I need this for a marketing presentation can you make it as detailed as possible and cite your sources thank you AND I NEED IT SOON THANK YOU.

Question?

"Does Flexiti's financial marketing plan clearly describe how investors get their money back?"

Business reference to Flexiti's financial marketing plan: https://www.canadianbusiness.com/videos/growth-ceo-summit/2020-3-flexiti/

BELOW IS HOW TO CONSTRUCT A GOOD MARKETING PLAN:

Marketing plan Business plan For Internal For external Forinternal For external Element ' \"'9 plan audience audience audience audience (to direct (to raise (to direct (to ralse the firm) capital) the rm) capital] 1. Executive summary J I l J 2. Description of company I .l 3. Strategic plan/focus J J 4. Situation analysis J J J J g 5. Market-product focus J J J J E 6. Marketing program strategy and tactics J J J J E 7. RED and operations program I J E: 3. Financial projections ./ I I J E 9. Organization structure J I 10.1mplementation plan J J J J g 11. Evaluation J J 1: Appendix A: Biographies of key personnel J J 5\Everything that has gone before in the marketing plan sets the stage for the mar- keting mix actions-the four Ps-covered in the market- ing program. See Chapters 9 through 18. 6. Marketing Program The four marketing mix elements of the Howlin' Coyote chili marketing program are detailed below. Note that "chile" is the vegetable and "chili" is the dish. This section describes in detail three key elements of the company's product Product Strategy strategy: the product line, After first summarizing the product line, this section describes Howlin Coyote's its quality and how this is approach to product quality and packaging. achieved, and its " cutting Product Line. Howlin' Coyote chili, retailing for $3.99 for an 1 1-ounce serving, is edge" packaging. See available in five flavors: Green Chile Chili, Red Chile Chili, Beef and Black Bean Chili, Chapters 9 and 10 Chicken Chunk Chili, and Mean Bean Chili. Unique Product Quality. The flavoring systems of the Howlin' Coyote chilies are proprietary. The products' tastiness is due to extra care lavished upon the ingredients This Price Strategy section during production. The ingredients used are of unusually high quality. Meats are low- makes the company's price fat cuts and are fresh, not frozen, to preserve cell structure and moistness. Chilies are fire- point very clear, along with roasted for fresher taste. Tomatoes and vegetables are of select quality. No preservatives its price position relative to or artificial flavors ar potential substitutes. When appropriate and when Packaging. Reflecting the "cutting edge" marketing strategy of its producers, space permits, this section Howlin' Coyote bucks conventional wisdom in its packaging. It specifically avoids might contain a break-even placing predictable photographs of the product on analysis. See Chapter 11. ts containers. Instead, Howlin' Coyote's package shows a Southwestern motif that communicates the product's out-of-the-ordinary positioning. As noted earlier, both women and men represent sig- ificant segments of actual purchasers of Howlin' Coyote Chili. The Southwestern motif on the This "introductory over- packaging is deliberately designed to appeal to view" sentence tells the both women and men. reader the topics covered in the section-in this case Source: Paradise Kitchens, Inc. in-store demonstrations, Price Strategy The Southwestern motif makes recipes, and cents-off cou- At a $3.99 retail price for an 11-ounce pack- Howlin' Coyote's packages stand out in pons. While this sentence age, Howlin' Coyote chili is priced comparably a supermarket's freezer case. may be omitted in short to the other frozen offerings but higher than the canned and dried chili varieties. memos or plans, it helps However, the significant taste advantages it has over canned chilies readers see where the and the convenience advantages over dried chilies justify this pricing strategy. text is leading. These sen- This retail price also provides adequate margins for wholesalers and retailers tences are used through- in Howlin' Coyote's channel of distribution. out this plan. This textbook also generally uses these introductory overview Promotion Strategy sentences to aid your Key promotion programs feature in-store demonstrations, recipes, and cents-off coupons comprehension. 62Elements of the Promotion Strategy are highlighted in terms of the three key 63 promotional activities the company is emphasizing: in-store demonstrations, recipes, and cents-off cou- pons. For space reasons, In-Store Demonstrations. In-store demonstrations enable consumers to try the company's online strat- Howlin' Coyote products and discover their unique qualities. Demos will be egies are not shown in the conducted regularly in all markets to increase awareness and trial purchases plan. See Chapters 14, 15, and 16. Recipes. Because the products' flexibility of use is a key selling point, recipes are offered to consumers to stimulate use. The recipes are given at all in-store demonstra- tions, on the back of packages, through a mail-in recipe book offer, and in coupons