analysis isn’t just limited to sales; in the case of a wholesaler employing a sales team, other data can be analysed. This data may include the miles travelled to see clients, the number of calls being made, and the number of orders or the cost of various tasks. Depending on your organisation, you will need to design and implement relevant assessment processing according to measurable data.

An excellent tool for evaluating marketing performance is to gather information measuring customer reactions. This enables you to analyse and gather invaluable information, however, it needs to be a managed process. This information can be used to improve the targeting of our marketing activity.

There are several ways to collect information that will assist you in evaluating your marketing campaign, however, it is imperative that you and your team have clear goals.

What information needs to be collected?

How will the information be collected?

Will the chosen methods provide the information required to draw conclusions?

Use the same method to collect further information later in the campaign.

Periodically assessing customers’ feelings and opinions of the organisation and how well their needs are being satisfied provides further valuable information. Consider what processes would best capture the required information for each of the following questions:

What has been the customers’ feedback?

What was our key focus of appeal?

Did we successfully appeal to our targets? Steps in the control and

assessment process



What improvement suggestions do we have?

What product features were promoted?

What benefits of the product were promoted?

Learning activity: Customer reactions

Interview the marketing manager at your workplace, or a workplace you can get access to, about customer reactions to marketing activities. Your should be seeking information on:

the importance of gathering information detailing customer’s reactions

how beneficial this information is and what effect it has on marketing campaigns.


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If you have identified that the marketing activities are not meeting objectives, it will be necessary to collect and analyse relevant data in order to implement review of the areas of concern. This should be communicated to all relevant personnel and stakeholders to ensure all are aware of the situation and internal feedback could be able to pinpoint the problem assisting it to be rectified.



Identifying opportunities for marketing performance improvement

Each element of the marketing mix needs to be constantly monitored and evaluated. Through discussions with customers and responsible personnel, opportunities can be identified for marketing mix improvements.

The monitoring, evaluating and reviewing of marketing mix performance will highlight opportunities for change and improvement. The forces of competition will help speed up these opportunities. With technology the world is becoming a smaller place, we are faced with global competition and consumers with higher expectations that need to be met and exceeded.

Thinking about all of these changes highlights that marketing is certainly dynamic; to stay in the game you will need to adopt innovative thinking to ensure business survives and thrives. Given the pace at which changes occur any opportunities for improvement must be carefully timed.

The marketing mix can be expanded further to incorporate:

People

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services are produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are altered to meet the ‘individual needs’ of the person consuming them.

Service delivery is essential if the organisation wants to obtain a competitive advantage. Consumers make judgements and deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact with.



Staff should:

have a professional and well presented image

have appropriate interpersonal skills

have excellent service knowledge

be well trained and skilled to provide the service standards consumers expect.

The right people will provide a huge impact to the overall success of an organisation.

Process

Process refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service.

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix. Some see processes as a means to achieve an outcome.

For example, to achieve a 25% market share an organisation implements a marketing planning process.

Physical evidence

Physical evidence is the elements of the service mix which allows the consumer to make judgements on the organisation.

Elements to consider:

Where is the service being delivered?

For example, if you walk into a family restaurant, your expectations are of a clean, welcoming, and child-friendly environment, with meals that are appropriate. Or on an aircraft, if you travel first class you expect superior service, extra space and room to be able to lie down.

Learning activity: Physical evidence

Consider your organisation. If you do not have a workplace, interview friends or family members to find out how this occurs in their workplace. Alternatively, you could research how this is done in a public organisation such as a fast food outlet.

You should be looking for information in relation to the following.

What are the ingredients of the physical evidence?

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What do consumer’s perceive and expect?

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Considering all key characteristics of a product or service will dictate what elements of the marketing mix to focus on and in which proportion. Taking time to think through your marketing strategy forces you to make decisions including:

accurately defining the marketplace

the market segment

the product positioning

the unique selling propositions.

This assists the process, however, working through your marketing strategy also forces you to make difficult decisions. The most difficult ones are those where you decide not to do certain things; such as deciding certain market sectors are not key to your organisation’s success due to the difficulty in competing effectively.

