Letting People Know... How to Efficiently Market a Product: Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

Abstract

Over the course of the last four months, from June 2010 to September 2010, I conducted a marketing and research internship with my dad's newly emerging company, Waste Water Heat Transfer Systems, also known as 'W2HTS'. Accordingly, this essay will examine both my experiences working with W2HTS as well as incorporate specific marketing theories as they relate to the economic and business world of marketing a product. The underlying goal behind the research associated with this essay was to answer marketing based questions that I asked myself throughout my internship experiences. This essay is divided into three main sections. The first section is a brief introduction about my project, which includes my thesis and underlying motivation for studying this particular topic. The second section is an experiential description that illustrates my involvement with W2HTS as well as how this internship experience helped me select a topic for my independent research. The third and final section consists of a connections essay that depicts specific marketing theories relevant to my summer internship. Through my research, I have come to find that the best way to effectively market any product whether it is new or old is to first develop a sound marketing strategy. Sound in the sense that it combines key characteristics such as product development, promotion, distribution, and pricing strategy, identifies specific marketing goals, all while explaining how it is these goals will be achieved within a stated period of time. One must then scope out the market, through analysis and various forms of market research to identify the customer needs and how it is that they intend to fulfill them, all while still making sufficient profit. This is done through the development of a sound marketing plan; one where specific actions are mapped out to not only let you know how you're going to get there, but to describe how you will achieve the goals outlined in your marketing strategy. Developing concrete marketing techniques, as in any other startup company, is a very important aspect of spreading our word about 'Heat Wave' and Waste Water Heat Transfer Systems in general. So far we have accomplished this by developing a sound marketing strategy and marketing plan. One of our most applicable forms of marketing we plan on using is our informational/sales website which is in its final stages and will be up on the internet shortly.