MARKETING 461 -- MARKETING MANAGEMENT, FALL 2009
Dr. Nader H. Shooshtari
Office: GBB 302
Phone: 243-6701
E-Mail: nader.shooshtari@business.umt.edu
Office Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday
8:40 – 9:30, 11:00-12:00
and by Appointment
REQUIRED Materials, Readings and Power Point slides will all be posted on Blackboard.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is designed to utilize the concepts and tools that
students have learned in previous marketing classes in solving real-life marketing problems.
Prerequisites for this class include: BADM 360, MKTG 362, 363, and 366.
Specifically, the course objectives include:
1. Enhance your understanding of the marketing management process, learn to make
marketing decisions and develop your ability to formulate marketing strategy, including the
trend toward sustainability and green marketing; business organizations can no longer
afford to ignore the impact of business and marketing decisions on the environment. More
is not necessarily always better!
2. Further develop your research skills: collecting and analyzing pertinent market and financial
data and making sound decisions and recommendations based on the analysis
3. Continue to develop your oral and written communication skills, working toward standards
of professionalism expected in the business world today.
4. Improve your interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in teams.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Marketing Plan:
Written Report
40%
Presentation
10%
Best four of five Quizzes (10% each)
40%
Participation
10%
TOTAL
100%
EXAMINATIONS: There are five mid-term examinations which include short essay questions
covering lectures and assigned readings. The scores for the best four quizzes will be used to calculate
your grade. No late quizzes or make-ups will be given.
Class Format: Classes will consist of lecture and discussion. Marketing only becomes "real" when we
apply the principles to actual situations, and we'll do this through class discussions of readings.
Therefore, I expect you to attend every class and be prepared for the discussion by having read and
thought about that day's assignment. Your contribution to class discussions will be considered in your
class participation grade. I will keep track of your attendance so please let me know in advance if you
have reasons to miss a class. You are required to be present during the classes in which the final team
presentations are given.
Professional Business Conduct in Class: You are preparing to enter the business world as
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professionals and to prepare for a business career, so I expect each of you to behave in a professional
manner in class.
- Arrive on time and stay for the entire class (unless excused by me).
- Behave with honesty and integrity. Don’t let your team down!
- Respect everyone in class and listen openly to their ideas.
- Come to class prepared for discussion.
- Refrain from eating and drinking in class or engaging in behavior that disrupts the class.
Academic Integrity: Academic misconduct is any activity that may compromise the academic
integrity of the University of Montana. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to,
deceptive acts such as cheating and plagiarism. Please note that it is a form of
academic misconduct to submit work that was previously used in another course.
“Plagiarism is the representing of another’s work as one’s own. It is a particularly intolerable offence
in the academic community and is strictly forbidden. Students who plagiarize may fail the course and
be remanded to Academic Court for possible suspension or expulsion.”
“Students must always be very careful to acknowledge any kind of borrowing that is included in their
work. This means not only borrowed wording but also ideas. Acknowledgement of whatever is not
one’s own original work is the proper and honest use of sources. Failure to acknowledge whatever is
not one’s own original work is plagiarism.” So, ALWAYS err on the side of caution by citing the
resources used in preparing your work. Moreover, always use direct quotations for exact wording
taken from another source.
All students need to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review
online at http://www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/page/1321.
DSS: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability.
Please notify me during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. All
accommodations must be approved through the Disability Services for Students (DSS) in Lommasson
Center 154, phone: 243-2243
Marketing plan team project:
You will work in a team of three or four students to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for one
year for a Montana business or non-profit organization. I have a list of potential clients so you will
have an opportunity to choose the client based on your team’s preferences. This project will require
you to draw upon all your marketing knowledge and apply it to a real situation. Since the marketing
plan is the core of what a marketing professional does, going through the actual process of developing
a plan will provide invaluable experience for you. Work on this project will proceed throughout the
course, culminating in a written marketing plan and a formal presentation to the class and the client in
the final weeks. Throughout this project, I will be available to provide guidance and react to ideas.
Several marketing plan check-ins will be required, but you can see me any time in between as needed.
Your project grade will be based on the quality of the plan your team develops and presents. However,
I will adjust your final grade based on your individual contribution as measured by self and peer
evaluations. Basically, members of each team will be given the opportunity to evaluate the contribution
of their fellow team members as well as their own to their marketing plan. So, make sure you choose
your fellow team members very carefully as this decision significantly affects your performance
in this class.
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The marketing plan consists of the following. Students will perform an in-depth assessment of
the current status of the organization and its environment. Special attention is given to the market: you
will engage in primary market research, such as customer interviews and competitor observation, in
order to identify the factors that drive customer value and buying behavior and the competitive
advantages and disadvantages of the organization. Based on the assessment of the organization’s
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the students will recommend a set of objectives (e.g.,
customer awareness, traffic, and sales), target market segments, and the appropriate brand/product
positioning for the respective segments. Finally, students will make specific recommendations for
product/service design and store environment/layout (where applicable), pricing, distribution (where
appropriate) and promotion. While you are required to develop the set of promotional activities up to
the concept, you are encouraged to design sample promotional materials such as ads and flyers. The
recommend promotional activities will be within the marketing budget of the organization.
Important Note: In addition to presenting your plan in class, you are also required to give your
client a copy of the report and make a formal team presentation to your client. You will not receive
your course grade unless I receive confirmation from the client for the report and presentation.