The benefits of making such decisions are that it forces you to focus on a more limited and achievable sets of objectives. This creates a clearer vision of the elements of the marketing mix that need to be used to ensure profitable results from your marketing budget.

Learning activity: Identify opportunities for change and improvement

Refer to your own workplace or use a simulated workplace such as the workplace of a friend or family member as negotiated with your facilitator.

How does the organisation identify marketing mix opportunities for change and improvement?

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Why is it necessary to implement changes if our marketing mix activities strategy is delivering according to projected targets and market performance is strong? Can’t we just be satisfied that everything is working according to plan and we can now sit back and relax?

Complacency could see your competitors sail on by. Constant diligence is required to remain alert to changes that occur and the impact they have on the business.

Meeting the changing needs of the customer

To maintain business relevance and viability it is imperative to change business practices as customer requirements change. Small changes can make a big difference.

When competing against other organisations, continued business success can be ensured by exceeding customers’ expectations and go that extra mile to do everything a little bit better than the competition.

Many organisations search only for that great moment of product or quality that will provide a competitive edge, often at the expense of making smaller improvements. But those great moments may be few and far between while opportunities to implement small improvements are within the organisation’s day-to-day capabilities.

While quality of product is imperative, it is also essential to have quality in serving and satisfying customers, quality in advertising and promotion campaigns, quality in packaging, design, engineering, effective communications and branding.

Small organisations can have an advantage to adapt and change quickly, simply because of their size. For example, Domino’s Pizza began as a small company and became a large company by guaranteeing delivery of pizzas within 20 minutes. If the delivery took longer than 20 minutes, it was free, regardless of the weather conditions.

Although subsequently Domino’s has now changed this policy, it certainly created an expectation and perception in the minds of customers that they would receive faster-than-ordinary service. Domino’s now enjoys a pizza menu positioned in a multitude of homes where consumers are quick to place an order, via phone or internet, all due to the marketing of the Domino’s concept. Fast, quality food, quickly delivered to your door.

However, every organisation, regardless of size, can improve quality and customer service.

Next time you order a pizza, conduct a quality improvement exercise: track an order from its inception to final delivery.

CHECKLIST FOR IMPROVEMENTS

What is the process used to sell the products and services?

What process is used to obtain customer orders?

What process generates a record of the order for the company and customer?



What is the process to fill orders within the company?

How customer discounts are identified and is there a system implemented?

What is the expected time frame for the delivery of customer’s order?

Are orders checked for accuracy prior to despatch and upon delivery?

What process is utilised to deliver the goods?

Is there a code of conduct for persons having direct contact with the customer and how is this evaluated?

Is there a regular meeting of all associated personal to brainstorm improvement processes?

Are customers regularly followed up to determine satisfaction and future orders?

Opportunities for change and improvement

The monitoring, evaluating and reviewing of all processes of the marketing campaign will highlight opportunities for change and improvement.

The forces of competition will help speed up these opportunities. With technology the world is becoming a smaller place, we are faced with global competition and consumers with higher expectations that need to be met and exceeded.

Thinking about all of these changes highlights that marketing is dynamic. To stay in the game you will need to adopt innovative thinking to ensure business survives and thrives. Given the pace at which changes occur any opportunities for improvement must be carefully timed.

Learning activity: Identify opportunities for change and improvement

Consider your organisation and the need to develop new business opportunities. If you do not have a workplace, interview friends or family members to find out how this occurs in their workplace.

Does any opportunity spring to mind?

Why is it important for an organisation to look at new markets and opportunities?

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Documenting recommendations for improvement

In accordance with organisational requirements, when recommending improvements for marketing performance, documentation needs to be prepared and reflect organisational policies and procedures.

Documents need to provide:

revised implementation schedule

marketing mix components implementation and by whom

a situational analysis describing:

o problems

o opportunities

o organisational internal and external environments.

A reviewed summary of the current organisational situation should also be compiled. This involves conducting a SWOT analysis to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of, and to, the organisation.

Revised financial aspects including:

budgeting

ROI (return on investment)

targets – expected financial results.

Ensure all documentation meets organisational policies and procedures.

Learning activity: Documenting improvements

Speak with relevant marketing personnel at your workplace or a workplace you can get access to through friends or family, and answer the following questions.

