Descriptive General Marketing Plan Outline For Eegee Company
Executive Summary
This marketing plan is designed and conceptualized to respond to a particular challenge that the Eegee Company is looking to take head-on: make solid, calculated steps upward the market and consumer share ladder and eventually lead the industry based on commanding hold of the target market and market share. This marketing plan provides an insight on the key pillars of a workable, achievable and realistic marketing strategy through the careful analysis and consideration of the company structure, capability and current market position as well as the position of the competitors and the direction where most of the target customers are looking.
This marketing plan is designed to design a strategy so to ensure that the target customers of Eegee Company is looking Eegee’s way, and no other way, through effective marketing with the use of traditional and below the line (BLT) advertising vis-à-vis enhanced and improved product designed to suit the taste of its target market.
In order to measure the success level of the marketing plan, several long term and short term objectives are identified in this marketing plan to enable the company to see whether they are consistent with the course of action and course plotted by the marketing plan, and if the marketing plan is effective after all.
The Egee Company Marketing Challenge
The Eegee Company has been operating since 1971, and for nearly four decades, many internal and external aspects have changed. Internally, there have been several changes in operational direction that included shift in logistics, use of technology and expansion while externally, competitors of the Eegee Company products themselves collectively experienced changes; some became stronger brands, some disappeared and in their place some new names surfaced to challenge the market and threaten the market share enjoyed by Eegee Company.
The main marketing plan of the this marketing plan is to put Eegee Company in a position of stable and consistent growth, and over a period of calculated time, hit the top spot in market share in the frozen fruit juice, baked goods and sandwich industry, and provide long term and short term strategies on how to maintain pole position at least before a new and more suitable and up-to-date marketing plan has been created and enforced.
This market plan will take into consideration the analysis of the current business situation Eegee is in, as well as the analysis of the company, the target market and customers and the competition to be able to ascertain the real grounds Eegee is standing on at the moment and from that point define the path it should take to get to where it wants to go.
Analysis of the Situation
Eegee Company has successfully managed to branch out, but the branching out of the company is not yielding the desired stranglehold effect of the target market. Simply put, Egee is everywhere, but a lot of its target consumers are still going somewhere else. The question is, ‘why is that’? Product-wise, Eegee Company’s line of food product provides both character to the company and diversity that consumers require for a food chain to constantly invite patrons and attract new customers.
In the absence of any official action against Eegee Company by anyone of its former and current customers with regards to the products having undesirable qualities, it is by default that this marketing plan would consider that most customers would agree that generally, Eegee Company’s food is fresh, delicious, satisfying and reasonably priced. Eegee Company, throughout its 36 years of existence and operation, was able to follow trends in local and trans-state food and beverage distribution and manufacturing, such trends not jeopardizing the quality of Eegee Company food.
Alternative and Selected Marketing Strategies
This marketing plan will identify some alternative marketing strategy and select particular marketing strategies that the company is capable of launching and supporting inside a particular time frame.
Selective and Sensitive Media Advertising – Traditional marketing wisdom still points to the use of advertising in mass media as an effective marketing strategy. But as was pointed out earlier in the marketing plan, current social changes affect the manner by which modern advertising and marketing strategy is being conducted, and Eegee should be aware of that and incorporate these changes in the strategy to come across as an issue-sensitive company whose main concern as a corporate entity is customer welfare.
Eegee can shift its marketing and advertising styles with more health-conscious tones and responsibilities, meaning Eegee will focus on its healthy food line and stress on the characteristic of Eegee as a partner in maintaining healthy eating habits and at the same time re-align product advertising with regards to the audience that it actually hits, similar to the Kellogg case and the role of their advertisement of food that pressure groups deem as unhealthy for kids and contributing to the obesity of the children in America (Associated Press, 2007).
Product and company assessment through public and target market survey – bringing the food closer to the target customers requires the company to know what type of food these people want on their hands and on their plates. This assessment is critical since this will provide the company a glimpse of where current Eegee products stand in the preference of the target market.
