Marketing Management, Strategy, and Research: CB455 UNIT 1

Researching for a Marketing Plan

Every business must define its criteria for success when evaluating the feasibility of a venture, because each industry has its own unique circumstances. The following are some forces that shape market attractiveness:

The market growth, such as the growth rate, market size, and market potential

Competitive landscape, including the ease of entry, substitutes, and number of companies

• The accessibility of the market, which also includes channel access, company fit, and customer familiarity
• Part 1: Segmentation Application
• Develop a product-focused business. Please do not use an existing company or a scenario that was utilized in a previous course. Keep in mind, you will continue working with this business throughout the course. Be sure to include the following:

Introduce the business and the main product that it sells. Keep it simple.

Evaluate customer need for the target product.

Discuss who you will serve (strategies for segmentation) based on 2 real competitors’ market positions.

• Devise a niche strategy that would work for your company’s product.
• This section of the paper should be 3 pages in length, and use research from the library’s full-text databases and other quality college-level resources.
• Part 2: Gap Analysis, Benchmarking, and Competitive Advantage
• Be sure to complete the following:

Perform a gap analysis of 2 real competitors. Apply the findings in your business model.

Develop competitor and competitive benchmarking.

Competitor benchmarking: This involves identifying a business’s main competitors and then comparing yourself against them in key performance areas.

Competitive benchmarking: This involves going outside a business’s market or industry to study a company that excels in an area where your business is deficient.

• Devise strategies to realize a competitive advantage for your company.