How are improvements to marketing objectives or activities documented?

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What are some examples that have identified during marketing activities that have resulted in changes or improvements to business practices?

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Communicating changes to marketing objectives

To facilitate effective implementation, changes to marketing objectives and targets need to be clearly and concisely communicated with relevant stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition. Relevant documentation will ensure the process is communicated effectively to the relevant personnel.

As previously identified stakeholders may include:

board of directors

finance staff

human resources staff

it staff

managers

marketing personnel

owners

production staff

supervisors.

We already know the main marketing objective should lead to sales.

When revising objectives is it imperative to clearly communicate to all relevant personnel the redefined marketing objectives, making sure they are consistent and not in conflict with each other. Steps in the control and

assessment process



Also, ensure that the remainder of your marketing plan components support the revised marketing objectives:

the marketing strategy

budget

action plan

controls and measures.

You will need to reassess the communication of your amended marketing objectives and finalise the reviewed components of your marketing plan. You will also need to ensure the necessary resources are still available and all communications have been received for implementation.

Communication process

Learning activity: Communicating changes

Refer to your own workplace or use a simulated workplace such as the workplace of a friend or family member as negotiated with your facilitator

Research and provide evidence of the process used within the organisation when communicating changes to marketing objectives.

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Section summary

You should now understand how to assess marketing performance against objectives; identify opportunities for improvement through discussions with customers and relevant marketing mix personnel; implement changes in business practices, in line with changing customer requirements to ensure business maintains relevance and viability; follow organisational requirements when documenting improvement recommendations, communicating and facilitating the implementation of changes to marketing objectives and targets with relevant stakeholders.

Further reading

‘Identify marketing strategy’, Know this, viewed June 2010, <http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/how-to-write-a-marketing-plan/identify-marketing-strategy>.

How marketing plans work’, How stuff works, viewed June 2010, <http://money.howstuffworks.com/marketing–plan18.htm>.

‘Sales and marketing plans’, Business owner’s toolkit, viewed June 2010, <http://www.toolkit.com/small_business_guide/sbg.aspx?nid= P03_8070>.

Information about marketing objectives can be found at:

‘SMART objectives’, Learn marketing, viewed June 2010, <http://www.learnmarketing.net/smart.htm>.

‘Part 3: Marketing objectives’, Small business tool kit, viewed June 2010, <http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/dsrd/part/marketing_objectives/1/1/3.html>.

‘Marketing plan: Marketing objectives and strategies’, Small business notes, viewed June 2010, <http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/ planning/marketingplan/marketplanobjectives.html>.

Section checklist

Make sure that you are able to:

regularly assess marketing performance against objectives

identify opportunities for improvement through discussion with customers and personnel responsible for each element of the marketing mix

change business practices in line with changing customer requirements to maintain business relevance and viability

document recommendations for improvements in accordance with organisational requirements

communicate changes to marketing objectives and targets with relevant stakeholders to facilitate implementation.

Student Workbook Glossary


Glossary

Term Definition

Action plan An action plan Is a documented plan that identifies required tasks, resources and timelines. It defines what needs to be achieved, when and how.

Business-to-business marketing

A business marketing their goods or services to other businesses.

Direct marketing Direct marketing is the use of mail, email, telephone, internet or direct response television commercials to target specific customers, and have them respond to marketing campaigns.

Facilitate Facilitation is used in business and organisational settings to ensure the design, implementation and operation of successful outcomes.

Feedback Information about an event, product or service. Consumer feedback provides the basis for modification or improvement of the event, product or service.

Implement Information about an event, product or service. Consumer feedback provides the basis for modification or improvement of the event, product or service.

Marketing Marketing is the process where organisations present products or services which may be of interest to customers, through a strategy utilising communications and business development

Marketing mix A marketing mix will comprise several elements that make up the marketing campaign.

Marketing plan A marketing plan is a written document that details specific actions required to successfully implement a marketing strategy for a product or service.

Marketing strategy A marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan; it integrates an organisation’s marketing objectives, goals, policies and actions.

Glossary Student Workbook


Term Definition

Monitoring Assesses the situation to observe any changes which may occur over time, using a monitor or measuring tool.

