Personal Marketing Plan - Academic Assignment - Top Grade Papers

Personal-Marketing Plan Understanding & Developing one’s Own Brand

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Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Situational Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Personal Life Cycle .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Introduction: Year 1-2 ..................................................................................................................................................... 5

Growth: Year 3-5 ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

Maturity: Year 7 .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Decline: Year 30 and beyond .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Audience Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Competition Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 7

Marketing Analysis .................................................................................................................................................................. 7

The 4 Ps of My Personal Marketing Plan ............................................................................................................................ 7

Person ............................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Pricing .............................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Placement ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Promotion ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Segmentation of the Target Audience ................................................................................................................................ 8

Positioning Statement ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

Goals & Objectives .............................................................................................................................................................. 9

Integrated Marketing Plan ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

Awareness ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Adoption ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Retention ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................ 10

Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Strengths ............................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Weaknesses .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Opportunities ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Threats .................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

References ............................................................................................................................................................................ 12



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Abstract

No matter what background one has, there is always at least one point in life where one has to take a decisive

position as to what one wishes to do for one’s future. This becomes especially important when one is to start off

with one’s professional career. Such decisions may not give result exactly as expected by the person but

planning about them well in advance certainly does hold an advantage.

This report represents the path that I wish to take for my career or my future following graduating with an

MBA. With an emphasis on my strengths and weaknesses especially those that differentiate me from my

competing fellows and are important to my line, I have tried not only to see which line I would personally

prefer to pursue but also the one which is more in congruence with my skill set.

The major intent, however, is not to select a career path but rather to develop a marketing plan for my personal

brand using systematic methods commonly used in regular commercial marketing as well. As a result, I have

been able to know about my own interest as well as of the skills that I possess and those that I would need to

develop based on who my target audience would be and what goals I have set in relation to my long term

objectives.

For this, I have analyzed a list of my strengths and weaknesses to see which field interests me most and how I

would be able to attain my defined goals and objective. In any case, commitment, perseverance and hard work,

is what is essential, especially for the field that I am willing to chose in the long term- the development of a

social entrepreneurial venture that can help women in the underdeveloped countries to prosper both

economically and socially.



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Personal Branding

Situational Analysis

My name is ABC and I am a Saudi national. I am currently enrolled in MBA with minors in Finance. However,

my interest also lies in marketing which, in my view, is a field that can employ quantitative as well as

qualitative skills. Throughout my student life, I have been appreciated for my interpersonal and communication

skills. For this reason, I have done well in most of the academic presentations and have been an active

participant in the co-curricular activities as well.

As a candidate for my MBA degree, I have been through various presentations both at the academic and at the

professional level. The professional presentations have been mostly linked to the volunteer work that I have

done for certain organizations on their corporate events. The reason, I feel this has played an important part in

shaping my personality as a business graduate is that in a presentation, one essentially needs to have such focus

and clarity of thought that allows one to logically arrange information and arguments as well as communicate

those in a fashion that interests the audience. Besides this, my active participation and membership in student

clubs and societies at the university have enabled me to understand the importance of coherent team work for

the success of the assigned tasks. Doing so also helped me improving my confidence while communicating with

the professionals and executives attending various events arranged by the respective societies thereby letting me

understand the essentials of formal corporate communication.

The world economy is undergoing recession at this time and the job market has seen a slump too such that even

the best of the candidates in terms of the qualifications, skills and abilities are not being paid very high. Yet,

even by the industry standards, I am expecting to be paid close to a higher pay scale. This is because of my

drive for goal achievement and my focus on the assigned tasks. My additional time management skills that I

have been able to show during the academic examinations and other related tasks such as projects and

assignments, I shall be putting my best efforts in meeting the professional deadlines as well. Starting from a

base pay of at least $ xxxx I plan to raise my basic salary by 5% per year. And this, I would like to achieve

based on my performance. After completing my degree, however, I shall return to my homeland and continue

my career there onwards.



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My long term plans are however, not linked to employment in somebody else’s business. Within the coming 6

to 7 years, I would like to set up with my own entrepreneurial venture that can also contribute to the social well

being of the women in underdeveloped countries. I would I have been making efforts such as conducting

informal market research to understand the suitability of my business idea for this purpose. The entrance into

the job market is intended mainly for developing my skills and learning the major tactics of practical marketing.

In order to further my objectives, my personal life cycle follows this section.

Personal Life Cycle

Introduction: Year 1-2

In essence, the introduction of my personal brand has already begun through the volunteer efforts in event

management and corporate presentations that I have been associated with, for various organizations. Apart from

this, the internships that I have done have played a vital role in introducing my personal brand and its value to

some employers. However, I will formally begin near the hiring term that begins towards the end of my degree

program. My aim would be to explain my motivation for work that requires strategic thinking as well as

physical hard work and commitment.

Growth: Year 3-5

Within 3 years of my working with a company (or companies), while I fulfill the responsibilities to the position

hired for, I shall be continuously and simultaneously doing further research and efforts for my entrepreneurial

venture. Meanwhile, I shall be working to increase my salary by 5% annually. This would allow me to

accumulate at least some funds to start off with my venture. This would be easier as I do not have my own

family as of now and can delay it till next 6-7 years.

