Strategic Marketing Plan Template

Use the business you selected in Week 1 and complete the prompts provided for Parts A, B, and C in the weeks they correspond to. Delete the provided prompts from each section when you finish each part.

Complete the References section as you progress through Parts A, B, and C.

Include your name in the document’s file name when you submit it: Strategic Marketing Plan Template.

Wk. 2 – Part A: Environmental Analysis and SWOT Analysis

Business Description

The plan is for Apple Inc. The company’s vision is “To bring the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services” (Apple, n.d.). The company’s vision is “To make the best products on earth and to leave the world better than we found it.”

Apple has been ranked among the top five smartphone companies since 2009. With the decline of former market leaders such as Nokia and RIM, Apple emerged as the top smartphone seller, jostling for the opposition with strong rivals such as Samsung. Currently, Apple ranks second in smartphone sales, with a market share of 17.7% in the second quarter of 2024 (Laricchia, 2024).

Environmental Analysis

Competitive Forces

Apple’s main competitor in the computer hardware industry is Dell. The Chinese group Lenovo also competes with Apple in this industry. Besides, Hewlett-Packard (HP) gives Apple significant competition because the company has notable global operations outside the US. Notably, Apple’s main product is the iPhone smartphone, which faces significant competition from Samsung, which manufactures various products with varying price ranges.

It is worth noting that Samsung has a slightly higher market share than Apple in the smartphone market, mainly because it caters to customers from all socioeconomic classes. With their entry-level phones, Samsung caters to low-budget customers.

Apple differentiates its iPhone from competitive pressure by focusing on design and functionality. The iPhone has unique features, including a sleek design, attracting a young demography that values cosmetic features. Similarly, Apple invests heavily in research and development, producing an innovative product with top-notch functionality features.

Economic Forces

            The economic stability in developed countries where Apple has a significant presence has helped the company expand successfully. Further, the rapid economic growth in developing countries such as China has helped Apple grow its sales significantly. However, unstable disposable income among the target customers is a threat since such customers avoid upgrading or acquiring new Apple products when faced with economic difficulties.

Political Forces

One of the political factors facilitating Apple’s growth is the free-trade policies with EU countries, allowing the company to export its products to the country and, hence, generate higher revenue. Also, the political stability across the North American market and Europe has contributed to Apple’s success.

On the flip side, trade disputes between China and the US will likely threaten Apple’s expansion strategy. The trade wars may lead to increased tariffs on imported electronic components, increasing the cost of production. Notably, Apple’s core manufacturing processes take place in China.

Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues

A key regulatory requirement that has affected Apple’s processes is the privacy requirement. Most governments, particularly the US, have implemented regulatory requirements to protect citizens’ data in the digital age. The privacy requirement will likely increase the production cost because the company has to adjust its production processes. Another legal challenge facing the company relates to its after-sale services. Regulatory agencies in the US, the EU, and Australia have expressed reservations about Apple’s policy of using third parties to offer customers repair services (Jin et al., 2023).

Technological Forces

According to Jahan and Sazu (2023), the rising demand for cloud services has influenced Apple’s product expansion strategy. Today, Apple offers iCloud services to a limited extent, including its cloud storage business segment. Also, the growing demand for technology integration services promises to help the company expand its product offers.

Additionally, the growing demand for mobile services has contributed to the growth of Apple’s business portfolio. To that end, the company offers Appstore services and related digital content distribution through iOS and iPadOS platforms. However, technological advancements have provided an opportunity for new entrants who will give Apple stiff competition in the relevant markets.

Social Forces

The increasing penetration and demand for mobile services offer Apple growth opportunities. The demand for tablets and smartphones is rising globally these days, and Apple is among the businesses that will profit most from this societal trend. However, the increasing anti-Apple sentiments, especially regarding the company’s reliance on third-party repair services, pose a significant social threat. With the increasing lawsuits against third-party repair arrangements, Apple risks a tainted brand image. These sociocultural factors require Apple to implement solid CSR interventions for its key stakeholders, including customers and governments.

Current Target Markets

Apple’s primary target market is young to middle-aged adults, with its products being popular among women. Demographic characteristics of the target market include middle to high-income earners. Although the company initially focused on North America and Europe, it has since expanded to the rest of the world.

