Module 5 - SLP
Pricing & Marketing Plan Implementation
Here is the brief overview of this cumulative Session Long
Project (SLP). In this research project, you would work as a
marketing consultant to develop a feasible marketing plan for
your client. You would conduct both secondary research in
SLP1 and SLP2, and primary research in SLP3 to glean the
necessary information for your marketing plan in SLP4 and
SLP5. When conducting primary research in SLP3, collect only
qualitative data (i.e., personal in-depth interviews with at least
three target customers) for this study.
It is important to conduct quality market research on your focal
product/company in order to develop realistic and workable
marketing plans. Generally speaking, there are two types of
research. One is secondary research, which refers to data
collection using existing sources, and the other is primary
research, which is your own data collection for the specific
study at hand. The purpose of market research is to collect
usable information to make more informed decisions on the
business problem, thus increasing the chance of business
success in the marketplace.
Please check the
outline of the marketing plan
, which provides information on:
The final format for this cumulative session long project;
A list of topics for the whole project;
The continuity and connections among SLPs 1-5.
In this module SLP5, first develop action plans based on the
marketing strategies developed in SLP4 and then evaluate
marketing budget for the plans. This is the final step of this
cumulative research project. Be sure to incorporate all the work
for this Session Long Project (SLPs 1-5) into a complete
marketing plan following the marketing plan outline provided
above.
Marketing Implementation: Action Plans and Marketing Mix

The action plans and marketing mix are related. That is, the
action plans contain a complete description of a marketing
program, including its goals and objectives (as previously
outlined in the section on
Goals and Objectives)
, marketing mix activities, program evaluation mechanisms and
measurements, budget and timing considerations, and
quantitative assessments. (A complete description of these final
dimensions follows. Follow the format below for action plan
outlines.)
Before you begin working on the action plans, consider the total
budget amount for your charge. Make a realistic budget estimate
for your marketing plan based on the financial situation of the
company and its past spending on marketing.
State for each action plan:
The goal(s) and objective(s) for the action plan.
The target market at which this action plan is aimed.
The marketing mix activities needed to implement the action
plan.
Product strategy and programs require consideration of things
such as brand name, product features/benefits, differentiation
from competition, relationship to delivering value, logo,
package design/labeling, complementary products/services,
elements of customer service strategy, and programs. Also, this
is where the service concept, tangibles, customer-contact
employees, and so on, need to be addressed. Depending on the
charge of your marketing plan, some of the above may not
apply.
Price strategy and programs require consideration of things such
as pricing objectives and relationship to delivering value. Keep
in mind that pricing is not restricted to monetary concerns.
Customers are likely to compare the perceived benefits of the
new brand to the perceived benefits of the existing brand and
other competitive brands. In other words, customers are likely
to perform a cost-benefit analysis, which means that customers
must perceive the new brand to have benefits that are equal to

or exceed the perceived costs.
When considering pricing issues, also include costs customers
are likely to incur in terms of time, effort, and energy. Consider
psychological costs (e.g., embarrassment, fear, rejection, etc.)
and losses (e.g., aesthetics, familiarity, etc.), and physical
discomfort or loss of pleasure.
Place or distribution strategy and programs require
consideration of things such as the selection, motivation, and
evaluation of channel partners (if applicable).
This is also the place to describe any direct marketing programs
(mail, telemarketing, catalogs, Internet, etc.) and other
accessibility issues (e.g., number of local stores, etc.).
Promotional activities
Advertising strategy and programs that require consideration of
things such as advertising message (what will be said, unique
selling points, benefits to be stressed, value story, points of
differentiation, etc.), creative style (settings, characterization,
humor or not, testimonials, etc.), media mix, media schedule,
and so on.
Public relations/publicity strategy and programs that require
consideration of things such as how to get press coverage,
getting the company/brand name and story out to the public,
event-oriented marketing, and so forth.
Sales promotion strategy and programs that require
consideration of things such as contests, sweepstakes, event tie-
ins, coupons, premiums (T-shirts, hats, key chains, cup holders,
etc.), trade shows, consumer fairs, and so forth.
Sales force strategy and programs that require consideration of
things such as size of the sales force, sales force organization
(geographic territory; customer-type based, product based, or
some combination; salesperson characteristics and skills to
recruit and train toward; compensation; motivation), and so
forth.
This section will describe selling strategy in terms of sales call
emphasis, selling strategy and tactics (what should sales people
be doing and saying).

Other marketing programs that require consideration of methods
to systematically listen to the customer, monitor customer
satisfaction/loyalty, monitor competition, and become aware of
trends that might impact the business. This requires some type
of specific intelligence/information-gathering plan.
Describe the evaluation and measurement procedures to be used
to monitor overall performance of the action plan, including
quantitative measures and allowable time frames.
Elaborate on the specifics of plan implementation and
quantitative projections. This includes people responsible for
programs, budgets, other resources needed, target completion
dates, timetables, and so forth. This requires a consideration of
who does what, when, and for how much.
Quantitative assessment includes projections of sales dollars
and volume, and market share, costs, and so forth.
Format: Action Plan Outline (please use a table format, such as
in the example given below)
Title:
The title of the action plan should describe the content.
Goal and Objective:
What will this action plan accomplish? Which of the goals and
objectives does this plan support? Here you need to go back to
your
Goals and Objectives
section and make sure you develop at least one action plan for
each of the goals and objectives you have previously outlined.
In other words, you do not need to have seven goals in your
Goals and Objectives
section, a lesser number is acceptable if you develop more than
one action plan for specific goals and objectives.
Target Market:
At which market is this action plan aimed? Stick to your
primary target market. Do not include any “new” target markets
here.
Description of the Action Plan:
What are the steps being taken to accomplish the objective?