Maturity: Year 7

By this stage of my personal life cycle, my goal is to have arranged for at least 50% of finances for my

entrepreneurial venture and to have reached a senior management at whichever organization I am working at

that point in time. Mainly, reaching the managerial position would help me build investor confidence in my

personal venture. By this time, I also plan to have developed considerable of networking to help me with



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necessary references for the venture. By the end of 6 years, I would get married as well and would continue

working on my personal project alongside fulfilling my job responsibilities.

Decline: Year 30 and beyond

30-35 years down the lane, I hope to have generated enough revenues and profits that would enable long term

sustenance of my personal entrepreneurial venture. Once I’m confident of this level of the business I would

hand over its running to my professional management in order to ensure that it continues in the long run as a

successful business. Doing so, I would take a leave from participation in the management and a year later would

write on how business can contribute to social well being as well as creating profits.

Audience Analysis

It is quite obvious that working as an employee, for me, is just a route to fulfilling my personal dream of

running an entrepreneurial venture that can contribute to the social good. In order for this to happen, firstly, I

must get to high profile companies that would enable me in building my brand value as well; just as any other

product brand would do through a celebrity endorsement. Irrespective of the industry, I shall look more closely

for a career in companies such as Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Unilever etc. However, in my case, because the

goals are two stage, the audience would be defined at two levels as well. At the second level, for my

entrepreneurial venture, the target audience would primarily be venture capitalists and funding firms that would

invest in my business.

However, any funding firm would need a very strong business proposition to fund my project. Furthermore,

what VCs and funding firms look for is an adequate rate of return on investment. For this reason, I plan to sell

abroad what the women involved in the venture would produce as a part of my team. This way, not only would

I be able to provide to them an adequate of salary for living but would also be able to ensure a certain level of

profits and ROI. With reference to my workforce however, another level of audience, I would need to build

trust with the women in the rural areas towards whose betterment I would be working. This I would do by

working in collaboration with local NGOs that are well acquainted with these women, who in turn are

comfortable trusting them. This would also allow me to monitor their work performance while I am away in my

own country. Later, once we have established a good rapport, I shall communicate personally and through my

other staff members, which, by then, I expect to have added within one year of the business running properly.

Yet, I have done a SWOT analysis of my own self to evaluate whether or not my defined lines of action are

aligned with my capabilities (Appendix 1).



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Competition Analysis

In the beginning, right after my graduation, the first competition that I would face would be from the other

MBA graduates graduating in Saudi Arabia. However, because of a foreign degree from a reputed university

would mitigate the impact of this factor. Furthermore, the experience that I have had through internships and

volunteer work with various organizations would certain give me an edge over those just coming out of college.

I must keep in mind, however, that amongst the MBAs would be those graduates as well who have years long of

experience to their backing. This would be tougher a challenge to deal with and I would need to demonstrate my

skills and abilities working harder than normal even during the employment assessment stages. I might have to

settle for a lower pay but high enough that does not damage my long term brand image. One of my class mates,

who belongs to my country, too has not expressed his plans of returning to the home country. If he does, then

directly, he would be a competing force too although he does not have much experience of team work or

individual professional work.

My performance in the interview and any related assessment tasks would be an important factor especially with

the more skilled and professionally experienced MBAs in the market. If only I am able to deliver value, lets say,

at 5% less than what they would charge, I might be able to get through with this issue as well

Marketing Analysis

The 4 Ps of My Personal Marketing Plan

The four Ps of my personal marketing plan are:

Person

As with any other brand, the main item is the product on offer. With a personal brand, the item would be

myself. My strengths and weaknesses can be seen from the brief SWOT that I have put in the appendix. Along

with that, my personal life cycle reveals that the introduction of my brand begun from the very point that I

started with internships and volunteer work with organizations.



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My career would begin by serving as an employee of a well reputed, preferably multinational, organization

followed by setting up of my personal entrepreneurial venture, which would achieve the objective of social well

being of women in the developing countries.

Pricing

As mentioned earlier, my personal brand would not be priced at a premium primarily because of the current

recession and issues in the job market relating to this. I would start off with a base salary of $XXXX and plan

to increase it by 5% annually.

Placement

As I would be returning to my homeland Saudi Arabia for my career goals, that is where my brand would be

placed. After that, once I have the necessary funds for my entrepreneurial venture, the place would be an

underdeveloped country; preferably an Asian underdeveloped country.

Promotion

My main action plan with respect to promoting myself would be through the performance at work. For my

future plans about the entrepreneurial venture, I shall be bloating my idea and, indirectly, my abilities to manage

it well, to the VCs and venture capital firms through a one to one presentation. This would have been personal

selling in case of a product brand. For a better ability to manage the venture, I shall stay constantly in touch

with the local NGOs of the target developing country through emails, their periodic publications and

developments at my end in this regard.

