Solomon, Marshall & Stuart (2012) defined marketing
plan as business document that is prepared to indicate the current condition of
the market where the business operates in together with the various strategies
which the business is adopting so that they can be able to survive in the given
market. The marketing plans are always time bound with the period usually being
about or between one (1) and five (5) years. Woof (2011), just like Solomon,
Marshall and Stuart (2012) also noted that the marketing plans of the different
firms usually contain the different actions which will provide a foundation for
the decisions which the different firms that are preparing the marketing plans
are focused on reaching. The essay will discuss a number of issues which are
related to the preparation of the marketing plan in the firm. They include the
role and nature of the marketing plan, a discussion of the various elements of
the marketing plan as well as the various assumptions that are considered in
the marketing plan.
The marketing plans have
become a very instrumental part of the operations of the different firms. This
is an indication of the role and nature of the marketing plans that are
developed by the different firms. There are a myriad of roles that the
marketing plans undertake. First, the marketing plans are instrumental in
forging the long term goals and the strategies that must be considered by the
firm (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). The marketing plans usually have the mission
statements which are a clear depiction of the reasons why the given firms were
in the line of business and also the various changes and contributions that the
firm will be able to make in the long term as a result of their continued
operations in that area of business. Secondly, the marketing plans also sho0w
the various steps and actions that the firm is exploring so that they can be
able to achieve the various objectives of the business. The actions that are
clearly shown in the marketing plans, usually in terms of the various strategy
proposals, ensure that the firm is able to meet its objectives. The marketing
plans usually help the firm to achieve a number of strategies for instance how
the firm can acquire more market share in the industry where it operates. The
other strategies which the firm might be exploring include the various ways
through which the firm can be able to increase its profitability as well as the
other financial elements of the operations of the firm. The strategies that are
developed in the marketing plan will clearly indicate how the products of the
firm will reach the new markets and consumers so that the different objectives
can be achieved by the firm.
There is also another instrumental role that the
marketing plans play, that of ensuring that the activities of the marketing
managers are undertaken in an effective and responsible manner. This position was supported by the works of Ferrell,
Fraedrich & Ferrell (2011), Cravens & Piercy (2009) and Marshall &
Johnston (2009). The above authors all argued that through the use of the
marketing plans, the managers will have a responsibility to be able to develop
strategies that address how the different product lines, customers and brands
can be effectively managed. The marketing managers, through the use of the
marketing plan, will be able to respond effectively to the various changes that
are taking place in the market. Finally, Cravens & Piercy, (2009) posited
that the marketing plans can also be used to request for funding from the
various parties whom they are requesting for financing from.
Rather than just the
consideration of the various roles that the marketing plans of the firm play, the
essay also considered the distinct nature of the marketing plans. The nature of
the marketing plans entails the structure, the increased competitors and
customer focus of the various plans. The marketing plans have achieved the
focus through the team development ability that is achieved by the different
elements of the marketing plan.
According to McLoughlin & Aaker (2010), the business
plan refers to a document that is usually produced by the different firms to
outline the strategies and the key objectives of the management of the firm
towards the achievement of the different goals of the given organization. The
business plans are developed by the management of the firms when they are
entering into new markets, when they are introducing new products and for many
other reasons. Unlike the marketing plan which usually contains a period of
between 1 to 5 years, the business plans usually run for a period extending
between 3 and 5 years (Woof, 2011).
The business plans usually contain the history of the
organizations as well as the present market situations and the conditions where
the firm operates. Woof further noted that the business plan is a tool that is
used by the management of the firms to be able to run the organizations more
effectively. The managers can be able to know the strengths and the weaknesses
of the firm thus providing them with the knowhow to develop targets that can be
met without straining the resources of the firm. Mullins, Walker & Harper
Boyd Jr. (2009) argued that although the business plan is usually an internal
document, it can sometimes be accessed by the external entities that are
related to the firm. The external entities which can access the business plans
of the firm include the banks and other organizations that provide funding, the
potential partners of the business and the investors of the firm.
