Business Marketing Project

Writing Assignment 3 –  
THE PROJECT (THE MINI MARKETING PLAN) (FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES FOR THE PROJECT, Maximum 10 pages long) (Please select a local well known company to do this  mini marketing plan) 
 
GUIDELINES FOR THE PROJECT The project will be approximately 10 pages long (typed and double-spaced), very structured, with proper headings and subheadings where necessary.  You will have the responsibility of selecting a local business (locally operated and well known business preferrable) and analyzing the business’ marketing practice, and subsequently, making appropriate recommendations. The paper will consist of two parts.  The first part will contain the contents of the interview you have had with the owner/manager of the business.  The second part will contain the analysis and suggestion of how the business could (and should) be run with a MARKETING ORIENTATION. 
                                                 PART I 
 
This section should contain the interview with the manager/proprietor of the business.  An outline on what should be asked and what is needed to complete this section is given below. 
 
1. What type of business is the company involved in (e.g., is it a service or manufacturing, location, and what business it is in).  Give a brief history of how the business was formed, its strengths, weaknesses, etc. 
2. What external environmental factors are affecting the business? 
3. Who is (are) the target market for the business. 
4.  What product/service mix, line, etc., does the business have.  How does it develop new  products/services? 
5. What form of distribution is the business using? 
6. How does the business promote itself, e.g., personal selling, advertising, public relations,  sales promotions, etc.  How much does it spend on each activity? 
7. How has the business been pricing its products (services)?  Is it arbitrary or do they take into account the cost, competition, customers, etc. 
8. Does the business plan its operations and forecast sales arbitrarily or does it use some  sophisticated methods. 
                                PART II (RECOMMENDATIONS)  
This section should contain the analysis and your recommendation for the business in question.  You will have to evaluate each of the above topics in PART I and comment on it, and make recommendations.   
1. Is the business targeting the right customers, or should the business change its target market. 
2. Does the business have the right types of products/services, or should it add some more products/services in order to attract more customers and drop others that may be draining its resources. 
3. Does the business have the right distribution system or should it add other channels of  distribution like the direct system.  Is the business using a scientific inventory control  system?  If not, what do you recommend?  Show calculations with an example. 
4. Is the business spending enough on promoting itself?  Does the business perceive money spent on promotion as being expenditure or an investment?  Should the business spend more on such things like sales promotion, advertising, etc., and if so, how much more, i.e. what should the budget be.  Which medium should the business use to advertise itself? 
5. Is the business pricing its products/services properly or does it need to change its methods.  If so, which method should it adopt, and why. 
6. What forecasting method do you recommend for the business, and why.  The above recommendations should be helpful in making the business more MARKETING ORIENTED and successful.