Public sector marketing

Marketing activities carried out by government agencies or groups that are aimed at providing public services rather than generating a profit.

Resources Elements that are utilised to assist the process. For example, human, technological, financial and physical.

Services marketing

Marketing based on relationship and value. This type of marketing focus on the 7 Ps (price, presentation, place, promotion, participants, physical evidence and process).

Stakeholders Persons involved directly or indirectly with the organisation or project.

Target market A target market is a market segment which a particular product or service is marketed to. It is can be defined by factors such as age, gender, marital status and economic circumstance.

Telemarketing A form of marketing in which the seller contacts a potential customer by phone to initiate and finalise a sale.

Viability A target market is a market segment which a particular product or service is marketed to. It is can be defined by factors such as age, gender, marital status and economic circumstance.

Student Workbook Appendices


Appendices Appendix 1: Individual action summary

Individual action summary

Team member/owner:

Objective:

Description of activities:

Deliverables:

Timeframe:

Resources required:

Review date:

Appendices Student Workbook


Appendix 2: Action planning templates

Action Plan Template

Project: _____________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Goals:

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Measures of success:

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Scope of organisational impact:

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Staffing and participants:

Name

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Role

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Time commitment

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Tracking and reporting process:

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Dependencies, risks, and constraints:

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Action Item

Action item number: ___________________________________________________

Owner: ___________________________________ Due date: _________________

Description of activity:

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Deliverable/s:

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Resources needed:

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Action Plan Tracking

Action item Number

Date started

Date completed

Comments



Appendix 3: Marketing plan and implementation template

Marketing Plan Template

Marketing item Purpose Method Assigned to Date required

Launch date

1

2

3

4

5

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7

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Implementation plan template

Task/deliverables Responsibility Planned end date

Actual end date Complete Comment



Appendix 4: Consumer responses – school supply store

The following table shows the responses received to various types of coupons issued by a school supply store in relation to a week-long sale.

School stuff super sale – One week only

Responses received

Coupon type

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Local paper 3 2 0 2 3 2 0

Letterbox Drop 5 8 6 8 5 4 6

Email 8 12 10 14 12 10 15



Appendix 5: Marketing plan

Marketing plan for

BBQfun

December 2009



Table of Contents

1.0 Executive Summary ....................................................................................... 86

2.0 Situation Analysis .......................................................................................... 86

2.1 Market summary ..................................................................................... 86

2.2 SWOT analysis ......................................................................................... 89

2.3 Competition ............................................................................................. 89

2.4 Service offering ........................................................................................ 90

2.5 Keys to success ....................................................................................... 91

2.6 Critical Issues .......................................................................................... 91

3.0 Marketing Strategy ........................................................................................ 91

3.1 Mission ..................................................................................................... 91

3.2 Marketing objectives ............................................................................... 92

3.3 Financial objectives ................................................................................. 92

3.4 Target marketing ..................................................................................... 92

3.5 Positioning ............................................................................................... 93

3.6 Strategy pyramids .................................................................................... 93

3.7 Marketing mix .......................................................................................... 93

3.8 Product development .............................................................................. 94

3.9 Marketing research ................................................................................. 94

4.0 Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts ............................................................. 94

4.1 Break-even analysis ................................................................................ 95

4.2 Sales forecast .......................................................................................... 95

4.3 Expense forecast ..................................................................................... 95

5.0 Controls .......................................................................................................... 96

5.1 Implementation milestones .................................................................... 96

5.2 Marketing organisation ........................................................................... 96

5.3 Contingency planning .............................................................................. 97



1.0 Executive Summary BBQfun will be the leading outdoor‐lifestyle retailer, catering to the growing need for furnishing new and renovated dwellings in the greater Brisbane area. The assortment offer of BBQs, outdoor furniture and BBQ accessories will position BBQfun as best in class for outdoor‐lifestyle retailing.

BBQfun will reinvent the way people shop for outdoor‐lifestyle products. BBQfun will build its reputation on offering the fullest assortment of products possible in our chosen fields, incorporating both local and imported goods with products sold on easy to manage long‐term payment plans. Our after sales service and three‐year guarantees will find traction with a market dominated by low‐quality items.