sent by direct-mail or freestanding inserts. APPENDIX A Building an Effective Marketing Plan Another bulleted list adds many details for the reader, Cents-Off Coupons. To generate trial and repeat purchase of Howlin' Coyote prod- including methods of gain- ucts, coupons are distributed in four ways: ing customer awareness, trial, and repeat purchases In Sunday newspaper inserts. These inserts are widely read and help generate as Howlin' Coyote enters awareness. new metropolitan areas. In-pack coupons. Each box of Howlin' Coyote chili will contain coupons for $1 off two more packages of the chili. These coupons will be The Place Strategy is included for the first three months the product is described here in terms hipped to a new market. Doing so encourages of both (1) the present repeat purchases by new users. method and (2) the new . Direct-mail chili coupons. Those households that one to be used when the fit the Howlin' Coyote demographics described Let your mind increased sales volume previously will be mailed coupons. run wild. makes it feasible. See In-store demonstrations. Coupons will be passed Howlin' Coyote Chili Chapters 12 and 13. out at in-store demonstrations to give an addi- tional incentive to purchase. Save 55c Place (Distribution) Strategy All the marketing mix Howlin' Coyote is distributed in its present Source: Paradise Kitchens, Inc. decisions covered in the markets through a food distributor. The distributor Sunday newspaper inserts encourage just-described marketing buys the product, warehouses it, and then resells consumer trial and provide recipes to program have both rev- and delivers it to grocery retailers on a store-by- show how Howlin' Coyote chili can be enue and expense effects store basis. As sales grow, we will shift to a more used in summer meals. These are summarized in efficient system using a broker who sells the prod- this section of the market- ucts to retail chains and grocery wholesalers. ing plan 7. Financial Data and Projections Note that this section con- Past Sales Revenues tains no introductory over- Historically, Howlin' Coyote has had a steady increase in sales revenues since its view sentence. While the introduction in 2008. In 2012, sales jumped spectacularly, due largely to new sentence is not essential, many readers prefer to see it to avoid the abrupt start with Past Sales Revenues.The graph shows more clearly the dramatic growth of sales revenue than data in a table would do Figure 2. Sales Revenues for Paradise The Five-Year Projections promotion strategies. Sales Kitchens, Inc. section starts with the $6,000 have continued to rise, but judgment forecast of cases at a less dramatic rate. Sales $5,123 sold and the resulting net 5,000 revenues appear in Figure 2 sales. Gross profit and then operating profit-critical for 4,000 Five-Year Projections the company's survival-are Five-year financial project Sales revenues ($00 05 3,000 projected. An actual plan ions for Paradise Kitchens often contains many pages appear below. These project 2,000 of computer-generated tions reflect the continuing spreadsheet projections, growth in the number of cases 1,000 usually shown in an appen- sold (with eight packages 210 380 dix to the plan. 60 of Howlin' Coyote chili 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 per case Year Because this table is very -Projections (000s) short, it is woven into the text, rather than given a Actual Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 figure number and a title. Financial Element 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Cases sold (000s 353 684 889 1.249 1,499 1,799 Net sales ($000s) $5,123 23 $9,913 $12,884 $18,111 $21,733 $26,080 Because the plan proposes Gross profit ($000s) $2,545 $4,820 $6,527 $8,831 $10,597 $12,717 to enter 17 new metropoli- Operating profit ($000s) $339 $985 $2,906 $2,805 $3,366 $4,03 tan markets in the coming five years (for a total of 20), 8. Organization it is not possible to simply Paradise Kitchens's present organization appears in Figure 3. It shows the four extrapolate the trend in people reporting to the President. Below this level are both the full-time and part-time Figure 2. Instead, manage- employees of the Company. ment's judgment must be used. Methods of making Figure 3 . The Paradise Kitchens Organization sales forecasts-including Board of Directors the "lost horse" technique used here-are discussed in Chapter 7. President & CEO The Organization of Paradise Kitchens appears Director Vice President Director Finance Director here. It reflects the bare- Operations Marketing & Admin. Sales bones organizational structure of successful small businesses. Often a more elaborate marketing plan will show the new positions expected to be added as the firm grows. 