Marketing
Part 1
Marketing Plan
The success of an organization’s overall strategy and expansion in its market share depends on its marketing activities. Therefore, organizations develop plans that mirror their strategic plans and marketing strategies to attain competitive advantage as well as meet consumer expectations. The implication is that they develop a marketing plan as a roadmap to the overall marketing efforts. As such, a marketing plan is an in-depth document that outlines a company’s overall strategy efforts and activities (Emerson, 2020). The document is a blueprint that describes how a firm intends to execute its marketing strategy by using a combination of resources to attain business goals and objectives that include sales targets or more customers. Because of the changing business environment and marketing tools, modern marketing plans are relatively short and may cover one to a few years.
Components of a Marketing Plan
Organizations need to understand that a marketing plan is an initial step required in creating a successful marketing program for their marketing activities and business operations. While a marketing plan does not need to be complicated, it must have critical individual components.
Market Research and Analysis
Research is the foundation of any marketing plan because this plan considers the value proposition of a business entity. The value proposition is the overall promise of value to be offered to the customers. It is the statement that appears front as well as the center of the organization’s website as well as its branding materials or content. However, a business cannot attain its value proposition without active research on different components of its targeted market for its products. Market research and analysis allow a company to collect pertinent information and data concerning the potential demand for its products and services.
Further, it uses research and analysis to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses as well as identify opportunities and target audiences (Duke & Tucker, 2007). The study and analysis of the market also allow the organization to identify potential threats and ways to mitigate them as it ventures into the market to make sales. Besides, the research and analysis of the market are essential since it helps in knowing consumer habits and buying behaviors in the industry as well as the size of the market, growth projections and any other social, economic and cultural trends that affect such industries in both short and long-term (Emerson, 2020). Through models and frameworks like SWOT, PESTEL, and Porter’s five forces, among others, an organization can understand all the issues affecting its internal as well as external environment and develop effective strategies to address both threats and opportunities.
Target Market
A well-defined and designed target market analysis and description identify the most probable buyers and the market for products or services offered. Further, the plan must identify and discuss at least three levels of market segmentation (Emerson, 2020). For instance, if it is a marketing plan for a language tutoring institution, its target market may include both students as well as foreign-born employees who seek improvement in their English language competency and skills.
Marketing and Financial Goals and Objectives
An effective marketing plan should have goals and objectives to inform the organization of the marketing efforts and activities that should be incorporated into the strategies and activities. Marketing goals should be quantifiable and include specific figures or projections (Duke & Tucker, 2007). For example, the purpose of a marketing plan may be to gain at least ten clients each day and sell five products each day. Further, the goal might be to increase the markets share by ten percent in a year. Based on these goals, a firm can also establish the financial objectives and resources required to meet them.
Marketing Mix Strategies
The component of a marketing plan provides specific strategies that an organization will execute to attain its targeted market, entice the target audience to use their money, and create an urge or desire in the customers to return to the enterprise or make repeat purchases. Strategies are approaches that an organization takes to achieve its marketing goals. Strategies cover the four Ps of marketing that includes product, place, price, and promotion (Emerson, 2020). The implication is that through these strategies, an organization finds its positioning by developing compelling branding as well as marketing messages that communicate explicitly to consumers and market how it wants to be perceived in the market. Further, the marketing plan also develops tactics or individual actions that it wishes to take in executing its strategies. For instance, when introducing a new customer to a reward program through personalized invites, an organization can utilize emails to the potential client.
Marketing Plan Budget
This component constitutes the development of a budget that enables the organization to plan for its expenses based on the activities it shall undertake.
Monitoring & Evaluation of Market Response
An organization should have strategies that it will use to monitor and evaluate the response from the market based on its approach. Through the evaluation process, the organization will assess the effectiveness of its marketing plan and make necessary changes to attain its marketing goals.
Contingency Plan
The contingency plan discusses potential changes to the strategies if the marketing tactics are ether effective or less effective as planned from the initial phase.
Importance of Marketing Plan to an Organization
Marketing plans are critical tools for any organization that seeks to enter into a market and increase its performance. At the core of a marketing plan is to identify if a market exists for a product, and if it does, the tactics and efforts that can be used to ensure that an organization thrives. Therefore, a well-designed marketing plan ensures that an organization enters into the best marketplace. The plan helps an organization to understand its positioning in the market, assess and evaluate its internal and external environment for effective decision making and strategies focused on increasing its penetration in the market (Ellis, 2016). Besides, a marketing plan is an essential tool for management purposes and decision making as well as resource allocation. Managers rely on a marketing plan to assess the value proposition of their product offerings in the market and develop responsive strategies to either enhance the position or mitigate weak areas.
A marketing plan is a critical tool as it helps an organization to strategize by thinking ahead and considering the impacts of the promotional activities on both sales and the public perception of the organization. Innovative and transformative ideas fail when they lack a marketing plan. A marketing plan is a core component of driving innovation and allows a firm to meet its sales targets (Ellis, 2016). Also, a marketing plan allows a business to formalize its ideas in a process that is strategic and goal-focused. A marketing plan also helps an organization to align its marketing goals and objectives with its business strategies. Through a marketing plan, an organization develops its position and public image in the marketplace.
Part 2
The use of models like SWOT analysis, goals, and objectives as the basis of an organization’s overall strategy cannot be overemphasized because firms use their outcomes to execute their marketing strategies. A well designed and developed SWOT analysis enables an organization to implement proper planning in their marketing strategy. A SWOT analysis evaluates both the internal and external factors that affect the activities of an organization. The internal report focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Based on the strengths identified, a firm develops an effective strategy to leverage its capabilities and resources as well as core competencies to attain competitive advantage (Leonard, 2018). For instance, if a firm has an innovative and talented workforce, it can leverage this asset to develop a marketing plan and strategy that uses the most innovative ideas to appeal to its targeted market. Further, internal strength can also be financial resources and performance as well as brand reputation. As such, a firm will use its financial abilities to mount effective and elaborate campaigns to woo its customers and increase its value proposition in the marketplace and industry.
A marketing strategy works well when a firm understands the opportunities in the marketplace and deploys its core competences, resources, and capabilities to take advantage of these changes to increase its market share. Positive public perception is an opportunity, as well as an expanded market. Further, diversification strategies can only work when an organization understands the existing external opportunities. At the same time, threats in the external environment may implore a firm to develop effective strategies and use requisite expertise to control its effects. Organizations have limited influence on risks in the external environment that entail factors like political and economic changes. The implication is that an effective strategy is dependent on how an organization uses different models like SWOT to develop marketing approaches aimed at increasing value proposition as well as positioning in its industry and market environment. The need to attain goals and objectives mandates organizations to utilize their strategies in the most efficient way to achieve a competitive advantage in their operations and meet the dynamic customer needs and demands.
References
Duke, L. M., & Tucker, T. (2007). “How to develop a marketing plan for an academic library.” Technical services quarterly Vol.25, No.1 pp. 51-68.
Ellis, M. (2016). 6 Reasons Your Marketing Plan is More Important Than the History of Your Business. Retrieved from https://www.business2community.com/marketing/6-reasons-marketing-plan-important-history-business-01602194
Emerson, M. (2020). Seven Essential Components to a Marketing Plan. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/theupsstore/seven-essential-components-to-a-marketing-plan.html
Leonard, K. (2018). The Role of Marketing Planning in Business. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-marketing-planning-business-3234.html