The marketing plans and business plans are usually
similar in many ways that they are most times confused; one is taken as the
other (McLoughlin & Aaker, 2010). There are a number of relationships that
exist between the two types of plans that are prepared by the different firms.
First, the business plans are prepared so that the investors and the funding
agencies can be shown the potency, feasibility and the value of the business
idea that is being developed by the firm. The marketing plan picks from the
point of the business idea as it goes ahead to indicate the various strategies
that can be used by the firm to be able to create a market for the various
products that are developed by the firm (Lamb, Hair & McDaniels, 2006). The
marketing plan works to attract and retain customers for the various products
that the firm may have hoped to introduce in the marketing plan. The above
relationship can thus be said to be complementary in that the marketing plan is
a way through which the support can be provided so that the various goals of
the business plan can be achieved by the firm.
Moreover, when the business plans have been developed by
the firm, they will be able to stick to that area of operation unless the firm
significantly moves away from its previous underlying mantra (Wassinger &
David Baxter, 2011). The above fact on the business plans is supported by the
very essence of the marketing plans, as they significantly react to the changes
in the environment where the firm operates in. The marketing plan will support
the business plan as it will help it to keep on track on the various
assumptions that it had when it was entering into the new markets (Adela &
Monica, 2011).
The marketing plans always entail a number of elements of
strategies as well as tactics. The success of the various firms usually depends
on the various tactics and strategies which are developed by the marketing
plans of the firm. The strategic nature of the marketing plans usually ensures
that the business or the organization is able to achieve the various goals and
objectives that had been asset by the firm without falling short. The strategic
nature of the marketing plans includes a clear consideration of the customers
of the firm. The strategies which will be developed are those that are focused
on ensuring that the firm can effectively use the changing consumer preferences
and other changes in the market to model messages and product offerings that
can help to keep the various existing customers of the firm while also
significantly attracting a host of new customers to the firm. Moreover, the
marketing plans also have provisions for strategy. Westwood (2005) noted that
strategy also entails the development of objectives that are SMART thus the
marketing plans plays the role of strategy through supporting the various goals
that are being sought by the organization.
In addition to the strategic uses of the marketing
plans, there are also tactical uses of the marketing plans. According to Westwood
(2005), the marketing plan allows for the development of tactics that can be
used to capture the customers. The consumer targeting allows the fir to clearly
demarcate the various customers that it is exploring so that the firm can be
able to effectively develop products that will serve the given category. Schulaka
(2011) supported the above argument when he noted that the marketing plans
contain elements which help in influencing the consumers who have been targeted
towards the development of the particular consumption behaviors. The consumers
are influenced through the various elements of the marketing mix i.e. the
pricing, the place, the products and promotion.
Many marketing plans usually have some common elements.
However, it must be noted that the marketing plans usually have some slight
differences. These differences usually result from the differences in the
industries especially with regards to whether the product that is being offered
by the firm is a good or a service. Solomon, Marshall & Stuart (2012) noted
that the main difference between the marketing plan for a service and that of a
good usually exist in the stage of strategy formulation. This is with a
particular reference to the elements of the marketing mix. The structure
usually begins with an executive summary or an abstract that is a summary of
the various elements which are found in the marketing plan. Secondly, an
introduction is developed followed by the situational analysis. Thereafter,
there is the development of the Porters 5 forces model and the SWOT analysis.
Later the marketing strategies are developed. The marketing plans also have
controls that will guide the implementation process (Marshall & Johnston,
2009). Schulaka (2011) noted that the
situational analysis has the elements of the 5Cs for instance the customer, company,
collaborators, climate and competitor analysis. The above is in addition to the
SWOT analysis and the Porter’s 5 forces model. The marketing strategy entails
the elements of segmentation and positioning as well as marketing mix elements.