6465 The Implementation Plan At present, Paradise Kitchens operates with full-time employees in only essential shows how the company positions. It now augments its full-time staff with key advisors, consultants, and will turn its plan into subcontractors. As the firm grows, people with special expertise will be added to results. Charts are often the staff. used to set deadlines and assign responsibilities for 9. Implementation Plan the many tactical market- APPENDIX A Building an Effective Marketing Plan ing decisions needed to Introducing Howlin' Coyote chilies to 17 new metropolitan markets is a complex enter a new market. task and requires that creative promotional activities gain consumer awareness and initial trial. Counting the three existing metropolitan markets in which Paradise Kitch- ens competes, by 2021 it will be in 20 metropolitan markets or 53 percent of the top 38 U.S. metropolitan markets. The anticipated rollout schedule to enter these metro- politan markets appears in Figure 4. Figure 4. Rollout Schedule to Enter New U.S. Markets The essence of Evaluation s comparing actual sales New Markets Cumulative Cumulative Percentage of with the targeted values Year Added Each Yea Markets 38 Major U.S. Markets Last ( 2016 ) 16 set in the plan and taking Year 1 (2017) appropriate actions. Note Year 2 (2018) that the section briefly Year 3 (2019) describes a contingency Year 4 (2020) plan for alternative Year 5 (2021) actions, depending on The diverse regional tastes in chili will be monitored carefully to assess whether how successful the entry into a new market turns minor modifications may be required in the chili recipes. As the rollout to new met out to be . ropolitan areas continues, Paradise Kitchens will assess manufacturing and distribu- tion trade-offs. This is important in determining whether to start new production with selected high-quality regional contract packers. 10. Evaluation Various appendices may Monthly sales targets in cases have been set for Howlin' Coyote chili for each appear at the end of the metropolitan area. Actual case sales will be compared with these targets and tacti- plan, depending on the cal marketing programs modified to reflect the unique sets of factors in each metro- plan's purpose and audi- politan area. ence. For example, resu- mes of key personnel or detailed financial spread- Appendix A. Biographical Sketches of Key Personnel sheets often appear in Appendix B. Detailed Financial Projections appendices. For space reasons these are not shown here. Source: 01996 Paradise Kitchens, Inc. All photos & ads reprinted with permission.- Be positive and specific to convey potential success. At the same time, avoid Superlatives ("terrific," "wonderf \"). Specifics are better than glittering gener- alities. 0 Use numbers for impact, justifying projections with reasonable quantitative as- sumptions, where possible. 0 Use bullet points for succinctness and emphasis. As with the list you are reading, bullets enable key points to be highlighted effectively. D Use A-level (the first level) and B-level (the second level) headings under the numbered section headings to help readers make easy transitions from one topic to another. This also forces the writer to organize the plan more carefully. . Use visuals where appropriate. Photos, illustrations, graphs, and charts enable massive amounts of information to be presented succinctly. 0 Shoot for a plan 15 to 35 pages in length, not including financial projections and appendices. An uncomplicated small business may require only 15 pages, whereas a high-technology start-up may require more than 35 pages. - Use care in layout, design, and presentation. Use 11- or 12-point type (you are now reading 10.5-point type) in the text. Use a serif type (with \"feet,\" like that you are reading now) in the text because it is easier to read, and sans serif (with- out \"feet") in graphs and charts like Figure Al. A bound report with a nice cover and a clear title page adds professionalism. These guidelines are used, where possible, in the sample marketing plan that follows. SAMPLE FIVE-YEAR MARKETING PLAN FOR PARADISE KITCHENS, INC. 54 To help interpret the marketing plan for Paradise Kitchens, Inc. that follows, we will describe the company and suggest some guidelines for interpreting the plan.5 Background on Paradise Kitchens, Inc. Randall and Leah Peters have more than 40 years of food industry experience for General Foods and Pillsbury with a number of diverse responsibilities. With these backgrounds and their savings, they co-founded Paradise Kitchens, Inc. to produce and market a new line of high-quality frozen chili products. Interpreting the Marketing Plan The following marketing plan, based on an actual Paradise Kitchens plan, is directed at an external audience (see Figure Al). For simplicity, let us assume it is early 2017, the Peters have company data through 2016, and they are developing a five-year marketing plan through 2021. Some details and dates have been altered, but the basic logic of the plan has been kept. Notes in the margins next to the Paradise Kitchens plan fall into two categories: 1. Substantive Hater are in blue boxes. These notes explain the significance of an element in the marketing plan and are keyed to chapter references in this text- book. 2. Writing style, format, and layout notes are in red boxes and explain the editorial or visual rationale for the element. A word of encouragement: Writing an effective