A/ Assignment Recap

●     Choose a brand

●     Analyze its marketing performance

●     Provide recommendations for the brand

●     Marketing Context: Tet 2023 in Vietnam

●     Duration of the marketing plan: 2 – 4 months

●     Assignment Task: You are working for the chosen company as a marketing manager, and you are responsible for building a Marketing Plan for Tet 2023 in Vietnam. Your Marketing Plan MUST be tailored for the given Marketing Context and your chosen brand and product in Vietnam.

Here is the suggested structure:

1)    Introduction

2)    Marketing Environment and SWOT analysis

3)    Customer-driven marketing strategy

4)    Current marketing mix strategies

5)    Marketing objectives and recommendation

B/ Key term definition

SWOT analysis: A strategic planning tool used by individuals or organizations to identify and evaluate their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Here's a breakdown of each component:

●     Strengths: These are internal positive attributes or resources within an individual or organization that provide an advantage, such as skilled personnel, strong brand recognition, unique products, or efficient processes.

●     Weaknesses: Internal factors that are disadvantageous or need improvement fall under weaknesses.

●     Opportunities: External factors that could be advantageous if capitalized upon fall under opportunities, such as emerging trends, market changes, new technologies, or any situation that presents a chance for growth or improvement.

●     Threats: External factors that could potentially cause trouble or harm to an individual or organization. Threats might come from competitors, market fluctuations, regulatory changes, or any other factors that could hinder progress or success.

There are 6 micro-environment factors: 

●      The company (The relationship between the marketing department and other departments of the company)

●      Suppliers (provide needed resources to produce goods. For example, to produce snacks, suppliers of potatoes are involved in)

●      Marketing Intermediaries (Marketing intermediaries help the company to promote, sell, and distribute its products to final buyers. There are 4 types of intermediaries: Resellers, Physical Distribution Firms, Marketing services agencies and financial intermediaries)

●      Competitors (There are 2 types: direct & indirect competitors. Direct: similar products; indirect: different products but same function)

●      Publics (any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives such as media, Government, citizens...)

●      Customers. 

There are 6 macro-environment factors:

●      Demographic (location, age, gender, family structure, educational characteristics, and population diversity)

●      Economic (Income, Consumer spending pattern)

●      Natural (Involves the natural resources that are needed as inputs)

●      Technological (Latest trend, technology they used to produce goods)

●      Politics (Laws, government agencies, decree...)

●      Cultural (Cultural environment consists of institutions and other forces that affect a society’s basic values, perceptions, and behaviors) 

Marketing Mix: 4Ps model

●     Product: This refers to the goods or services offered by a company. It involves not only the physical product but also its design, features, quality, branding, packaging, and any associated services that accompany it.

●     Price: This includes the amount of money customers are willing to pay for a product. Setting the right price is crucial as it influences perceptions of value, affects sales volume, and ultimately impacts revenue

●     Place (Distribution): This aspect involves getting the product to the customer.

●     Promotion: Promotion includes the various methods used to communicate and persuade the target audience about the product, such as advertising, sales promotions, public relations, personal selling, and other promotional activities

SMART Objective:

●     Specific: Objectives should be clear and precise, avoiding ambiguity. They answer the questions of "who, what, where, when, why, and how." Specific objectives outline exactly what is to be accomplished.

●     Measurable: Goals need to be quantifiable or have some form of measurement to track progress and determine when they have been achieved. Measurable objectives help in assessing success and evaluating progress. 

●     Achievable: Objectives should be realistic and attainable given the resources, time, and capacity available. While they can be challenging, they should not be so ambitious that they're unattainable.

●     Relevant: Objectives must be relevant and aligned with the broader goals of an individual, team, or organization. They should contribute to the overall strategy and mission.

Time-bound: Goals need to have a defined time frame or deadline. This creates a sense of urgency and helps in managing time and resources effectively. 

C/ Detailed Guideline

1.    Introduction

Briefly introduce the company and the chosen product. 

Tips for choosing the company and product: 

●     For company: (Criteria to choose are ranked from Highly Important to Least Important)

○     Information and data of that company are easy to find on the Internet (It may not need to be too famous, but not too small or start-up)

○     The company is of the industry that you are familiar with/interested in, which is easier to write more in-depth and insightful  

●     For product:

○     Choose a product, not a service

○     Not too “lowkey” product, data and information of the product is not difficult to find

○     The product should have a clear message to the target customers. For example, “CLEAR Men 3X Sức Mạnh đánh bay Gàu Ngứa” (The message should point out the customer pain point that they are going to address)

How to write your introduction

●     The year of establishment, the CEO/founder of the brand

Example: Xeo Xo is a Vietnamese fashion and accessories brand founded in 2014 by two co-founders, Han Minh Hang and Nguyen Thanh Huong.

●     The main product line

Example: The main business scope of this brand is producing costumes made of silk, especially Vietnamese Ao Dai designs.

●     Brand’s story and commitment

Example: With the hope for young women to augment their femininity, confidence, and self-love, Xeo Xo always wants to provide comfy and be-yourself pieces of clothing without following any trends.

●     Business results and what mainly drives that success/growth?

Example: This brand has received positive reviews through online platforms like Shopee with 4.9/5 stars for customer satisfaction. In general, the key to the success of this brand comes from differentiation strategies and emphasis on product quality.

How to have a good introduction

Information about a company/product is varied on the Internet, but you do not need to include all of them in your assignment. Here are some tips to have a concise, informative, and on-point intro:

●     Cleaning the data after collecting. You only need to keep the information that is highly relevant to the theme/issue of the assignment, and that you mentioned in the body paragraphs. A useful tip is to read again your intro after you finish all your assignments to exclude irrelevant information, or even you can write the intro after finishing all other parts. 

●     From General to Specific. You should introduce the big thing first, then use appropriate connecting sentences to introduce smaller things. For example: Industry => Company => Product line => Product

●     The last sentence of the introduction should have a particular link to the content of the body, or the topic of the whole Assignment. Relevant and Consistent is KEY

●     You could apply this function: “Industry => Company => Product line => Product”  

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

You should cover the following factors to describe the product line you chose:

●     What is its name?

●     What is included in the product? (The ingredients of that product if you choose a brand in the Food & Beverage industry, the pieces of clothes, etc)

●     What is special about the product?

●     The message of the product in the Tet campaign?

●     Your overall assessment of this product in the Tet campaign? Was it good or bad? Show evidence.