2.0 Situation Analysis BBQfun is close to entering its fifth year of operation. The initial rollout of stores has been well received, and marketing is now critical to its continued success and future profitability. The store offers wide‐ranging outdoor‐lifestyle items on easy to manage payment terms and supplies a three‐year guarantee on every item sold. The basic market need is for quality, fashionable and unique outdoor‐lifestyle items that caters to the house‐proud needs of our market.

2.1 Market summary

BBQfun possesses good information about the market and knows a great deal about the common attributes of our most prized and loyal customers. BBQfun will leverage this information to better understand who is served, their specific needs, and how BBQfun can better communicate with them.

2.1.1 Market demographics

The profile for BBQfun customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, and behaviour factors based on a local chamber of commerce report:

overview of greater Brisbane area:

o high population growth of 5% per year

o new homes and renovated homes growing from a base of 50,000 per year

o low unemployment of 4.7%.

geographic:

o our immediate geographic target is the area of Brisbane with a population of 1,000,000

o a 30 km geographic area is the average store market footprint

o the total targeted population is estimated at 250,000.



demographics:

o male and female

o ages 20–50, this is the segment that makes up 50% of the Brisbane new and renovated house markets, according to the chamber of commerce

o high percentage of young professionals who work in the Central Business District

o high percentage have attended college and/or graduate school

o an average household income of over $130,000.

behaviour factors:

o no issue with debt – will borrow on the future to enjoy today

o looking for security in purchasing

o looking for the ‘house‐proud’ factor in outdoor‐lifestyle purchasing.

2.1.2 Market needs

BBQfun is providing its customers with a wide selection of merchandise in its chosen field. BBQfun seeks to fulfil the following benefits that are important to their customers.

Selection: A wide choice of options.

Accessibility: The patron can gain easy access to the store with minimal wait.

Customer service: The patron will be impressed with the after sales service and guarantees.

Competitive pricing: All products/services will be competitively priced relative to comparable high‐end outdoor‐lifestyle lines.

Above all, BBQfun believes that easy to access stores with extensive choices in our chosen fields, that are sold on an easy to manage payment plan with a three‐year guarantee are the keys to our customer’s needs and wants.

2.1.3 Market trends

The market trend for outdoor‐lifestyle stores is headed toward a more sophisticated and informed customer. The outdoor‐lifestyles patron today relative to yesterday is more sophisticated in a number of different ways.

Item quality. The preference for high‐quality items is increasing as customers are learning to appreciate the qualitative differences.

Unique. Our patrons appreciate the opportunity to include outdoor‐lifestyles in their home that stand out from the mass produced and sold low quality items.

Selection. People are demanding a larger selection of choices, they are no longer accepting a limited offer in outdoor‐lifestyles.



The reason for this trend is that within the last couple of years there has been an explosion of media in the form of TV shows and magazines that have promoted exotic and different outdoor lifestyles. Our patrons no longer need to accept a limited number of options. With more choices, patrons have become more sophisticated. This trend is intuitive as you can observe a more sophisticated patron in larger city markets such as Sydney or Melbourne where there has been more choices available.

BBQfun strongly believes that customers are more interested in range of products, after sales service and easy to manage payments than any other issues. These are the reasons that they will shop with us and become loyal patrons.

Technological developments, with the broadband rollout across greater Brisbane and the rest of Australia, are opening up significant opportunities for internet shopping and for providing information for our customers about our product range.

2.1.4 Market growth

In 2008, the National outdoor‐lifestyle market reached $300 million dollars. Outdoor‐lifestyle sales are estimated to grow by at least 6% for the next few years. This growth can be attributed to several different factors. The greater disposable household income from the two income families, the greater availability of affordable and interesting quality imports with the high value of the Australian dollar and the marketing by popular TV shows like Homes Beautiful and Better Outdoor‐lifestyles.

2.1.5 Economy

Based on economic forecasts, BBQfun assumes that interest rates are staying steady and so will have no affect on disposable income. The same assumption is made about employment levels, where BBQfun assumes that unemployment levels remain the same at 4.7%.