marketing plan is hard but also challenging and satisfying work. Dozens of the authors' students have used effective marketing plans they wrote for class in their interviewing portfolio to show prospec- tive employers what they could do and to help them get their first job. Color-Coding Legend 55 The Table of Contents Blue boxes explain significance Red boxes give writing style, provides quick access of marketing plan elements. format, and layout guidelines. to the topics in the plan, usually organized by section and subsection headings. Seen by many experts as the single most important FIVE-YEAR MARKETING PLAN element in the plan, the Paradise Kitchens,@ Inc. APPENDIX A Building an Effective Marketing Plan two-page Executive Sum- mary "sells" the plan to Table of Contents readers through its clarity 1. Executive Summary and brevity. For space rea sons, it is not shown here, 2. Company Description but the Building Your Mar- Paradise Kitchens,Inc., was started by co-founders Randall F. Peters and Leah E. keting Plan exercise at the Peters to develop and market Howlin' Coyote Chili, a unique line of single serve and end of Chapter 2 asks the microwavable Southwestern/Mexican style frozen chili products. The Howlin' Coyote reader to write an Executive line of chili was first introduced into the Minneapolis-St. Paul market and expanded Summary for this plan. to Denver two years later and Phoenix two years after that To the Company's knowledge, Howlin' Coyote is the only premium-quality, The Company Description authentic Southwestern/Mexican style, frozen chili sold in U.S. grocery stores. Its highlights the recent his- high quality has gained fast, widespread acceptance in its targeted markets. In fact, tory and recent successes same-store sales doubled in the last year for which data are available. The Company of the organization. believes the Howlin' Coyote brand can be extended to other categories of Southwestern/ Mexican food products, such as tacos, enchiladas, and burritos. The Strategic Focus and Paradise Kitchens believes its high-quality, high-price strategy has proven success- Plan sets the strategic ful. This marketing plan outlines how the Company will extend its geographic cover- direction for the entire age from 3 markets to 20 markets by the year 2021. organization, a direction with which proposed actions of the marketing 3. Strategic Focus and Plan plan must be consis- This section covers three aspects of corporate strategy that influence the market- tent. This section is not ing plan: (1) the mission, (2) goals, and (3) core competency/sustainable competitive included in all marketing advantage of Paradise Kitchens. plans. See Chapter 2 Mission The mission of Paradise Kitchens is to market lines of high-quality Southwestern/ The qualitative Mission Mexican food products at premium prices that satisfy consumers in this fast-growing statement focuses the food segment while providing challenging career opportunities for employees and activities of Paradise Kitch- above-average returns to stockholders. ens for the stakeholder groups to be served. See Chapter 2.Goals The Goals section sets For the coming five years Paradise Kitchens seeks to achieve the following both the nonfinancial and goals: financial targets-where Nonfinancial goals possible in quantitative 1. To retain its present image as the highest-quality line of Southwestern/Mexican terms-against which the products in the food categories in which it competes. company's performance 2. To enter 17 new metropolitan markets. will be measured. See . To achieve national distribution in two convenience store or supermarket Chapter 2 chains by 2017 and five by 2018. 4. To add a new product line every third year. . To be among the top five chili lines-regardless of packaging (frozen or canned)-in one-third of the metro markets in which it competes by 2018 and two-thirds by 2020. Lists use parallel construct Financial goals tion to improve 1. To obtain a real (inflation-adjusted) growth in earnings per share of 8 percent readability-in this case per year over time. a series of infinitives 2. To obtain a return on equity of at least 20 percent. starting with "To . .." 3. To have a public stock offering by the year 2018. Core Competency and Sustainable Competitive Advantage In terms of core competency, Paradise Kitchens seeks to achieve a unique ability to (1) provide distinc tive, high-quality chilies and related products using N- COYOTE Southwestern/Mexican recipes that appeal to and CHILI Photos or sample ads can excite contemporary tastes for these products avor The flay southwest! illustrate key points effect and (2) deliver these products to the customer's tively, even if they are not table using effective manufacturing and distribution in color as they appear systems that maintain the Company's quality here . standards. Source: Paradise Kitchens, Inc. To translate these core competencies into a sustain- able competitive advantage, the Company will work To help achieve national distribution through chains closely with key suppliers and distributors to build Paradise Kitchens introduced A brief caption on photos the relationships and alliances necessary to satisfy the this point-of-purchase ad that and sample ads ties them high taste standards of our customers. adheres statically to the glass to the text and highlights door of the freezer case. their reason for being included. 