FINAL: Implementation, Evaluation, and Control

"Through strategic planning, the company decides what it wants to do with each business unit. Marketing planning involves deciding on marketing strategies that will help the company attain its overall strategic objectives. A detailed marketing plan is needed for each business, product, or brand. What does a marketing plan look like? Our discussion focuses on product or brand marketing plans."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 56)the first task is to set realistic goals and complete them in order and devise a plan how to meet those goals in a timely manner. finalizing the target marketing program we want to run with is important for reciving the results expected. constanly evaluating actual numbers and performance and comparing them to the projected results will decrease errors in the over all marketing plan. Meeting the goals we want brings success to the plan we set for the product, building a cohesive team will drive results up and can possibly beat the projected outcome. "The company should analyze its markets and marketing environment to find attractive opportunities and identify environmental threats. It should analyze company strengths and weaknesses as well as current and possible marketing actions to determine which opportunities it can best pursue. The goal is to match the company’s strengths to attractive opportunities in the environment, while eliminating or overcoming the weaknesses and minimizing the threats. Marketing analysis provides inputs to each of the other marketing management functions."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 56  )

FINAL: DISTRIBUTION

"To compete with store brands, national brands must sharpen their value propositions, especially in these lean economic times. In the long run, however, leading brand marketers must invest in R&D to bring out new brands, new features, and continuous quality improvements. They must design strong advertising programs to maintain high awareness and preference. And they must find ways to “partner” with major distributors in a search for distribution economies and improved joint performance."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 232 )

Our product will be distributed to these location and stocked in location based on the target market we are trying to capture the attention of. partnering up with our distributors and packagers will create more of a team effort to produce and deliver consistently to serve the demand of the product.

• Bars
• Clubs
• Grocery Stores
• Casinos
• Mini-Markets

Locking down these places will level the playing field for our product, even though our product is targeted to adults we would still like to expand the age group of our consumer for future marketing endeavors. In the grocery stores and mini-marts we will have our display real plain and simple but still catches your eye, we would like to have it in two places if possible near the Wine and Spirits if sold at location and by the other snack items such as chips and other party snacks. In the clubs and casinos they will be on some sort of menu located by the bar or at the tables.We want to make our product as obtainable as possible for the enjoyment of our customer. 

They control what products they stock, where they go on the shelf, what prices they charge, and which ones they will feature in local circulars. Retailers often price their store brands lower than comparable national brands, thereby appealing to the budget-conscious shopper in all of us. Although store brands can be hard to establish and costly to stock and promote, they also yield higher profit margins for the reseller. And they give resellers exclusive products that cannot be bought from competitors, resulting in greater store traffic and loyalty.(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 232 )

FINAL: SWOT ANALYSIS

Managing the marketing function begins with a complete analysis of the company’s situation. The marketer should conduct a SWOT analysis, by which it evaluates the company’s overall strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T) . Strengths include internal capabilities, resources, positive situational factors that may help the company to serve its customers and achieve its objectives. Weaknesses include internal limitations and negative situational factors that may interfere with the company’s performance. Opportunities are favorable factors or trends in the external environment that the company may be able to exploit to its advantage. And threats are unfavorable external factors or trends that may present challenges to performance.(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 55)

We have a strong product but their are certain things we have to look at concerning the overall status of the product before we distribute. Our weakness is that this is a taste that many aren't familiar with and will have to first try it to see if it is a taste they would like or dislike. through word of mouth and advertising we can decrease this weakness and strengthen  the products name in the market. In a competitive market there are endless opportunities for growth, being as though our product is marketed to adults we can build a partnership with other brands and be placed in some of the same areas and regions as theirs. Our threat is that  the competitors prices, consumers might choose their product because it is a bit cheaper than ours is.

our strengths are that we took the best quality of ingredients to sharpen our edge in flavor along with the rare snack flavor.

