Download - Marketing and Marketing Plan
IntroductionMarketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. (The Chartered Institute of Marketing)McDonald (2007) agrees there is considerable confusion about what marketing is.He suggests that marketing is the process for:• Defining markets• Quantifying the needs of the customer groups
(segments) within these markets• Determining the value proposition to meet these needs
Introduction
• Communicating these value propositions to all those people in the organisation responsible for delivering them, and getting their buy-in to their role
• Playing an appropriate part in delivering these value propositions (usually only communications)
• Monitoring the value actually delivered.• There needs to be a clear distinction between
marketing as an activity or business function and marketing as a concept, often referred to as a marketing orientation
Marketing planning
• Marketing planning is the series of activities that formulate the plans to achieve sustainable competitive advantage for an organisation.
If a marketing orientation is to develop within organisations, attention should be given to each of the following:• Create a customer focus throughout the business• Listen to the customer
Marketing planning
• Target customers precisely• Measure and manage customer expectations• Build customer relationships and loyalty• Commit to continuous improvement• Manage profitability• Manage the marketing culture.
Marketers as planners, strategists and tacticians
Marketers play a key role as strategists within organisations, asking and finding solutions to questions such as:• Which market should we be in?• How should we compete in this market?• How can we embrace new technologies to sustain our
current markets?• What is the best way to deal with the threat of a new
competitor?• How should we address changing consumer needs?The marketing strategist will seek the best way to deploy the resources available.
Marketing in theory and in practice•The theory of marketing is relatively straightforward• customer focus, •co-ordinating resources,• competitive advantage,• planning towards goals• all appear to be sound principles for any business or organisation to adopt.
Marketing in theory and in practice•However the reality of marketing in the dynamic and ever-changing real world, faced with constant international, national and local competitive pressures, is much more difficult. •However, putting it into practice involves a great deal of skill and knowledge, especially when encountering implementation issues in particular marketing contexts.
The synergistic planning process
Synergistic planning is the rational process of determining future actions based on a realistic consideration of the current situation and the outcome that is desired.• Desired outcome• Analysing the current situation• Designing possible routes• Deciding what to do and how to do it.
The stages of the marketing planning process:, analysis, planning, implementation and control
• Analysis: This covers the analysis of the marketing environment, both macro and micro, the industry, markets and competitor analysis
• Planning: This covers formulation of strategies and marketing programmes with the identification of resources and timing
• Implementation: This covers the practical execution of the plan, with any changes required to achieve this
• Control: This covers monitoring against planned targets, control mechanisms and performance metrics.
Outcomes of planning and plans
The outcomes of planning and the marketing plan are:
• A vision for the future of the organisation• A mission to communicate• Organisational objectives covering a range of
time periods• Objectives for each of the functional areas of
the organisation.
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• So what does the strategic marketing plan look like?
• The content, structure, detail and complexity will vary from organisation to organisation.
• However, strategic plans tend to have common elements and the following components would be expected:
• External analysis
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• Industry analysis• Internal analysis• Opportunity identification• Objective setting• Formulation of strategy• Proposed marketing programmes• Implementation and control.
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• A typical structure for a marketing plan is shown below (adapted from McDonald, 2007):
• 1.0 Executive summary• 1.1 Current position• 1.2 Key issues
• 2.0 Corporate strategy• 2.1 Corporate mission/objectives• 2.2 Summary of overall position and corporate strategy
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• 3.0 External and internal analysis• 3.1 Overview of market• 3.2 Competitor analysis• 3.3 Future trends• 3.4 SWOT
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• 4.0 Marketing objectives• 4.1 Financial objectives• 4.2 Marketing objectives
• 5.0 Marketing strategy• 5.1 Market segmentation• 5.2 Competitive advantage• 5.3 Marketing strategy
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• 5.3 Marketing strategy• 5.4 Specific marketing programme 7Ps• Product/Price/Promotion/Place• People/Process/Physical Evidence• (see next)
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• Implementation
• 6.1 Schedule of key tasks• 6.2 Resource allocation• 6.3 Budgets• 6.4 Contingency
Contents of the strategic marketing plan
• 7.0 Control and forecasting• 7.1 Assumptions made in the plan• 7.2 Critical success factors• Benchmarks• Metrics
• 7.3 Financial forecasts• Costs• Revenues
Barriers to planning
McDonald (2007) identifies the following ten principal barriers:
• Confusion over marketing tactics and strategy• Isolating the marketing function from operations• Confusion between the marketing function and
the marketing concept• Organisational barriers – the tribal mentality –
failing to define SBUs correctly