In particular, recent developments show that the company is making inroads into emerging economies, especially in Asia. A significant portion of the market is skewed toward entry-level phones, but Apple has made significant gains thus far.

Current Marketing Tactics

Apple’s popular products are at the centre of its marketing strategy. The company leverages corporate events to announce upgrades, new product launches, and the entry into new service industries. For instance, the company creates a buzz on social media to market new iPhone upgrades. Apple uses this marketing strategy to emphasize innovative and functional features incorporated in its devices to appeal to the premium market.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Apple Inc. is one of the strongest and most valuable brands worldwide. The company leverages its strong brand image to successfully introduce new products into the market, including a new mobile phone series (Doan & Nguyen, 2022). The latest series of its iPhones is the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which has attained significant social media buzz and high sales, similar to the earlier versions. Another strength is the premium pricing strategy, which ensures that the company makes profits even with low sales.

For instance, MacBook sales have been notably low, but the high prices charged for the device ensure the company makes profits and continues to sustainably manufacture more MacBooks. Additionally, Apple’s aggressive research and development initiatives have ensured that the company manufactures highly innovative products that give it a competitive edge.

Weaknesses

One of Apple’s weaknesses is its exclusive distribution strategy. The company carefully selects third parties to distribute its products, especially MacBooks and iPhones, limiting access to such devices in some locations (Doan & Nguyen, 2022).

Another weakness is the company’s overreliance on the high-end market. With a premium pricing strategy, only middle- to high-income range customers can afford its products. Thus, the company misses sales to the low-income segment since it does not offer entry phones.

Opportunities

As stated earlier, Apple has a limited distribution network due to its exclusive distribution strategy. This presents the opportunity to expand its distribution network to reach more customers. Another opportunity for Apple is the potential to expand its mobile device distribution. The opportunity is based on the worldwide social trend in which customers demand more digital mobile devices.

Threats

The threats facing Apple include stiff competition in various business segments. In the consumer electronics and online services industry, Apple faces competition from Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Sony, and Amazon. Besides, Apple TV Plus faces competition from players that offer streaming services such as Netflix, Meta, and Disney (Doan & Nguyen, 2022).

Another concern is the possibility that local firms can partially imitate its products, especially the iPhone. If the trend continues, the company risks losing sales to companies that imitate its products and sell them at relatively lower prices. Additionally, the rising cost of production, particularly in the company’s manufacturing plants based in China, threatens to increase the overall production cost.

Converting Weaknesses and Threats to Strengths & Converting Strengths to Opportunities

The lack of sufficient distribution networks means the company can strengthen its distribution by easing the exclusive distribution strategy. By partnering with reliable third-party distributors, the company will ensure it attains more sales (Doan & Nguyen, 2022). Another weakness was the premium pricing strategy.

The company can consider introducing entry-level devices to cater to the low-income market. On the other hand, the company can address emerging competition by bolstering its investment in research and development. This will prevent new entrants from edging out Apple due to investment in advanced technology.

Marketing Objectives

Apple will expand its consumer electronics by easing its exclusive distribution strategy and partnering with reliable third-party distributors by December 2025. By expanding distribution, especially to developing countries, the company will enhance its consumer electronics sales by 20% by the end of 2025.

Moreover, the company should leverage its strong brand image and invest in innovation by increasing the R&D budget by 50% by December 2025. This strategy is expected to help the company launch new products to increase its revenue. This will also help Apple stop overlying on iPhone sales as its core business portfolio. The strategy will help Apple expand its revenue by 20% by December 2025.

Wk 4 – Part B: Marketing Data Analysis

Internal Data

Evaluate internal data sources for information that would be available to you if you were employed by the business and what information you will receive from each source.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of internal data and list them in the Source column of the Internal Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Internal Data Table

Source	What it Measures	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: Sales data	Example: Monthly sales by specific product	Example: Average sales that month in US dollars for each of 10 products; data can be segmented by business and consumer markets	Example: Can be used for trend analysis, projections, and to measure effectiveness of promotions

Primary Data

Evaluate primary data needs to create and evaluate the marketing plan.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of primary data and list them in the Source column of the Primary Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Primary Data Table

Source	What it Measures	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: Focus group	Example: Product usage, motives, identify group level satisfaction, decision process, etc.	Example: Qualitative	Example: Identify different reactions of market segments to product. Identify marketing opportunities, product/service flaws and opportunities.

