1. Part A: Your Marketing Plan ****FOR A CANDLE COMPANY****
   Overview
   For this assignment, you will document your hypothetical company’s background information and mission statement, your company’s short-term and long-term goals, an environmental analysis, and a SWOT analysis.
   Note: You should make all assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.
   Instructions
   Create the first part of your marketing plan in 8–12 pages:
   • Write an introduction to your company. Describe your hypothetical company, its location, the product it makes or the service it provides, and introduce the contents of your marketing plan.
   • Develop your company’s mission statement.
   • Decide the main goals that you would like to achieve within the next year (short term) and the main goals that you would like to achieve within the next 5 years (long term). Determine the most appropriate ways to measure both short- and long-term goals.
     • Note: Consider the following metrics: tracking downloads of website content; website visitors; increases in market share; customer value; new product or service adoption rates; retention; rate of growth compared to competition; and the market, margin, and customer engagement.
   • Develop an environmental analysis that includes competitive, economic, political, legal, technological, and sociocultural forces.
   • Develop both a SWOT analysis and needs analysis for your product or service. Each analysis should examine three strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your company.
   • Use at least three academic resources as quantitative marketing research to determine the feasibility of your product or service. These resources should be industry specific and relate to your chosen product or service.
   • Use the Part A Marketing Plan Template [DOCX] to complete the assignment. attached
   • The Part A Mission Statement and SWOT Analysis Sample [PDF] containing examples has been provided for your reference. attached
   • This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
     The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
   • Evaluate a company’s goals, environment, needs, strengths, and weaknesses based on its respective market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mission Statement
A strong mission statement “provides a shared sense of purpose, direction, and
opportunity”(Kotler, 1). Pets are family members and should be treated as such. Pooper
Scoopers’ services provide homes and communities a high level of care, creating a family feel
while protecting the environment to everyone’s benefit. Our services are provided to pet
owners and communities with care and consideration while commending our team members for
their professionalism, dedication, and performance for those we serve. Our goal is simple –
provide customers with value, providing the services they need to take good care of their pets,
yards, and homes when life does not allow them to do so. Pooper Scoopers’ future plans are to
grow within the local area, expanding outward to other communities while adding area
management services for community groups, HOAs, and businesses. At Pooper Scoopers, we
endeavor to create a clean, green environment beneficial to people and animals alike.
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SWOT and Needs Analysis
In order to be successful, Pooper Scoopers needs to be aware of those factors that can
impact their business, both positively and negatively. By utilizing a SWOT analysis to examine
the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that are most applicable to the business
performance, Pooper Scoopers can grow. Through examination of the internal elements that can
be controlled (strengths and weaknesses) and external elements that cannot be controlled
(opportunities and threats), Pooper Scoopers can better understand their operational environment.
Table 1 shows the Pooper Scoopers’ main SWOT elements.
Table 1
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
• Unique service plan for minimally
competitive environment
• Flexible services plan availability
including weekly, twice monthly and
monthly plans
• Expanded management plans and
services for communities, HOAs and
other businesses
Weaknesses
• Lack of local knowledge for
neighborhoods and residents
• New presence in service area requiring
expanded efforts to reach customer
base
• Possible lack of experienced personnel
in local environment requiring
importation of employees
Opportunities
• Limited competition in the area allows
for quicker growth in the initial phase
• Ability to quickly expand into
neighboring locales, communities and
businesses
• Ability to expand service types based
on the local communities and business
(such as golf courses or local parks)
Threats
• Increase in competition with local
small businesses and / or larger
national franchisees moving into area
• Transient population impacts possible
business growth
• Financial impacts due to higher
numbers of retirees and older residents
with limited financial resources
Note: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the Pooper Scoopers Company.
Strengths
Companies often fail to objectively assess their strengths, neglecting to take advantage of
their value to their customer base. Pooper Scoopers has many strengths that are beneficial to
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their customer base when properly understood and applied. First, Pooper Scoopers’ presence
provides customers with a comprehensive pet waste removal service provider that is unique to
the area with minimal competition. Pooper Scoopers can create long lasting customer
relationships with their prime market position.
Secondly, the ability to cater to the customers’ needs with custom service and pricing
plans allows Pooper Scoopers the flexibility to provide competitive pricing for any local
competition and support for the price conscious customer. This strength allows Pooper
Scoopers’ customers to recognize they are getting the best perceived value for the dollar. Lastly,
the ability to provide extended services to community associations, HOAs and businesses allows
for growth of the business while creating a more inviting, cleaner environment for patrons.
Weaknesses
Many companies see weaknesses as failures that cannot be capitalized upon. However,
the reality is that a company can benefit greatly when analyzing these weaknesses and turn them
into assets, benefitting themselves and the customer base. When reviewing the Pooper Scoopers’
business model, three major weaknesses have been determined. First, when creating a business,
it is important that the company understands the local area that they will be doing business in by
doing market research. With Pooper Scoopers opening their business in a new location, they
must perform the research to be competitive and provide excellent services. Pooper Scoopers
then becomes more educated and familiar with the locale and the needs of the populace.
When a new business opens up anywhere, it is imperative that they reach the customer
base. As a new venture, Pooper Scoopers has limited initial public exposure. In order to make
the customer base aware of the business, various communications tools must be employed
including a web site, social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook and other resources), and local
media (TV, Radio and print). An enhanced media presence will create customer awareness,
expanding the customer base. Finally, the new market may have a dearth of experienced
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personnel, creating the need for Pooper Scoopers to hire from outside the local area or work with
inexperienced individuals until they are properly trained, providing the excellent service
customers expect.
Opportunities
Opportunities, while external to the business, can be a boon and create significant
business growth. Successful companies take advantage of the opportunities as they present
themselves. An immediate opportunity for Pooper Scoopers is the limited local competition.
While there are small businesses in the area, none offer similar service packages. The ability to
provide a variety of services and pricing allows Pooper Scoopers to meet the customers’ needs.
There are a number of communities near the Myrtle Beach area. Once a beachhead is
established in Myrtle Beach, the company should be able to expand outward into additional
locales. With limited local competition, expansion should be easier than in a larger metropolitan
area. In conjunction with the locale expansion, an additional opportunity is to add services for
managing common areas for communities and HOAs or expanding services to maintain
businesses where wildlife has an impact, such as golf courses. With a myriad of golf courses
around the Myrtle Beach area, this opportunity is certainly worth exploring.
Threats
Threats are circumstances beyond the business’ control that require regular review and
proactive mitigation to prevent negative business impacts. Competition is one of the largest
threats companies encounter, and this is no different here. While few local businesses perform
pet waste removal services, two major cities in the state support a large national company that
performs similar services, potentially impacting business should they expand. By creating strong
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customer relationships with excellent customer service and competitive pricing strategies, that
threat should be mitigated to a level that the company can accept.
Being a resort community, Pooper Scoopers faces a transient populace as many of the
potential customers are snow birds. Similarly, the Myrtle Beach area is considered a retirement
destination with retirees often having set budgets with little leeway when looking at such
services. Per the Journal of Marketing Research, low-income households should have the
greatest incentive to use all available strategies that save them money as they make a greater
effort to search for lower prices than their higher-income counterparts (Orhun, 18). In both cases,
creative pricing and service programs can meet this challenge.
Conclusion
Pooper Scoopers is heading to Myrtle Beach to establish their pet waste removal
management business. To do so, they need to create a savvy marketing plan to jump start the
business. Starting with a strong, motivational mission statement, Pooper Scoopers can then
navigate through a number of short and long term goals while planning for their future success.
Multiple forces impact the business including competitive, economic, political, legal,
technological, and sociocultural factors. Once these forces have been analyzed, a SWOT
analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats provide additional data for the
business profile and model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part A: ABC Marketing Plan (Change to your name of business here)

