Pricing and Integration Research of Apple Inc In this research project, you would work as a marketing consultant to develop a feasible marketing plan for your client. So you are required to conduct both secondary (search secondary sources) and primary research (interview customers or conduct surveys) in order to glean the necessary information for your marketing plan. Please note that when conducting primary research you will only collect qualitative data (i.e., personal in-depth interviews with at least 3 target customers) in 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 the primary research, which is involved with your own data collection for the specific study at hand. The purpose of market research is to collect usable information to make more informed decision on the business problem, thus increasing the chance of business success in the marketplace.
In this paper, you need to identify a company and focal charge for your marketing plan and conduct situation analysis related to your charge.
Product Statement
In this section you are to describe the company (APPLE INC) and the product that is going to be the focus of interest for your marketing plan. For example, if your client is Apple, you need to provide background information on the organization (i.e., what is it, what does it do, history, has it been successful in what it is doing, etc.). If the charge is to market a new product iPad4 you need to describe what iPad is, how long it has been around, how successful it has been, who the target audience currently is. Be specific, detail-oriented, and do not assume that the reader is familiar with the company and product.
Please note that you need to identify a company and a charge for your research project at the very beginning, based on the detailed requirements for this research project. Also note that the new charge is a hypothetic task, which should be based on one of the company?s existing brand or product. It is also better to identify a new product charge for existing public firms so that you can find enough information for your task. For example, you may USE the following
1. Apple needs to increase its market share for its iPhone6
In this PROJECT, you need to first develop action plans and the marketing budget, and then incorporate into a complete marketing plan following the outline provided above.
Marketing Implementation: Action Plans and Marketing Mix
The action plans and the 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. Please make sure to stick to the format below for action plan outlines.
Before you begin working on the action plans, make sure to 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.
Target market at which this action plan is aimed.
The marketing mix activities needed to implement the action plan.
Product strategy and programs that require consideration of such things 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, etc. Also, this is where the service concept, tangibles, customer contact employees, etc., need to be addressed. Depending on the charge of your marketing plan some of the above may not apply.
Price strategy and programs that require consideration of such things 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 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. Also consider psychological costs (e.g., embarrassment, fear, rejection, etc.) and losses (e.g., aesthetics, familiarity, etc.), and physical discomfort or loss of pleasure.
(Place) distribution strategy and programs that require consideration of such things 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 and etc.).
Promotional activities
? Advertising strategy and programs that require consideration of such things 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, etc.
? Public relations/publicity strategy and programs that require consideration of such things as how to get press coverage, get the company/brand name and story out to the public, event-oriented marketing, etc.
? Sales promotion strategy and programs that require consideration of such things as contests, sweepstakes, event tie-ins, coupons, premiums (T shirts, hats, key chains, cup holders, etc.), trade shows, consumer fairs, etc.
? Sales force strategy and programs that require consideration of such things 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), etc.
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 the specifics of plan implementation and quantitative projections. This includes people responsible for programs, budgets, other resources needed, target completion dates, timetables, etc. 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, etc.
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
Please 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 the rationale clearly understood by the reader. Make sure that you include the profit potential as part of your justification. The defense should be for the total budget amount requested, not by 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?
Expectations on Your Project
Use the following outline to organize your paper. Note that the letters ?a, b, c?? and the numbers ?i, ii, iii, iv?? in the outline below are used to show the major issues you need to include in your paper and you may not use these letters and numbers to organize your paper.
VIII. Marketing Implementation (2-6 pages)
1. Follow the format provided above.
2. Remember, you should suggest at least 2 actions to be taken which can help achieve your stated goals and which are consistent with your strategic statements.
3. What is the cost/budget of implementing the suggested actions?
IX. Marketing Budget (1 page)
Explain clearly and logically the facts you find about your company and charge and use the required readings to support your positions on the issues. Do not repeat or quote definitions. Your use of the required readings to support your opinions (that is, contentions or positions) should demonstrate that you understand the concepts presented in those required readings.
Paraphrase the facts you find into your own words and ideas. In other words, use quotes sparingly. And, as a rule of thumb, quotes, if absolutely necessary, should not be much longer than 5 words.
Academic papers of the Master’s level should include citations and References. You need to look at different sources, especially those credible and reputable resources to find the information for your paper such as New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Economist and etc

ORDER THIS ESSAY HERE NOW AND GET A DISCOUNT !!!