The situational analysis as component of the marketing plan structure
usually entails the consideration of the macro and micro elements of the market
where the firm operates. The analysis plays an important role in ensuring that
the firm is conscious of the various elements of the environment that will have
an impact on its operations given the competencies and resources that the firm
has. The various elements of the situational analysis help in the
identification of the conditions, trend and the main driving forces in the
industry for instance the changes in the consumer preferences, the legislations
and other elements that affect the operations of the business in the given
industry (Kennedy, 2000).
The situational analysis requires a host of information
which is acquired from different sources. With regards to the competitor
analysis, the firm will look for information on the objectives and goals, potentials
of new entrants, the customers they serve, performance levels and the products that
are offered by the firms. The above information can be found on the company
websites, marketing research reports and industry publications amongst others. The
information regarding the consumers can be found in Census data, marketing
reports etc. The information that will be required includes the market growth
rate and size, wants and consumer preferences, the purchase and consumption
behavior (Kennedy, 2000; Lamb, Hair & McDaniels, 2006). When looking at
collaborators a host of information will be required i.e. the agencies, the
partnerships, product distribution and the suppliers of the firm. The
information can be found in company website, company publications, journals,
newspaper reports and other financial publications such as Time and Financial Times.
The information regarding the companies
can be acquired from books, journals and company website. This includes the
revenues, the resources, and the strategies that the firm is exploring.
Still considering the 5Cs, the climate which shows the
various external considerations which affect the various operations of the firm
must be considered. The factors include politico-legal, economic,
socio-cultural and environmental and technological considerations. There are a
number of sources of the above information (Westwood, 2005). They include law
reports, economic outlooks and forecasts, technological reports, magazines and
newspapers, company websites, census reports, findings of market research.
The Porters 5 forces uses very little external
information as it is developed after the research on the 5Cs has been completed
by the firm (Mullins, Walker & Harper Boyd Jr., 2009). The final is the
SWOT analysis which shows the attractiveness of the given industry. It uses
information from the 5Cs and Porters model to come up with the strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The marketing strategies are the approaches through
which the firms are able to achieve the objectives and goals of the marketing.
The strategies are always aligned with the elements of the situational
analysis. The findings of the situational analysis must be used in developing
the strategies. The marketing strategies
support the achievement of the objectives that have been developed by the firm.
The segmentation shows the parts of the market where the business or the firm
will focus on (Westwood, 2005). The information will be from the consumer and
climate analysis of the 5Cs under situational analysis. In addition to the above, the firm will
develop the positioning strategies for the various products. The information
will be derived from the segmentation as well as a consideration of the
climate, socio-cultural, economic and consumer analysis. The final consideration under marketing
strategy is the marketing mix which considers the information derived from the
positioning. When the product is positioned as value, the place will not be
serene, the price will be competitive, promotion will be encouraged i.e.
offers, product quality may be high but basic.
There are relationships between the various elements of
the marketing plan. From the above discussion, the plan must start with the 5Cs
of the situational analysis. This are followed by the Porters 5 Forces model
and SWOT analysis as they are developed from the elements of the 5Cs (Solomon,
Marshall and Stuart, 2012). The latter two elements can be developed only after
the 5Cs have been developed. The marketing strategies also depend on the
situational analysis thus they can only be developed after the situational
analysis has been undertaken.
The assumptions in the marketing plans are geared
towards injecting certain levels of certainty to the uncertain environment in
which the plans are developed. The assumptions cover a number of areas which
include potential for new competitors, changes in the economic situations and
customer preferences (Hollingworth, 2008). There are a number of mistakes that
usually accompany the assumptions. In many cases they are unwarranted. The two
elements include the view that the customers focus on having relationships with
the brand. Secondly, the view that the firms will be able to build
relationships with the consumers the more they interact with the consumers is
an unwarranted assumption that is always made by the firms (Freeman, Spenner &
Bird, 2012).
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