LIBERTY TAX SERVICE

As the marketing manager of a major franchise, your job will be to perform the daily tasks of a marketing manager.
Select one of the franchise companies below for which you would like to be Marketing Manager.
Edible Arrangements® – Edible fruit baskets – Creates fresh fruit arrangements and gourmet chocolate dipped fruit to order.
Cartridge World® – Cartridge Company – carries a complete line of both inkjet and toner printer cartridges. Offers both remanufactured and Original Brand (OEM) ink and toner cartridges for nearly all brands of printers, copiers, fax and postage machines.
Liberty Tax Service® – Taxes – provides tax service to both consumers and businesses.
Assumptions
• Your plan is to aggressively go after the consumer and business market creating dual revenue streams. Your marketing strategy, research marketing mix and customer relationship marketing will be different for both groups.
In this scenario, you will be responsible for conducting the following tasks:
• Observing and analyzing market trends
• Examining competitors’ products and services
• Investigating ways of improving existing products and services, and increasing profitability
• Identifying target markets and developing strategies to communicate with them
Assignment
There are two parts to this Assignment so be sure to complete both parts.
Part 1: The Consumer and Business Market
Write a brief paragraph that answers the following questions. (This should not be in Question/Answer format).
• Which company did you choose as your focus in this Marketing Management Assignment?
• Where are the company’s headquarters located?
• What is the mission statement of the company you chose to study?
• The previous marketing manager developed an advertising campaign before the marketing strategy. How could this advertising campaign potentially create problems for the product?
Part 2: Marketing Strategy Planning
In preparation for your first presentation to the CEO of the organization, you will create a 3–5 page paper.
You will examine how the 3 C’s (customer targets, competitors, customer value proposition) and 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) of marketing strategy influence marketing decisions about how you can increase purchases to consumers and increase purchases for business-to-business.
Your goal is to complete the consumer and business-to-business marketing strategy planning document. Using the bolded words as subheadings for each response as seen in the PDF of this Assignment, answer the following:
1. SMART Goals: Using the SMART acronym, list several objectives you wish to accomplish.
2. The 3 C’s of marketing strategy:
Customer Targets: Discuss the customer targets (target market), you should have at least two. Provide for the CEO a more specific description of which customers you (the marketing manager) want to persuade to buy the product or service.
Competitors: For each customer target, identify a competitor (brand or company) that may be able to provide the customer target a like product that would appeal to them.
Value Proposition: What do you see as the value proposition? What are reasons for customers to purchase your brand/product. Summarize into a single paragraph.
3. The 4 P’s of marketing strategy: Marketing Mix for the Consumer Market: Describe each of the 4 P’s as it applies to consumers that would purchase your product
a. Product
b. Price
c. Place
d. Promotion
4. Marketing Mix: Business-to-Business Market: Describe each of the 4 P’s as it applies to business that would purchase your product
a. Product
b. Price
c. Place
d. Promotion
5. Competitive Advantage:Using one (or more) of the competitive advantages below, describe the components of this advantage and why customers will perceive them as an advantage for your product or service over its competitors’.
1. Cost-based advantage
2. Price-based advantage
3. Quality-based advantage
4. Differentiation advantage
5. Perceived quality advantage
6. Brand-based advantage
6. Product Life Cycle: Discuss the company’s products in The Product Life Cycle (PLC). Why do you think they are in that stage? Do you think there is any possibility of changing the current stage of the Product Life Cycle? For instance, if current products are in the maturity stage, what can the company do to have products in the Introduction or Growth stage?
7. Increase Purchases: Consumers: Thinking of your consumer target market, how can you get current customers of the product or service to buy more?
8. Increase Purchases: Business-to-Business: Thinking of your business-to-business target market, how can you get current customers of the product or service to buy more?