Secondary Data

Evaluate secondary data sources and the specific information you need from each source.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of secondary data and list them in the Source column of the Secondary Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Secondary Data Table

Source	What it Measures	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: U.S. Census Bureau	Example: Income over the last 4 years by family structure	Example: Household structures with the highest income capacity	Examples: Market share analysis and customer segments

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Establish customer touchpoints and develop appropriate CRM events for customer acquisition, retention, and profitability.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of CRM data and list them in the CRM Touchpoint column of the CRM Touchpoint Table. For each CRM touchpoint, input purpose and CRM objective, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

CRM Touchpoint Table

CRM Touchpoint	Purpose and CRM Objective	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: Customer profile information on website	Example: Starts the account for visitors: name, geography, email address (customer acquisition)	Examples: Presale: geographic location, customer id, source of reference, email address Post–sale: address, product purchased, quantity, price.	Examples: Track new and returning customer counts, total period purchases by customer ID, geographic sales data; Can be used for loyalty rewards, retention, and targeted marketing

Wk 6 – Part C: Market Strategy, Marketing Channels, Implementation, and Monitoring

Use the information you researched in your Week 5 assignment for the sections they correspond to in this section.

New Customer Segments

Determine any new customer segments for your strategy and describe how you will provide value to each segment.

Marketing Mix for New Customer Segments

Determine adaptations for each new customer segment. Include:

• Products
• Price
• Distribution
• Traditional promotion
• Online promotion

Marketing Implementation

Create the implementation for your marketing strategy plan. Describe how you will organize and implement the plan, such as whether it will be organized by market or geography, and who is responsible for marketing decisions.

Marketing Communication Channels

Evaluate the digital and traditional marketing communication channels you will use to reach selected audiences.

Identify 3 or 4 channels to convey key messages and list them in the Channel column of the Marketing Communication Channels Table. For each channel, input target market, advantages, and disadvantages in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Marketing Communication Channels Table

Channel	Target Market	Advantages	Disadvantages
Example: Direct mail	Example: Middle class residential	Example: Can include coupons	Example: Expense and low return rate for given product

Strategic Actions

Develop strategic actions required to implement the marketing plan and list them in the Strategic Action column of the Strategic Actions Table. For each strategic action, provide the date for completion, person/role responsible, and standard or metric to indicate the action is complete in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Strategic Actions Table

Strategic Action	Date for Completion	Person/Role Responsible	Standard or Metric to Indicate the Action is Complete
Example: Design flyer for direct mail campaign	Example: 1/1/2024	Example: J. Smith, graphic designer	Example: Approval by senior marketing team and legal

Strategic Action Monitoring

Develop the measurement to identify how you know you have been successful for each strategic action. Specify the measures to track performance against goals. Identify standard reports from your online and traditional marketing efforts.

For each action listed in the Action column of the Strategic Action Monitoring Table, provide the overall target, person responsible, and inter-measurement in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Strategic Action Monitoring Table

Action	Overall Target	Person Responsible	Inter-measurement
Example: Direct mail flyer	Example: Generate 1,100 new inquiries.	Example: Western regional manager	Example: Generate 500 new inquiries during the first month of campaign.

References

Apple. (n.d.). Vision and Mission of Apple Inc. – Apple Community. Discussions.apple.com. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251301665?sortBy=rank

Doan, T. N. T., & Nguyen, H. H. (2022). Value creation and value capture: Analysis of Apple company. International Journal of Current Science Research and Review, 5(4), 1089-1095.

Jahan, S. A., & Sazu, M. H. (2023). Role of IoTs and analytics in efficient sustainable manufacturing of consumer electronics. International Journal of Computing Sciences Research, 7, 1337-1350.

Jin, C., Yang, L., & Zhu, C. (2023). Right to repair: Pricing, welfare, and environmental implications. Management Science, 69(2), 1017-1036.

