Larissa Ethnographical and Historical Museum - Assignment Example

Larissa Ethnographical and Historical Museum: Marketing Plan YOUR FULL THE OF YOUR OR SCHOOL Larissa Ethnographical and Historical Museum: Marketing Plan I have been retained by the directors of Larissa Ethnographical and Historical Museum (LEHM) to evaluate the company's current position relative to its community and target market. Over the past 30 days I have collected general company information, surveyed the marketing environment, and applied standard market plan procedures to those observations. I have compiled and analyzed the company's operational information based on the statistics supplied by management. Utilizing that data, I have formed a marketing plan which includes the foundational evaluative principles needed to structure a comprehensive, three year marketing strategy. This plan includes the following sections: Analysis, where both an information audit and marketing audit inform the mission statement; Planning, where the key issues and market position applicable to the company are compiled into a strategic development structure; Implementation, where the aforementioned analysis is distilled into specific recommendations regarding product, placement, price, and promotion; and Control, where specific systems for monitoring and evaluation are framed within the context of the relevant organizational implications in terms of budget, staffing, and organizational structure. Appropriate use of the recommendations included herein will position the management of LEHM to guide the marketing of the company's products and services so as to maximize operational revenue, profitability, and funding of future growth. Analysis To assist with analyzing the company's market potential, I will perform an information audit designed to determine what needed information is lacking. I will perform a marketing audit to determine how well any current marketing resources are being used and then formulate a mission statement that management can use to help make employee's investment in the company's objectives undemanding. Information Audit An information audit will provide me with the necessary parameters for developing the plan. Management has supplied me with extensive operational and historical data of good quality. There is sufficient information to understand the operations of the company, the environment in which it functions, and some of the organizational objectives it seeks to attain. Unfortunately, there is scant information in terms of marketing. The organization does not have a formal marketing strategy. Accordingly, the supplied information is helpful for general awareness but useless in terms of marketing. Complicating the process, the company does not have any procedures in place for collecting information relative to its market. As set forth in the information plan below, management will need to focus on obtaining several key elements before a successful marketing plan can be put in place. Specifically, we need several sets of data: Demographic, Competitive, Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, and Technological. This information will allow the formation of an effective plan. Management should attain the necessary information by accepting the following objectives and implementing the specific procedures recommended. The information plan is charted, rated, and explained below: Information Requirements Information Availability Predicted Accuracy Timeframe to Complete Methodology Demographic Good Empirical Immediate Create Data Card Competitive Good High Immediate On-site Visitation Collect demographic data. As soon as practicable, management should utilize a simple data card to determine specific data on who is using the museum so that they can know their customers and identify any major market segments that could be targeted for marketing, i.e., their place in the market. This can be achieved by having visitors fill out a registration form upon entry to the museum, and staff completing the same form for school children or conference attendees. Obtain competitor information. Since we know that there are other cultural institutions such as the archeology museum, the picture gallery and the Modern Art Center, we need to distinguish LEHM's products-exhibits, education, and publications-to influence product decisions and promotional methods. This needs to be done immediately by accessing pubic information and sending one member of management to each competitor's facility to obtain a first-hand view. Management will be further assisted by the use of a Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, and Technological (PEST) matrix: PEST Analysis Information Availability Predicted Accuracy Timeframe to Complete Methodology Political Good Average Immediate Telephone Survey Economic Good High Two Weeks Public Information Socio-cultural Good High Three Weeks Public Information Telephone Survey Technological Good High Immediate Consultant Evaluate the political situation. We know that the company is significantly funded by governmental institutions, and that the funding is threatened by announced financial reforms. Management needs to immediately investigate the extent of funding cuts anticipated and move the company away from dependence upon the government if funding is going to significantly decrease. This information will directly bear upon the pricing strategies proposed further on in this marketing plan and can be accomplished by a few phone calls from management to key local politicians. Assess the economic landscape. If there are major growth patterns in the region, the company can confidently market itself to consumers and potential donors. Conversely, if an economic downturn is anticipated or underway, management needs to tailor its operations accordingly. Economic data is readily accessible through the internet and other governmental reports. As this information directly impacts products, pricing, and promotion, one manager should be tasked with collecting this information within the next two weeks. Review the socio-cultural circumstances. The