What is a Marketing Plan

1
What is a Marketing Plan?

• A written report for the marketing strategy
• Varies widely in scope and detail
• All plans need to be based on analyses of
• Product-market and segments
• Industry and competitive structure
• Organizations value proposition

IpKin Anthony Wong, Ph.D. Macau University of
Science and Technology
2
The Goal

• To sell your idea for expansion to a marketing
  manager, senior executive manager, investor,
  bank, venture capitalist, small business
  administrator, etc.
• To demonstrate that your idea will generate
  profitability.

3
Planning Relationships and Frequency

• Marketing plans are developed, implemented,
  evaluated, and adjusted to keep the strategy on
  target
• 3 to 5 years
• A series of annual plans (or in shorter terms
  e.g., 6-month)
• Annual plan To manage marketing activities during
  the year
• Budgets for marketing activities
• Marketing mix tactics (product, distribution,
  price, and promotion)

4
Planning Considerations

• Include
• Expected results (objectives)
• Market targets
• Actions
• Responsibilities
• Schedules and dates
• The plan should indicate
• Details and deadlines
• Product/service plans
• Market introduction program
• Advertising and sales promotion actions
• Employee training
• Others
• Answer questions of
• What, when where, who, how and why for each
  action targeted for completion during the
  planning period

5
MARKETING PLANOUTLINE
6
I. Strategic Situation Summary (or Executive
Summary)

• Summarize the key points from your situation
  analysis (market analysis, segments,
  industry/competition) in order to recount the
  major events and provide information to better
  understand the strategies outlined in the
  marketing plan.
• In 4 to 5 paragraphs tell the reader the overview
  of your plan.
• Prove why the idea will work.
• Sell your idea, keep the reader engaged.
• You are wetting the appetite to read.
• You have 30 seconds to sell your idea.

7
II. Company Overview

• What is your company?
• Company history and background
• Mission and Vision
• Establish the goals of your operation
• Specify, how you will earn revenue
• Product and services
• Current marketing mix strategy
• Financial Situation (SEC filing e.g., 10-K
  (annual filing) and 10-Q (quarter filing))
• Structure
• Functional, regional, matrix
• Resource
• , land, HR, relationship, IT?
• Management style

8
Tools

• Check out Useful Links on the class website
• Demonstrate that you know your competition
• Demonstrate competency
• Substantiate your proposition

9
What do consumers need?

• You need to discuss your competitive advantage
  vis-à-vis the competition here.
• What needs do customers have that arent
  currently be satisfied.
• Folks, this is the key to marketing. Identify
  unfulfilled needs and satisfy them.
• Ask yourself, what societal forces drive
  customers to buy your products or services?
• From a B2B point of viewwhat do business
  (organization) customers need.

10
THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRAP

• We are obsessed with thinking strictly of money.
  
• Aim for the needs and income becomes secondary
• People will pay for what they need or think they
  need
• The higher income family doesnt necessarily have
  disposable income

11
III. Current Market Situation for the
Market-Targets

• Analysis of the current situation of the company,
  product, market, environment, and competition
• Market overview
• Market demographics and needs
• Market trends and target market growth, and
  potential
• Competitive and industry analysis (This part can
  be discussed as Porters 5 forces here or in the
  Environmental Analysis section)
• Product/service overview
• Keys to success and critical issues

12
III. Current Market Situation for the
Market-Targets

• The market target may be defined demographically
  (key characteristics only), geographically, or
  in social/economic terms.
• Each market target should have needs and wants
  that differ to some degree from other targets.
• These differences may be with respect to types of
  products purchased, use situation, frequency of
  purchase, and other variations that indicate a
  need to alter the positioning strategy to fit the
  needs and wants of each target.

13
IV. Environmental Analysis

• Macro-Environmental Trends, Impacts, and
  implication
• STEPP analysis (impacts from 5 environmental
  dimensions)
• Social
• Technological
• Economical
• Political
• Physical

14

• Micro-Environment
• Porters five competitive forces (This part can
  be discussed in competitive and industry analysis
  section)
• Barriers to new entry
• Degree of rivalry (competitor)
• Power of supplier
• Power of buyer
• Threat of substitutes
• SWOT analysis
• Strengths (relative to your competitors)
• Weaknesses (relative to your competitors)
• Opportunities
• Threats
• Competitive strategy
• How will the firm compete?
• What are the managerial implications of these
  environmental factors

15
V. Marketing Objectives and Strategy

• Mission
• Marketing objectives
• Target market, position, customer satisfaction,
  mkt share, and others
• Financial objectives
• Target market(s)
• Positioning Strategy
• Write statements that describe how you want each
  market target to perceive each product relative
  to competition.
• State the core concept used to position the
  product (brand) in the eyes and mind of the
  targeted buyer.
• The positioning statement should describe
• (1) What criteria or benefits the customer
  considers when buying a product along with the
  level of importance,
• (2) What we offer that differentiates our product
  from competition, and
• (3) The limitations of competitive products.
• Strategy Summary

16
Matching Location With

• Demographics
• Your product or service caters to young families.
  Your zip code has young families.
• Geographics
• Your product/service helps consumers in warm
  climates or those in nursing homes. Your
  location has these.
• Lifestyle
• Your product/service is targeted to surfers, your
  location is near the beach.
• Behavioral Variables
• African Americans, Hispanic, Gay, Ethnic
  consumers have needs for specific products or
  services. You fill these needs.

