The Strategic Marketing Team

The Strategic Marketing Plan Part One

Category and Frame of Reference

It’s a big world out there

Marketing efforts can get lost

A good marketing plan, like all good plans, starts with a map.

You need direction and focus

Where do you start?

In order to construct a map, you need to know the terrain

(your industry) and surrounding wildlife

(competitors).

This is where your marketing research starts to pay-off.

Indeed, the first section of a strategic marketing plan involves researching the

competitors and your organization

Applying the Research

The strategic frame of reference portion of a strategic marketing plan serves as the foundation – the foundation of your map.

It is at this point that the external and internal forces related to the company or specific brand is illustrated and recorded. Don’t worry too much about the analysis and in-depth review at this point.

Strategic Frame of Reference

A.Historical Reference - What is the history of this market? Who were key players in the past?

Early Adopters/Pioneers

Mass Market/Followers

End of Life

Time

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What stage are you on the product cycle?

Strategic Frame of Reference

B. Current Dynamics - 1. Recent changes in market

share?2. Who are the market leaders?3. Key Players?4. Market Shifts?5. Costs - Pricing6. Competitors – Just a list at this

point

Strategic Frame of ReferenceC. Forecast and Projections - What macro

and micro forces in the target market and economy might improve or challenge your product or service?

The plan

So up to this point, we have laid the framework and foundation for a strategic marketing plan. It should look something like this at this point:

I. Market ResearchA. Category – Frame of Reference

A. HistoricalB. Current

Recent changes in market share?

Who are the market leaders Key Players Market Shifts Costs Pricing Competitors

C. Forecasts and Projections

NextIn Part Two we will cover the relationship between your product and the market: Positioning. Positioning includes among several factors: Compelling Points of Difference and parity, customer and competitive analysis, segmentation, etc.