Results of this study is integral in the marketing plan since this will help in the undertaking of alternative recommended strategies like the discontinuing of a product as well as product re-branding and change in company profile. The marketing team can begin with conducting the study on the impact of the company’s current identifiable logos and characters and whether or not it alienates a particular section of the target market owing to its leaning towards more youthful and child-like personality.
Promotion through close contact with customers – Promotional activities like community-based events support and sponsorship is highly encouraged to be able to put Eegee closer to its target market. Other minor promotional gimmicks like holiday discounts and give-away items should also be analyzed carefully, particularly with the items to give out with focus on strengthening brand and product recall through non-food items.
Short Term and Long Term Projections
Long term and short term projections include immediate marketing strategy impact as well as the expected fall out of the marketing plan which will be reflected in a post mortem for the marketing plan which will be identified in the marketing strategy calendar. The long term and short term projections should also consider the impact of the marketing plan in other business areas like the forecast of revenues, expenses and break even analysis.
The selected marketing strategies also promise several long term and short term impact on the company sales and product performance. The ‘Selective and Sensitive Media Advertising’ marketing strategy’s short term results may include favorable public perception on the company and the product that may show direct positive impact in immediate improvement of sales.
Another expected short term result is the gaining of newfound interest among new target market who will be hit by the particular new wave of Eegee’s media advertising. Long term results generated from this particular strategy include long term maintenance of favorable and positive company and product profile (which can only be maintained if the company can provide products that customers generally like and enjoy) as well as the establishment of the very critical brand recall that can help in minimizing advertising efforts for at least the next one or two years.
The ‘Product and company assessment through public and target market survey’ strategy’s long term and short term effect is primarily the ability of the company to use the opinion of its target consumers to its advantage. Its short term effect includes being able to re-design and repackage the products, the company and the marketing style that fits the consumer taste. Its long term effect is primarily the providing of usable data which the company can use in the future during its redesigning of future marketing plans and strategies.
The ‘Promotion through close contact with customers’ strategy provides a short term effect that translates to direct communication with target consumers on a more localize and direct level while its long term effect is expected in the increase and maintenance of brand recall and product identification.
In order to achieve them, departments and individuals who are directly involved in the implementation of the marketing plan should perform expected tasks and maintain deliverables as per marketing plan schedule. Special action towards the marketing plan that affects the marketing strategies directly may come in the form of remedial actions should unexpected problems arise during the duration of the marketing plan and strategy implementation, as well as crisis management task undertaking in the event of crisis-level concerns occurring during the duration of the marketing plan/strategy implementation.
Forecast of Revenue – members of the marketing team should be designate the starting point of marketing campaign pursuant to the marketing plan put into action. A comprehensive administration of the marketing plan (advertisement, promotion, product change, corporate re-design etc) would be sufficient enough to allow management to evaluate sales performance from the start of the marketing campaign up to the end of the first three or five months and break down these months into weeks and days to see if there are noticeable trends that can suggest improving revenue based on the imposed marketing strategy.
Expenses
List of expected expenses should make room for auxiliary expenses for unexpected marketing costs and should be detailed in the marketing plan. The expenses incurred in the undertaking of a creating and using of a new marketing plan and marketing strategy is considered as internal investment of the company. The marketing team should work hand in hand with the accounting and the legal department to see how some of the expenses can be translated for tax refunds and tax exempts and other ways and means that can soften the impact of the expenses on overall operation and financial status of the company. Marketing, after all, ‘costs money’ (Gendusa, 2006).
Break Even Analysis
The marketing plan, the forecast of revenue and the list of expenses should design a strategy allowing for break even income – costs as the worst case scenario in the event that the marketing plan did not yield expected results. Necessary plans should also be made to compensate for any negative result of the break even analysis.
References:
- Associated Press. (June 14, 2007). Kellogg to change recipes, marketing. The Boston Globe.
- Retrieved December 25, 2007, from
- http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/06/14/kellogg_to_change_recipes_marketing/
- Eegee’s website. Retrieved December 25, 2007, from http://www.eegees.com/index.htm
- Gendusa, Joy. (May 22, 2006). The Importance of a Marketing Plan. Articlesbase. Retrieved
- December 25, 2007, from http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/the
- importance-of-a-marketing-plan-30026.html
