Principles of Marketing Management: AQC Company Marketing Plan Report

This report presents a comprehensive marketing plan for AQC (Atlantic Quench Cranberries), an agriculture company focused on promoting and expanding its fruit juices in a new market. The report begins with micro and macro environmental analyses, evaluating internal and external factors impacting the company's operations. It then analyzes the current situation of AQC, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). The core of the plan focuses on segmentation and positioning strategies, determining the target audience and how to position the products effectively. Tactical marketing decisions, including the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion), are discussed to implement the marketing plan successfully. The report emphasizes the importance of aligning marketing strategies with consumer preferences and the competitive landscape. Finally, the report provides a summary of the implementation and control measures to ensure the plan's effectiveness and achieve the company's marketing objectives.

Principles of Marketing Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MICRO AND MACRO ANALYSIS..............................................................................................1
Micro analysis..............................................................................................................................1
Macro analysis.............................................................................................................................2
ANALYZE THE SITUATION OF THE COMPANY...................................................................4
SEGMENTING AND POSITIONING STRATEGY.....................................................................5
Segmentation...............................................................................................................................5
Positioning of the juices...............................................................................................................5
MARKETING MIX.........................................................................................................................6
IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL........................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Marketing plan is necessary for the organization because without this the company
cannot expand its target market. The most important part is that the firm identifies the issues and
problems which are witnessed by other organization. In this report, AQC company which is
agriculture company has to make the marketing plan regarding promoting and expanding its
juices in the new market (Atlantic Canada Cranberries, 2016). It focuses on the targeting and
positioning strategy which will be used by the company to target its audience. On the other hand,
situation of the organization is analyzed which will assist in strengthening the strength and
reducing the weakness which is possessed by the AQC company.
MICRO AND MACRO ANALYSIS
A and b (evaluating the marketing environment and developing marketing strategies)
Before making a marketing plan for the company it is important for the organization to
analyze the market in which it is operating its business (Freiburg. and Karlsruhe, 2012). As
Atlantic quench cranberries (AQC) is a cooperative agriculture so it manufactures different and
the target customers are also different. According to this reasons it is essential to evaluate the
scenario of the environment. This analysis helps in evaluating the issues which can be faced by
the company in marketing its fruit juices in public (Michman, 2006). In the competitive
environment changes are witnessed at the faster rate so in the next year the company can see
changes the policies, tax as well as taste and preferences of the users. So it is recommended for
the firm to do analysis of the next year marketing plan (Straussman and et.al., 2012).
Micro analysis
Micro considers the internal factors which affect the functioning of the organization. It is
important for the company to identify the issues and the needs as well as their requirements. As
they are internal factor so they directly affects the operations of the company (Cadogan, 2012).
Further, for Atlantic quench cranberries Atlantic quench cranberries (AQC) it is important to
satisfy the factors which are included in the micro aspects. The micro environment factors are as
follows:
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 Employees- they are the very important part of the organization. AQC gives credit for its
success to its employees who have contributed effectively in the company. To make the
product successful it is important for the AQC to identify the requirements of their
employees. They can adopt the different approaches in which the manager can focus on
the individual employees and helps in meeting the needs. This will assist the organization
to give quality services to its customers. Even they should be given benefits like
promotion. Incentive so that they can be motivated to do the work
 Customers- The main aim of the organization to identify the needs and requirements. As
the taste and preferences are changing (Straussman and et.al., 2012). So it is beneficial
for AQC that they modify the taste of the juice according to the customer needs. As there
are many products which are manufactured by the company. But still if they can identify
the changed scenario then they can market the product effectively. In case of the
marketing plan AQC has to identify which is the most common used media to do the
promotion of the product. This will assist in successfully marketing of the product for the
next year.
 Suppliers- They are the one who are responsible for supplying the ingredients to the
company. The major suppliers of the AQC Company is the farmers as they are the one
who produces the fruit and give to the company (Belch and Belch, 2003). So the
organization has to satisfy the suppliers because if they become late in delivering the
product then it will hamper the functioning of the organization. As AQC will be delayed
in delivering its product to the customers. It is important for the firm to maintain a
positive relationship with the suppliers.
 Competitors- AQC produces fruit juices and sells dried cranberries as there are not much
competitors. It is important to examine the company which can enter in this industry. If
any company enters in the same segment they AQC has to suffer losses and this will
reduce the number of customers (Grant, 2010). So, for making the plan for the next year
it is essential to examine the companies who are doing the same business.
Macro analysis
For the company it is even important to identify the business environment in which they
are operating its business. The factors which are included in macro environment affects the
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operations of the business indirectly. The PESTL model can be used to analyze the macro
environment factors
 Political factors-As AQC is the agriculture based company so there is interference of the
government because all the aspects are checked by the government before delivering to
its customers. In the coming one year the company wants to expand its market in other
countries so it has to comply with new rules taxation policy which are followed in that
particular country (Mueller and Szolnoki, 2010). It has to investigate the tax and tariff
rates which are associated with the agriculture based product.
