VI. Discussion. You are going to launch a new product. Discuss critical components of your marketing plan with your groupmates

1. Marketing overview.

a) What business are you in?

b) What do you sell?

c) What are your target markets?

d) What are your marketing goals for next year?

e) What obstacles might keep you from achieving these goals?

f) What is your marketing budget?

2. Products and services.

a) What are the benefits of your products/services?

b) What makes you special?

3. Customers and prospects.

a) Who are your current customers? ( Include age, gender, income, geographic location)

b) What are their buying habits?

c) How do your customers learn about your products/services?

d) Why do your customers buy your products/services?

e) Who are your best customers?

f) What is your market share?

g) Is it expanding, shrinking or stable?

h) Is your market changing in other ways?

4. Competitive Analysis.

a) What do your competitors do better than you?

b) What do you do better than your competitors?

5. Price, location and sales practice.

a) How do you establish prices?

b) How do your prices compare to those of your competitors?

c) What are the advantages and disadvantages of your location? (Traffic flow, convenient parking, etc.)

d) What are your sales practices?

e) How do you compare them to those of your competitors?

6. Strengths and weaknesses.

a) What are the internal and external strengths of your businesses? (Skilled personnel, outstanding technology, expanding market).

b) What are the internal and external weaknesses of your business? (Lack of sales support materials, aggressive competition).

7. Advertising and promotion.

a) What is your advertising and promotion budget?

b) What marketing tools can you implement within this budget?

c) What are your advertising and promotional objectives? (Change of your firm’s image, penetrate specialized markets, etc.).

d) What do you currently do to promote your business?

e) What previously used promotional methods have been most effective?

f) How will you evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising and promotional efforts?

8. Long-term strategic marketing.

a) How do you plan to solve marketing problems?

b) How do you plan to achieve new goals?

VII. Give Russian equivalents to the following:

sound marketing plan; key to the success; manage the process of creating customers; motivate customers to buy smth; promotional objectives; their needs and preferences; awareness of your products or service; a successful promotion campaign; keep the campaign on the right track; message reaching the people.

Focus on Grammar

Articles. Prepositions