Marketing plan

Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is a written document that details the necessary actions to achieve one or more marketing objectives. It can be for a product or Service (economics)|service, a brand, or a product line. Marketing plans cover between one and five years.

A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, a marketing plan without a sound strategic foundation is of little use.

The marketing planning process[edit]

The marketing process model based on the publications of Philip Kotler. It consists of 5 steps, beginning with the market & environment research. After fixing the targets and setting the strategies, they will be realised by the marketing mix in step 4. The last step in the process is the marketing controlling.

In most organizations, "strategic planning" is an annual process, typically covering just the year ahead. Occasionally, a few organizations may look at a practical plan which stretches three or more years ahead.

To be most effective, the plan has to be formalized, usually in written form, as a formal "marketing plan." The essence of the process is that it moves from the general to the specific; from the overall objectives of the organization down to the individual Objective (goal)|action plan for a part of one marketing program. It is also an interactive process, so that the draft output of each stage is checked to see what impact it has on the earlier stages - and is amended.

Medium-sized and large organizations[edit]

The main contents of a marketing plan are:^{[citation needed]}

1. Executive Summary
2. Situational Analysis
3. Opportunities / Issue Analysis - SWOT Analysis
4. Objectives
5. Strategy
6. Action Programme (the operational marketing plan itself for the period under review)
7. Financial Forecast
8. Controls

In detail, a complete marketing plan typically includes:^{[citation needed]}

1. Title page
2. Executive Summary
3. Current Situation - environmental scanning|Macroenvironment
   • economy
   • legal
   • government
   • technology
   • ecological
   • sociocultural
   • supply chain
4. Current Situation - industry or market research|Market Analysis
   • market definition
   • market size
   • market segmentation
   • industry structure and strategic groupings
   • Porter 5 forces analysis
   • competition and market share
   • competitor analysis|competitors' strengths and weaknesses
   • market trends
5. Current Situation - Consumer Analysis ^[4]
   • nature of the buying decision
   • participants
   • demographics
   • psychographics
   • buyer motivation and expectations
   • loyalty segments
6. Current Situation - Internal
   • company resources
     • financial
     • people
     • time
     • skills
   • objectives
     • mission statement and vision statement
     • corporate objectives
     • financial objective
     • marketing objectives
     • long term objectives
     • description of the basic business philosophy
   • corporate culture
7. Summary of Situation Analysis
   • external threats
   • external opportunities
   • internal strengths
   • internal weaknesses
   • Critical success factors in the industry
   • our sustainable competitive advantage
8. Marketing research
   • information requirements
   • research methodology
   • research results
9. Marketing Strategy - Product management|Product
   • product line|product mix
   • product strengths and weaknesses
     • perceptual mapping
   • Product Life Cycle Management|product life cycle management and new product development
   • brand|Brand name, brand image, and brand equity
   • the product (business)|augmented product
   • product Product portfolio|portfolio analysis
     • B.C.G. Analysis
     • contribution margin analysis
     • G.E. Multi Factoral analysis
     • Quality Function Deployment
10. Marketing Strategy ^[5] - Market segment|segmented marketing actions and market share objectives
    • by product,
    • by customer segment,
    • by geographical market,
    • by distribution channel.
11. Marketing Strategy - Pricing|Price
    • pricing objectives
    • pricing method (e.g.: cost plus, demand based, or competitor indexing)
    • pricing strategy (e.g.: skimming, or penetration)
    • discounts and allowances
    • price elasticity of demand|price elasticity and customer sensitivity
    • geographical pricing|price zoning
    • break even analysis at various prices
12. Marketing Strategy - promotion (marketing)|promotion
    • promotional goals
    • Promotional_mix|promotional mix
    • advertising reach, frequency, flights, theme, and media
    • sales|sales force requirements, techniques, and management
    • sales promotion
    • publicity and public relations
    • electronic promotion (e.g.: e-marketing|Web, or direct marketing|telephone)
    • word of mouth marketing (buzz)
    • viral marketing
13. Marketing Strategy - Distribution (business)|Distribution
    • geographical coverage
    • distribution channels
    • physical distribution and logistics
    • electronic distribution
14. Implementation
    • personnel requirements
      • assign responsibilities
      • give incentives
      • training on selling methods
    • financial requirements
    • management information systems requirements
    • month-by-month agenda
      • Program Evaluation and Review Technique|PERT or critical path analysis
    • monitoring results and benchmarks
    • adjustment mechanism
    • contingencies (What if's)
15. Financial Summary
    • assumptions
    • pro-forma monthly income statement
    • contribution margin analysis
    • breakeven analysis
    • Monte Carlo methods in finance|Monte Carlo method
    • ISI: Internet Strategic Intelligence
16. Scenarios
    • Prediction of Future Scenarios
    • Plan of Action for each Scenario
17. Appendix
    • pictures and specifications of the new product
    • results from research already completed