Essay About Star Software Sells And Junk Mail

Marketing Plan Example
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Marketing Plan
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Star Software, Inc., is a small, family-owned corporation in the first year of a transition
from first-generation to second-generation leadership. Star Software sells
custom-made calendar programs and related items to about 400 businesses, which
use the software mainly for promotion. Stars 18 employees face scheduling challenges,
as Stars business is highly seasonal, with its greatest demand during
October, November, and December. In other months, the equipment and staff are
sometimes idle. A major challenge facing Star Software is how to increase profits
and make better use of its resources during the off-season.
An evaluation of the companys internal strengths and weaknesses and external
opportunities and threats served as the foundation for this strategic analysis and
marketing plan. The plan focuses on the companys growth strategy, suggesting
ways in which it can build on existing customer relationships, and on the development
of new products and/or services targeted to specific customer niches. Since
Star Software markets a product used primarily as a promotional tool by its clients,
it currently is considered a business-to-business marketer.
II. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Founded as a commercial printing company, Star Software, Inc., has evolved into a
marketer of high-quality, custom-made calendar software and related business-tobusiness
specialty items. In the mid-1960s, Bob McLemore purchased the company
and, through his full-time commitment, turned it into a very successful family-run
operation. In the near future, McLemores 37-year-old son, Jonathan, will take over
as Star Softwares president and allow the elder McLemore to scale back his
involvement.
A. The Marketing Environment
1. Competitive forces. The competition in the specialty advertising industry is very
strong on a local and regional basis but somewhat weak nationally. Sales figures
for the industry as a whole are difficult to obtain since very little business
is conducted on a national scale.
The competition within the calendar industry is strong in the paper segment
and weak in the software-based segment. Currently paper calendars hold a
dominant market share of approximately 90 percent; however, the software-
based segment is growing rapidly. The 10 percent market share held by
software-based calendars is divided among many different firms. Star Software,
which holds 30 percent of the software-based calendar market, is the only company
that markets a software-based calendar on a national basis. As softwarebased
calendars become more popular, additional competition is expected to
enter the market.
2. Economic forces. Nationwide, many companies have reduced their overall promotion
budgets as they face the need to cut expenses. However, most of these
reductions have occurred in the budgets for mass media advertising (television,
magazines, newspapers). While overall promotion budgets are shrinking, many
companies are diverting a larger percentage of their budgets to sales promotion
and specialty advertising. This trend is expected to continue as a weak, slowgrowth
economy forces most companies to focus more on the “value” they
receive from their promotion dollar. Specialty advertising, such as can be done
with a software-based calendar, provides this value.
3. Political forces. There are no expected political influences or events that could
affect the operations of Star Software.
4. Legal and regulatory forces. In recent years, more attention has been paid to
“junk mail.” A large percentage of specialty advertising products are distributed
by mail, and some of these products are considered “junk.” Although this label
is attached to the type of products Star Software makes, the problem of junk
mail falls on the clients of Star Software and not on the company itself. While
legislation may be introduced to curb the tide of advertising delivered through
the mail, the fact that more companies are diverting their promotion dollars to
specialty advertising indicates that most companies do not fear the potential for
increased legislation.
5. Technological forces. A major emerging technological trend involves personal
information managers (PIMs), or personal digital assistants (PDAs). A PDA is a
handheld device, similar in size to a large calculator, that can store a wide variety
of information, including personal notes, addresses, and a calendar. Some
PDAs even have the ability to fax letters via microwave communication. As this
trend continues, current