5657 To improve readability, each numbered section usually starts on a new page. (This is not done in this plan to save space.) The Situation Analysis is 4. Situation Analysis a snapshot to answer the This situation analysis starts with a snapshot of the current environment in which APPENDIX A Building an Effective Marketing Plan question, "Where are we Paradise Kitchens finds itself by providing a brief SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, now?" See Chapter 2 opportunities, threats) analysis. After this overview, the analysis probes ever-finer levels of detail: industry, competitors, company, and consumers. The SWOT analysis SWOT Analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, Figure 1 shows the internal and external factors affecting the market opportuni- and threats to provide a ties for Paradise Kitchens. Stated briefly, this SWOT analysis highlights the great solid foundation, strides taken by the company since its products first appeared on grocers' shelves. which is the springboard to Figure 1. SWOT Analysis for Paradise Kitchens identify subsequent Internal Factors Strengths Weaknesses actions in the marketing Management Experienced and entrepreneurial Small size can restrict options plan. See Chapter 2. management and board Offerings Unique, high-quality, high-price Many lower-quality, lower-price products competitors Marketing Distribution in three markets with Each long table, graph, or excellent consumer acceptance No national awareness of distribution; restricted shelf space in the freezer section photo is given a figure num- Personnel Good workforce, though small; Big gap if key employee leaves ber and title. It then appears little turnover as soon as possible after Finance Excellent growth in sales revenues Limited resources may restrict growth opportunities when the first reference in the compared to giant competitors text, accommodating nec- Manufacturing Sole supplier ensures high quality Lack economies of scale of huge essary page breaks. This competitors R&D avoids breaking long tables Continuing efforts to ensure quality Lack of canning and microwavable in delivered products food processing expertise like this one in the middle. External Factors Short tables or graphs are Opportunities Threats Consumer/Social Upscale market, likely to be stable; Premium price may limit access often inserted in the text Southwestern/Mexican food to mass markets; consumers without figure numbers category is fast-growing segment due value a strong brand name to growth in Hispanic American because they don't cause population and desire for spicier foods serious problems with page Competitive Distinctive name and packaging in Not patentable; competitors can breaks . s markets attempt to duplicate product; others better able to pay slotting fees Technological Technical breakthroughs enable Competitors have gained smaller food producers to achieve economies in canning and many economies available to large microwavable food processing competitors Economic Consumer income is high; More households "eating out," Effective tables seek to convenience important to U.S. and bringing prepared take-out households into home summarize a large amount Legal/Regulatory U.S. Food & Drug Administration Mergers among large competitors of information in a short standards eliminate fly-by-night being approved by government amount of space. competitorsThe text discussion of Fig ure 1 (the SWOT Analysis table) elaborates on its more important elements This "walks" the reader through the information from the vantage point of the plan's writer. The Industry Analysis In the Company's favor internally are its strengths: an experienced management section provides the back- team and board of directors, excellent acceptance of its product line in the three drop for the subsequent metropolitan markets within which it competes, and a strong manufacturing and more detailed analysis distribution system to serve these limited markets. Favorable external factors of competition, the com- opportunities) include the increasing appeal of Southwestern/Mexican foods, the pany, and the company's strength of the upscale market for the Company's products, and food-processing customers. Without an technological breakthroughs that make it easier for smaller food producers to compete. in-depth understanding of Among unfavorable factors, the main weakness is the limited size of Paradise the industry, the remaining Kitchens relative to its competitors in terms of the depth of the management team, analysis may be misdi- the available financial resources, and the national awareness and distribution of product rected. See Chapter 2 lines. Threats include the danger that the Company's premium prices may limit access to mass markets and competition from the "eating-out" and "take-out" Sales of