SWOT Analysis - G-W Learning



Title Page<Company Name><Product Line><Marketing Manager><Date>Table of ContentsExecutive Summary<Page>Business Description<Page>Overview<Page>Vision Statement<Page>Mission Statement<Page>Company Goals<Page>Market Analysis<Page>SWOT Analysis<Page>Environmental Scan (PEST Analysis)<Page>Competitive Analysis<Page>Sales Analysis<Page>Sales History and Projection<Page>Best Opportunities<Page>Sales Goals<Page>Marketing Strategies<Page>Marketing Goals<Page>Target Market<Page>Marketing Mix<Page>Product Strategies<Page>Price Strategies<Page>Place Strategies<Page>Promotion Strategies<Page>Product Positioning<Page>Action Plan<Page>Budget<Page>Timeline<Page>Metrics<Page>Bibliography<Page>Appendices<Page>Executive SummaryAn executive summary provides the overview of the marketing plan by highlighting the critical points of the plan. Write the executive summary last.Start your executive summary with an introductory paragraph that will entice the reader to review the entire document. Identify your product line and any team members who should be recognized. If appropriate, write a sentence that describes the problem that the marketing plan will solve.Next, give an overview of the topics the marketing plan addresses. Briefly describe each of the topics below. Because the individual sections of the marketing plan will go into detail, the information in the executive summary about these topics is just an overview.Summarize the business description from the company business plan.Show evidence of the Market AnalysisSWOT analysisEnvironmental scanCompetitive analysisState the Sales Analysis informationSales history and projectionsBest opportunitiesSales goals Identify the Marketing Strategies that will be usedMarketing goalsTarget marketMarketing mixProduct StrategiesPrice StrategiesPlace StrategiesPromotion StrategiesProduct positioningOutline the Action Plan.TimelineBudgetMetricsRemember this is a summary, not detailed information. Only list the highlights of your plan. The goal is to provide a snapshot that will entice the reader to review the entire document.Business DescriptionThe business description provides an overview of the company as described in the company business plan. The marketing team does not rewrite this information. The information for this section will come from the yearly business plan that the company executive team creates. It will include:overviewvision statementmission statementcompany goalsIt is permissible to condense this information. However, it is not acceptable to rewrite or recreate it.Market AnalysisThe market analysis is a snapshot of the environment in which a business has been operating over a given time, usually the last 12 months to 16 months.The analysis begins with introductory information of the internal and external environments as they relate to marketing and sales. Internal factors include any changes in the business model or personnel that may affect sales. External factors affecting your business may include current inflation rates, supply and demand, factors of production, and other economic influences that determine if the consumer is confident spending money to purchase your product.Include information from sales data, marketing studies, reports, or test-marketing activities completed that describe marketing trends. If you used this kind of information as research, include the information in the Appendices.Describe the business cycle stage of your product. Describe other factors that may affect purchasing of your product, such as season, price, availability, customer emotions, services, or tax considerations.If possible, describe how these influences may influence the success of your marketing plan.SWOT AnalysisA SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats the business faces. Summarize your findings. Refer the reader to the Appendices for the SWOT analysis.Environmental Scan (PEST Analysis)A PEST analysis is an evaluation of the political, economic, social, and technological factors in a certain market or geographic region that may impact the success of a business. Summarize your findings. Refer the reader to the Appendices for the PEST petitive AnalysisA competitive analysis compares the strengths and weaknesses of a product or company that competes with a business. In the analysis, competitors are listed with their physical locations, product lines, pricing, and market share. These grids are used to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the competition. Refer the reader to the Appendices for the competitive analysis.Identify both direct and indirect competitors. Describe your company’s competitive advantages. Explain why your product is different or better than the competitors’ products. Does your business offer a wider variety, better prices, or better sizing than the competition?Sales AnalysisThe marketing team must set SMART goals for its marketing plan. However, before goals can be created, it is necessary to analyze company sales history as a means to forecast sales. The sales analysis will include the following.Sales History and ProjectionsThe sales and executive teams create these forecasts. Analyze sales from the last several years to create a selling trend. Note the market share for the business or product. Identify how this information will help project future sales. Forecast sales for a minimum of one year.Best OpportunitiesIdentify a top-ten list of sales opportunities or identify specific customers, territories, or other leads where new sales can be made. This information comes from market research and sales team feedback.Sales GoalsSales goals are written based on sales history and projections and best opportunities. Identify where new and repeat sales can be generated and at what levels. List the team or company sales goals for the upcoming year. Write the goals as SMART goals. Sales goals numbers are usually stated in both percentage and dollar figures.Marketing StrategiesThe marketing strategies are