practice developing an integrated business and marketing strategy for a product or service of your choice from the 2018 Top Healthcare Companies on the INC5000 List. This should truly make the course “come alive” through application of the principles about which you will read and discuss during the course. Assignments such as this also help you develop business-oriented communication skills. As we move forward, remember “Marketing Funds the Future,” “Sustains Competitive Advantage,” and “Works to Develop and Deliver Value, Quality Service and Consumer Product.”
The development of this Marketing Plan is an integral part of the course, and will require several weeks of research, critical analysis, critical thinking, and writing. In my experience, the only way to do well on this project is to begin early and work on it consistently throughout the entire course.
CHOOSING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE
You have several options when choosing a product or service for your marketing plan. To maximize your learning experience, choose a new product or service in which you have an interest and about which you would like to see your product or service come to the marketplace. It could be a product or service offered by the company you select from the INC5000 List, or you can exercise the option to add your product to a company you select that is established and could extend its product or service offering. The final option is to establish a company in which you would like to successfully market a product or service (no medical practices included).
What would you like to bring to market that is needed…and which is realistic? What might you bring to the market that solves a realistic problem that consumers or businesses now have…and for which they are seeking a solution?
- Keep in mind that you might consider choosing a new marketing approach for an existing product, or create a new product for an existing company.
- Perhaps you would want to do a product extension of an existing product.
- You might consider a different approach to marketing an existing service. You can target consumers or businesses, or both.
How to increase the likelihood of a successful marketing plan? Focus on a narrow target market niche instead of a general “mass marketing” approach. Define that market in detail and cover each of the marketing plan components thoroughly. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, e.g., don’t try to do the marketing plan for United Health Care, scan the INC5000 list for a not-so-demanding company.
Some in the class may be focusing on personal consulting. This has its own challenges but is very “doable.” Others want to establish a small business for themselves. It’s important to consult the INC 5000 list and select a company. The selection might be a service organization or an organization that produces a product.
You can approach the marketing of services in the same focused manner. You can work with an existing market offering or a new idea you’d like to develop. You may choose to do your plan on a for-profit organization or its services, but be prepared to cover all of the graded components of the assignment, such as pricing and break-even analysis. These concepts apply to not-for-profits, but on first glance may seem somewhat less clear. In addition, please ensure that you select a topic on which you can retrieve adequate research data. This is important, especially those who wish to look at creating their own marketing plan to do personal consulting.
You are in a graduate-level course and are here to master the creation of a graduate-level marketing plan at a “corporate level.” Think “bigger” and demonstrate your ability to perform at the graduate level and to apply a marketing mix via a well-planned, executable battle plan that maximizes your likelihood of success in the market.
An ideal situation: Bring your own product or service to market. Thinking about starting your own business? What a great way to get professional input on that which you create…your own Marketing Plan.
SUBMIT YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE DESCRIPTION
Submit as a Word document a description of your product or service that you want to bring to market. Your description should be ~200 words or fewer. This will allow the instructor to ensure that you have scoped your idea appropriately and offer initial suggestions to help you get off to a good start.
I chose Carbon Health https://www.inc.com/inc5000/2021
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