The Marketing Plan
Everything is Possible From
Here!
Major Components
Situation AnalysisProblems and OpportunitiesMarketing ObjectivesMarketing Strategies Implementation Evaluation
The Situational Analysis
A SA is a snapshot in time .. A picture of your company TODAY … you do not address plans, the future, etc. This is an analysis of the current situation!
Situation Analysis
2 primary sections 1) Internal
Considerations – the marketing mix (in your control)– Product– Promotion– Distribution– Price
2) External Considerations (not in the control of the firm)– Marketplace– Competition– Consumers– Demand– Environment
Product
What stage of the PLC are your products/organization?
What is your product mux in terms of the market share/market growth model (BCG)?
What are your products and attributes, competitive advantages?
What is the depth, width and length of your product line?
What is your branding strategy?
Price and Place
What is your current pricing strategy? Competitive, skimming, penetration, etc.?
Distribution– How, when and where
do you deliver product to the consumer
Distribution– Hours of operation– Location– Payment methods
What is your distribution strategy? Intensive, selective or exclusive?
Promotion
How do you communicate with consumers?– What is your
promotions budget? Mix of personal selling,
advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, social media efforts and PR
What has worked for you in the past in terms of communication with the consumer?– What is your existing
promotions mix?– Do you have any
slogans, or spokespersons
Situational Analysis
External Considerations– Marketplace– Competition– Consumers– Demand– Environment
External Factors – Outside of your control
Marketplace – what is your overall sales potential
Legal Issues – are there any concerns with current regulations, govt oversight?
Technology – does technology impact the delivery of your products and services? Does it impact changes in your product design?
Economy – how has the economy impacted your firm?
External Considerations
Competition– 3 levels to discuss
Direct brand Substitute (provides
the same benefits General – competing
for your customer’s disposable income
Consumer– Provide a detailed
profile of your consumer including:
Demographics Geographics Behavioristics AIO (Attitudes,
Interests and Opinions)
External Considerations
Demand – Analyze the demand
function of your consumer
What price and set of features are they seeking?
Additional External Situational Factors– Could include
(depending on the business) sociodemographic trends, politics, etc.
Problems and Opportunities
Identification Possible After SAProblems May be Opportunities in
DisguisePromotion only Solves
Communication Problems
Setting Objectives
Must be Specific and MeasurablePrimary Marketing Objectives
– Sales, Market Share, VolumeSecondary Objectives
– 4 P’s Product – brand Promotion - awareness Price - % markup Place - # outlets open
4P’s Objectives
Should support overall marketing objectives (like increasing market share)
Price Objective
ex: during the 1st 6 months set price to yield $200k profit
Distribution
product bulky – objective minimize shipping costs
product small – develop a channel
Promotion Objectives
Developed to support overall marketing objectives– Increase awareness by 50% in TM in 3 month
campaign– Generate recall in 20% of TM in 25%
Product Objectives
Can be individual product or product line– Are you expanding the product line to reach new
customers or better serve existing customers
Quality Objectives– Level or consistency objectives
Steps in the Target Marketing Process
Segmentation
Identify and describe marketsegments
Targeting*Evaluate segments and determine which to pursue
PositioningDesign a product or service to meet the segment’s needs and develop a marketingmix that is competitiveto the TM
Marketing Strategies
Investigate Segmentation Opportunities
Determine Target MarketDevelop your Positioning
Strategy
Target Markets
these are the aggregate segments that you will direct your marketing efforts towards
You’re prospects!
The Target Market Decision
Undifferentiated MarketingDifferentiated MarketingFocused (Concentrated
Marketing)
Marketing Segmentation
Identifying groups of people with shared characteristics within the broad markets for consumer or business products
aggregating these groups into larger segments according to their mutual interest in the product’s utility
Steps to Segment
Identify the needs structure of the consumer population
Group the customers into homogeneous segments
Id factors that are correlated with the segments (segmentation variables)
Select your target market Develop your positioning strategy
Segmentation Variables
Demographics– age, income, sex, family
size
Geographics– regions, climate, density
Behavioristic – benefits sought, usage
rates, purchase occasion, psychographics
– VALS
Marketing Strategies
Product Strategies– Branding– Packaging
Distribution– Push vs. Pull
Develop a Positioning Strategy
Analyze Competitor’s position
– This helps with identifying promotional hooks to pursue
Identify Competitive Advantage
Finalize the Marketing Mix
The elements of the marketing mix must match the selected segments.
– Product must deliver benefits the segment values
Convenience or status Price at the level customers
will pay that also complements promotions strategy
Available in locations sought
Advertising and Distribution
Direct Distribution - Network Marketing Indirect Distribution - resellers and channel
members to consider Three Primary Strategies
– Intensive– Selective– Exclusive
Marketing Strategies
Promotion
Promotions Mix – how will you spend budgeted dollars on your mix of promotional tools
Pricing
competitive, skimming, penetration, promotional
Marketing Strategies
Co-op Strategies IMC
– seek synergy
Implementation
Scheduling – when will you end and begin this plan, use calendar to identify which strategies will come into play at certain times of the year
Budgeting – how much will all of this cost, when will your payouts be?
Evaluation
Compare Against Quantifiable Objectives
Promotions Plan
natural outgrowth of the marketing plan outline of the actions, approaches and tactics that
will be used to meet promotions objectives. – Advertising– pr– Sales promotion– Personal selling– Direct marketing
often bounded by budgetary considerations
Advertising Pyramid
Action Desire Conviction Comprehension Awareness
Promotions Objectives
should support marketing objectives
deal with all elements of the promotions mix. awareness, recall, likeability, recognition, action, sales, contacts (or calls), # media contacted and story pickups
Promotions Strategies
our plan of action! Broken into section for each of the elements of the promotions mix
utilizes the creative mix to mobilize the forces!
target audience product concept communications media Advertising, pr, personal selling message
Product Concept How will the ad present the
product? In terms of:
– Positioning– Differentiation– Life Cycle– Branding, packaging,
classification– Thinking or feeling?
Advertising Message
Copy Elements– Advertising appeals
Humor, fear, slice of life
– Copy Platform– Key Consumer Benefits to be identified
Art Elements– Visuals for packaging, ads, POP– Layout and Design
Sales Message
Id Contact Person Develop scripts for specific TMs Training Setting reasonable expectations Developing long-term relationships
Creative Mix
target audience - the people you want to speak to and address the message to
– Primary and Secondary product concept - the bundle of values or benefits
– may be psychological or utilitarian communications message
– TV, radio, magazines, newspaper advertising message - combo of art and copy and production to
form message pr message – what is the “newsworthy” item or message Sales promotion – target new segments and spur action Personal selling – demonstrate, address b to b customers,
develop trade show information, overcome objections Direct marketing – can this be a reasonable additions to mix?
Media Planning
Define Media Objectives– Reach, frequency, GRP, scheduling
Profile audiences/readershipMatch the audiences to the TMEvaluate economics of TM vs. TANegotiate purchases
Evaluation and Testing
Advertising Research
Pretest ads
Test Concept
Posttesting