company is a cultural institution, and understanding the social environment is paramount. The data collected in this area will set the parameters for all marketing-related categories; product, place, price, and promotion. Through the collection of publicly-available information and the use of a telephone survey, management will learn where to position itself for maximum efficiency. One manager or key employee should conduct the data collection and survey within the next three weeks. Appraise the use of technology. The authoring of a web site and other technological tactics will assist the accomplishment of promotional objectives. Management needs to immediately contact a web designer and equip its marketing strategy with this powerful technology. Marketing Audit The current approach to marketing does not utilize company resources efficiently, there has been no market research done (as described in the information plan above), and it is doubtful that management understands the marketing environment. Mission Statement and Organization The management has provided me with its general objectives. While lacking a formal mission statement, LEHM knows what it wants and these objectives can be organized into an effective mission statement. Once articulated, the mission statement can be internally-distributed to lower management and key employees so that they can embrace the goals. LEHM was founded upon the desire to serve its community by introducing visitors to local culture and helping the local people to know who they are and where they came from. They have set forth the organizational aims by articulating their intention to: Collect, keep and preserve objects from the area Collaborate with the Ministry of Culture Team with prominent experts Ensure permanence Management wishes to provide education and entertainment by using aesthetic presentations and blending the concepts of museology with scientific theory so that the modern visitor can understand it. We can condense these intentions into a mission statement thusly: Mission Statement for Larissa Ethnographical and Historical Museum The Larissa Ethnographical and Historical Museum will serve its community by establishing a local culture-focused bundle of exhibits, educational programs, and publications designed to combine the elements of a traditional museum with scientific theory in such a way as to preserve objects while cooperating with governmental and academic authorities to ensure permanence; resulting in an easily-understood presentation of information that informs visitors and residents alike of who they are and where they come from. Every manager and employee needs to help incorporate the central mission of LEHM into their daily activities and interaction with visitors, educators, and donors. Planning is vital; this section will identify the key issues for the company, address its position and identity within the market, and provide long-term strategies for implementation. Planning The process of planning the marketing for LEHM will be based upon standard elements of marketing procedure. First, I will provide an identification of key issues based on the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), concentrating on two or three of the most vital aspects of the SWOT analysis. Next, I will identify any market segments that could be targeted for development. Finally, I will provide a long-term strategy which addresses the key issues identified by the SWOT matrix and provides specific, attainable objectives for management to implement. SWOT ELEMENTS Strengths: Collection Relationship with Community Private Support Weaknesses: Marketing Revenue Dependence Technological Deficiency Opportunities: National Trends Regional Growth Internet Exposure Threats: Funding Cuts Competitors Leisure Activity Expansion Strengths In reviewing the operations and history of LEHM, I have found many strengths of the company, particularly their product bundle and audience. First, the company has a collection of artifacts that is significant. With over 15,000 objects, LEHM is well-supplied with materials for its exhibits, conferences, and publications. Second, the company has a well-established relationship with both school groups and culturally sensitive social organizations. This allows the museum to be "on the map" with regard to its well-deserved reputation among the important people in the community. Finally, the company has a good base of private support in terms of philanthropic organizations and individual donors. With the implications of government-derived revenues being cut, this constituency will be a key source for further revenue. As the museum has chosen not to charge its audience for admission to its exhibits, the securing of sufficient revenue sources will ensure the company's viability and success in obtaining its mission of permanence. Weaknesses The organization is not without its problems. Although possessing key strengths, the museum has institutional weaknesses that must be addressed. First, as noted previously, the company has no marketing department or formal marketing strategy. This glaring deficiency must be addressed, and is the primary purpose for this plan. Next, the company has potential revenue reductions due to its over-reliance upon governmental sources of income. While its donor base is listed as a strength, analysis of its revenue stream demonstrates that it must address the fact that the government will not be a reliable source of funds in the future. Finally, the company's failure to take advantage of available technology by having a presence on the World Wide Web has left it vulnerable to its competitors and limited the scope of its exposure to the marketplace. This omission is unwise. Opportunities As developed further in this marketing plan, there are some key opportunities available to the museum and management should move swiftly to take advantage of them. First, there is a major national trend towards the promotion of cultural activities. As the government and people realize the importance of history and cultural values, the company is uniquely situated to provide