 Economical factor- To market its products the company has to examine its growth rate
and the development which has been there in the country. With the help of the economic
scenario, AQC has to plan its price and the source which it is using to promote its product
among the target customer (Spence, 2012). As in the developed country, the AQC used
the advanced medium but in the underdeveloped it can use medium which are affordable
by the customers.
 Social factor- the juices which are manufactured by the company are very healthy so it is
considered that it is costly. By identifying the lifestyle of the individual the company can
make out as its product will be going to work or not. Like in case of the developed
country AQC can easily market its juices as their lifestyle is advanced and these products
are considered as a brand prestige.
 Technological factors-The technology can be used in terms of packing the product. The
main aspect which attracts the users is the package in which it is delivered to its users
(Straussman and et.al., 2012) The company can make packaging attractive and as it is
considered healthy they can use the tetra pack which has protective layer as this
technology can be applied while marketing its product in the next year.
 Environmental factors- This is the most important factor which is considered while
producing the juices. In this case, no harmful chemical should be used by the AQC
Company to produce the fruits as it will harm the customers as well as the environment.
Besides this, the firm can also put emphasizes on the environmental factors as they have
recycled the waste and used in the product (Glynn and Woodside, 2012). This strategy is
helpful in the next year marketing plan and further it can save the cost of the firm.
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ANALYZE THE SITUATION OF THE COMPANY
After evaluating the internal external factor it is important for the organization to analyze
the situation of the company. In case of AQC there may be several strengths weakness as well as
threats and opportunities which are need to be focused. For making the one year marketing plan
if is important for the company to build more strengths and reduce the weakness. With the help
of SWOT analyses the firm can evaluate these areas.
 Strengths- The main strength of the company is the brand value which it made among its
customers. It has made positive image in minds of the users. Further, it has signed three
contracts with the major supermarkets in UK (Jackson, Joshi and Erhardt, 2003). This is
the greatest achievement in this field. It creativity and the new product has different place
which has made this brand very unique.
 Weakness- As the fruit juices is totally dependent on the fruits which are grown by the
farmers. In this the major issue is with the climate change, if the climate it is not suitable
then it will affect the production which will affect the sales of the company (Mainali and
et.al., 2011). The major weakness of the company can be its cust6omers as the customers
on which they are focusing is very less. So it is important for the AQC to expand its
product line to attract more users.
 Opportunity- There is many types of opportunities for AQC as there is heavy demand for
the fruit juices and drinks. In UK, the people prefer healthy drinks rather than carbonate
drinks. So because of these reasons they can attract more customers and expand their
market. For the next year marketing plan they can take the advantage of the carbonated
drinks which have negative image among the users.
 Threat- The major threats of AQC is from its competitors as the major competitors for
this brand is the supermarket stores who has its own brand (Henley, Raffin and
Caemmerer, 2011). The products which are sold by these brands are sugar free is
innovative and also has huge market share. It is important for the AQC to examine this
factor make the strategy accordingly so that it can expand easily in the other areas.
SEGMENTING AND POSITIONING STRATEGY
E and F (tactical marketing decisions and tools of strategic marketing)
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In the marketing plan the most important step was to identify the areas which affect the
product directly and indirectly. Now the company has to target its customer and position its
products in the minds of the users. In the present time the users are mainly attracted by the
strategies which are formed by the organization to attract its users. In the first step, the company
is required to define the segmentation of the users (Hollensen, 2015).
Segmentation
The juices which are produced by the AQC are for the individual who prefer healthier
drink. So the company can segment its customers according to the age. The majorly target
customer will be the adult people who do drink carbonated drink and prefer juices and dried
cranberries (Meek, 2003). The products which are produced by AQC are not of the taste and
preferences of the youth. Like they have introduced cranberry blends which include
pomegranates and acerola which are not liked by the young individual generally. So it is
beneficial for the company in the next marketing plan to target the old people and do not waste
money in promoting among the customers. This area will not give them that benefit which can be
acquired through the old age individual (Shi and Malik, 2000).
Positioning of the juices
It is very essential for the AQC to position its juices and dried cranberries in the eyes of
the users. As it has many competitors so it is important for the AQC to position its brand in the
different way as it will help to increase its customer target (Nwokah and Ahiauzu, 2009). It is
good for the company as it has positioned its brand on the basis of packaging. In the next year
marketing plan they do their positioning with the help of the advertisement. The image of the
products which is set in the minds of the customer is healthy even they can position their product
with the taste. The image which they can set can be healthy and tasty (Haley, 2006). Another
strategy which can change the product image in the kinds of the users can be through focusing on
the highly social class customers (Chon, Jun, Jung and An, 2004). Then it can become a prestige
to drink this juice among the customers. In the present time it is not essential for the AQC
Company to focus on customer positioning because they are the well established brand and
according to their product they have made the brand image in the minds of the users (Hofmann-
Wellenhof, Lichtenegge and Collins, 2012).