Mexican entrees markets. are significant and pro- Industry Analysis: Trends in Frozen and Mexican Foods vide a variety of future Frozen Foods. According to Grocery Headquarters, consumers are flocking to the opportunities for Paradise frozen food section of grocery retailers. The reasons: hectic lifestyles demanding Kitchens. increased convenience and an abundance of new, tastier, and nutritious products.' By 2015, total sales of frozen food in supermarkets, drugstores, and mass merchan- disers reached $33 billion. Prepared frozen meals, which are defined as meals or Even though relatively entrees that are frozen and require minimal preparation, accounted for about one- brief, this in-depth treat- quarter of the total frozen food ma ment of sales of Mexican foods in the U.S. demon- Sales of Mexican entrees now exceed $500 million. Heavy consumers of frozen strates to the plan's read- meals, those who eat five or more meals every two weeks, tend to be kids, teens, and adults 35-44 years old." ers the company's understanding of the Mexican Foods. Currently, Mexican foods such as burritos, enchiladas, and tacos industry within which it are used in two-thirds of American households. These trends reflect a generally more competes. favorable attitude on the part of all Americans toward spicy foods that include red chili peppers. The growing Hispanic population in the United States, over 51 million consumers and about $1.3 trillion in purchasing power, partly explains the increasing The Competitor Analysis demand for Mexican food. This Hispanic purchasing power is projected to be over section demonstrates that $1.7 trillion in 2020. 10 the company has a realistic understanding of its major Competitor Analysis: The Chili Market chili competitors and their The chili market represents over $500 million in annual sales. On average, consumers marketing strategies. buy five to six servings annually, according to the NPD Group. The products fall Again, a realistic assess- primarily into two groups: canned chili (75 percent of sales) and dry chili (25 percent ment gives confidence of sales). that subsequent marketing actions in the plan rest on a solid foundation. See Chap- ters 2, 3, 7, and 8. 58This page uses a "block" style and does not indent each paragraph, although an extra space separates 59 each paragraph. Compare this page with the previous page, which has indented paragraphs. Most readers find that indented para- graphs in marketing plans and long reports are easier Bluntly put, the major disadvantage of the segment's dominant product, canned chili, to follow is that it does not taste very good. A taste test described in an issue of Consumer Reports magazine ranked 26 canned chili products "poor" to "fair" in overall sensory The Company Analysis quality. The study concluded, "Chili doesn't have to be hot to be good. But really good chili, hot or mild, doesn't come out of a can." provides details of the company's strengths and Company Analysis APPENDIX A Building an Effective Marketing Plan marketing strategies that The husband-and-wife team that co-founded Paradise Kitchens, Inc., has will enable it to achieve 44 years of experience between them in the food-processing business. Both have the mission and goals played key roles in the management of the Pillsbury Company. They are being advised dentified earlier. See by a highly seasoned group of business professionals, who have extensive understand- Chapters 2 and 7. ing of the requirements for new-product development. The Company now uses a single outside producer with which it works closely to The "A heading" for this maintain the consistently high quality required in its products. The greater volume has section ("4. Situation Anal- increased production efficiencies, resulting in a steady decrease in the cost of goods sold. ysis") identifies the major Customer Analysis section of the plan. The "B In terms of customer analysis, this section describes (1) the characteristics of heading" of Customer customers expected to buy Howlin' Coyote products and (2) health and nutrition Analysis has a more concerns of Americans today. dominant typeface and position than the lower-level Customer Characteristics. Demographically, chili products in general are purchased "C heading" of Customer by consumers representing a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Howlin' Characteristics. These Coyote chili is purchased chiefly by consumers who have achieved higher levels of headings introduce the education and whose income is $50,000 and higher. These consumers represent 50 per- reader to the sequence cent of canned and dry mix chili users. and level of topics covered The household buying Howlin' Coyote has one to three people in it. Among married within each major "A level" couples, Howlin' Coyote is predominantly bought section. The organization by households in which both spouses work. While of this textbook uses this women are a majority of the buyers, single men kind of structure and represent a significant segment. headings. Because the chili offers a quick way to make a tasty meal, the product's biggest users