the decisions made about the marketing mix of product, price, place, and promotion. Those decisions provide the important framework for choosing specific marketing tactics for implementing the plan.Marketing GoalsMarketing goals should be written as SMART goals, which are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. They may be short-term goals, which are the goals achieved in less than one year. They may be long-term goals, which are the goals that can be achieved in a year or more.Target MarketIt is important to identify the customers to whom your product or services will be sold. Identify the target market information you gained from your research. Define the target market by using demographic, geographic, economic, behavioral, and psychographic data that may form a customer profile.Identify the market segment you will be addressing, which is the smaller group of people, businesses, or organizations with common characteristics or needs. If possible, estimate the total size of the target market as accurately as possible.Include summaries of your research and the customer profiles you completed in the Appendices. Remind your readers where this information can be found.Marketing MixDecisions about the marketing mix are the basis of a marketing plan. Those decisions provide the important framework for choosing specific marketing strategies and tactics to implement the plan.Product StrategiesProduct strategies include decisions about the goods or services a business offers, such as decisions on quantities, sizes, packaging, warranties, branding program, quality, image, or design. The features and benefit of your products should also be identified. Discuss the unique selling proposition (USP) and/or value proposition for the business or the products.In an established company, these decisions may already be in place. If changes will be made, discuss what the changes are, why they are taking place, and the expected outcomes. Price StrategiesPrice strategies include business decisions about the markup, profit margin, discounts offered, or list price versus selling price. What are the pricing objectives of your company? As appropriate, discuss price points, percentage of annual sales, and each product’s profit margin. Explain how your pricing policies affect the company image.Place StrategiesPlace strategies include all of the decisions about how and where the products will be distributed and sold to the end users. Describe the supply chain and channel of distribution as it pertains to the marketing and company goals. Explain your purchasing and inventory management systems.Promotion StrategiesPromotional decisions include decisions about which elements of the promotional mix will be used and how they will work together to create integrated marketing communications (IMC). Write strategies for each part of the promotional mix: advertising, public relations, sales promotions, and personal selling. This may also be referred to as a promotional plan. The tactics you choose to use for each of these elements of the promotional mix will become the basis of your Action Plan, which is a later section.Product PositioningProduct positioning is used to influence the customer’s perception of the brand or product in relation to its competition. Use the components of the marketing mix to uniquely identify what the company offers in terms of goods and services. Position the product as better than the competition in a specific way. Action PlanThe action plan is a list of the marketing tactics with details about how to execute each tactic. Marketing tactics are the specific activities implemented to carry out the marketing strategies. The action plan ensures marketing efforts remain on track and funds are spent wisely. The three components of an action plan include a timeline, budget, and metrics.TimelineList each promotional activity in the order it will be performed. Next to each activity should be the position of the person responsible, the start date to create the marketing piece, and the date each marketing piece must be finished or delivered. If it is a form of advertising, the start and end dates of the advertising campaign must also be listed. Include any dates materials are due to the printer, newspaper, etc. Insert the calendar in the Appendices.BudgetAssume you have a budget of $25,000 for this promotional plan. List each promotional element you have chosen. Research the cost for each activity, record the costs, and balance your budget. If you cannot accomplish everything in the promotional plan for the assigned budget, determine which activities need to be cut or reduced to stay within the budget. Insert the budget in the Appendices.MetricsDescribe how metrics will be used to measure each promotional activity. Both hard metrics and soft metrics may be used. Explain how you plan to calculate ROI and measure the effectiveness of the campaigns.BibliographyKeep track of all your resources here. Use an appropriate citation format. Most people use MLA or APA formatting. Check with your instructor as to which you should use. An online citation-formatting tool may be helpful. Use quality sources such as the SBA; SCORE; the census bureau; your federal, state, and local government websites; this textbook; area chambers of commerce; the SBDTC; local colleges and universities; trade organizations; and other reliable websites that are focused on helping entrepreneurs be successful.AppendicesAssemble and list all of the documents you referred to in your plan in the order they are mentioned in the plan. This may include information from sales data, marketing studies, reports, or test-marketing activities completed; a SWOT analysis; a PEST analysis; a competitive analysis; research summaries; customer profiles; a calendar; and a budget. Remember to revise your Table of Contents to list each item that appears in the Appendices and the page number where it can be found. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download