Marketing Planning
Lecture 3
Karen Knibbs
Marketing Practice – U14210 S2 09/10
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, you should be able
to:
 Explain the role and benefits of
marketing planning
 Identify the stages in the Planning
Process
 Understand a range of analysis tools
 To appreciate the role of marketing
control and evaluation
Planning: Definitions
“A systematic process of forecasting the future
business environment and deciding on the most
appropriate goals, objectives and positions for
best exploiting that environment.”
Planning is an activity and a process = formalised
The marketing PLAN;
“Provides clear and unambiguous statement [of intent] about
the strategies and actions that will be implemented, by
whom, when and with what [anticipated/required]
outcomes.”
Kotler et al (2005)
Why Plan?
 Planning helps:
 to
develop systematic, long-term thinking
 to create an organised approach
 to develop specificity & consistency
 to get agreement from colleagues &
support from non-marketers
• common goals and mutual benefits
 to
identify sources of competitive
advantage
Benefits of Planning
Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)
Rationale for planning
Planning should answer questions including:
1)
Why are we here?
•
2)
3)
Where are we now? = S&W
What issues do we face?
•
4)
PESTLE analysis / =O&T
Where do we want to be?
•
5)
What business are we in?
Goals vs. capabilities
How do we get there?
•
Activities and Controls
Planning coordinates all
marketing activity
Last semester in Principles of Marketing, we looked
one-by-one at many elements of a Marketing Plan,
so now we need to link these together:
 Environmental analysis: PESTLE, SWOT
 Understanding customers: Buyer Behaviour
 Setting strategy: Segmentation, targeting and
positioning
 4P’s/ 7P’s Marketing Mix: Marketing
Programme
Phase One
– Goal
Setting
1. Mission
Planning framework
McDonald (2007)
2. Corporate Objectives
3. Marketing Audit
Phase Two
– Situation
Review
 Environmental
4. SWOT Analyses

5. Assumptions
Phase
Three –
Strategy
Formation
6. Marketing objectives & = Core
strategy
strategies
7. Estimated results
8. Alternative plans &
mixes
Phase Four
– Resource
Allocation &
Monitoring
9. Budget
10. 1st yr detailed
implementation plan
analysis: PESTLE,
SWOT
Understanding
customers: Buyer
Behaviour
 Segmentation,
targeting and
positioning
 4P’s/ 7P’s Marketing
Measurement
Mix
& Review
Other Authors’ suggested contents
1. Executive
summary
2. Situation Analysis
3. Market Summary
1
2
6
7
5
3
4
8
Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)
targets, demo-graphics ,
needs, trends, growth
4.
5.
6.
7.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
SWOT Analysis
Competition
Product Offering
CSF’s –
19.
opportunities and
20.
threats
21.
8. Marketing Strategy 22.
9. Mission
10. Marketing
23.
Objectives
Financial Objectives
Target markets
Positioning
Strategies
Marketing Mix
Marketing Research
Financials
Sales vs. Expense
Forecasts
Controls
Implementation
Milestones
Marketing
Organisation
Contingency
Planning
Kotler & Keller (2009)
Marketing Planning for
Small Businesses (SME)
Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)
Executive Summary / Mission
statement

Should contain:




brief overview of the proposed plan
main objectives & recommendations
clear indication of timescales involved
And allow senior management to quickly
grasp the plan’s major points
Day (1990) 4 characteristics of effective
mission statements:
1) Future oriented
2) Reflects value and orientations of the leader
3) States strategic purpose
4) Enabling – provides clear guidelines for each
SBU
Group Vision & Mission
Mission statement or
Corporate objectives
Sets out:
 Specific long-term objectives for the company
and organisation as a whole
 Like all objectives, should be SMART:
 Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic,
Timed
Objectives will include:
 Performance Objectives
 Directional Objectives
 External Objectives
 Internal Objectives
Current marketing situation or
AUDIT
Should include:
 Market situation
 Competitive situation
 Macro environment situation
• (PESTLE)
Product situation
 Price situation
 Promotion situation
 Place (distribution) situation
Internal
External