tend to be those most pressed for time. Howlin' Coyote's premium Satisfying customers and pricing also means that its purchasers are skewed providing genuine value to toward the higher end of the income range. Buyers Source: Paradise Kitchens, Inc. them is why organizations range in age from 25 to 54 years old and often live in the western United States where spicy foods are The five Howlin' Coyote entrees offer exist in a market economy a quick, tasty meal with high-quality This section addresses the more readily eaten. ingredients. question "Who are the customers for Paradise Kitchens's products?" See Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.This section demonstrates Health and Nutrition Concerns. Coverage of food issues in the U.S. media is the company's insights into often erratic and occasionally alarmist. Because Americans are concerned about their a major trend that has a diets, studies from organizations of widely varying credibility frequently receive potentially large impact. significant attention from the major news organizations. For instance, a study of fat levels of movie popcorn was reported in all the major media. Similarly, studies on the healthfulness of Mexican food have received prominent play in print and broadcast reports. The high caloric levels of much Mexican and Southwestern-style food have been widely reported and often exaggerated. Some Mexican frozen-food competitors, such as Don Miguel, Mission Foods, Ruiz Foods, and Jose Ole, plan to offer or have recently offered more "carb-friendly" and "fat-friendly" products in response to this concern. Howlin' Coyote is already lower in calories, fat, and sodium than its competitors, and those qualities are not currently being stressed in its promotions. Instead, in the space and time available for promotions, Howlin' Coyote's taste, convenience, and The size of headings flexibility are stressed. should give a professional look to the report and not 5. Market-Product Focus overwhelm the reader. This section describes the five-year marketing and product objectives for Paradise These two headings are Kitchens and the target markets, points of difference, and positioning of its lines of too large. Howlin' Coyote chilies. Marketing and Product Objectives Howlin' Coyote's marketing intent is to take full advantage of its brand As noted in Chapters 2, potential while building a base from which other revenue sources can be mined- 9, and 10, the chances of both in and out of the retail grocery business. These are detailed in four areas success for a new product below: significantly increase if Current markets. Current markets will be grown by expanding brand and flavor objectives are set for the distribution at the retail level. In addition, same-store sales will be grown by product itself and if target increasing consumer awareness and repeat purchases, thereby leading to the more market segments are efficient broker/warehouse distribution channel. identified for it. Diversifica tion analysis, discussed in New markets. By the end of Year 5, the chili, salsa, burrito, and enchilada business Chapter 2, helps identify will be expanded to a total of 20 metropolitan areas, which represent 53 percent of the 38 major U.S. metropolitan markets. This will represent 70 percent of U.S. the market segments to target. This section makes ood store sales. these explicit for Paradise Food service. Food service sales will include chili products and smothering Kitchens. The objectives sauces. Sales are expected to reach $693,000 by the end of Year 3 and $1.5 million also serve as the planned by the end of Year 5. targets against which New products. Howlin' Coyote's brand presence will be expanded at the retail marketing activities are measured in program implementation and evaluation. 50A heading should be 61 spaced closer to the text that follows (and that it describes) than the preced ing section to avoid confu- sion for the reader. This rule is not followed for the Target Markets heading, which now unfortunately level through the addition of new products in the frozen-foods section. This will appears to "float" between be accomplished through new-product concept screening in Year 1 to identify the preceding and following new potential products. These products will be brought to market in Years 2 paragraphs. and 3. APPENDIX A Building an Effective Marketing Plan Target Markets This section identifies the specific niches or target The primary target market for Howlin' Coyote markets toward which the products is households with one to three people, company's products are where often both adults work, and with individual directed. When appro- income typically above $50,000 per year. These priate and when space households contain more experienced, adventur- permits, this section often ous consumers of Southwestern/Mexican food Source: Paradise Kitchens, Inc. includes a market-product and want premium quality products. To help buyers see the many different grid. See Chapter 8 uses for Howlin' Coyote chili, recipes are even printed on the inside of the Points of Difference packages . The "points of