Ethical conduct in working with the client:
You act as a business consultant for your client and therefore you must adhere to the highest standards
of professional and ethical conduct. A few specific points:
- You are not allowed to share data with others outside of your student team and me, unless
you have prior agreement with the client. That is, treat all information relating to this
project confidentially
- You are not allowed to accept a client for your marketing plan if you own, are employed by,
or have any other relationship with a competing organization
- Do not misrepresent yourself when collecting data for your client
- Do not misrepresent the data you have collected to the client
Presentation - This is your opportunity to present your hard work, creative ideas, and marketing
knowledge to your peers. Please prepare a professional presentation with appropriate visual aids that
runs about 15- 20 minutes, depending on the number of marketing plans to be presented. Every
member of your team must be present and play an active role in the group presentation or they will lose
their presentation points. The presentation will not include all parts of the business plan, but will focus
on the important strengths and opportunities and subsequent marketing recommendations and
implementation. You will present as a marketing consultant who has been hired by the company to
write a marketing plan. Be creative and dynamic. All marketing presentations have the opportunity to
be boring, make it interesting – sell your client.
Marketing Plan Instructions
As you work on your Marketing Plan, maintain clear distinctions among the three major sections of the
plan. Keeping in mind that each major component addresses a different question will help you
maintain the correct focus. If you find yourself straying into areas that address one of the other two
questions, you are on the wrong track. The major sections of a Marketing Plan are:
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Part 1. Situation Analysis - Where are we now?
The Situation Analysis should examine the firm’s current situation, but should not get into
decisions regarding future direction. This step involves an Environment Analysis, scanning
both the external macro- and micro-environment to “get the lay of the land.” You must do
consumer and competitor research on your own here. Further, the analysis should include the
firm’s internal environment and its current marketing strategy (if any). This section ends with a
SWOT analysis that involves an analysis of the firm’s internal strengths and weaknesses, with
the scope of assessing the firm’s most serious treats and greatest opportunities offered by the
external environment.
Part 2. Overall Strategy: Objectives, Target Market Selection, and Positioning - Where do we
want to go?
This section focuses on the firm’s future strategic direction. You must state specific,
measurable objectives for the year of planning and compare them to the previous year (if
possible). Based on the market segments identified and analyzed in the previous section, you
must choose and justify the firm’s target market segments, without specifying how exactly to
serve those customers (that will happen in the next section. The market segment(s) that can
feasibly be targeted and served must be grounded in the conclusions reached in your Situation
Analysis. The course of action selected from the choice set of feasible options will vary based
on your team’s internal analysis, deliberations, decision and/or preference criteria, weighting of
criteria, tolerance for risk, etc. While you may recommend the targeting of multiple segments
at this stage, you should focus your further analysis on one or two most attractive and
interesting segments (target segments for whom you think you can make the most interesting
marketing-mix recommendations in the next section). This step concludes with the
recommended positioning strategy, and its rationale, for the selected target-market (two
position statements if you choose to focus on two segments).
Part 3. The Marketing Plan- How do we get there?
The Marketing Plan section details the specific tactics that will be used to serve the needs of the
selected target market segment(s), to enact the desired positioning, and to achieve the stated
objectives. Any effective Marketing Plan must encompass all marketing mix elements
(product/service, promotion, pricing, distribution – if any) and any other marketing-related
tactics that are necessary to serve the target market (s) and achieve the firm’s performance
objectives. You must develop a budget based on the costs of all your recommendations. An
implementation calendar should summarize what will be done, how, when, and by whom.
Part 1 Situation Analysis (Detailed Guidelines):
This is a checklist of issues/topics to address in each component of the Situation Analysis. Some
of these topics may not be appropriate for your client, so you should skip them.
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I. Macro-Environment Analysis
Examine and summarize the (1) important characteristics of the current Macro-Environment
situation and (2) crucial directional trends in Macro-Environment. Remember the emphasis
is on how the Macro-Environment can affect the Micro-Environment and, most importantly,
the industry of the focal firm. Consider how these trends involve elements in the various
Macro-Environment domains, including:
 Cultural Domain (e.g. socio-cultural values, lifestyles)
 Demographic Domain (e.g., distribution of age, gender, race, income, education, etc.)
 Economic Domain (e.g., interest rates, employment factors, taxes, etc.)
 Legal-Political Domain (any type of regulations that affect business operations in your
industry – e.g., distribution of alcoholic beverages)
 Technological and Physical Domain (the Internet and other information systems,
customer self-service technologies other than websites; include here or address
separately important effects of the physical environment - e.g., climate changes)
II. Micro-Environment Analysis
Market Assessment
a) Market Definition
 Identify the underlying, core need. What motivates customers’ purchase of (or
failure to purchase) product-services offered by the competitors in this marketplace?
Is this the same for all customers?
 Identify the market and define its boundaries. How does one qualify as “in” versus
“not in” this market? What are the essential characteristic(s) that identify a
consumer or organization as part of this market? Try to use as many bases for
market definition presented in the lecture as you can.
 Are there any readily identifiable market segments, common for all players in this
industry?
b) Market Assessment
 Assess Market Potential, Industry Sales, Untapped Potential, % Realized Market,
etc, if possible. Implications?
 Consider the adoption curve, if applicable. Do current and potential buyers differ?
Implications?
 Analyze the industry (product category): structure, competitive forces etc.
c) Customer Behavior
 Try to map and describe customers’ entire experience with the product of this
industry in general.
 Analyze the total value that the customer derives from the product experience.
What are all the benefits and the costs?
 Describe the decision-making process. What decision-making process (es) are used?
Who makes the product choice decision? What other parties, if any, influence the
choice decision? Is the decision-maker the same as the user? What are the
implications if the user and decision-maker are different?
d) Current Customers