a solution to the desire of the masses. Second, there is a significant influx of people moving into the region. An increase of population provides the company with the opportunity to touch more people with its exhibits, educational programs, and publications. Lastly, the advances in computer and communication technology offer the museum the ability to tap into that resource sector. In doing so, the organization will be able to effectively add to its public exposure and generate a larger audience for its products and services. Threats The museum faces three threats to its current operations that must be timely addressed. First, the proposed cuts in government agency funding are potentially disastrous. With a significant portion of its support coming through these channels, management must conceive a way to replace and enhance revenue. Next, the museum is not located in a cultural vacuum. It has competitors for the provision of historical and artistic artifacts of which the museum has very little awareness. Management must move swiftly to distinguish the company from other organizations. Finally, the region is expanding towards more shops and leisure activities. Since the public has limited resources to spend on recreation, and the museum falls into that category, the organization's leaders must position the museum as an attractive alternative to other recreational outlets. Key Issues From the SWOT analysis, I have identified three key issues that present the organization with an idea of those things that must be intentionally addressed. Making the necessary operational changes noted in the objectives portion below will allow the museum to successfully navigate the problems over the next three years and emerge a stronger company. The first issue is marketing. While having a large collection of artifacts and a good reputation, if the company cannot succeed in getting its products' availability known by the wider audience, it will fail. The second issue is competition. The museum faces competition from both cultural organizations and entertainment venues. It must find a way to demonstrate why the public should spend its hard-earned money on cultural pursuits rather than the more pedestrian avenues of shopping or playing; and having convinced the public to pursue culture, it must show why LEHM is the museum of choice over the other exhibitors. The third key issue is revenue security. If the museum cannot secure adequate funding over the next three years, it will cease to exist. Management will have to reduce dependency upon the government and look to the private sector for support. The identification of these three issues can be formed into long-term objectives that, when implemented, will address the future with confidence and safety. Objectives Faced with the foregoing concerns, there are specific procedures available for management to enact that will position the museum to be the cultural leader in its regions. As shown in the table and the narrative that follows, there are three key objectives with numerous tactics: Objectives Key Objectives Tactic Timeframe to Complete Responsible Party Marketing Marketing Assistant Liberty Resources Six Months Senior Management Competition Research Exploitation of Direct Promotion to Indirect Six Months Senior Management Revenue Increase Private Funding Increase Efficiency Immediately Senior Management Marketing Objective. Immediately install a marketing assistant. As noted in detail within the Implementation section of this plan, the company must get its message out to the marketplace. Continued reliance upon insufficient methodology will cripple the museum's potential for growth and put it on the sidelines watching its competitors steal its market share. Give the marketing assistant the freedom to implement necessary changes in operations without undue conflict with management. The need for effective product placement is acute and the individuals charged with the task of addressing this problem will need latitude. Give the marketing assistant the resources to take action on their plans. Having a marketing strategy that incorporates new ideas will be useless if management does not supply a sufficient budget. Marketing is not cheap in the short-term, but pays a very high return on investment. This objective is easily measurable by organizational standards. The museum will know it is successfully implementing this objective when it has a marketing assistant that is free to employ new ideas and is funded at an appropriate level. This achievable objective is realistic and should be completed within the next six months, allowing management time to find the right personnel and those individuals the time to understand their market and formulate specific strategies to maximize the museum's exposure within the targeted market segments. Competition Objective. Identify the key strengths and weaknesses of competitors. By understanding the competition, the museum will be enabled to distinguish itself favorably. Exploit the weaknesses of the competition. Targeted marketing that emphasizes LEHM's products against the weaknesses of the other cultural organizations will demonstrate a superiority to which the public will respond. Promote culture. As the public faces increased opportunities for entertainment, they need to be educated about the value of culture. In articulating its mission, LEHM can convince the people that their museum is a fun, educational alternative to the other, more mindless, opportunities presented by shops and leisure activities. This objective is similarly easy to measure. LEHM will know it is successfully implementing this objective when it has an intimate knowledge of its competition, has positioned its strengths to the other organizations' weaknesses, and elevated the public's awareness of the value of cultural entertainment. This achievable objective is realistic and should also be completed within the next six months, giving leaders time to research the competitive landscape and task the marketing assistant with conceptualizing ways to position the products and educate the public. Revenue