Optimizing Brands – Strategic Marketing Plan

Optimizing Brands – Strategic Marketing Plan

The Methods to Be Used for Consumer Research

Customer research will be conducted through in-person surveys and personal interviews. According to Wilson (2018), personal surveys generate customer responses through structured questions. The surveys have been selected because they will help us discover our competitors, thus enabling us to know what to focus on to create a competitive advantage. On the other hand, personal interviews include open-ended, unstructured questions. They will help us understand how potential customers view our services and improve areas that can help us compete favorably.

Traditional Marketing Methods

We will use handouts, print ads, and referrals to develop the marketing plan. Handouts will help us acquire new customers by displaying images of the theme park to potential customers and the rates for the offerings in the park. Handouts will also help retain existing customers by informing them about the improvements made in the offerings they were receiving before the par was closed. The main advantage of using handouts is that we can target specific demographics by distributing them in areas with a high population of our target market. However, we must consider additional marketing methods because handouts are often discarded after being read, thus creating a short-term impact on customers.

Referrals will help us acquire new customers by building trust in our offerings because most new customers perceive personal recommendations as reliable and valid. Referrals will also play a vital role in retaining existing customers by rewarding them whenever they refer a new customer. The main advantage of referral is that it will enable us to reach many customers quickly (Daou, 2020). However, we cannot rely on referrals as the only marketing method because of the slow spread of information to potential customers. This mainly occurs because it may take a long time to build rapport with the customers who can recommend others.

Print ads will allow us to reach more new customers through magazines and newspapers sold around where most target customers live and work. The ads will include the offering in the par and their rates. Print ads will also help us retain existing customers by informing them about our reopening. One of the main advantages of print ads is that we can focus on specific newspapers and magazines based on our customer demographics and the newspaper and magazine sales made per day. However, we may experience limited customer reach due to less readership because many potential customers rely on online platforms to get news.

Digital Marketing Methods

We will use social media marketing, video marketing, and content marketing. Social media marketing will help us acquire new customers by creating awareness of the theme park’s offerings using photos that will be posted on different social media platforms. It will also help us retain existing customers by informing them that we have reopened. The main advantage of social media marketing is that it increases brand awareness because it can reach many customers in different regions (Gelashvili, 2021). However, it will expose us to competitors and give them ideas on what they can do to get ahead.

Video marketing will enable us to display the unique features of our reopened theme park hence acquiring new customers. It will also help us retain existing customers by showing them the improvements we have made to address any previous complaints and implement their recommendations. The main advantage of video marketing is increasing conversations about our theme park hence attracting more customers. However, we may experience a challenge in determining the impact of our offerings on our reputation, loyalty, and awareness.

Content marketing will increase our customer reach, thus attracting new customers. It will also play a significant role in retaining customers because we can explain any additional offerings in the reopened park. One of the advantages of content marketing is that it enables a brand to create the brand personality they want the customers to embrace (Gelashvili, 2021). We may, however, be in a disadvantaged position if there is a wrong placement because the advertiser has less control over how the advertisements are placed. If the advertisements are inappropriately placed, the company’s reputation may be harmed.        

How the Traditional and Digital Marketing Methods Selected Will Work Together to Optimize the Brand

Video marketing will be most impactful in addressing our target audience because we can demonstrate the features of the park, our rates, and the measures we have taken to enhance the safety of our customers. Video marketing will also be used alongside handouts and print advertisements to help create a value proposition for our customers by explaining to our target audiences how they will benefit from our offerings. For instance, we can emphasize benefits such as friendly prices, a clean environment, unique amenities, and discounts during public holidays and celebrations like Thanksgiving and Patron Saints’ Days. We can include attractive photos of the theme park in the print ads and handouts to create interest among the target audiences.

Content marketing could be the most effective in branding because it will help us create a brand identity and personality that will be communicated to our target customers. We can focus on developing and sharing consistent and valuable content with our existing and prospective customers to catch their attention and create brand loyalty by main our customer’s trust in us. We will combine content marketing with referrals to create a brand identity. We can encourage existing customers to share their experiences through written testimonials, online videos, and photos. The videos and photos could include their moments in the theme park with their families and friends. We can reward customers who share their testimonials by allowing them free entry to the park and free access to some amenities in the park.

