Current Status retro fitness

It is no longer acceptable for businesses to disregard ethics and social responsibility issues. Conduct research and briefly describe what your organization is currently doing regarding corporate social responsibility and pursuing sustainable business practices.

Recommendations

Based on your understanding of the organizations goals, what recommendations do you have for creating a more ethical, socially responsible, and sustainable business? What practices do you recommend the organization pursue?

Marketing Information and Research

Research Question

Describe a critical question you need to answer or a problem you are trying to solve to help the organization meet its goals and objectives.

Information Needed

Describe the information your organization needs to make effective decisions about answering this question or solving this problem.

Research Recommendations

What research do you recommend to provide the information you need? What research method(s) would you use to get the needed information? Will it involve secondary data and research? Primary research such as interviews, focus groups, and surveys? Why do you recommend this research approach?

Customer Decision-Making Profile

Identifying the Customer and Problem

Describe a primary decision maker in your target segment: who they are, what they like, how they make buying decisions. Describe the primary problem(s) your organization, product or service will help them solve.

Factors Influencing Customer Decisions

Provide a detailed profile of your target segment using at least three (3) of the following categories:

• Geographic characteristics: e.g., location, region, population size or climate.
• Personal and demographic characteristics: e.g., age, gender, family size, family life stage, income, personality.
• Social and Psychological characteristics: e.g., culture, social class, lifestyle, motivation, attitudes, reference groups, beliefs.
• Situational characteristics: e.g., buying situation, level of involvement, market offerings, frequency of use, brand loyalty.
• B2B/organizational buying considerations: e.g., individual factors, organizational factors, business environment factors, types of complexity

Reaching the Customer

Based on this profile, identify 2-3 marketing strategies or tactics you believe would be effective at reaching this target segment, and briefly explain why they are a good fit.

Positioning and Differentiation

Positioning and differentiation explain what you want to be known for in the market, and how you are different from competitors. Respond to the following questions.

Competitive Advantages

List the competitive advantages of the product, service, or organization youre focusing on: the things that make it different from competitors in positive ways.

Market Niche and Positioning Strategy

Describe the market niche you want to fill, along with the positioning strategy you recommend using. Why do you think this is the right approach?

Positioning Statement

Develop a positioning statement using this formula: To [target audience], [product/service/organization name] is the only [category or frame of reference] that [points of differentiation/benefits delivered] because [reasons to believe].^[1]

Repositioning Considerations

Do you recommend a repositioning that improves on what the organization has been using up to this point? Why or why not?

Branding

Brand Description

Write an overview of the brand, describing the key elements, such as identity, image, positioning, personality, experience, differentiation, communication, and extension.

Brand Promise

What is the brand promise for this brand? If one hasnt been defined yet, create one. If you believe the brand promise needs improvement, please suggest how you would refine it. Why is your recommended brand promise a good fit?

Brand Voice and Personality

Describe your brand voice and personality using the is/is never template:

[Brand] is:

[Brand] is never:

Brand Positioning and Strategy

Make a recommendation about brand positioning and branding strategy to help build the brand and contribute to aligning it with what your target segment wants. How will this contribute to the success of your product, service, or organization?

Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Product Strategy

Briefly describe your product or service. Where is it in the product life cycle? What recommendations do you have for improving the offering to fit your target markets needs? Be sure to consider:

• What level of quality and consistency does the offering have?
• How many features does it have and can they be removed or added?
• How well does your product or service deliver what the customer values? How can it improve?
• What improvements would help your offering compete more effectively?

Pricing Strategy

How is your product or service priced today? How does this compare to competitors, assuming competitors are at or near break-even point with their pricing? Analyze pricing alternatives and make recommendations about pricing going forward based on the following:

• How sensitive are your customers to changes in price?
• What revenue do you need to break even and achieve profitability?
• What does the price say about your product in terms of value, quality, prestige, etc.?

Place: Distribution Strategy

What is your current distribution strategy? What missed opportunities or disconnects are you seeing in this distribution approach? Make recommendations about your future distribution strategy based on the following:

• What are the best distribution channels and methods for you to use, and why?
• Will you have a retail outlet and if so, where will it be located?
• In what geographic area(s) will your product/service be available?

Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy

Use the template below to outline your design for a marketing campaign aimed at your target segment.

Approach

How will you achieve your goal? What promotional or engagement strategies will you use? Think creatively about campaigns youve seen for companies or brands that have caught your attention, and how your campaign will make an impact on your target audience. Will your campaign influence? Engage? Educate? Nurture? Build awareness?