Security Objective Increase private funding. As previously identified, the museum is going to have the governmental purse strings cut. Patronage of the cultural arts is a traditional and honorable activity. Increase organizational efficiency. While not strictly a discipline of marketing, one way to enhance revenue security is to spend wisely. Management needs to ensure that the organization is run tightly while providing the necessary resources for operations and advertising. This objective is perhaps the easiest to measure. Management will know it is successfully implementing this objective when its private sector revenue increases and its profit and loss statements demonstrate responsible spending. This very achievable objective is realistic and should be undertaken immediately, maximizing precious time to solicit patrons and trim unnecessary expenses so that the liquid assets of the company are maximized. Positioning and Segment LEHM is currently well-positioned in the marketplace. Its brand values are high, with the exhibits drawing good audiences from the general public and schools. The educational programs are associated with reputable organizations, staffed by competent academic personnel, and well-attended. Its publications are prestigious and varied, ranging from articles in scholarly journals to books of traditional regional recipes. Accordingly, there are no brand changes contemplated in this plan, but there are some specific activities that would enhance the brand. The company should move to expand, within the current resources available, all aspects of its product activities. Increasing the variety and frequency of its exhibits will add value and cultural richness to the product mix. Implementing additional educational programs, like broadening its academic conferences to include graduate-level training, would add value; particularly within the intellectual community. Finally, the organization could focus on its publications; adding to the current mix of local interest (cook books, for example) as well as the scholarly concentration (more university-level publications). The market segments for the museum are easily defined. The key segments are the general public, academics, culturally-aware individuals, and schoolchildren. Enhancing its placement within these segments through implementation of the objectives and marketing will have beneficial results. For example, management could diversify its segments within the general public by planning children's exhibits, attracting youth by sponsoring age-appropriate day trips or festivals, and targeting older adults with exhibits from specific eras of the region's development would spark interest and increase attendance at the museum's events. In terms of a long-term strategy, the museum should seek to increase its market share of the established segments and not incur the expenses associated with branching out into new markets. This strategy should focus on the three objectives previously identified. For an example of applying just one of those objectives, marketing, the company could distribute flyers to cafes where adults tend to gather, they could use the internet to attract young people through graphic interface with their exhibits. These are just two ideas that would allow the museum to expand its exposure and develop a better placement profile. Implementation The implementation of this market plan hinges upon the stated objectives; marketing, competition, and revenue security. As evaluated within the scope of LEHM's products, place, price, and promotion, these objectives clearly address the operational structure of the organization and allow it to focus on the next three years with the reasonable expectation of significant improvement. Product The museum's products consist of a wide variety of exhibits for its visitors, various programs for schoolchildren and well as academic conferences, and the authoring and publishing of relevant materials. I have reduced the large volume of individual items into three relative product classes; exhibits, educational conferences, and publications. These are the core products of the organization. Based on the stated objectives, I am confident that the product portfolio is strong. The only caveat is that the exhibitions are somewhat limited by facilities with good parking and sufficient space to house all of the possible exhibits represented by the large number of artifacts in the museum's possession. LEHM is in a construction project in an attempt to address this limitation. There are no other product-specific challenges except the common problem of financial resources. Given more money, the organization could publish more books and host more conferences. The general nature of this issue does not require specific comment, as revenue security is already identified in the objectives. There are no objective-driven changes to the product line. The objectives are focused on marketing, competitive, and revenue issues. The product portfolio is implicated in these objectives, but only in terms of enhancement. Given the good reputation of the organization and its maturity in the market cycle, changing the product portfolio beyond the stated enhancements is not a good idea. Place LEHM's point of sale scenario is unique to a cultural enterprise as opposed to a standard product- or service-sales company. Given the fact that the organization operates upon government grants and private donations, while not charging for entry to its museum facility, a point-of-sale analysis is not particularly informative. The only area applicable is to publications the organization creates and sells. The point of sale issues could be enhanced if LEHM were to decide to add a bookstore or related-product shop to its facilities. In terms of sales channels, LEHM presents the issues common in cultural or non-profit organizations. Its revenue stream is not strictly derived from traditional sources, but rather from grants and donations. This is not the limitation to the marketing assistant that it would seem, however. Where the marketing departments of more traditional