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C. MARKETING MIX
This is the tool which is used by the marketers to market their product among the
customers. Marketing mix includes products, price, promotion and place (Layton, 2011). It is
important for the marketer to identify which marketing mix should be used to promote its
product. Success of the product depends upon the marketing strategy which is used. In the next
marketing plan the AQC Company should promote its product with the help of the attributes
which it is giving in t5he product. The juices have so many advantageous so it is very fruitful for
the AQC Company to expand its target market with the help of the features of the juices. It is
easy for the organization to market its product by using the marketing mix which is as follows
 Product-It is also famous for the innovations which it has made in the product like in
2002 it launched cranberry classic which attracted buyers (Huang and Sarigöllü, 2012).
Further, it can focus on the contents like low clarion and sugar free to attract its users.
From the past they are launching the product according to the customer taste and
preference. So it is important for the users to know their ingredients. The customer whom
the company has focused is the adult and their main focus is on the contents. For the
AQC it is beneficial to emphasize on the product contents. Like in the advertisements
also they can focus on these aspects while in case of packaging also they can highlight
this factor. There are very few companies who focus on the product attributes because it
is very risky to attract the customer. It will be the unique approach also for the AQC
Company
 Price- For the next year plan, they should use the penetration pricing strategy. To earn
profit, the AQC should set the lower price for the drink as this will help to attract more
customers. Further, with the help of the brand name they will able to lure more
customers. This is the best strategy because the prices of the other juices which are sold
by the AQC are also low. So it will help to maintain the brand image among the
customers.
 Promotion- it is one of the most important aspect of the organization. This tool is majorly
responsible for earning profit for the company. Due to the increasing technology as well
as use of social of media, the AQC can promote its healthy drink with the help of online
media. They can advertise their drink on social sites. This will help in creating awareness
among the youth who are majorly fond of drinking juices. Further they can launch the
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campaign for promoting their health drinks. For the best year it is the best strategy which
can be used by the AQC organization for promoting drinks among their customers
(Armelini and Villanueva, 2011).
 Distribution- It is one of the most important elements which are responsible for making
the healthier drink successful which the company is planning to launch in next year. They
will make their drink available in all the departmental store as well as the company can
also tie up with the other franchise in the near future. This will help in creating a strong
positioning in the minds of the consumers.
IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL
These are the strategies and tactics which can be adopted by the AQC Company for the
next year marketing plan. It has been usually seen that the plan which has been made becomes
different at the time of implementation. As the employees who are implementing the plan should
be efficient and there should be effective coordination between them. In the first stage of
implementation, the different departments should make small targets which have to be achieved.
By making short objectives help in attaining the goal easily (Fleisher and Bensoussan, 2003).
Further, the AQC should provide training to the employees regarding the activities which have
been planned. Even the company should effectively communicate the plan to its subordinates.
The major responsibility of the manager is to overcome the issues which came before at the time
of implementing the marketing plan. The next step is to control the implementation process as
the company has to monitor the activities of the marketing plan. The firm has to identify the
deviations which come while implementing the process. After deviations it can make solutions to
curb the problem (Ward and Lewandowsko, 2008). Implementation and control is the final stage
of the marketing plan.
CRITERIA PLAN FOR THE PRODUCT
Service description Launching a healthy drink for the customer
Competitor analysis From the analysis it has been identified that the major strength of
the company is its brand name and the creativity which it uses in
its products. The weakness is that the climate in which fruits is
produced. It changes frequently.
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Marketing mix Promotion is through by specifying the characteristics of the
products. The attributes of the services of the products.
Further, it is planning to tie up with different franchise.
Target market The target customers are the adults who are fond of health
drinks.
Segmentation The segmentation is done on the basis of the age as in the
coming years the old age people will be targeted.
Human resource plan Around 30-40 staff will be required for planning the
implementation.
Brief budgeting Around $5000 will be required for implementation.
Implementation timeline This project will be implemented in the next year.
Evaluation measures Feedback from the customers and profitability of the
company.
CONCLUSION
From this report it can be concluded that even the company has good brand image it is
necessary to make the proper marketing plan for achieving the objectives. There are several steps
which have been taken by AQC to establish its brand image and it is also successful. But still
now the company can focus on the product attributes to expand its target market. Besides this,
the AQC have to face problems regarding taxation policy of the other country as they are very
different from the base country. But at last it can be said that the marketing plan which has been
will be beneficial and will cover different aspects which were not included in the previous plans.
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