Marketing Series: A Brief Explanation of Marketing Plan and Strategy

 Overview

In this topic, we look at designing customer-driven marketing strategies and constructing marketing programs. First, we look at the organisation's overall strategic planning, which guides marketing strategy and planning. Next, we discuss how marketing partners closely with others inside and outside the firm to create value for customers. We then examine marketing strategy and planning—how marketers choose target markets, position their market offerings, develop a marketing mix, and manage their marketing programs. 

 

COMPANY-WIDE STRATEGIC PLANNING: DEFINING MARKETING’S ROLE

Strategic planning is the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s goals and capabilities and its changing market opportunities. Strategic planning sets the stage for the rest of the planning in the firm. Companies typically prepare annual plans, long-range plans, and strategic plans.

At the corporate level, the company starts the strategic planning process by defining its overall purpose and mission.  It then creates detailed supporting objectives that guide the entire company. Next, the headquarters reviews the portfolio of businesses and products that is best for the company and how much support to give each one. In turn, each business and product develop detailed marketing and other departmental plans that support the company-wide plan. Thus, marketing planning occurs at the business unit, product, and market levels. 

• Defining a Market-Oriented Mission 

  Many organisations develop formal mission statements. A mission statement is a statement of the organisation’s purpose—what it wants to accomplish in the larger environment. A clear mission statement acts as an “invisible hand” that guides people in the organisation. A market-oriented mission statement defines the business in terms of satisfying basic customer needs. Management should avoid making its mission too narrow or too broad. Missions should be realistic, specific, fit the market environment, based on the company’s distinctive competencies, and motivating. Setting Company Objectives and Goals 

• The company’s mission needs to be turned into detailed supporting objectives for each level of management. The mission leads to a hierarchy of objectives, including business objectives and marketing objectives. Marketing strategies and programs must be developed to support these marketing objectives. 

 

MARKETING STRATEGY AND THE MARKETING MIX

Marketing strategy is the marketing logic by which the company hopes to achieve these profitable relationships. Companies know that they cannot profitably serve all consumers in a given market—at least not all consumers in the same way. Hence, a customer-driven marketing strategy is needed.

Lesson: Overview of Marketing Strategy (Duration: 5.11)

 

Developing an Integrated Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is the set of tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. Product means the goods-and-services combination the company offers to the target market.

• Price is the number of money customers must pay to obtain the product.

• Place includes company activities that make the product available to target consumers.

• Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it.

An effective marketing program blends all of the marketing mix elements into a coordinated program designed to achieve the company’s marketing objectives by delivering value to consumers. Some critics feel that the four Ps may omit or under-emphasize certain important activities. From the buyer’s viewpoint, in this age of customer relationships, the four Ps might be better described as the four Cs:

• Customer solution 

• Customer cost 

• Convenience 

• Communication

MANAGING THE MARKETING EFFORTManaging the marketing process requires four marketing management functions:

• Analysis

• Planning

• Implementation

• Control

 

The Nature and Contents of Marketing Plans

Working within the plans set by the levels above them, product managers come up with a marketing plan for individual products, lines, brands, channels, or customer groups. 

Each product level (product line, brand) must develop a marketing plan for achieving its goals. A marketing plan is a written document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about the marketplace and indicates how the firm plans to reach its marketing objectives. 

Marketing plans are becoming more customer and competitor orientated. The plan draws more input from all the business functions and is team-developed.

1. Contents of the marketing plan:
   1. 1. Executive summary and table of contents.
      2. Situation analysis.
      3. Marketing strategy.
      4. Financial projections.
      5. Implementation controls.