Marketing Plan

SECTION 1: DEFINING A MARKETING PLAN

  • A marketing plan is a comprehensive document or blueprint outlining a business’s marketing and advertising efforts for the coming year.
  • The plan details the business objectives and strategies for achieving them, includes research about the marketplace and customers, and outlines the scheduled marketing activities.
  • It encapsulates target markets, marketing strategies, sales forecasts, pricing plans, and the communication mix to be employed.

SECTION 2: COMPONENTS OF A MARKETING PLAN

  • The executive summary provides a high-level view of the entire marketing plan. It gives a quick understanding of the biggest opportunities and challenges with a view of objectives and strategies.
  • Market research involves gathering, analysing, and interpreting information about a market, its products or services, customers, competitors, and potential partners.
  • Target market segment involves defining the specific group of customers the business is aiming to attract with its products or services.
  • The marketing strategy is developed from understanding the product or service, the customer base, and the business’s position in the market. This strategy sets out how the business will reach its target market, how it will attract and keep customers and how it intends to build its brand.
  • The marketing mix encompasses decisions about product, price, place, and promotion (the 4Ps) that form the business’s overall marketing strategy.
  • Implementation and control involves specifying how, when, and to whom things need to be done to achieve the plan, and how performance will be evaluated against the marketing objectives.

SECTION 3: SIGNIFICANCE OF A MARKETING PLAN

  • Direction and focus: The marketing plan provides detailed strategies and actions that guide the use of company resources to drive optimal customer acquisition and revenue growth.
  • Co-ordination: The plan ensures that all the marketing efforts across various platforms and channels are consistent, complementary, and designed to achieve the business objectives.
  • Performance measurement: The plan sets out clear objectives and forecasts, which can be used to evaluate actual performance results.

SECTION 4: LIMITATIONS OF A MARKETING PLAN

  • A marketing plan, as good as it may be, cannot guarantee success. Many external factors, such as economic conditions, new competitors or changing consumer behaviour, can interfere with its implementation.
  • The plan is only as good as the research it’s based on. Flawed or outdated research can lead to ineffective strategies.
  • A marketing plan requires time, expertise, and resources to develop and implement, which may be a constraint for smaller businesses.

SECTION 5: KEY DECISIONS IN CREATING A MARKETING PLAN

  • Target audience: Defining who the business will market its products or services to is a key decision.
  • Marketing channel selection: Deciding which channels (such as online, print, TV, radio etc.) to use is based on where the target audience is most likely to see, hear or interact with the marketing message.
  • Budget allocation: This involves deciding how much to spend on each strategy or channel, ensuring the best return on investment.
  • Brand positioning: This key decision relates to the ‘place’ a product occupies in the minds of customers and how it is distinguished from products by competitors.
  • Setting marketing objectives: Deciding what the business wants to achieve through its marketing activities (such as awareness, engagement, sales) and setting corresponding targets.