INTRODUCTION Marketing plan is designed to help students with developing practical skills in the marketing process through the development and presentation of a marketing plan. Students research and present a marketing plan for an agricultural product, supply, or service. PART I: PRODUCT SELECTION A. SELECT AN AGRICULTURAL FOOD COMMODITY FOR USE IN YOUR MARKETING PLAN. WORK AS EITHER AN EXISTING OR START-UP FIRM. PLAN TO WORK WITH AN OFF CAMPUS ORGANIZATION. DO NOT USE YOUR COLLEGE AS A CLIENT. B. EMPHASIS SHOULD BE PLACED ON THE "VALUE ADDED" CONCEPT USING MARKETING TECHNIQUES TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. C. A MARKETING PLAN DEALS WITH THE FUTURE. HISTORICAL INFORMATION IS VERY VALUABLE, BUT THE ACTUAL PLAN MUST BE A PROJECTION. A PLAN PRESENTED IN THIS YEAR SHOULD BE PLANNED FOR IMPLEMENTATION NEXT YEAR. A TWO-YEAR TIMEFRAME MIGHT BE NEEDED, WHICH WOULD MEAN THE INCLUSION OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR. MARKET PLANS MAY VARY FROM ONE TO FIVE YEARS DEPENDING ON YOUR TYPE OF PRODUCT. PART II: PROJECT OUTLINE A. THE PROJECT OUTLINE SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF THE MARKETING PROCESS. 1. ANALYSIS OF MARKET - "WHERE ARE WE NOW?" "WHY WERE WE HIRED?" a. INDUSTRY TRENDS b. BUYER PROFILE AND BEHAVIOR C. COMPETITION'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS d. YOUR PRODUCT'S/FIRM'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS. e. ORIGINAL RESEARCH RESULTS. B. BUSINESS PROPOSITION - "WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE?" 1. KEY PLANNING ASSUMPTIONS (CITE SOURCES OF INFORMATION) 2. MEASURABLE AND ATTAINABLE GOALS - MUST BE MEASURABLE, HAVE COMPLETION DATE, BE SPECIFIC, AND BE ATTAINABLE. TARGET MARKET - IDENTIFY SPECIFIC MARKET SEGMENTS, WHICH ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS C. STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLAN - HOW AND WHEN WILL WE GET THERE? (10 POINTS) 1. PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES: SIZE, QUALITY, SERVICE, ETC. 2. HOW WILL YOU DISTRIBUTE AND SELL? a. MARKETING CHANNELS b. PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION MODES 3. WHAT WILL BE THE PRICE STRUCTURE? 4. HOW WILL YOU PROMOTE THE PRODUCTS? WHICH PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY OR COMBINATIONS OF ACTIVITIES ARE APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE? HOW MUCH PROMOTION CAN YOU AFFORD? a. PERSONAL SELLING b. DIRECT SALES PROMOTIONRELATION d. ADVERTISING - MASS MEDIA 5. DEVELOP A MISSION STATEMENT AND PREDICT COMPETITOR REACTIONS, IF ANY. D. PROJECTED BUDGET - "HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO GET THERE? (5 POINTS) 1. WHAT WILL BE STRATEGIES COST? 2. PRO FORMA INCOME STATEMENT WHICH HIGHLIGHTS COST OF THE STRATEGIES ON AN INCREMENTAL OR START-UP BASIS 3. CALCULATE THE FINANCIAL RETURN OF THE MARKETING PLAN E. EVALUATION- "DID WE GET THERE?" (5 POINTS) 1. SPECIFIC MEASUREMENT TOOLS TO MEASURE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE GOALS AT THE END OF THE TIME PERIOD 2. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE ACTION AND CONTINGENCIES PART III: WRITTEN PLAN A. PROCEDURES 1. YOUR MARKETING PLAN MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE INSTRUCTOR ON THE THURSDAY, ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE PINOT AND PINTS EVENT. (THIS YEARS EVENT DATE) 2 TEN PERCENT WILL BE DEDUCTED THE FIRST DAY THAT THE DOCUMENT IS LATE AND TWO PERCENT PER DAY FOR EACH ADDITIONAL DAY LATE. 3. THE DOCUMENT WILL NOT EXCEED EIGHT PAGES (SINGLE SIDED) AND MUST BE TWELVE POINT FONT, DOUBLE SPACED AND NOT LESS THAN A 1 INCH MARGIN: 1. TITLE PAGE - PROJECT TITLE, TEAM NAME, CHAPTER NAME, STATE, AND DATE (1 PAGE) 2. PAGES-MARKETING PLAN (5 PAGES) APPENDICES - SURVEYS, GRAPHS, MAPS, PROMOTIONAL PIECES, ETC. (2 PAGES) TOTAL EIGHT PAGES 6. THE EIGHT PAGES ARE CALCULATED ONAN 8 X X 11 BASIS. DIFFERENT FORMATS AND PAGE SIZES CAN BE USED AS LONG AS THE DOCUMENT DOES NOT EXCEED THE EQUIVALENT OF 8-8 X X 11" PAGES. SCORING THE WRITTEN PLAN 1. THE MAXIMUM SCORE ON THE WRITTEN PLAN IS 160 POINTS. FIVE AREAS ARE CONSIDERED IN SCORING THE WRITTEN PLAN, AS FOLLOWS: Market Analysis 50 points Business Proposal 20 points Strategies and Action Plan 50 points Evaluation 20 points Budget 20 points Total Points Possible 160 points