Chapter 2: A Marketing Plan & Marketing Strategies
Levels of Strategic Planning in Corporations
- Strategic planning in most organizations occurs on at least two levels – corporate and functional
- Corporate: done by the company’s top management and focuses on the overall direction of the entire
company
o Long term direction of the company, which is updated regularly to respond to changed in
business environment
- Functions: large corporations usually have many functions
o Human Resources, R&D, finance, manufacturing, and marketing
Strategic Business Unit (SBU): division of the company that can be managed somewhat independently from
other divisions since it markets a specific set of products to a clearly defined group of customers
Marketing Planning Process: a set of steps a marketer goes through to develop a marketing plan
Levels of Planning Scope Duration Strategic Focus
Corporate Planning Entire firm Long term (5 years) Define the company’s
mission, set company’s
goals and establish the
business portfolio
SBU (applied only to Single SBU within the Medium to long term Set goals and establish
large firms with more than firm (3-5 years) portfolio of products and
one distinct business line) markets for the business
unit
Functional Planning (eg. Product portfolio, single Short term to medium Develop marketing plans
Marketing planning) product, brand or market (1-3 years) for specific products,
brands or markets
The Marketing Plan
- Written document composed of an analysis of the current marketing situation, opportunities and threats
for the firm, marketing objectives and strategy specified in terms of the 4 Ps, action programs, and
projected or pro forma income (and other financial statements)
Phases of Marketing Plan
1. Planning Phase: where marketing executives and other top managers define the mission and objective
of the business, and evaluate the situation by assessing how various players, both inside and outside
the organization, affect the firm’s potential for success
2. Implementation Phase: where marketing managers identify and evaluate different opportunities by
engaging in a process known as segmentation, targeting and positioning. They then develop and
implement the marketing mix by using the 4 P’s
3. Control Phase: the part of the strategic marketing planning process when managers evaluate the
performance of the marketing strategy and take any necessary corrective actions Step 1: Define the Business Mission and Objectives:
Mission Statement: a broad description of a firm’s objectives and the scope of activities it plans
to undertake; attempts to answer two main questions: what type of business is it? And what
does it need to do to accomplish its goals and objectives
- Must be answered at the highest corporate levels before marketing executives can get
involved
Step 2: Conduct a Situational Analysis
Situation Analysis: is the second step in a marketing plan; uses a SWOT analysis that assess
both the internal environment with regard to its strengths and weaknesses and external environment in terms
of opportunities and threats
- Examination of market trends, customer analysis and competitive analysis
Step 3: identifying and Evaluating Opportunities by Using STP (Segmentation, targeting, and positioning)
STP: the process of segmentation, targeting and positioning that firms use to identify and evaluate
opportunities for increasing sales and profits
Segmentation:
- Many types of customers appear in the market and most firms cannot satisfy everyone’s needs
- Market Segment: a group of consumers who respond similarly to a firm’s marketing efforts
Targeting: the process of evaluating the attractiveness of various segments and then dividing which to pursue
as a market
Positioning: is what consumers think and feel about a brand or product. Marketers try very hard to shape
consumers’ perceptions
- Market Positioning: involved the process of defining the marketing mix variables so that target
customers have a clear, distinct, desirable understanding of what the product does or represents in
comparison with competing products
Step 4: Implement Marketing Mix and Allocate Resources
- Company has to decision what to do, how to do it and how many resources the firm should allocate to it
Product and Value Creation - Some people see the value of a $6 Starbucks coffee, others with heartburn don’t. That’s why Folgers
created simply smooth for sensitive stomachs
Price and Value for Money
- Marketers should base price on the value that the customer perceives
Place and Value Delivery
- Make the product accessible when and where the customer wants it
Promotion and Value Communication
- Marketers communicate the value of their offering through variety of media (TV, magazines, buses,
promos)
- Must decide the most efficient and effective way to communicate with thei
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