Laricchia, F. (2024, April 19). Apple iPhone market share 2019. Statista; Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/216459/global-market-share-of-apple-iphone/

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This summative assessment is the start of inputting information into the Strategic Marketing Plan Template. You will complete portions of this template in Weeks 2, 4, and 6, and prepare for sections of it throughout this course.

The first part of developing a strategic marketing plan is analyzing the forces that affect the business’s marketing efforts.

Access the Strategic Marketing Plan Template and complete Wk 2 – Part A: Environmental Analysis and SWOT Analysis in it. You will complete the rest of this document later in this course.

Submit your completed Wk 2 – Part A: Environmental Analysis and SWOT Analysis section of the Strategic Marketing Plan Template.

Use the business you selected in Week 1 and complete the prompts provided for Parts A, B, and C in the weeks they correspond to. Delete the provided prompts from each section when you finish each part.

Complete the References section as you progress through Parts A, B, and C.

Include your name in the document’s file name when you submit it.

Wk 2 – Part A: Environmental Analysis and SWOT Analysis

Use the information you researched in your Week 1 assignment for the sections they correspond to in this part.

For additional resources that may be helpful with components in Part A, refer to the resources provided on the Week 2 University Library page.

Business Description

Describe the business you are designing the plan for. Include the mission statement, vision statement, product line description, and business information (such as the size of the business).

Environmental Analysis

Analyze the forces that affect the business and marketing efforts.

Competitive Forces

Analyze the business’s key competitors. You may choose to use a BCG matrix or attribute checklist to compare your selected business against its competitors.

Describe any strategic moves the competition has recently made. Estimate the business’s market share. Identify key competitive advantages against your selected business’s competitors.

Economic Forces

Analyze the economic environment in the areas affecting your selected business. Consider differences within their industry and the economic impact on suppliers.

Political Forces

Analyze relevant political forces. Examples may include an election year or a law to drastically reduce or eliminate plastic waste in a county that would affect your selected business.

Legal, Regulatory, and Ethical Issues

Analyze the legal, regulatory, and ethical issues that may affect your selected business. Considerations may include local laws such as a ban on the use of plastic bags, the ability to post billboards, or a possible increased regulation on direct mail.

Technological Forces

Analyze whether your selected business will be affected by emerging technologies or trends in hardware and software industries.

Social Forces

Analyze social trends and how they may affect your selected business. Considerations may include if the business will be affected by demographic trends or a growing dependence on computers, or whether interest in your product might be affected by growing preferences in the way things are done or changing social values.

Current Target Markets

Define the business’s current target markets. Describe the demographic, geographic region, psychographics, and product usage of these targets.

Current Marketing Tactics

Review their current marketing tactics. Summarize how people find out about the product, how they get information about the product or service, what might be involved in the buying process, and what money is available for marketing. If your selected business is a start-up, describe their competitors’ current marketing.

SWOT Analysis

Assess your selected business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Then, evaluate how to address these in your marketing plan.

Strengths

Assess your selected business’s competitive advantage. Consider core competencies, assets, location, practices, etc. that are distinct in the way the organization meets the needs of its customers.

Weaknesses

Assess what limits the selected business may have in its current marketing strategy. Consider if the business has a weakness that needs to be addressed through public relations or marketing.

Opportunities

Assess the opportunities you see based on trends or environmental conditions.

Threats

Assess the threats or limitations that may interfere with the business’s ability to meet its objectives or interfere with marketing plans. 

Converting Weaknesses and Threats to Strengths & Converting Strengths to Opportunities

Convert weaknesses and threats to strengths; then, convert strengths to opportunities in the marketing plan. Consider the implications for addressing supplier relationships, implementing new technologies, or changing the product line or addressing new markets.

Marketing Objectives

Establish marketing objectives based on the results from the SWOT analysis. Marketing objectives must align with corporate objectives, modified by the business’s resources. Objectives should include a date for the completion of the objective and the way in which success will be measured.

For example: The business will expand its marketing efforts to include a new market segment of 21- to 29-year-olds. This will entail the development of a customized product by June 2024 that will address the specific psychographic and technological needs of this age group. This strategy is expected to attain a 20% growth in overall sales by January 2025. Customer loyalty (i.e., willingness to recommend the product) will increase by 30%.

