Marketing Planning Explained

Marketing Planning

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What is it?

Marketing planning is a roadmap which consists of strategic and tactical (day-to-day) organisational marketing activities that are required to drive your company forward, both efficiently and profitably.

Comprising of evaluating, planning, implementation and control; marketing planning is fundamentally a key business process, covering areas such as;

  • Company objectives and marketing’s role in achieving them.
  • Target audience descriptions for each segment, the associated USP’s and the insights. that led to those USP’s.
  • Movement and management of customers through each of the buying stages throughout the customer lifecycle.
  • Management and implementation of the 7Ps.
  • Customer Relationship Management.
  • Infrastructure requirements including changes to sales practises, database development and understanding of any research required.

When to use it?

  • Marketing planning is used to;
  • Understand the economic and competitive features of a market sector
  • Identify target markets
  • Identify segments within a target market
  • Establish most appropriate strategies
  • Commission, understand and act upon Market Research
  • Understand competitors, their strategies and likely responses
  • Develop new products

What does it achieve?

Well constructed and professional marketing planning will help to clarify the purpose of organisations in terms of; where it currently resides in the minds of the consumer; where it wants to be, how it will be perceived; what does it need to do to get to a suitable position and then evaluate the progress to see if the objectives have been met. Successful Marketing planning achieves;

  • Auditing of customers’ brand experience
  • Establishing environmental scanning for opportunities and threats
  • Understanding of an organisation’s strengths and weaknesses
  • Creation of a sustainable competitive advantage
  • Understanding where a brand needs to be in the future
  • Establishes management information systems to identify progress

Key steps:

Step 1 – Where are we now?

  • Marketing audit
  • Financial /ratio analysis
  • Competitor analysis
  • Customer analysis

Step 2 – Where do we want to be?

  • Mission (Vision, values and purpose)
  • Objectives

Step 3 – How might we get there?

  • Direction of growth
  • Which markets to compete in
  • Which customers to target
  • How to position the offering
  • Nature of growth

Step 4 – Which methods should we use?

  • Marketing Mix
  • Promotional activities
  • Media mix
  • Activity plans, budgets, schedules

Step 5 – How can we ensure arrival?

  • Monitoring and Management controls
  • Measurements
  • Evaluation

Contact us for further information, or help with any of your strategic marketing planning

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