2.1.6 Political

From research carried out, BBQfun identified that the government focus and emphasis in future legislative direction will be about ‘growing the economy’ and ‘population base’, which BBQfun sees as a positive for their business model. There is also a strong push for environmentally sound business practices in the legislative framework. BBQfun, as business operating in Australia, will abide by the law in all its dealings and comply with all legislation that impact on its business activities.



2.2 SWOT analysis

The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing BBQfun.

2.2.1 Strengths

Excellent staff who are highly skilled and knowledgeable about outdoor lifestyles.

Great retail space that is bright, functional and efficient for a commercial urban district.

High customer loyalty among repeat customers.

Assortment offerings that exceed competitors’ offerings in quality, range and accessibility.

2.2.2 Weaknesses

A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness due to the lack of

critical mass and store cover.

The struggle to continually fund the growing long‐term repayment plans taken out by our customers.

2.2.3 Opportunities

A growing market in a high growth area with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware of BBQfun’s offer.

Increasing sales opportunities outside of our target area – greater Brisbane.

2.2.4 Threats

Competition from local independents as owner/operators that can reduce prices lower than our staff‐run stores.

Competition from national chains moving into the Brisbane market.

A slump in the economy reducing customer’s disposable income spent on outdoor‐lifestyles.

2.3 Competition

2.3.1 Competitors

National competition:

The Yard: has a limited selection but significant depth. All Australian made. No significant marketing or promotion. The price point is high, but the quality of products is quite good. Not in Brisbane. Mostly in Sydney and Melbourne.

BBQ’s R Us: Broad range of outdoor‐lifestyle products including trinkets and furnishings. Lots of cheap imports. Concentrating on established markets. Strong in the replacements segment. Not in Brisbane. Mostly in Melbourne and Adelaide.



Outdoorz: Large operations of only a few stores per city. Mass markets outdoor‐lifestyles at good value prices. No imported goods. Extensive advertising. Low to medium quality. Not in Brisbane. Strong in the replacement segment rather than new and refurbished dwellings. Strong in other capital cities.

Local competition:

All independents. These stores are owned by individual owner operators. Ranges vary according to owner preferences. Very little imports. Mostly retailing Australian manufactured goods. Collectively their average item sale price is $250, have a market share of 48%, and are growing at about 8% per year.

BBQfun do not see the competitors changing their marketing strategy or product offer in the foreseeable future.

2.3.2 Growth and share analysis

New dwellings – growth in potential customers 10%. Estimated Brisbane customer numbers in 2010 is 95,000.

Renovations – growth in potential customers 7%. Estimated Brisbane customer numbers in 2010 is 35,000.

Replacement – growth in potential customers 5%. Estimated Brisbane customer numbers in 2010 is 120,000.

2.4 Service offering

BBQfun has created an outdoor‐lifestyle range of retail products that are differentiated and superior to competitors. Customers can see the quality of the product as it is displayed in the stores. The following are characteristics of the product:

1. BBQfun’s credit offer is backed by a top tier bank.

2. Imported products make up 33% of the assortment.

3. The three‐year guarantee is unique in the market place.

4. Broadest possible range in chosen fields.

BBQfun prides itself on providing service that is on par if not better than any of the local independent stores and far in excess of the national chains.

BBQfun will ensure that all aspects that are involved in the delivery of satisfaction to the customer will work using an integrated approach.

2.4.1 At a glance – The prototype BBQfun store:

Location: a commercial, suburban neighbourhood, or urban retail district.

Design: bright and functional.

Size: 1,000 to 1,500 m2.



Employees: 15–20 full‐time staff, plus casuals.

Types of transactions: 60% cash, 40% on long‐term repayment plan.

2.5 Keys to success

Location, Location, Location.

BBQfun’s site selection criteria are critical to success. Scott Bremmer, former partner of a an international chain, helped us identify the following site selection criteria:

new dwelling populations

shopping patterns requiring easy access

customer car parking counts.

2.6 Critical Issues

BBQfun is still in the speculative stage as a possible franchise concept or joint venture. Its critical issues are as follows.

Committed to sales growth which allows for greater options in import assortments and in reduced price with volume buys. This will promote our uniqueness and contribute to improved profit margins.

Continue to finance the easy manage long term repayment plan for customers.

