Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

The guideline on what you can and can't do for a marketing plan is up to your prof. If he/she says it's OK, then it's OK. If not, then not.

As far as a "sample of a plan for a supermarket," well, the assignment is not "find a marketing plan, make some minor changes, and then make it look like you did the work so that it's your own." Correct? Didn't your marketing class cover the elements of a marketing plan - the "outline," if you will? Use that and the other tools you were presented in marketing class and DO the marketing plan. In your career, this is a tool that might be valuable to you. In most cases, reading the book and attending lectures won't give you a true grasp of the material. Later, in your career, you won't be able to create a quality plan (or recognize one someone else did) unless you understand how one is put together from scratch. I think you would agree that this is the value of your education - mastering tools of value to you and your career. Besides, your grade, most likely, will be based on demonstrating you have the ability to create a marketing plan, not the content. It's your thought process and analysis that you present when you describe the market, your ability to segment and target the customers, how you will attract their attention and prompt them to come into your supermarket, your understanding of the competition...Most of the marketing plans available as "samples" on the internet are very sterile, generic, and incomplete. It's your passion you put into the plan that will make the difference between an average marketing plan and an excellent one with your prof's comment: Great job! This plan actually could be implemented and successful!

As such, pick a product or service or whatever for your plan for which you feel some passion. Use your imagination, research the market, customers, and competition. Make this as real as you can for yourself. You will enjoy it more, learn more, and get a better score on the assignment.

I hope this helps.

Wayde

You said your prof wants: "either a new product or existing product..." This is pretty specific. A new business is not a new product. As for a marketing plan for guidance, flip the problem around. Look through the existing marketing plans you can find and pick a product from the plans available.

Wayde

https://www.mplans.com/sample_marketing_plans/

https://www.websitemarketingplan.com/Free/SamplePlan.htm

https://www.scribd.com/doc/3119672/The-10-Step-Marketing-Plan-Template

Check out the links for reference.

Hey, don't worry that's an easy task, but all you need to do is to know the components of the marketing plan and the rest will just follow. Hereunder are the components of a marketing plan with a brief description about every section so that you know what you should mention here

1. Market Summary
you generally talk about the market of supermarkets and whether it is a successful business or not these days. you can mention the types of supermarket briefly and what do they always offer

2. Situational Analysis
Here you talk about where is the competition coming from, who are the tycoons in the market and what are the things that all supermarkets are common about and how you will be different but briefly

2.1 Target Audience and Segmentation
you have to specify the target audience and segmentation by specifying 6 main points which are Gender, Age, Marital Status, Income, Demographics, and education

3. Pricing Strategy
how are you gonna price the products that hold the name of your supermarket if any
what pricing strategy will you follow - discounted prices, stock prices, promotions, etc.

4. Unique Selling Proposition
what are the selling propositions that will give your supermarket an edge. Maybe continuous promotions, loyalty cards and memberships, parking, or anything you can think of with a brief explanation why would this give you an edge. ie: memberships will make people loyal to you to get their discounts, maybe delivery service that would facilitate the life of the rapid lifestyle for people who have no time to shop, etc.

5. Objective
(a) create awareness across the targeted segment
(b) Brand your supermarket
(c) Position your supermarket as
(d) Create loyalty programs for regular customers
(e) Increase market share
(f) Achieve financial objectives

6. Strategy
in this phase, you talk about each point of the objective separately for example
(a) Create awareness across targeted segment
develop an advertising campaign to introduce the new supermarket
organize events that would attract targeted segment
Develop effective PR campaign, etc
(b)
(c)
(d) Create loyalty programs
develop a loyalty program like membership cards and give them discount with free delivery
a loyalty program that offers promotional items for members
sampling for new products to members
special hour for members only

7. Tactics
here you say what you will exactly do
7.1 Advertising Campaign
to generate more traffic and introduce the supermarket to the public
7.1.1 Pressbooking in local magazines
you will place ads in magazines and news paper
7.1.2 Outdoor Campaign
Place an ad on premium locations
7.1.3 Radio Advertisement

7.2 Events and Receptions
7.2.1 Special Events in the supermarket
7.2.2 Receptions in other places for members

7.3 Promotions
7.3.1 Free Sampling
7.3.2 Scratch and win coupons
7.3.3 Promotional items

8.0 Marketing Controls
here you will state how you will measure the success of your campaign maybe through surveys and questionnaires, by measuring your sales, by counting traffic within the supermarkeT, ETC.

that's it i guess
I hope i could help you

Let me know if you liked it or not :) and good luck

Ahmed’s outline is a fine basic blueprint for a new supermarket for a college project – It’s also more comprehensive than some I’ve seen from practicing consultants, but he is charging down the path that assumes that a Supermarket Business is appropriate as a product in the context of your question.

I’d go as far as to say that you are in danger of answering the wrong question and as such, unless your professor is very lateral minded, you will fail your assignment. I sometimes feel like weeping when I am shown 40 pages od well set out and well argued course work when I am asked to assess it as an external marketing professional. It’s often fascinating, but if you are answering a question which you have made up, rather than the one on the paper, then you will fail to fulfil the remit.

I’m sorry if you are getting answers which don’t directly answer your question asking for a template to study, but we would be in dereliction of duty were we to tell you in detail how not to do what you have been asked.

In stead, change your plan. Use Ahmed’s list of points as guide to form and content and forget about a supermarket. Instead, choose a product and develop the marketing plan from there.

Also, Randall is also correct. A marketing plan is designed to fulfil a business objective and unless you can state the broad parameters of your business objective, you are proposing a work of fiction. The best marketing plan in the world is of no use if it bankrupts the enterprise before it is able to return a profit or at least before it can impress a bank or an investor from its early results such that they will fund it.

Passing a marketing course propels you into the real world of business and increasingly, colleges are looking for an understanding of all which that implies.

If you want to write something fanciful and which does not address the subject, swap to doing creative writing – you can get away with that there!

Best wishes and good luck

Steve Alker