Marketing
Planning
Introduction: All businesses, from the large corporation to the solely-owned
and operated small business, need a plan to direct their future actions and
make the most of scarce marketing resources. Effective planning is the only way
to assure that the businesses are making the most use of the resources that
they commit to marketing.
Marketing Plan:
It is the guide, much
like a blue print guides a builder or a chart guides a pilot. It shows where
the business is now, where it wants to end up, and a route to get the business
to that destination.
A marketing plan has
three major sections-
-
A situation
alanysis: It describes the current business
environment. It answers the questions- “Where are we?” and “Where are we going?”.
Through answering this questions decision makers identify and examine factors
that affect the business.
-
An objective
section: It answers the questions- “What do
we want to do?”. Priorities must be established to direct the allocation of
personnel, effort and resources.
-
A strategy and
action plan: It outlines the
marketing strategies that will be implemented and the specific actions that
will be needed to implement those strategies and accomplish each objective.
Answering the questions- “How do the business get where it wants to go?”; “When
do the business want to arrive?”; “Who is responsible?” and “How much will it
cost?”
Figure: Marketing Plan
Need of Marketing Plan:
Planning forces decision
makers to identify the firm’s strengths and weaknesses, and opportunities and threats.
As a result, the manager
is in a position to capitalise on the identified strengths and address the
weaknesses. Developing a plan forces a manager to develop direction and
objectives for the business to accomplish. They need to priorities to
accomplish and track the activities. A marketing plan helps focus team efforts
and specific tactics to be followed, including:
-
What strategies will be
implemented ?
-
Who is responsible for
various tasks ?
-
When each task should be
completed ?
-
What resources will be
needed to complete the task ?
Failure of Plan (Causes):
-
Lack of an Adequate
Situation Analysis: It is an on-going
activity, not something reserved just for planning time. So, it would always be
updated.
-
Unrealistic
objectives: Business should not
underestimate or over estimate their objectives or goals.
-
Not enough details: The business objectives may be fine but the strategy and the
steps to implement it may not be complete.
-
Status Quo: Strategies are the same as last year, yet expecting different
results.
-
Plan is not
implemented: Often plan is written
and placed in a file. Without action, planning is waste of time.
-
Unanticipated
competitor actions: Business should
keep enough flexibility to adjust their plan and budget.
-
Progress is not evaluated: The only way to fine tune a plan is to evaluate what works and
what does not.
Bibliography:
Green, G. and Williams, J. (1996), Marketing: Mastering Your Small
Business, USA: Upstart Publishing Company.
No comments:
Post a Comment