Segmentation of the Target Audience

My target audience for the first level of achievements, employment would be segmented on the basis of

geographic location, scale of operations and popularity. Further, for my entrepreneurial venture, I shall be

segmenting the market on the basis demographics and psychographics. My focus for this purpose would be on

especially less privileged women of the rural areas of the developing countries under consideration who have

poor living conditions, have skills to help earn a living but have to thrive on the husband’s/father’s income for

support for survival due to cultural hindrances.



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Positioning Statement

In order to represent my goals, I have the following positioning statement

‘ I am an entrepreneur by nature that can has the ability to create a new business in the market as well as

contribute to the higher social good. For this, I have the commitment, the drive and the necessary skills tha

would allow me to work in collaboration with non-government organizations and create value for the deprived

women of the third world countries’

Goals & Objectives

In the short term I am looking for a job that can allow me to accumulate some funds as well as earn a reputation

that would later help me with establishing my own business and sustain it through strong business networks that

I plan to develop throughout my tenure as an employee. My basic objective out of running this social

entrepreneurship business is providing value to my customers as well as my employees who are otherwise

members of societies that do not allow them to prosper and live a free life as women in other countries can. By

doing so, I also wish to prove that one if talent is explored and utilized properly, one can run profitable

businesses no matter what the origin. Also, I shall be interested in showing and enhancing my managerial skills

at a larger level by doing so.

Integrated Marketing Plan

The integrated marketing plan from my personal brand would be based on the following three stages

Awareness

The major chunk of my spending would be allocated to, firstly, to creating awareness about the need to create

such businesses that, apart from generating numerical returns, can also create value that has a social impact as

well. I would be conducting research for this purpose and presenting these facts to the VCs and organizations

supporting entrepreneurial activity in underdeveloped countries. One of these could be the government as well.



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I shall also make use of online blogs, social networking media and print media to add to the public knowledge

in this regard so that I may also activate at least the youth of my country for achieving the goal.

Adoption

Once there are supporting facts with me as to how development of these women as my fellow entrepreneurs

contribute to the GDP of their own countries, to their personal well being and a direct impact on the poverty

levels at least in that particular region, there is high likelihood that I would be able to secure enough funds to

finance the initiation of my entrepreneurial venture. There onwards, I shall be working to exceed the ROI based

expectations of the of the funding organizations and to continue creating further awareness in order to gather

more support so that I am able to increase my team working on the project as well.

Retention

One of the major risks involved in running the sort of business I am envisaging is the difficulty of retaining my

employees, the operational workers since this work would require commitment and hard work greater than that

expected even from an ordinary company. The reason is that the return to the employees is lesser comparative

to the input given by them. In order to mitigate the impact of such issues, my business would sell the products

produced in the underdeveloped countries abroad as well. This would allow generation of higher profits since

the cost of production would be relatively lower and the price comparatively much higher than what they

women must have gotten if they sold the product in their local markets and by themselves. An example could be

the Indian jewelry that sells at premium prices outside the country but much cheaper in the smaller local

markets. When the salaries and returns are higher than usually acceptable levels, it would be easier to retain

employees. As a result, the happy employees would put in more effort to maximize the return to the investors as

well.

Conclusion

Personal branding is just as important and difficult as any other product brand. One must very carefully

understand one’s strengths and weaknesses in order to take advantage of the existent opportunities and to avoid

the prevalent threats. My personal branding would be focused on attracting a suitable high value employment in

the initial years and later at gaining the confidence of investors for my social entrepreneurial venture. However,

one must remember that one has to be passionate about a certain field or goal in order to work effectively

towards achieving the objectives and excelling in them. Only this, when combined with a careful match of one’s

strengths and abilities, can yield the expected results.



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Appendix 1

My Personal SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Target oriented

Good interpersonal & communication

skills

Experience working with organizations,

although as a volunteer

Finance as minors along with a separate

majors

Team player

Multitasking and time management

abilities

Weaknesses

Impatient about results at times

No experience with handling meetings

with VCs

While targeting goals, I often become

over worked which may lead to stress

Not many connections in any of the

developing countries targeted for the

entrepreneurial venture

Opportunities

Hiring season would be around by the

last semester that I would be

graduating in

Unemployed worker potential in the

developing countries

Developing countries are supporting

entrepreneurship

Low cost production in developing

countries and higher relative price

selling in foreign markets would enable

ensuring suitable ROI and good salary

for workers

Threats

Saudi Arab may not offer as many

opportunities as my study country

The cultural norms of the work force’s

country might hamper goals

Political and security conditions in

some of the developing countries

Recovery from the current recession

might make VCs more stringent in their

investment decisions



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References

Wedel, M., Kamakura, W. (2003). Market segmentation; Conceptual & methodological foundations

Kotler, P., Armstrong, G. (2008). Principles of Marketing

Kurtz, D.( 2009). Contemporary Marketing

Baker, M. (2003). The Marketing Book

Shah, U., Iqbal, S., Malik, M., Siddiqui, F. (2009). Entrepreneurship development in developing

countries

Fleisher, C., Bensoussan, B. (2008). Business and competitive analysis; Effective application of new and

classic methods

Ferrel, O., Hartline, M. (2007). Marketing Strategy



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