This section refers to the
marketing mix
activities deemed best to accomplish the objective. A rich,
detailed description is required.
Who:
Who is responsible for carrying out this program? (Name of
person or job title)
Timing:
When will the program take place? (Start and stop dates)
Budget and Estimated Profitability:
How much will the program cost? Give details of the budgetary
items for this action plan. Also, you need to include estimated
profits and/or expected return on investment.
Measurement:
How will the effectiveness of the action plan be measured? How
will the organization know that it was successful? Measurement
of effectiveness is always
quantitative
, and may include (depends on your objective) dollar sales,
market share, expected customer satisfaction, advertising
effectiveness measures, etc., in addition to a time line (monthly,
quarterly, annually, etc.).
Marketing Budget
Use the objective and task method and rank the action plans in
order of importance. You also need to defend the budget
request. The defense should be a strong persuasive argument
with a clear rationale. Make sure that you include the profit
potential as part of your justification. The defense should be for
the total budget amount requested, not for individual action
plans.
What We Learned
What did the process of writing a marketing plan teach you?
How would you apply what you learned from this process to
your current or future career?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Assignment Expectations

Use the following outline to organize your paper. Note that the
letters “a, b, c…” and the numbers “i, ii, iii, iv…” and “1, 2, 3,
4…” below are used to show the major issues you need to
include in your paper, but should not be used to format your
paper.
VIII. Marketing Implementation (2-6 pages)
Follow the format provided above.
Remember, suggest at least one action to be taken that can help
achieve your stated goals and that are consistent with your
strategic statements.
What is the cost/budget of implementing the suggested actions?
IX. Marketing Budget (1 page)
You also need to write an
Executive Summary
and Table of Contents at the beginning of this marketing
research paper.
Note:
Use double-spaced, black Verdana or Times Roman font in 12
pt. type size. Include a title page and references. Revise your
previous SLPs based on the professor’s feedback and your
additional research. Follow the SLP outline to prepare the final
paper.
Explain clearly and logically the facts you find about your
company and charge, and use the required reading to support
your positions on the issues. Do not repeat or quote definitions.
Your use of the required reading to support your opinions (that
is, contentions or positions) should demonstrate that you
understand the concepts presented.
Paraphrase the facts into your own words and ideas, employing
quotes sparingly. Quotes, if absolutely necessary, should rarely
exceed five words.
Academic papers at the master’s level should include citations
and references. Look at different sources, especially credible
and reputable resources such as The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal, Businessweek, and The Economist, to find the

information for your paper. Also use Trident University’s online
library databases such as ProQuest and EBSCO to find the
information for your project. Your discussion on each topic
should be a synthesis of the different sources. Taking shortcuts
on the number and quality of your sources will result in a poor-
quality marketing plan that will be of no use to your client.
Also, it is important that you reference your sources throughout
the text of your marketing plan. Take the following paragraph
as an example:
“As a result, telephone interviewers often do not even get a
chance to explain that they are conducting a survey (Council for
Marketing and Opinion Research, 2003), and response rates
have steadily declined (Keeter et al., 2000) to reported lows of
7% (Council for Marketing and Opinion Research, 2003). This
decrease presents a problem because not only does it increase
the cost of conducting telephone surveys, but it also leads to
questions concerning the generalizability of the results
(Struebbe, Kernan & Grogan, 1986; Tuckel & O’Neill, 2002).”
There are different citation and reference formats such as APA,
MLA, or Chicago. No matter which format you adopt for your
marketing plan, make it consistent throughout the plan.
Also note: The marketing plan should use third person business
writing. Avoid “we,” “our,” and “you.” Do not use contractions
in business writing.
Here are some guidelines on how to conduct information search
and build critical thinking skills.
Emerald Group Publishing. (n.d.).
Searching for Information
. Retrieved from
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/learning/study_skills/skills/sear
ching.htm
Emerald Group Publishing. (n.d.).
Developing Critical Thinking
. Retrieved from
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/learning/study_skills/skills/criti
cal_thinking.htm

Guidelines for handling quoted and paraphrased material are
found at:
Purdue Online Writing Lab
. (n.d.).
Academic Writing
. Retrieved from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/2/
Purdue Online Writing Lab
. (n.d.).
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
. Retrieved from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/1/
Purdue Online Writing Lab
. (n.d.).
Avoiding Plagiarism
. Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/1/
Your paper consists of arguments in favor of your opinions or
positions on the issues addressed by the guidelines; therefore,
avoid the following logical fallacies:
Purdue Online Writing Lab
. (n.d.).
Logic in Argumentative Writing
. Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/03/
Your SLP should not simply be a list of facts. Take the facts
you find about the company, the charge, and the environments
that the company faces, and explain how you think those facts
will affect the financial future of the product or brand in your
charge. The emphasis in grading your paper will be on the
breadth and depth of your discussion of each topic, critical
thinking, the clarity of your discussion, and the proper
organization of the paper.