Developing a marketing plan

Dal Cheema - Nexia International

Agenda

• what is a marketing plan?• planning process• step by step guide• converting theory into practice• requirements• why plans fail

What is a marketing plan?

• blue print document that provides a systematic, interconnected, logical step-by-step process for achieving marketing objectives

• specifies what should be done today to achieve goals ahead– road map for desired destination

Reasons for creating a marketing plan

• greater discipline in the planning process• strategic direction for an organisation or business

unit• communicate marketing priorities• action plan for marketing-related activities• formal record of marketing-related decisions• create dialogue with senior management• obtain buy-in from other parts of the organisation• request budget and internal resources

Benefits of a developing a marketing plan

• identify your target market• think about both short and long-term marketing

strategies• looks at your business as a whole and ties together

marketing objectives• allocates limited resources to create the greatest return• develops a guide to measure progress and outcome• clarifies who does what, when, with what marketing

tools

What should a marketing plan achieve?

• help increase sales • identify and attract new customers • improve relationships with existing customers• introduce a new product or service • increase market share • better establish your brand • promote knowledge about your firm• improve customer loyalty

Connection of the marketing plan with a corporate plan

• many types of plans in organisations:– strategic corporate plans address the entire

organisation. It emanates from the corporate vision of a firm

– business unit plans address the requirements of specific business units

– functional plans such as operations, logistics, HR, financial, production and marketing support the achievement of broader objectives in corporate plans

Connection of the marketing plan with a corporate plan

• corporate objectives should be in line with the vision and mission of the company

• marketing plan stems from the corporate objectives• marketing plan is a tool to achieve corporate

objectives• marketing plan has a cyclic

character

Marketing plan process

Where are we now?

Where do we want to be?

How do we get there?

How do we ensure arrival?

Did we get there?

Marketing plan steps

Step one: Situation analysis

Step two: Marketing objectives

Step three: Marketing

strategy and tactics

Step four:Implementation evaluation and

control

Situation analysis

• before anything is planned, firms need to understand where it stands now in relation to its internal and external environment

• achieved through reviewing your– internal operations (internal analysis)– industry and environment (external analysis)– market– competition

Situation analysis

• internal environment (strengths and weaknesses)– financial– managerial– marketing– production– human resources– information technology

Internal operations (internal analysis)

Situation analysis

• external environment (opportunities and threats)– understanding the industry you are in– status of that industry in terms of its position in

the marketplace– history of that industry– its current challenges – potential for future growth

Industry and environment (external analysis)

Situation analysis

Strengths Opportunities

Weaknesses Threats

SWOT analysis

Situation analysis

Political

Economical

Social

Technological

Legal

Environmental

PESTLE analysis

Situation analysis

• group of people (market) who have purchased or are likely to purchase the services you have to offer

• understanding the unique attributes and characteristics of the market or market segments you are targeting will help you to develop messages that are meaningful, relevant and likely to impact behavior

Market

Situation analysis

• determine how your organisation is doing relative to its competitors

• consider a number of factors including: – sales and profit figures– price– product and customer service attributes– market position

• explore your competition’s strengths and weaknesses to determine how you might position your own services, to compete most effectively

Competition

Situation analysis

Competitive rivalry

New entrants

Bargaining power of

customers

Substitute/ alternative

Bargaining power of suppliers

Porters Five Forces

Situation analysis

• Secondary research– internet/websites– reports/publications/databases

• Primary research– talking to individuals or departments within your firm – having brainstorming sessions– focus groups to help gain responses– organising a survey or questionnaire

Methods of research

Marketing objectives

• research conducted at the situation analysis stage will help you to determine marketing objectives

• objectives provide a clear sense of direction (where do we want to be)– help to stimulate effort of individuals to achieve

targets because they give direction and focus• provide the basis for control in an organisation• unless you know what is required, it is difficult to

know the extent to which it has been achieved

Marketing objectives

• Specific: state exactly what it is you wish to achieve• Measurable: quantifiable objective lets you know if

you have hit your target• Achievable: should be realistic• Relevant: should be in line with the

corporate objectives• Time frame: deadlines and periods

for achieving objectives should be stated.

SMART objectives

Marketing strategy and tactics

• marketing strategy and tactics entail how individual marketing objectives will be reached– while the marketing objectives are SMART,

marketing strategies and tactics are descriptive as they go into detail on how objectives are achieved

• strategies are broad statements of activity (long term)

• tactics are more specific statements of activity that are actionable (short term actions)

Marketing strategy and tactics

• for example, looking at the marketing objective of increasing brand awareness– strategy might be to educate target audiences

(identified segments) on what your firm does, USPs and how you differ from competition

– tactics may include attending or sponsoring specific exhibitions attended by target audiences, advertising in relevant publications and websites etc.

Marketing strategy and tactics

• when developing strategy and tactics, you will need to consider and incorporate the following elements of the marketing mix:– product– price– people– promotion– place– positioning

Marketing strategy and tactics

• depending on the size of your organisation and resource availability, you could divide your marketing strategy and tactics into the following sub categories:– communication strategy– PR strategy– digital strategy incorporating a social media strategy– brand strategy– advertising/promotional strategy

Marketing implementation

• develop an action/operational plan covering a specific period (year) which outlines the prioritised activities which you will undertake in that time period to achieve your objectives

• it should include:– which marketing objective the activity meets– the outputs of each activity– resource and cost requirements – responsibility for each activity– timescales for completing the activity– measurements of return for each activity

Marketing evaluation and control

• marketing plan should be a “living document”

• use a marketing committee or regular meetings with the individuals responsible to ensure implementation

• you will need to determine how you will monitor and evaluate marketing plan activities– how often will you review and look for updates– what are the processes required to make any changes

in the plan

Marketing control process

Marketing plan • objectives• strategies and tactics• action plans

Collate performance/measurements details

Set performance indicators/ measurements

Compare performance

Yes

Continue

Corrective action

Deviation

No

Converting theory into practice

• situation analysis: – newly introduced tax regulation affecting the

tourism industry • marketing objectives:– provide new service offering to existing client base

(up sell) – travel agents– target 2-3 new prospects in this segment to whom

you can provide this new service

Converting theory into practice

• marketing strategy:– educate existing clients/prospects in this sector on

how this new regulation will impact them and what they need to consider

• marketing tactics:– run workshop– send newsletter via direct mail– advertise in relevant publications/websites– speak at exhibitions/events attended by targets

Converting theory into practice

• implementation, evaluation and control:– develop a 6-12 month operational plan with all

the activities stated above and include responsibility, costs and measurement (hits/traffic to website, number of leads etc) for each activity

Requirements for producing a marketing plan

• plan must be clear, quantified, focused, realistic and agreed

• allocate appropriate resources and budget• ensure you have internal and senior level commitment• invest time in conducting

the required research• firm wide initiative• review the plan regularly and

make required updates• if required get help

Why marketing plans fail?

• plan is prepared too quickly• data is not used effectively in the marketing planning

process• external impacts are overlooked• objectives are unrealistic• ability to implement is absent• no commitment to the plan• lack of accountability.

Why plans fail?

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”

Any questions?