FINAL: TARGET MARKET STRATEGY

"The process of finding a target market and narrowing your company's focus to appeal to it directly often trips up new businesses, who find it difficult to turn down business opportunities when they arise. But trying to be all things to all people is a sure way to fail in the marketplace". (http://www.inc.com/guides/201104/how-to-narrow-your-target-market.html)
Our target market consists of adults in a social environment that may or may not serve alcohol. Bars, clubs and other party oriented spaces is where we will market our product to reach this particular consumer. the combination of drinking and socializing is a great mix for a small snack that isn't to much to handle while talking and is easy to obtain in these environments. While the market changes we will have to change with it to keep up with competing products under the same umbrella in which target market is concerned.
"In positioning its product, the company first identifies possible customer value differences that provide competitive advantages upon which to build the position. The company can offer greater customer value either by charging lower prices than competitors, or by offering more benefits to justify higher prices. But if the company promises greater value, it must then deliver that greater value. Thus, effective positioning begins with differentiation—actually differentiating the company’s market offering so that it gives consumers more value. Once the company has chosen a desired position, it must take strong steps to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers. The company’s entire marketing program should support the chosen positioning strategy." (Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 53 )

With the position we take in providing snacks for adults narrows the playing field when it comes to the snack market. in this was we pen point who it is we want to target and we devise a plan to reach them with extensive research to find the best possible way to get the word out about our product. In return we will gain loyalty with our customer with quality and the experience we provide with our snack. 

FINAL: OBJECTIVES

"The company’s strategic plan establishes what kinds of businesses the company will operate and its objectives for each. Then, within each business unit, more detailed planning takes place. The major functional departments in each unit—marketing, finance, accounting, purchasing, operations, information systems, human resources, and others—must work together to accomplish strategic objectives."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing  Pg. 47 )
Our objective with Mga Mani is to let people become part of the voyage that Phileas took to acquire the flavor of this snack . We want the customer to feel the adventure in every bite they take with the island flavor combined with the story on the back. By setting the scene with the story on the back of the packaging it will let their imagination run wild while enjoying the flavor packed snack. We want them to witness the island feel where ever they are by eating our snack. "Inform target audience about features and benefits of our product and its competitive advantage, leading to a 10 percent increase in sales in one year."(http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/starting-a-business/marketing-plan-marketing-objectives-and-strategies.html)

FINAL: PRICE

"Price The amount of money charged for a product or service, or the sum of the values that customers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service"(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 275 )

'Price is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue; all other elements represent costs. Price is also one of the most flexible marketing mix elements. Unlike product features and channel commitments, prices can be changed quickly. At the same time, pricing is the number-one problem facing many marketing executives, and many companies do not handle pricing well. Some managers view pricing as a big headache, preferring instead to focus on the other marketing mix elements. However, smart managers treat pricing as a key strategic tool for creating and capturing customer value."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 275)

Pricing is very important for this brand we have two different prices that we will be running with in the market. The first price is geared towards the everyday consumer which is $3.00 for a 11 Oz bag of peanuts, this is a nice sized portion at a great price. That will be distributed to different grocery stores as well as small retailers for the everyday on the go consumer. The second price for the same size bag of peanuts goes for $5.00 and this will be distributed to casinos and other late night adult spots, in these places the consumer wont mind spending a couple extra dollars for the snack. With the difference of the prices being so close it shouldn't push the customer away form wanting it at that particular time. Managing the price seems to be one of the hardest parts of creating a product because of the competition in the market, you dont want to make it so cheap that it costs more to produce, and you dont want to make it to expensive that it gets looked over and other products are purchsaed. Keeping the quality high and the price average for its size will drive consumers to go with our specialty snack.  

FINAL: PROMOTION

"Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing  Pg. 54  )

For promotion we will take a more of a hand to hand approach. We will go to various events and give samples of our product to build the loyalty in person instead of relying on commercials and posters. Even though we will include commercials and other facits of advertising, if we touch every lane of promotion it will build a bigger buzz for our snack. Advertising in bars and other adult social areas will familiarize are target with our target and at least they will want to try it. Word of mouth is the best promotion, by getting the consumer to tell the people around them will in exchange createa demand for tour snack and will cut back on promotion costs so we can focus on qulaity of the product. Social networks are a major part in our promotion, using these we can target the consumer in more detail to find the best places to sell our product.

"the company designs promotion programs that communicate the value proposition to target consumers and persuade them to act on the market offering."(Armstrong & Kotler (2011). Marketing: An Introduction, 10th Ed. Prentice Hall Publishing Pg. 31  )

Creating a demand through promotion gives our snack the edge to be great.