Locate in easy access sites close to the growing markets in new dwelling development.

3.0 Marketing Strategy BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. The advertising program will target local letter‐box drops, radio and magazines. BBQfun’s will do direct mail and local advertising, with coupon inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the campaigns.

BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. Previous features in the BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was published.

3.1 Mission

BBQfun’s mission is to provide customers with the most extensive assortment of quality outdoor‐lifestyle products available in the market. Our after sales service is second to none supported by our easy to manage long term repayment plans which make unique, imported and high quality outdoor‐lifestyle affordable to all. BBQfun exist to attract and maintain outdoor lifestyle customers wishing to purchase products that give our customers pride in their homes. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.



3.2 Marketing objectives

1. Increase sales from $15 million per year to $20 million per year in the next three years

2. Increase our loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 16,000.

3. Establish brand recognition in Brisbane so that at least two in three people recognise our brand in a random survey taken in 18 months’ time.

3.3 Financial objectives

1. A double‐digit growth rate for each future year.

2. Reduce the overhead per store through disciplined management of expenses.

3. Continue increase our gross profit margins.

3.4 Target marketing

The market can be segmented into three target populations:

New dwellings – generally want to purchase entire suites. Typically shopped as couples. Price sensitive to a point but coordination is the highest priority.

Renovations – demand for high quality and different items. Unique and exotic over rides price concerns.

Replacement – basic functional products that replace and broken or worn item. Single shopper. Cheap price required.

The BBQfun customers are mostly aged between 20 and 50, making up 50% of the new and renovated dwelling market. Outdoor lifestyle stores have been very successful in stand alone, extensive car park access, close to new housing estates being established. These areas have families who have household disposable incomes of over $40,000 per year.

Combining several key demographic factors, BBQfun arrives at a profile of the primary customers:

sophisticated people who are house proud

shoppers who will drive to an easy to access store

customers who require payment plans to spread their commitment over an extended period

renovators and new‐home builders

20–50 year olds



3.5 Positioning

BBQfun will position itself as a broad assortment, quality, unique outdoor‐lifestyle retailer. Brisbane consumers who appreciate high quality and uniqueness will recognise the value and unique offerings of BBQfun. Patrons will be single as well as families, ages 20–50.

BBQfun’s positioning will leverage their competitive edge.

Product: The product will be wide ranging, quality and unique. It offers the house proud customer a different option from the cheap mass produced offer prevalent in the market

Service: BBQfun offer the only three‐year guarantee in the market. Our easy play payment scheme is just what our mortgage repaying customers welcome. Our experienced staff can assist with product knowledge second to none in the industry.

By offering a superior service in range and uniqueness, BBQfun will excel relative to the competition and achieve our objectives.

3.6 Strategy pyramids

The single objective is to position BBQfun as the premier outdoor‐lifestyle store in the greater Brisbane area, commanding a majority of the market share within five years. The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals.

The message that BBQfun will seek to communicate is that BBQfun offers the widest, most exotic, easy access outdoor‐lifestyle products in Brisbane. This message will be communicated through a variety of methods. The first will be direct mail. The direct mail campaign will be a way to communicate directly with the consumer. BBQfun will also use ads and inserts in Brizzy magazine.

The last method for communicating BBQfun’s message is through a grassroots PR campaign. This campaign will invite people from Brizzy for lunch to get articles written about BBQfun into the news. Because of this level of effectiveness and low/zero cost, BBQfun will work hard to get press in the Brizzy.

BBQfun also believe that the local patrons far prefer to receive information from the store via flyers in the letterbox.

3.7 Marketing mix

BBQfun’s marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service.

Pricing: While BBQfun will price at comparable prices for comparable quality, it will not be cheap. We push value over cheap and back this up with a three‐year guarantee.



Distribution: BBQfun products will be distributed through a chain of retail stores which customers can access easily via the large car parking arrangements.

Advertising and promotion: The most successful advertising will be ads and inserts in the Brizzy as well as a PR campaign of informational articles and reviews also within the Brizzy. Promotions will take the form of in store entertainment and competitions with prizes to exotic overseas destinations.