retail or manufacturing companies would focus on sales channels, LEHM's marketing assistant can focus on the donor base. The implementation of this concept looks very similar to that of the other types of companies, except that LEHM will be marketing the concept of cultural enhancement and asking for support rather than promoting a product and demanding a price. Accordingly, LEHM's condensed product-culture-is placed in the mind of the public by its marketing efforts. Unless management made the ill-advised decision to start charging its audience for access to its product portfolio outside of published materials, there is no real point of sale as that concept is understood in a standard business environment. Price The price of LEHM's products, like its placement, is unusual. It doesn't charge for entry to its exhibits. It applies for grants from governmental agencies and asks for donations from patrons. Guided by the implementation of the elements in revenue security, the price is a function of the donor's largesse. Thus, a standard price analysis does not apply, except in terms of marketing the museum's cultural importance in an effort to increase donations. As long as government grants continue to be available, their project-specific nature belies traditional pricing strategies. LEHM's long-term price strategy, as embodied in the stated objective, is to increase donations and private-sector support. Promotion It is within the area of promotion that the stated objectives find their best expression. By promoting the organization along the lines stated by the objectives, the company can enhance the number of patrons as well as increase the contributions of current supporters. For specific example, I will use the single aspect of internet presence. One of the identified objectives is to build a web site and use electronic means to market the company. This opens a whole new realm in terms of potential patrons. An individual living in America, but who was born in the region served by LEHM, does not have the opportunity to experience the exhibits or attend the educational conferences. A web presence, complete with online donation capability, would allow a person who hasn't been in the region since childhood to support the museum. This is where the organization's corporate identity and lack of promotional strategy fail; and why the objectives are particularly urgent. Taken in sum, an internet presence would access major elements of the organization's target group, enhancing their desire to present their culture in a favorable light. This allows all aspects of promotion, from CRM to new audience development to flourish. All of this comes from one, single promotional strategy that would not carry inordinate costs. The implementation of the identified objectives in the manner herein described will ensure LEHM's continued viability and secure its future. Control Controlling the implementation phase of these key objectives is straightforward. The marketing assistant should take immediate control of all promotional efforts and expand upon them. Management needs to give the marketing assistant the freedom to try new ideas and, to even fail from time-to-time. If a particular flyer distribution, for example, does not have the desired effect, the marketing assistant should be allowed to design new flyers or develop new promotional ideas. The company needs to equip the marketing assistant with the necessary resources so that if he or she sees an opportunity to develop a direct-mail campaign, the funds for printing and postage are available. Management needs control and direct the research stated herein. If the company is not supplied with accurate, up-to-date information, their marketing efforts will not succeed. Further, one key employee should oversee all donor-related activities from solicitations to patron-appreciation events. The distinctive nature of the museum's operations allow for a very simple control structure, focused on one or two individuals taking personal responsibility for the activities, but management must ensure that these control procedures are fully implemented. Perhaps scheduling weekly or quarterly team meetings, creating a reporting schedule where department leaders are required to give a formal account of their activities, or even developing an evaluation form so that the performance of key personnel can be documented and tracked. All of these procedures can be enacted with relative ease, but will create a control system that prevents important tasks from being forgotten. The organizational implications are equally simple, but even more important. There is no need to change the structure or business planning processes, per se. Nevertheless, those processes must be a primary responsibility for one person who timely and regularly reports to the highest levels of management. The addition of budgetary funds for the new marketing assistant, followed by a reasonable investment in the ensuing recommendations, will yield little organizational, staff or budgetary problems. Outside of allocating funds for a salary and space for an office, management can place a marketing assistant within its facilities without much trouble. The marketing assistant will then be tasked with maximizing the market segment and his or her supervisor can use the evaluative methods described above to verify that the museum is increasing its exposure to the marketplace. Conclusion LEHM needs to embrace the identified objectives and implement them either immediately or no later than the timetables recommended. Faced with the limitation of a previously-reliable revenue source, it is imperative that the company's management proactively embrace the stated objectives. They must understand their competition and infer effective promotional methodology. They have to focus on private-sector funding to permit the marketing assistant to promote the museum to the right target groups. Through the timely adoption of these recommendations, the management of LEHM will position themselves to expand the company's products and services, its market share, and its donor base. Read More