Marketing Plan II

Marketing Plan
Drones are unmanned flying robots that can be programmed to do anything from survey crops or wildlife to delivering vaccines to remote villages in Africa (Thompson, 2013). They will be the wave of the future, not only for defense, but in other areas as well. There is a market out there for drone manufacturers and that is why Dealing in Drones (DID) was started. DID is a small company of 50 employees that are the best at what they do. DID manufactures drones as well as the software that allows someone to manage the drones. The primary mission is to provide clients with fast, efficient and high-quality drone machinery and software that will revolutionize the way they function as a company. DID currently only offers one model of its drone, and are in the process of adding two more drones to its product base. The current model is called Racer and it is a life-sized robot that can be controlled remotely and is able to respond to electronic commands through pre-programmed responses. DID’s trademark logo of a silver D enclosed within a black circle can be found on the chest of each robot. The robot is all silver, it is shaped like a human being and has all the features that humans do. Racer does not come in any packaging; it is shipped to customers using a freight company. It may not come with any packaging, but it does come with a complete user manual as well as a video that details the many uses of the drone. The video shows the drone in action and it can be helpful in providing ideas to on what it can be used for to companies that may have only bought the drone for one purpose. The user manual is important because it explains in detail how to operate the drone safely and efficiently. DID wants to revolutionize the way its customers run their business, but DID needs them to be safe in their use of the drone. These robots contain many components and a software program that can be damaged if the drones are not stored at the right temperature and/or operated correctly.
Target Market
Having a target market is an important part of a company’s marketing plan. A target market is a specific group of customers on whom an organization focuses its marketing efforts (Pride, William & Ferrel, 2013). Selecting a target market allows a company to create a marketing mix that is aimed at satisfying the need of that market. A marketing mix involves the marketing activities (product, pricing, distribution, and promotion) that a firm can control to meet the need of its target customers (Pride, William and Ferrel, 2013). Currently, DID’s target market is the government. DID’s strength is its product; drones will become a necessity for government and private sectors. The government is a large part of any country and it is a great way for DID to build a solid customer base. DID does not have any competitors in the drone market. There are lots of start-up companies that are trying to break into the business, but they have not been successful. The drones are a good fit for government agencies because they can be used for peace or war. Drones can be used in various situations such as in agriculture to help water farms, they can be used in times of war to reduce human casualty, they can be used in helping to police the country, and they can be used in times of disasters to bring aid to people. Governments operate on a budget and helping to reduce spending is something they are always conscious of. Drones will allow them to reduce spending and allocate the money saved to other needs that they government may have.
Pricing Strategy Finding the right pricing strategy is crucial to the success of a business; it is one of the fundamental components of the process of setting prices. A pricing strategy is an approach or course of action designed to achieve pricing and marketing objectives. The first step in developing a pricing strategy is to develop pricing objectives (Pride, William &