3.4.3 – Marketing Plan
Standard: The agency shall have an established marketing plan, based on market research that is evaluated periodically for effectiveness. The fundamental principle of marketing is to gain an understanding of customer needs, wants, concerns and behaviors. The marketing plan addresses the appropriate mix of communications tools to promote agency programs, facilities, events and services and to provide accurate, timely and useful information to the various segments of the target audience.
Suggested Evidence of Compliance: Provide the plan and latest evaluation. The plan shall include:
a. Marketing objectives;
b. Situation assessment, to include:
a. Examination of demographic trends
b. Economic climate
c. Market coverage by alternative providers;
d. Segmentation, targeting, and positioning;
e. Marketing mix;
f. Marketing methods
g. Evaluation criteria and methods.
Research is important to support segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Common evaluation methods include surveys, focus groups, customer comment cards, and mystery shopping.
COMMENT: Under Situation assessment, how are the demographics identified?
RESPONSE: The demographics of our constituents are identified in two primary ways, via surveys and social media, which is explained below and has been added to the Marketing Plan, which is labeled as EOC 1R PRC Marketing Plan.
Within these surveys, responders also provide the following information: location, number of people living in household, age range of everyone in household, age of the person filling out the survey, gender, total household income, and race/ethnicity.
Through targeted social media ads on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, we are able to dive deeper into the demographics of our constituents. Demographics these platforms are able to identify include: age, gender, interests, and location.
COMMENT: Additional examples of segmentation, targeting and positioning?
RESPONSE: Additional examples of segmentation, targeting and positioning are explained below and have been added to the Marketing Plan, which is labeled as EOC 1R PRC Marketing Plan.
Additional free recreation programming is offered in lower Westchester including an annual music festival and fireworks display commemorating the 4th of July, as well as, summer concerts and family-friendly outdoor movies. Sophisticated, paid programming, including farmer’s markets, community gardens and educational children’s exhibits, are offered in northern Westchester County to serve a more affluent population.
COMMENT: Under the Marketing Mix section on pages 2 and 3, it looks like the formatting of the bulleted list may need to be corrected.
RESPONSE: The bulleted list under the Marketing Mix section on pages 2 and 3 has been corrected in the Marketing Plan, which is labeled as EOC 1R PRC Marketing Plan.
COMMENT: The narrative indicates the Marketing Plan is reviewed by the First Deputy Commissioner and updated annually. Meeting minutes or other EOC for the evaluation?
RESPONSE: The Director of Program Development II (Community Relations) presented the Marketing Plan to the First Deputy Commissioner and senior management at the November 2023 Management Meeting and the meeting minutes are included as EOC 5. The revised Marketing Plan was reviewed by the First Deputy Commissioner on April 18, 2024 and will be presented by the Director of Program Development II (Community Relations) to senior management at the next scheduled Management Meeting on May 9, 2024.
REVISED AGENCY EVIDENCE OF COMPLIANCE:
Narrative:
The established PRC Marketing Plan is based on research and evaluated periodically for effectiveness of customer needs, wants, concerns and behaviors. It includes a combination of overall strategies as well as specific information for certain targeted groups and facilities. The current version is steered by the latest information available including details and results from the 2022 Residents Recreation Preferences Survey. The Marketing Plan is reviewed by the First Deputy Commissioner and updated annually.