Internal
&
External
Situation Audit
External
Factors
Macro Environment
Political
Economic
Social/Cultural
Technological
Legal
Environmental
(CSR/Green/Ethics)
Micro Environment
Internal
Factors
Position
Financial Situation
Market Position
Operations
Marketing Research
Products
Pricing
Selling and Distribution
Advertising and Sales
Promotion
Capability
Competitors
Suppliers
Distributors
Customers/Market
Trends
Organizational
Structure
Management and
Workforce
Capability for
Change
SWOT Analysis
INTERNAL
FACTORS
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
past and present
past and present
STRENGTHS
OPPORTUNITIES
Build on them
Emphasise in
Exploit them if
possible
promotional
campaigns
WEAKNESSES
ACTION:
Need to be
identified and
researched via
environmental
scanning and
analysis
THREATS
Eliminate them if
Develop
possible
Circumvent them
contingency plans
Must be
addressed by
Marketing Plan
decisions
Opportunity and issue
Analysis
 Should include:


Strengths and Weaknesses
Opportunities and Threats
Issue
analysis
 defining the main or
critical issues / CSF’s (issues given priority weightings)
the plan must address
Setting Objectives
Types of Objectives:
• Quantitative targets - e.g. financial, operating, etc.
• Philosophical targets - vision and values.
• Qualitative targets - service levels, etc.
 These are be expressed in terms of:



Corporate objectives
Marketing objectives
Financial objectives
 Objectives need prioritising
and to be SMART:
Specific
 Measurable
 Achievable (Actionable)
 Realistic
 Timed (timescale provided)

Qualitative targets
Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)
Marketing Strategy
 Includes:
 target
market
 positioning
 marketing mix
 customer service
 research and development
 marketing research
Marketing Strategies and Actions
Strategic Actions provide the means by which a
company sets out to achieve its marketing
objectives. Achieved by (one or more):
• Repositioning the product
• Improving product packaging / other mix elements
• Amending prices
• Improving productivity
• Standardisation
• Changing sales or customer mix
Action Programmes
 Attempts to answer:
what will be done?
 when?
 who by?

•
at what cost and using
which resources?
Marketing & other
Departments
 Marketing has a bridging / integration
role with other operational departments:
Research & Development (R&D)
 Engineering
 Purchasing
 Manufacturing
 Operations
 Finance & Accounts
 Credit

Marketing Programme
Marketing plan:
Sample from Boudler
Stop Café
•
Turning strategies into implementable actions.
•
A detailed written statement specifying target markets,
marketing programmes, responsibilities, time scales and
resources to be used within the defined budgets.
Marketing (Action) programmes:
•
Actions, often tactical, using marketing mix variables to
gain advantage within target market.
•
Specify means of implementing the marketing strategy.
•
Detailed as part of the marketing plan.
Control and Evaluation Process
Measures include:
•performance
measurements
•evaluation mechanisms
•feedback mechanisms
•contingency planning
•Budgets / Profit & Loss
Brassington &
Pettitt, (2006)
Marketing Costs and Profitability
Analysis
Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)
Problems with planning
Companies become obsessed with the process or
technique rather than the actual content and
delivery of the plan!!
Unreliable or insufficient market research data can
make plans flawed from beginning!
 New companies
• too busy?

Small companies
• not important/ no skills/ restrictive?

Mature companies
• Unnecessary / cumbersome?

Fast changing markets
• not useful / responsive?
 However all organisations should plan!
Marketing Planning is
Essential!
Conflicting pressures make choices difficult:
Enhancing
customer service
Vs.
Increasing
profitability
Short-term
profit
Vs.
Long-term
value creation
Revenue
maximisation
Vs.
Cost
minimisation
Further reading
Chapters as per Unit handbook.
Texts:
 Burk Wood, M., (2007). Essential guide to Marketing Planning.





Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
Hatton (2000). The definitive guide to marketing planning.
Kotler,(2003). Marketing Management.
McDonald, M., (2005). Marketing Plans: how to prepare them, how to
use them. Oxford: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann.
McDonald & Payne, (2006) (2e). Marketing plans for service
businesses.
Westwood, (2004) (2e). How to write a marketing plan.
Journal articles:
 Gilmore, Carson, & Grant (2001). SME marketing in practice.

Marketing Intelligence and Planning. 19 (1), p6-11.
Greenley, Hooley & Saunders. (2004). Management processes in
marketing planning. European Journal of Marketing. 38 (8), p933-955
.