Example: Use email marketing, social media and a sales promotion (prize drawing at a conference) to encourage veteran attendees to post online about their experiences and plans for attending the user conference using the event hashtag. Use these testimonials to amplify dialogue about the conference (via social media), build awareness (via email marketing, website and targeted digital advertising) and convince peers they should attend.

Goal

Considering your previous analysis, identify one (1) to three (3) goals for the campaign. Then, describe the target segment for your campaign. In other words, what is the goal/s you want to achieve with the campaign? What is your call to action?

Make sure your goal is SMART (i.e., specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based.)

Example:

Audience: casual HR professionals and power-users of Chamber systems

Increase event registration by 20% by the start date of the annual user conference.

Call to action: Register online today.

Messages

Identify the primary message for your campaign, 2-3 message pillars, and proof points for each. Be sure to include a call to action that helps to achieve your goal. Remember that messages should align and reinforce your positioning statement. Be sure to include a call to action that helps to achieve your goal.

Example:

Primary Message: The annual user conference provides exceptional value for training, professional development, peer networking, and learning how to get the most out of your investment.

Message Pillar: This conference welcomes you to a dynamic, well-connected, and highly competent professional community.

Proof Point: Veteran attendees return year after year because it recharges their skills, knowledge, and professional networks.

Call to Action: Register online today.

Promotional Mix and IMC Tools

Identify the key marketing communication methods and specific IMC tools you will use in your marketing campaign. How will you use each of these tools? Look for ways different methods and tools can build on each other: advertising, direct marketing, public relations, digital marketing, guerrilla marketing, personal selling, and sales promotion.

Example:

Digital Marketing

Website: Add testimonials from prior attendees, event hashtag, rolling hashtag Tweets box, and social media buttons to make registration easy to share via social media

Direct Marketing

Email marketing: Reach out to prior years attendees who are already registered. Ask them to post about plans to attend the upcoming conference. Conduct an email campaign with a target audience list to generate awareness, interest, and desire to attend the conference.

Sales Promotion + Digital Marketing

Contest/giveaway: Offer a giveaway where Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn posts trigger entries in a conference evangelist contest/giveaway to take place at the conference opening session, one entry per social media tool per day

Sales Alignment

At what point(s) in the sales process (or sales funnel) does this campaign operate? Sales process stages are: 1) generate leads; 2) build relationships/discover needs; 3) present solution/resolve concerns; 4) close the sale; 5) monitor and follow up. How does your campaign support sales activity?

Measurement (KPIs - Key Performance Indicators)

How will you measure the success of the campaign? Select 3-6 KPIs (key performance indicators) that you will measure. Briefly explain why each KPI you select will be a good indicator of whether your campaign is successful. Examples of KPIs:

• Total sales/revenue
• New/incremental sales
• Number of qualified leads generated
• Net Promoter Score
• Website unique visitors
• Number of registrations/sign-ups
• Impressions - views of content
• CTR - click-through rate
• Engagement - comments, likes, shares, page views, video views
• Followers - social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube)
• Awareness

Budget

Budget: List the marketing budget and resources required to execute your marketing campaign and estimate its cost. Include labor, materials, and other expenses such as print materials, online media tools or development, public relations services, design services, content development services, space or equipment rental, etc. Also, estimate the increased sales or revenue the campaign will generate for the company.

ItemPurposeCost EstimateExample: White paper authored by a technical writerLayout the business case for why recruiting managers need an easier tool for vetting resumes and reference checking in the technology industry$500.00Item #1 Item #2 Item #3 Item #4

Add additional rows as needed.

Estimated campaign impact: [insert]

Action Plan

Outline the specific activities you must complete in order to execute your marketing campaign. Each element of your integrated marketing communications plan should be listed as a separate activity. List actions in the order they need to take place for the plan to be successful: first things first, later steps last. Follow-up activities and evaluation of campaign effectiveness also should be captured in this action plan. For the purposes of setting due dates in this action plan, you should assume you must complete the marketing campaign within 3-12 months.

Timing Activity TypeBrief DescriptionAudienceOwnerTodays Date

Example:

Website Update

Add new key messages that fit repositioning strategy and audience focusTech company hiring managersJim HillDate Date Date Date Date Launch Date

Add additional rows as needed.

Risk Factors

Contingency plans and risk management: You should consider the possible risks to your business and make contingency plans to address them. You note some possible risks under the weakness and threats sections of your SWOT analysis. Identify steps you can take to either reduce risks or work around them if they occur

^[1] Source: Equibrand: http://equibrandconsulting.com/templates/positioning-templates