difference"-characteristics An organization cannot that make Howlin' Coyote chilies unique relative to competitors-fall into three grow by offering only "me- important areas: too products." The greatest Unique taste and convenience. No known competitor offers a high-quality, single factor in a new prod- 'authentic" frozen chili in a range of flavors. And no existing chili has the same uct's failure is the lack of combination of quick preparation and home-style taste that Howlin' Coyote significant "points of differ- does. ence" that set it apart from Taste trends. The American palate is increasingly intrigued by hot spices. In competitors' substitutes. response to this trend, Howlin' Coyote brands offer more "kick" than most other This section makes these prepared chilies. points of difference explicit. Premium packaging. Howlin' Coyote's packaging graphics convey the unique, See Chapter 9. high-quality product contained inside and the product's nontraditional positioning. A positioning strategy Positioning helps communicate the In the past, chili products have been either convenient or tasty, but not both. unique points of difference Howlin' Coyote pairs these two desirable characteristics to obtain a positioning in of a company's products to consumers' minds as very high-quality "authentic Southwestern/Mexican tasting" prospective customers in a chilies that can be prepared easily and quickly. simple, clear way. This sec- tion describes this position- ing. See Chapter 8.APPENDIX "If you have a real product with a distinctive point of dif- ference that satisfies the needs of customers, you may have a winner,\" says Arthur R. Kydd, who has helped launch more than 60 start-up firms. \"And you get a real feel for this in a well-written marketing or business plan," he explains} This appendix (1) describes what marketing and busi- ness plans are, including the purposes and guidelines in writing effective plans, and (2) provides a sample market- ing plan. MARKETING PLANS AND BUSINESS PLANS After explaining the meanings, purposes, and audiences of marketing plans and business plans, this section de- scribes some writing guidelines for them and what exter- nal funders often look for in successful plans. Meanings, Purposes, and Audiences A marketing plan is a road map for the marketing ac- tions of an organization for a specified future time period, such as one year or five years. No single \"generic" mar- keting plan applies to all organizations and all situations. Rather, the specific format for a marketing plan for an organization depends on the following: ' The target audience and purpose. Elements in- cluded in a particular marketing plan depend heav- ily on (1) who the audience is and (2) what its purpose is. A marketing plan for an internal audi- ence seeks to point the direction for future market- ing activities and is sent to all individuals in the organization who must implement the plan or who will be affected by it. If the plan is directed to an external audience, such as friends, banks, venture capitalists, or crowdfunding sources like Kickstarter 52 M n lwu BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING PLAN for the purpose of raising capital, it has the addi- tional function of being an important sales docu- ment. So it contains elements such as the strategic focus, organizational structure, and biographies of key personnel that would rarely appear in an inter- nal marketing plan. The elements of a marketing plan for each of these two audiences are compared in Figure Ail. U The kind and complexity of the organization. A neighborhood restaurant has a less detailed mar- keting plan than Apple, which serves international markets. The restaurant's plan would be relatively simple and directed at serving customers in a lo- cal market. In Apple's case, because there is a hi- erarchy of marketing plans, various levels of detail would be usedsuch as the entire organiza- tion, the strategic business unit, or the product/ product line. ' The industry. Both the restaurant serving a local market and Apple, selling electronic devices glob- ally, analyze elements of their industry. However, their geographic scopes are far different, as are the complexities of their offerings and, hence, the time periods likely to be covered by their plans. A one- year marketing plan may be adequate for the restau- rant, but Apple may need a five-year planning horizon because product development cycles for complex, new electronic devices may be many years. In contrast to a marketing plan, a business plan is a road map for the entire organization for a specied future period of time, such as one year or five years.3 A key dif- ference between a marketing plan and a business plan is that the business plan contains details on the research and development (R&D)loperations/manufacturing activities of the organization. Even for a manufacturing business, the marketing plan is probably 60 or 70 percent of the entire business plan. For firms like a small restaurant or an auto repair shop, their marketing and business plans are virtually identical. The elements of a business plan