Crisis Management Strategies

We can focus on our customer’s expectations to improve brand damage by monitoring customer feedback on social media platforms. We can directly email or send a message to customers who provide negative feedback to determine the reason behind the negative feedback and collaborate with them to clear the par’s name on the social media platforms they may have posted the damaging allegations. We will also improve our brand image by creating a good relationship with our employees. We will offer personalized individual support to address our employees’ needs to maintain their commitment to improving the park’s performance. We will also involve employees in decision-making to ensure that their voice is heard and collaborate with them to handle any crises that could arise from the incident and reopening. The anticipated crises are environmental issues that could arise from poor disposal of face masks in the park and conflict with interest groups such as political groups that feel that reopening theme parks may increase the spread of COVID-19 due to interactions among children who may not be cautious about sanitizing regularly.

Legal and Ethical Issues That Could Arise and Negatively Impact the Organization’s Brand Image Upon Reopening

One of the ethical issues that could arise and harm the organization’s brand image upon reopening is health and safety. During the current Covid-19 pandemic, social gatherings are prohibited to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Some interest groups may feel that we are prioritizing our profits the health of our customers. We will prevent health and safety ethical issues by sanitizing all our clients at the park’s entry point evicting customers who do not wear masks in the park. We will also have sanitizing points around the par so that guests can regularly sanitize.

One of the legal issues that could arise is litigiousness. According to Susskind (2019), litigiousness is the willingness to solve a disagreement through a legal case. The issue could occur if customers allege that health and safety regulations were violated. We will prevent this issue by creating a tribunal that will address all disagreements between our organization and customers.

References

Daou, L. (2020). Social media vs traditional marketing. Business and Social Media in the Middle East, 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45960-4_1

Gelashvili, V. (2021). Digital marketing vs. traditional marketing. Advances in Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, and E-Services, 34-50. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-8003-5.ch003

Susskind, R. (2019). Encouraging litigiousness. Online Courts and the Future of Justice. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198838364.003.0026

Wilson, A. (2018). Marketing research. Macmillan International Higher Education.

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In Milestone One, you analyzed the brand implications of reopening the park, and you delivered the analysis report in the form of a presentation. In your role as regional marketing director of one of the theme parks in the southeastern United States, you have been tasked by your CMO with designing a marketing plan to address the marketing and branding needs of reopening the park. You will create a customizable strategic marketing plan template, which you will implement for your own park and share with the other regional directors of marketing. The other directors will implement the same strategy based on the needs and demographics of their respective parks.

In this template, you will elaborate on the traditional and digital marketing methods and discuss how these marketing methods are aligned with each other. You will also discuss the crisis management strategies that should be implemented prior to the reopening of parks and perform some analysis of legal and ethical issues, which might have negative impacts on the brand.

Prompt

Based on the information provided to you, share a completed customizable marketing plan template for the reopening of the individual park. Your template should include the following critical sections with relevant guiding information:

1. Determine two methods to be used for consumer research in developing the marketing Provide rationale.
2. Determine three traditional marketing methods you will use in developing the marketing plan and provide a Your response should address the following:
   1. How will identified methods help in the acquisition of new customers?
   2. How will identified methods help in the retention of existing customers?
   3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of identified methods?
3. Determine three digital marketing methods you will use in developing the marketing plan and provide a Your response should address the following:
   1. How will identified methods help in the acquisition of new customers?
   2. How will identified methods help in the retention of existing customers?
   3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of identified methods?
4. Explain how the traditional and digital marketing methods you have selected will work together to optimize the brand. Your response should address the following:
   1. Which method do you think could be most impactful in addressing your target audiences?
   2. Which method do you think could be most effective in branding?
   3. Can both digital and traditional marketing support the brand and growth of the business?
5. Explain the crisis management strategies that should be implemented prior to Your response should address the following:
   1. How can we focus on customer expectations to improve brand damage from the incident?
   2. How can we support our employees’ needs in reopening the park?
   3. What possible crises could arise relevant to the incident and reopening?
6. Determine one legal and one ethical issue that could arise and negatively impact the organization’s brand image upon reopening, and provide proactive steps that could be taken now to prevent