17
State your objectives

• What do you plan to offer investors?
• What are your goals as a business?
• Two types of objectives marketing and financial.
  No marketingNo financial.
• Customer satisfaction, retention, market share,
  order fulfillments, acquisition.
• Sales volume, profitability, return on
  investment, break-even.

18
IMPORTANT

• Are your objectives feasible?
• Do you have an idea of the market size?
• How much market share do you need to obtain to
  break even?
• What are your fixed costs going to be? How many
  units do you have to sell to break even? Is it
  feasible?

19
VI. Marketing Research

• Describe the market research problem and the kind
  of information needed. Include a statement which
  addresses why this information is needed.
• Steps
• Research objective
• Procedure
• Data Analysis and Result
• Managerial implication

20
VII. Market Mix Strategy for Each Market Target

• A. Product Strategy
• Identify how each product fits the market
  target.
• Other issues that may be addressed would be new
  product suggestions, adjustments in the mix of
  existing products, and product deletion
  candidates.
• B. Price Strategy
• The overall pricing strategy (I.e., competitive,
  premium-priced, etc.) should be identified along
  with a cost/benefit analysis if applicable.
• Identify what role you want price to play, i.e.,
  increase share, maintenance, etc.

21

• C. Distribution Strategy
• Describe specific distribution strategies for
  each market target.
• Issues to be addressed are intensity of
  distribution (market coverage)
• How distribution will be accomplished
• Assistance provided to distributors.
• The role of the sales force in distribution
  strategy should also be considered.
• D. Promotion Strategy
• Promotion strategy is used to initiate and
  maintain a flow of communication between the
  company and the market target.
• To assist in developing the communications
  program, the attributes or benefits of our
  product should be identified for each market
  target.
• How our product differs from competition
  (competitive advantage) should be listed.
• The sales forces responsibilities in fulfilling
  the market plan must be integrated into the
  promotion strategy.
• Strategies should be listed for (1) personal
  selling, (2) advertising, (3) sales promotion,
  and (4) public relations.

22
The Whys of Feasibility

• You are going to specify your marketing mix.
• Specific products/services
• Prices
• Place
• Promotion
• Be specific here. The product/service, the need
  it fills, the value it offers customers.

23
The Price

• How are your products/serviced priced vis-à-vis
  the competition?
• Do they offer customers value?
• Do they encourage repeat purchase?
• Conduct a formal break even analysis.
• How many units do you need to sell to break even?
• Fixed Costs/(Selling Price-Contribution Margin)

24
The Promotional Campaign

• Allocate funds for promotion
• Advertising
• Sales Incentives
• Public Relations
• Direct Marketing
• Sales Force, Meeting, etc.

25
VIII. Financial Forecasts and Budgets

• Including budget details of expected revenue,
  expenses, and profits from marketing programsby
  month, by product, by territory, by manager, etc.
• Sales/revenue forecast(s)
• Marketing expense budget(s)
• Break-even analysis
• Profit and loss analysis

26
The Budget

• You will need to create a 3-5 year
  budgetessentially a pro-forma statement.
• Sales
• Cost of Goods Sold
• Gross Profit
• Selling and General Administration Expenses
• Operating Profit or Loss

27
IX. Controls and Contingency Plan

• Showing how plan will be put into action,
  performance measured, and adjustments made when
  necessary
• Implementation
• Actions to be taken, responsibilities, time
  schedules, and other implementation information
• Coordination with other business functions
• Indicate other departments/functions that have
  responsibilities for implementing the marketing
  plan.
• Performance measure and evaluation
• E.g., market share, customer satisfaction and
  retention, profit margin
• Contingency planning
• Indicate how your plans should be modified if
  events should occur that are different from those
  assumed in the plan

28
Controlling the Plan

• How will you monitor whether or not you are
  meeting your financial goals.
• Do you have plans in place to set up a
  retrenchment?
• Do you have plans in place to exploit a fast
  growth?
• Who is going to perform a marketing audit a
  detailed analysis of marketing capabilities and
  performance.
• How often will your company perform an audit?
  Or, how often will it perform elements of the
  audit?

29
X. The Conclusion

• A brief summary (1-2 paragraphs) of reiterating
  why your plan will be successful and beneficial
  to investors or to your company.

30
INTERNATIONAL PLANNING PROCESS
Source Philip R Cateora, International
Marketing, Irwin, 1996.