New Product Launch Marketing Plan Part III

Marketing Metrics and Contingency Plan for the Coz-E Travel Electronic Blanket Evaluation and Controls Metrics and Methodology The marketing of the Coz-E Travel Electronic Blanket will be undertaken to focus on the differentiation characteristics and the feeling of coziness that the blanket will provide, targeting owners of older cars in colder regions.

However, whatever the marketing plan and whatever the message communicated, it is essential that the marketing strategy itself is assessed to determine whether or not it is effective and to identify ways in which it may be improved (Kotler and Keller, 2011). The marketing is likely to have several desired outcomes, these may include introducing and increasing awareness of the product and the brand, giving consumers a positive impression of the product and brand, and stimulating the purchase decision. Each of these may be assessed with the use of metrics.

The initial metrics may be to assess the effectiveness of the marketing, looking at the effectiveness of the launch marketing in the target market, and the intention of those who have seen the advertisements to find out more, or to make a purchase. Not all those who express an intention to purchase will make a purchase, but it is an indication of the degree to which the product marketing is stimulating potential purchases (Farris et al., 2010).

These may be assessed through the use of market research, identifying members of the target market in the relevant areas and assessing the proportion of brand/product awareness, and then the proportion of those who express a desire to purchase (Farris et al., 2010). The same market research may also assess the different types of advertising that is undertaken to determine which is most memorable, and which, if any, are the least effective advertising channels to allow for the optimization of the marketing approach and budget (Jeffery, 2010).

One of the main metrics will be the sales level, as the aim of the marketing is ultimately to make the sales (Kotler and Keller, 2011). It is also important that sales are made in a cost effective manner, to other metrics, such as the return on marketing investment (ROMI) and marketing cost per sale may also be very useful; these can be assessed from the sales and accounting information within the firm (Jeffery, 2010).

When talking of metrics, it will also be assumed that decision such as pricing and budget will also be made with the knowledge of metrics such as the contribution margin of each sale and the break even point. These metrics can be gathered from the internal management accounting information regarding costs. Contingency Planning If the sales targets and/or profit targets are not met, it is essential that the firm has a contingency plan.

There are several plans which may be suggested; from the export of the products to another cold area where there are many older cars, such as Russia. However, this may be a challenging contingency plan, and could be expensive to implement, so may be more suited to an expansion plan for a latter date. The alternative may be to look for a contingency plan in terms of the pricing and the channels of distribution.

As the product is already being offered at a low price with the target market in mind, reducing this further may not be the best move if it impacts the.