MBA 570: Marketing Plan for Z-Wing

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I addressed all required sections, elaborating on the more important ones.

Z-Wing Marketing Plan

The commercial and military aircraft industry is currently only growing at 5% a year. With two major players (Z-Wing and Janssen) making up 97% of the market, there is little room for mistakes. Z-Wing has been the world's largest aircraft manufacturer for many years now, though the competition with Janssen has been intensifying over the last 10 years.

Innovation will have to be a priority in order for Z-Wing to seize potential business ventures that may come its way and to capitalize on any possible mistakes by Janssen. But, innovation does not necessarily mean creating a new product from scratch. "If you have a real product with a distinctive point of difference that satisfies the needs of customers, you may have a winner" (Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz and Rudelius, 2006). Providing a new way for customers to receive a benefit can easily boost revenue and customer loyalty (especially when dealing with brand names). This marketing plan will out the details and background of Z-Wing and its current situation, while also forecasting potential avenues that should lead to growth and prosperity.

Outlining the Z-Wing marketing plan will include six main target areas: an executive summary, a situational analysis, a marketing strategy, a financial report, information on controls and some background on strategic human resource concepts. We'll start with the executive summary.

Executive Summary
Z-Wing is in the perfect position to increase its market share over Janssen, as it is in the midst of a new product release (In Touch) while it has the ability to implement cross-promotional or buyout maneuvers. Cross-promotional opportunities would allow Z-Wing to work with existing vendors and internal customers, while buyouts and mergers would provide Z-Wing with an expanded customer base and access to additional resources. The following sections highlight the basics necessary for Z-Wing to maintain and then build upon its success.

There is still a bit of research necessary, in order to properly compare and contrast existing competition pro's and con's. But, initial findings are encouraging, due to the past performance of Z-Wing and the programs currently being introduced.

Situation Analysis
Where are we now? Successful businesses often ask that of themselves repeatedly, in order to gauge their success from an internal standpoint and to compare it to others in the industry. For Z-Wing, that question has a handful of answers- "fighting to stay on top", "still number one", and so on. But, the key for future success for Z-Wing is to look at the question in a different way. Rather than focus on where is Z-Wing now, company officials need to grasp the notion that the company is at a crossroads and that decisions made today affect the accomplishments (or failures) of the company tomorrow.

But, to focus on where Z-Wing is headed, a quick review of past successes will certainly point the company in the right direction. "The essence of situation analysis is taking stock of where the firm or product has been recently, where it is now, and where it is headed in terms of the organization's plans and the external factors and trends affecting it" (Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz and Rudelius, 2006).

"Z-Wing is focusing on three major areas to stay ahead in the market: Upgrade existing range of large commercial jets, which will carry more passengers between major international hubs; introduce a small, long-haul jet, which will provide faster point-to-point travel between distant destinations; it is estimated that the commercial aviation support services market will be worth more than $3 trillion over the next 20 years, with annual revenues considerably more than that for the new aircraft market" (rEsource, 2007).

Market Summary
For Z-Wing, as part of the Air Services industry, the outlook appears to be solid, despite the slow 5% growth projection. A peak at the index value for the industry shows a high of over $1,250 and a low of just under $1,190, over the last 5 days (Air Services, 2007). "Z-Wing's customers consist of airlines; maintenance, repair and overhaul operators; governments; and any other owners of Z-Wing aircraft. Between Z-Wing and Janssen, the remaining market share is a puny 3%. There is very little room for movement from smaller stakeholders, which is why Z-Wing is seizing any opportunity to chip away at Janssen's hold on its current 47% market share.

SWOT Analysis
"An effective shorthand summary of the situation analysis is a SWOT analysis, an acronym describing an organization's appraisal of its internal Strengths and Weaknesses and its external Opportunities and Threats" (Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz and Rudelius, 2006). A SWOT analysis is also used to identify actions in marketing plan, which are being outlined throughout. "The SWOT analysis is based on an exhaustive study of the four areas: identifying trends in the firm's industry; analyzing the firm's competitors; assessing the firm itself; researching the firm's present and prospective customers" (Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz and Rudelius, 2006).

For Z-Wing, the trends in the industry have been largely impacted by the airlines that serve as major customers for the manufacturers. Rising fuel costs, security issues and bankruptcies have affected more than just the everyday passenger. The firm's ...