Milestone Three

Overview: This section of the marketing plan addresses the organizational objectives and the target market plan for your company. This milestone is due in Module Four.

Objectives

Before the specific details of a marketing plan can be developed, objectives for the plan must be stated. Without objectives, there is no basis for measuring the success of your marketing plan activities. Marketing objectives are statements of what is to be accomplished through marketing activities. You must develop at least five marketing objectives as part of your planning process. These answer the question “What do you plan to accomplish?” Objectives should be realistic, measurable, and time-specific. Objectives must also be consistent and indicate the priorities of the organization.

Your objectives section should address the following:

1. For your company, formulate at least five marketing objectives related to the new product/service that are realistic, measurable, time-specific and comparable to a benchmark.

2. Discuss the objectives as they relate to commercial, legal, and cultural aspects of a global business environment.

Target Market

The target market strategy identifies which market segment or segments to focus on in light of what the competition is doing. For this assignment, identify segmentation data and determine your target market. The process begins with a market opportunity analysis, or MOA, which describes and estimates the size and sales potential of market segments that are of interest to the firm. In addition, an assessment of key competitors in these market segments is performed. After the market segments are described, one or more may be targeted by the firm.

If your segmentation is too general, you will find that your subsequent promotional mix will be equally general, as you will not have described your market with sufficient specifics. For example, have you provided measurable segmentation variables, or have you described your market as “everyone who needs PC storage” or “everyone in Smithville who likes Italian food”?

Your target market section should address the following:

•   Describe your target market, whether a business or consumer market, using segmentation variables. These include the use of demographics, psychographics, geodemographics, geographies, behavioral segments, or other segmentation criteria.

•   Describe your rationale for selecting the target market(s) that you did. State why these markets are attractive to you as a marketer.

•   Describe the market in terms of its anticipated growth, revenue opportunities, past performance, etc. Utilize our author’s criteria for segmentation to

  demonstrate that your target market(s) suggest the likelihood of success—the market needs to be identifiable, measurable, sustainable, accessible, and reachable.