Your Name

MKT500 Marketing Management
Strayer University

Dr. Lisa Amans

Date submitted

 

Introduction (note this is not bold)

Write an introduction to your company. Describe your hypothetical company, its location (why did you choose this location), and the product it makes or the service it provides, and introduce the contents of your marketing plan.

Mission Statement

Develop your company’s mission statement (do not confuse a mission statement with a tag line, slogan, or positioning statement). Also, your mission statement should resonate with your consumers/customers as well as with your employees and stakeholders – remember to see the purpose of a mission statement and rationalize yours. Do not just state a mission statement without rational – answer why.  See textbook, page 21.

Goals

Write an introduction to this section here (minimum of three sentences). Note, your goals should be realistic, practical, and SMART (i.e., S. – specific; M. – measurable; A. – assignable; R. – realistic; and T. – time based).  What does your company need to accomplish in the short and long term; consider revenue and profit goals?

Short Term

Text starts here – Decide the main goals that you would like to achieve within the next year (short term).   Determine the most appropriate ways to measure short term goals. Note: Consider the following metrics: tracking downloads of Website content, Website visitors, increases in market share, customer value, new product adoption rates, retention, rate of growth compared to competition and the market, margin, and customer engagement. For information on Website analytics, visit Google Analytics at http://www.google.com/analytics/why/

Long Term

Decide the mains goals that you would like to achieve within the next five (5) years (long term).  Determine the most appropriate ways to measure long term goals. Note: Consider the following metrics: tracking downloads of Website content, Website visitors, increases in market share, customer value, new product adoption rates, retention, rate of growth compared to competition and the market, margin, and customer engagement. For information on Website analytics, visit Google Analytics at http://www.google.com/analytics/why/

Environmental Analysis

Develop an environmental analysis that includes competitive, economic, political, legal, technological, and sociocultural forces. Include an introduction of these elements. Write an introduction to this section (minimum of three sentences).  See textbook pages 45-51.

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis here – (who is the competition – direct and indirect, why do you consider them to competition, what do they do well, what might be a weakness?).

Economic Analysis

Economic analysis here – (Through this factor, businesses examine the economic issues that are bound to have an impact on the company. This would include factors like inflation, interest rates, economic growth, the unemployment rate and policies, and the business cycle followed in the country).