Wk 4 – Part B: Marketing Data Analysis

Internal Data

Evaluate internal data sources for information that would be available to you if you were employed by the business and what information you will receive from each source.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of internal data and list them in the Source column of the Internal Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Internal Data Table

Source	What it Measures	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: Sales data	Example: Monthly sales by specific product	Example: Average sales that month in US dollars for each of 10 products; data can be segmented by business and consumer markets	Example: Can be used for trend analysis, projections, and to measure effectiveness of promotions

Primary Data

Evaluate primary data needs to create and evaluate the marketing plan.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of primary data and list them in the Source column of the Primary Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Primary Data Table

Source	What it Measures	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: Focus group	Example: Product usage, motives, identify group level satisfaction, decision process, etc.	Example: Qualitative	Example: Identify different reactions of market segments to product. Identify marketing opportunities, product/service flaws and opportunities.

Secondary Data

Evaluate secondary data sources and the specific information you need from each source.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of secondary data and list them in the Source column of the Secondary Data Table. For each source, input what it measures, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Secondary Data Table

Source	What it Measures	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: U.S. Census Bureau	Example: Income over the last 4 years by family structure	Example: Household structures with the highest income capacity	Examples: Market share analysis and customer segments

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Establish customer touchpoints and develop appropriate CRM events for customer acquisition, retention, and profitability.

Identify 3 to 6 sources of CRM data and list them in the CRM Touchpoint column of the CRM Touchpoint Table. For each CRM touchpoint, input purpose and CRM objective, data, and potential data usage in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

CRM Touchpoint Table

CRM Touchpoint	Purpose and CRM Objective	Data Type	Potential Data Usage
Example: Customer profile information on website	Example: Starts the account for visitors: name, geography, email address (customer acquisition)	Examples: Presale: geographic location, customer id, source of reference, email address Post–sale: address, product purchased, quantity, price.	Examples: Track new and returning customer counts, total period purchases by customer ID, geographic sales data; Can be used for loyalty rewards, retention, and targeted marketing

Wk 6 – Part C: Market Strategy, Marketing Channels, Implementation, and Monitoring

Use the information you researched in your Week 5 assignment for the sections they correspond to in this section.

New Customer Segments

Determine any new customer segments for your strategy and describe how you will provide value to each segment.

Marketing Mix for New Customer Segments

Determine adaptations for each new customer segment. Include:

• Products
• Price
• Distribution
• Traditional promotion
• Online promotion

Marketing Implementation

Create the implementation for your marketing strategy plan. Describe how you will organize and implement the plan, such as whether it will be organized by market or geography, and who is responsible for marketing decisions.

Marketing Communication Channels

Evaluate the digital and traditional marketing communication channels you will use to reach selected audiences.

Identify 3 or 4 channels to convey key messages and list them in the Channel column of the Marketing Communication Channels Table. For each channel, input target market, advantages, and disadvantages in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Marketing Communication Channels Table

Channel	Target Market	Advantages	Disadvantages
Example: Direct mail	Example: Middle class residential	Example: Can include coupons	Example: Expense and low return rate for given product

Strategic Actions

Develop strategic actions required to implement the marketing plan and list them in the Strategic Action column of the Strategic Actions Table. For each strategic action, provide the date for completion, person/role responsible, and standard or metric to indicate the action is complete in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows, as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Strategic Actions Table

Strategic Action	Date for Completion	Person/Role Responsible	Standard or Metric to Indicate the Action is Complete
Example: Design flyer for direct mail campaign	Example: 1/1/2024	Example: J. Smith, graphic designer	Example: Approval by senior marketing team and legal

Strategic Action Monitoring

Develop the measurement to identify how you know you have been successful for each strategic action. Specify the measures to track performance against goals. Identify standard reports from your online and traditional marketing efforts.

For each action listed in the Action column of the Strategic Action Monitoring Table, provide the overall target, person responsible, and inter-measurement in the respective columns. Insert or remove rows as needed. Row 1 contains a completed example for reference.

Strategic Action Monitoring Table

Action	Overall Target	Person Responsible	Inter-measurement
Example: Direct mail flyer	Example: Generate 1,100 new inquiries.	Example: Western regional manager	Example: Generate 500 new inquiries during the first month of campaign.

References