Identify (perhaps chart or diagram) the firm’s current customer segments.
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

Describe (profile) the current customers; identify and describe the different
current segments that the firm serves
Based on your marketing research identify the areas in which the customers are
satisfied or less satisfied with the firm’s offering
Competition Assessment
 Identify key current competitors and assess their closeness to your firm, as perceived by
end-users (perhaps using charts or diagrams – a perceptual map may be useful); also
identify and assess key emerging competitors (if any), as perceived by end-users
 Profile in detail these key competitors; limit yourself to 3-4 most important competitors.
What are their target customers? Are they similar (the same) with your firm’s
customers? Do competitors share same channels with your focal firm?
How do they compare with your focal firm? What are the implications for your firm?
III. Internal Environment Assessment
Firm Assessment
 What is the history of the organization?
 Who are the key players (managers)? How many employees?
 What is the management culture? Describe managers/owners philosophy and
aspirations
 Describe the operations of the organization
 What is the firm’s current market share (total sales volume compared to competition)?
What are the trends: have sales grown, stalled, or dropped in the last years? What %?
 How large is the budget that the firm can allocate to next year’s marketing initiatives?
How much would be available for new marketing initiatives?
Current Marketing-Mix
 What is the product offering? Describe in detail the total experience that they offer
to customers. Focus on the physical products, customer service, selling activities,
store layout and atmosphere (if any). Provide a chart of the store layout if applicable.



How do they price the products?
What are the main promotional activities that they perform currently?
Identify (perhaps chart or diagram) the firm’s most important current intermediaries
(channels of distribution)
IV. SWOT ANALYSIS SUMMARY
One page bullet summary of Strengths and Weaknesses in the Internal Environment of the
firm and Opportunity and Threats from the External Environment of the firm
You should only summarize here what you have discussed in the previous sections.
Part 2. Overall Strategy: Objectives, Target Market Selection, and Positioning
(Detailed Guidelines):
1. Establish objectives for the planning period.
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

This section focuses on the firm’s future strategic direction. You must state specific objectives
for the year of planning (2008 or 2008-2009 etc). Try to use the “SMART” approach in
developing and stating your objectives:
S specific (e.g., increase sales by 15% by December 2008)
M measurable
A aligned with company strategy, mission, positioning
R reachable (a stretch goal) & results oriented
T time bound (when do you reach the objective – e.g., by December 31, 2008)
Provide a short rationale for why these objectives make sense. Set two or three objectives that
make sense together, maybe in a hierarchy. You may want to focus on sales, customer
retention, new customer attraction, customer awareness etc. Try to avoid profit related
objectives because you do not address the total costs of the company.
2. Target market selection

