Kaplan University School of Business and Management

GB530 Marketing ManagementPersonal Marketing Plan

Units 5 and 6

TEMPLATEUse this template as your guide to success!

READ THIS FIRST! (Delete this slide prior to submitting assignment for grading review)

This PowerPoint document covers expectations for your GB530 Personal Marketing Plan Assignment Parts 1 and 2.

• Part 1 (A, B, and C) is due Unit 5• Part 2 (A, B, C, D, E, F) is due Unit 6

You should use this “template” document as your guide to success. Before you submit your assignment for grading, however, remove any of the words you see here appearing in any other color than black.

Words included in colors in this template are meant to assist you in your completion of the assignment, not to be turned in for grading.

For this project, you will be developing a marketing plan for your own professional development and career strategy. This assignment is about you!

This assignment is about you and only you. It is not about a business you might develop. You may refer to your Self-Directed Learning Plan to determine your next appropriate career goal, whether advancing within your organization to a new position, leaving your present organization in order to pursue your next advancement, or making a career change.

Before you begin your Personal Marketing Plan, read "The Brand Called You" found at the url: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html.

You’ll find the entire Units 5 and 6 Personal Marketing Plan assignment here, in this PowerPoint document.

Vision – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

A. Vision (also known as Marketing Objective 3.2): This section should incorporate two components:

a. Strategic Intent This is your ultimate career goal (what you wish to

accomplish) and the name of your profession.

b. Desired Company and Job Identify the name of the company and the job title or position

which represents your strategic intent.

Marketing Summary – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

B. Marketing Summary 2.1: This section should include three elements: SWOT, Competition and Core competency

a. SWOT Analysis Looking at your significant life events and accomplishments, complete a SWOT analysis on yourself in your chosen career field. Be sure to include at least three items in each of the four S-W-O-T sections and remember that Strengths and Weakness relate to internal factors and Opportunities and Threats relate to external factors.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Marketing Summary – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

B. Marketing Summary (continued)

b. Competition

Describe the types of other professionals that will be competing with you by applying the 4P’s marketing mix method (product, price, place, promotion) to your competition.

c. Core Competency

Identify the one core competency (skill or knowledge set) that you plan to develop in yourself and use to drive your success as you move along your career path. Hopefully you will develop many skills and knowledge bases, but for this assignment, identify the one skill or knowledge base that you think is most important to your long-run success.

Target Markets – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

C. Target Markets 3.4: This section should describe the type of organizations that you want to target. These are the organizations that will benefit from your expertise. Include information about the following:

Industry (e.g. toy manufacturing, education services) Demographic (e.g. large vs. small) Culture including behavioral characteristics (e.g. conservative vs.

progressive corporate culture that you wish those organizations to possess) • Identify at least:

Three example firms or organizations

1.

2.

3.• In addition identify:

Three reasons why your chosen segments are attractive target markets.

1.

2.

3.

Positioning Statement – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

D. Positioning Statement 3.5:

• State the outcome you desire to establish in the minds of your target firms.

• Remember, positioning originates in the mind of the consumer, and in this case the consumer is the potential employer. Thus, what attitudes and mindset do you want them to have concerning you? Build upon your SWOT analysis, competitive analysis and core competencies.

• Two words or phrases that are related to the skills and/or knowledge you would like to offer to the market (e.g. significant selling skills, ability to execute a creative advertising campaign, full understanding of standard auditing procedures)

• Two words or phrases that identify personal traits you would bring to the job market (e.g. hardworking, detail oriented, fun loving). Think of it this way: after an interview has wrapped up, if you could secretly listen to the post-interview conversation, what would you like to hear said about you?

Marketing Mix – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

E. Marketing Mix 3.7:

• This and the next few slides cover how you will use your four marketing mix tools (product, price, place, and promotion) to support your positioning statement. For each element of the marketing mix, identify the feature with a short explanation of why and how that feature would be a benefit to the hiring company.

Product

• Remember, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT. Thus, what product do you want to present to the marketplace? Identify six key product features (what you offer) and say how these features will be of benefit to the hiring company – these are features that you intend on possessing at the time of your job search. (e.g. experience, training, successes, professional activity, graduate education).

Marketing Mix – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

Price

• What will it cost the market to hire you? Research the starting salaries for your chosen field and list that salary (or salary range) and include the source where you obtained your information (also list it on the References slide).

Marketing Mix – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

Place

Geographical preferences or limitations (e.g. plan to look for a job in Michigan only).

Identify the Distribution channels your job search will utilize.

Two direct channels you will use to distribute yourself (or the materials that represent you)

Two indirect channels Direct channels involve you connecting directly with the targeted firms, while indirect channels involve you using an independent intermediary (like your Uncle in the industry) to distribute your materials for you. Mailing (e-mail or snail mail) resumes directly to a firm is a direct channel.

Marketing Mix – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

Promotion• How will you communicate with the market that you are available and qualified to

be their employment solution?

• What promotional tactics will you employ and why are they appropriate?

• List no less than 5 promotional techniques that you will use. Each should be specific, and you should attempt to "think out of the resume/e-portfolio box"!

• Resume & e-portfolio cannot be on your list of five unless it is because you plan to do something significantly out of the ordinary or unique in relation to a resume or e-portfolio.

• For each technique:

• Explain the specifics of that tactic

• Offer reasons why this tactic will be successful for you.

• Take the time to review the myriad of potential promotional tactics available by considering the many ways that firms and organizations promote themselves to their target audiences. One way to do this is to go through the textbook chapters on promotion (Kotler/Keller chapters 17-19) and write down all of the promotional tactics used as examples, and then creatively consider how you could translate those ideas into workable tactics for your personal promotion. Don’t forget business cards!

Implementation – Your name’s Personal Marketing Plan

F. IMPLEMENTATION 5.1:  Describe a plan that states specifically what needs to be done and when each item will get done. This plan should include any "product development" efforts that still need to occur and should include your schedule for the creation of your promotional materials and related efforts.

• Next Steps in Next Quarter 

• Next Steps in Next 6 Months 

• Next Steps in 1 Year  

• Next Steps in 5 Years 

References

Fast Company. (2009). The brand called you. Retrieved Month Date , 2009, from

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html

Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2009). Marketing management (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Prentice Hall.