Customer Service: BBQfun’s philosophy is that whatever needs to be done to make the customer happy must occur, this investment will pay off with a fiercely loyal customer base who is extremely vocal to their friends with referrals.

3.8 Product development

It is envisaged that new products will be developed on a regular basis in line with changes in customer taste which is targeted at every 12 months. The plan for product testing is to engage market research firms. By getting feedback from these firms, changes can be made or products ‘canned’ so that only tested and proven products make it onto the store assortment list.

3.9 Marketing research

During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain insight into a variety of patrons of outdoor‐lifestyle stores. These focus groups provided useful insight into the decisions, and decision‐making processes, of consumers. An additional source of market research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system in‐store.

The last source of market research is competitive analysis/appreciation. BBQfun management will continually visit local outdoor‐lifestyle stores for two reasons. The first is for competitive analysis, providing BBQfun with timely information regarding other store’s service offering. The second reason is that local business owners are often part of an informal fraternal organisation where they support each other's business.

Access to ongoing market research will also be achieved via the publications from the Outdoor Lifestyle Association of which BBQfun has recently become a member.

4.0 Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts This section will offer a financial overview of BBQfun as it relates to the marketing activities. BBQfun will address break‐even analysis, sales forecasts, expense forecasts, and how those link to the marketing strategy.



4.1 Break‐even analysis

The Break‐even analysis indicates that $1.1 million in sales per year will be needed to reach the break‐even point.

Fixed costs are estimated at $150,000. Variable costs are 40% of sales, therefore, sales of $1.0 million will be sufficient to pay for the fixed and variable cost.

4.2 Sales forecast

The first year of the plan will be used to get the cafe up and running. By year two things will get busier. Sales will gradually increase with profitability being reached by the beginning of year two.

Gross profit is anticipated at 50%.

Sales forecast

2009 2010 2011

Total sales 11,000,000 12,000,000 15,000,000

Gross profit 5,500,000 6,000,000 7,500,000

4.3 Expense forecast

Marketing expenses are to be budgeted so that they are ramped up in the first year.

Marketing expense budget

Expenses 2009 2010 2011

Direct mail 40,000 50,000 60,000

Magazine adv 110,000 100,000 80,000

Radio Promotions 30,000 50,000 70,000

Total 180,000 200,000 210,000

Ongoing sales forecasting will be to use the services of Cannon’s Consultants who will advise on all aspects of the marketing function that BBQfun will be engaged with. Cannons will also be given access to the marketing cost data so that they can periodically examine and validate marketing costs in line with industry benchmarks. They have always been the preferred consultants because they are locally based unlike the national group of consultants, Brown & Holingsworth, based in Melbourne.



Profitability outcomes budget

Profitability Average price Gross profit

BBQ $600 45%

Outdoor Furniture $920 50%

BBQ accessories $50 60%

Total $450 50%

5.0 Controls The purpose of BBQfun marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization.

5.1 Implementation milestones

The following milestones identify the key marketing programs. It is important to accomplish each one on time, and on budget.

Milestones

Advertising Start Date End Date Budget Manager Department

Total radio advertising budget July 2008 June 2009 $30,000

Marketing Manager Marketing

Magazine & PR Start Date End Date Budget Department

Total magazine & PR budget July 2008 June 2009 $110,000


Direct marketing Start Date End Date Budget Department

Total direct marketing budget July 2008 June 2009 $40,000


Totals July 2008 June 2009 $180,000 Marketing

5.2 Marketing organisation

BBQfun’s marketing manager is primarily responsible for marketing activities and has the authority and responsibility over all company activities that affect customer’s satisfaction. This is in addition to his other responsibilities.



Cannons have been engaged to provide marketing services as required, and some outside resources for graphic design work, and creativity are also to be utilised. Feedback will come from in‐store feedback forms and local customer surveys

5.3 Contingency planning

Difficulties and risks include:

problems generating visibility

overly aggressive and debilitating actions by competitors

an entry into the Brisbane market of an already existing, national chain.

Worst case risks may include:

determining that the business cannot support itself on an ongoing basis

having to liquidate equipment or intellectual property to cover liabilities.

StudentWorkbook(3)

Documents

Transcript of StudentWorkbook(3)