Political and Legal Analysis

Political and legal analysis here. Separate the topics if you have significant analysis. (Political and Legal: Here government regulations and legal factors are assessed in terms of their ability to affect the business environment and trade markets. The main issues addressed in this section include political stability, tax guidelines, trade regulations, safety regulations, and employment laws).

Technological Analysis

Technological analysis here – (How technology can either positively or negatively impact the introduction of a product or service into a marketplace is assessed here. These factors include technological advancements, lifecycle of technologies, the role of the Internet, and the spending on technology research by the government).

Sociocultural Forces Analysis

Sociocultural forces here – (With the social factor, a business can analyze the socio-economic environment of its market via elements like customer demographics, cultural limitations, lifestyle attitude, and education. With these, a business can understand how consumer needs are shaped and what brings them to the market for a purchase).

SWOT and Needs Analysis

Develop both a SWOT analysis and needs analysis for your product. Each analysis should examine three (3) each of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your company. Suggestion is to write an introduction (minimum of three sentences) and create a SWOT table (use APA formatting, label Table 1, etc.). Include an analysis, not just the table. Rationalize why you choose these SWOT elements. See textbook page 21.

Table 1

SWOT Analysis

Strengths Short bullet Xxxx xxxx	Weaknesses Short bullet Xxxx xxxx
Opportunities Short bullet Xxxx xxxx	Threats Short bullet Xxxx xxxx

Note: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for xxxx company.

 

Strengths

Include three strengths and explain the importance (think features and benefits to customer). Strengths are internal; what you can control.

Weaknesses

Include three weaknesses and impact to the business and/or customer. Weaknesses are internal; what you can control.

Opportunities

Include three opportunities and explain the importance (think features and benefits to customer). Opportunities are external; what is happening outside your company you can take advantage of such as new technology.

Threats

Include three threats and impact to the business and/or customer. Threats are external; what is happening outside your company that will impact your business such as new government policies or laws.

Conclusion

Summarize the plan to this point (minimum of three sentences) and you should not include any new thoughts (just summary).

 

Sources (note this is centered and not bold and on a separate page)

Use at least three (3) academic, peer-reviewed resources as quantitative marketing research to determine the feasibility of your product / service. Three academic, peer-reviewed references are proficient.  In order to receive most points as exemplary, submit four or more.

These academic, peer-reviewed resources should be industry specific and relate to your chosen product / service.  Quality, academic references are peer-reviewed and found in scholarly journals published in the last 5 years. A good way to incorporate is by using Journal of Marketing, as an example, for your theories and consumer behavior observations.

Newspapers, magazines, and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources and although you should reference if you use, they do not count towards your minimum.

Listing your references without applying them in your text (citations) is not acceptable!!!

 

 

Tips and SWS Formatting (delete this from your paper)

Below are tips and notes to guide you writing an SWS paper. Use this information as a reference and ask if you have any questions.

Tips and Notes:

1. NEVER plagiarize: Plagiarism: act of using someone else’s ideas, words, figures, unique approach, or specific reasoning without giving appropriate credit.
2. Always include an introduction for your Heading 1 topic (example: Environmental Analysis) to explain to the readers what they learn in the section you are introducing.
3. Paragraphs should be complete, such as a minimum of three sentences:
   1. “Put only one main idea per paragraph.
   2. Aim for three to five or more sentences per paragraph.
   3. Include on each page about two handwritten or three typed paragraphs.
   4. Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper. Since paragraphs do less work in short papers, have short paragraphs for short papers and longer paragraphs for longer papers.
   5. If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they are really parts of a larger paragraph—and can be combined—or whether you can add details to support each point and thus make each into a more fully developed paragraph.
4. Do not use (or minimize):
   1. They (minimize, pronouns, use actual names/titles for clarity).
   3. There are.
   10. One or ones.
   12. A lot.
   13. A ton.
5. Use of contractions—spell it out.
6. Findings: are past tense.

 

SWS Guidelines:

 

1. In -text citations:

 

If the in-text citation appears at the end of a sentence containing evidence, the closing punctuation of the sentence must follow the closing parenthesis of the citation.

Use the author’s last name or publishing organization’s name and then a comma.  Then add the number indicating the placement of this source in the source list.

 

This is an example.

 

Studies have also indicated that the high concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is primarily due to humans’ use of fossil fuels. Atmospheric data shows “that levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are higher than they have been at any time in the past 400,000 years” (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 4).

 

 

2. Sources:

 

An SWS format Source list citation consists of:

• The author’s name.
• If there are multiple authors, only the first author is used.
• The year of publication of the source.
• The title of the source.
• The page range.
• A way to locate the source (in this case, a permalink from the Strayer Library).

 

Here is an example of a Source in an SWS format.

 

Stephanie Herring. 2014. Explaining Events of 2013 from a Climate Perspective. http://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https:// search.ebscohost.login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=99124811 &site=eds-live&scope=site