Revisit your market segmentation scheme. Select two target markets (or two sub-segments
within one larger target market) that are the most attractive for your product, important for your
client, and interesting for you to address. Provide a rationale for why the organization should
target these segments in the first place. The market segments that can feasibly be targeted and
served must be grounded in the conclusions reached in your Situation Analysis. Revisit your
SWOT and clearly indicate why you recommend these target markets. Do not get into how you
plan to serve these segments (that will happen in the next part).
3. Positioning statement

Write a position statement for each one of the targeted market segments (or sub-segments).
Follow the lecture and make sure you clearly include the target market, competitive set and
point of difference. Make sure the points of difference are indeed different! Provide a short
rationale.
Part 3. The Marketing Plan (Detailed Guidelines):
State your recommendations for the marketing-mix (4Ps) that would help the organization reach the
stated objectives in accordance with the proposed position statements. Provide your own ideas, not
just a recap of existing practices!! Make sure you differentiate between what your client is
already doing/planning to do and what your new ideas/recommendations are. I want to see what
you bring new to the table.
If you target two different market segments (which I hope you do!), make sure you make at least some
recommendations which differ between the two segments (otherwise, why bother to segment the
market?). Identify which marketing-mix recommendations are directed to which segments. You may
want to organize this section around the 4 Ps. Under each P, e.g., Product, state you general
recommendations, which are relevant for both targets, and then state the specific recommendations for
target 1 and target 2.
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I remind you that “Product” includes the consumers’ entire experience with your organization’s
offering. Hence you should address not only the physical product (if any) but also the service and any
other aspects of the customer experience – e.g., location layout, atmosphere (lighting, smell, comfort,
etc.). “Promotion”, as we’ll discuss in class, should cover your entire Integrated Marketing
Communication (advertising, sales promotions, public relations, publicity stunt, personal selling, viral
marketing and any other new media). Under “price” don’t talk only about the average list prices but
also about recommended price promotions (e.g., coupons, sales off), if any, that would reduce the total
sales revenue.
All your recommendations have a cost. Make sure you do your best to realistically estimate the cost of
each action that you propose. You will summarize the total marketing budget and the breakdown for
the different actions in the Appendix.
Note: In this section you cannot be too specific and too detail oriented! E.g., you may want to actually
design the promotional materials that you propose (e.g., website design, newspaper ad, radio
commercial etc.)
The Marketing Plan Written Project: Instructions for Final Report
Report Outline/Organization
Title Page – name of your organization; include team members and date. Also, state the time period
your plan covers.
Table of Contents – make sure you number the pages of your report!
Executive Summary
One-page summary of the marketing plan – highlight the key points in the situation analysis,
objectives, target markets, recommendations and marketing budget. One should get a fairly clear idea
about your plan by reading this abstract. Write it after everything else is done.
Background/Introduction
Set the stage: Briefly describe the business, its history, and if relevant, its previous strategy and
success/failures of those strategies (one page or less).
Situation Analysis (see Guidelines for part 1; you may want to switch or combine some sections as it
makes most sense in your particular case; make sure the material is exposed in logical manner).
External Environment
Provide an overview; identify the industry, set the market boundaries
Macro-environment analysis
Market Assessment; Customers/Consumers Analysis – don’t forget your primary marketing
research (put details, e.g., questionnaires or interview questions, transcripts etc. in the
Appendix; in the report, offer an overview of what you did, what you found, and what
the implications are).
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Note: for simplicity, in this section, you may want to discuss both the market in general
and the current customers/consumers of the organization in particular
Supplier Assessment – if any
Channel Assessment – if any
Competitive Analysis – don’t forget your marketing research
Internal Situation Analysis:
The organization (key players, organizational structure, processes, decision-making dynamics,
current performance etc.)
Current Marketing Strategy - describe the current marketing-mix tactics here
SWOT Analysis Summary – summarize in one or two pages, with bullets, the key points from your
situation analysis. Make sure every point has been addressed in detail in one of the above
sections.
Marketing Objectives – see Guidelines for part 2
Numbered or bulleted; clear specific statements; provide short rationale/support for each.
Target Markets and Positioning – see Guidelines for part 2
Make sure you clearly define and describe your one or two target market segments; provide rationale.
Make sure your position statements are clearly differentiated between the two target markets.
Marketing Plan – see Guidelines for Part 3
Conclusion – A few paragraphs bringing the paper to a logical closure
Appendix
Implementation of Plan (Who does what and when)
Note: Calendar of events must be included in implementation section
Detailed marketing budget
Sales analysis/forecast if possible (where are sales coming from; why is the objective feasible).
Copy of marketing research questionnaire, description of method, and summary of results
Include any relevant explanatory or illustrative material, such as photos, menus, product lists,
marketing materials, etc.
Information Sources – Identify all sources of information used to create the marketing plan and place
them in a reference list at the end of the report
Writing Style
You will be graded on the quality of your writing and report presentation. Make sure the material is
presented in a logical manner, it is clear how each piece of information is relevant to your topic, and
the ideas and recommendations are consistent with each other throughout the report. Use a professional
writing style. Check your grammar. You can make your report double or single spaced but please use a
12 point font. Use headings/subheadings. Make charts and graphs wherever possible. Insert pictures
wherever they’re relevant.
Please prepare two professional copies of the report (color, professional bound) – one for me and one
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for your client to keep. In addition, please make a stapled, black-and-white copy for me to grade and
return to your team.
Please note that you are required to give one copy of the report to your client AND make a formal
presentation to your client. You may invite your client to come to our class when you present; or, set
up a time to go to your client to present and answer questions. You will not get the final grade until I
receive a note from the client that you have successfully fulfilled your obligations.
COURSE GRADES ARE ASSIGNED ON A PLUS MINUS SCALE
AS FOLLOWS (grades are not curved):
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
93 or more points
90 to 92.9 points
87 to 89.9 points
83 to 86.9 points
80 to 82.9 points
77 to 79.9 points
73 to 76.9 points
70 to 72.9 points
60 to 69.9 points
59.9 or fewer point
(93% and up)
(90 to 92.9%)
(87 to 89.9%)
(83 to 86.9%)
(80 to 82.9%)
(77 to 79.9%)
(73 to 76.9%)
(70 to 72.9%)
(60 to 69.9%)
(< 59.9%)
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are no opportunities to do additional work for extra credit in this class so
make sure you do things right the first time around.
School of Business Administration/Mission Statement
The faculty and staff of the School of Business Administration at The University of Montana –
Missoula are committed to excellence in innovative experiential learning and professional growth
through research and service.
School of Business Administration/Assessment and Assurance of Learning
As part of our assessment process and assurance-of-learning standards, the School of Business
Administration has adopted five learning goals for our undergraduate students:

Learning Goal 1 – SoBA graduates will possess fundamental business
knowledge/integrated business knowledge.

Learning Goal 2 – SoBA graduates will demonstrate communication skills.

Learning Goal 3 – SoBA graduates will possess problem solving skills/creative thinking
skills.

Learning Goal 4 – SoBA graduates will have an ethical awareness and demonstrate
ethical decision making.

Learning Goal 5 – SoBA graduates will demonstrate the use of technological skills for
communication and problem solving.
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MARKETING 461 -- MARKETING MANAGEMENT
CLASS SCHEDULE -- FALL SEMESTER, 2009
Class
Periods
Sept.
1, 3
Sept. 8, 10
Sept.
15, 17
Sept.
22, 24
Sept. 29,
Oct. 1
Oct.6, 8
Oct. 13,15
Oct.
20, 22
Oct. 27,29
Nov. 3, 5
TOPICS
COVERED
Introduction/
Marketing Plan
overview
Marketing Strategy
Situation and SWOT
Analysis
Environmental
Analysis–
Customer Analysis
READINGS ASSIGNMENTS
Yes
Identify clients for Marketing Plan projects
Teams formed
Yes
Yes
Clients selected. Contact clients.
Research organization/industry
Quiz 1: September 17
Yes
Research organization/industry
Market Assessment
Yes
Draft Situation Analysis
Market Segmentation
– Target Marketing,
Competitive
Marketing Strategies
Sustainability/Green
Marketing
Product/Service
Branding strategy
Promotion
Personal Selling
and Sales
Management
Yes
Part I: Marketing Situation Analysis due
October 6.
Quiz 2: October 8
Yes
Revise Part I
Yes
Quiz 3: October 22
Yes
Part II of Marketing Plan due October 27
Revise Part II
Formulate marketing plan recommendations
Presentation by Guest Speakers
Assignments to be announced.
Formulate marketing plan recommendations
Quiz 4: November 10
Marketing plan (4P) recommendations due
November 17.
Decide on team presentations sequence
Develop appendices. Finalize report
Nov. 10,
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Nov.
17, 19
Price Strategy/
Distribution Strategy
Nov.
24, 26
Week of
Thanksgiving
Dec.1, 3
Dec. 8, 10
Yes
All marketing plan written reports due on
Dec. 1. Marketing plan presentations begin.
Marketing plan presentations continued/
Course wrap-up
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Final exam week
Quiz 5: 12:40 class, Dec. 15, 3:20-5:20 pm
2:10 class, Dec. 14, 3:20-5:20 pm
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