Component of Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

Component of trade Plan Es showINTRODUCTION trade pattern is the central instrument for directing and coordinating the merchandise effort. The foodstuffing throw operates at two levels strategic and tactical. The strategic selling plan lays out the design trades and the value proposition that will be offered, based on an analysis of the best market opportunities. The tactical trade plan specifies the merchandising tactics, including convergence features, promotion, merchandising, pricing, gross sales channels, and service. Marketing plan is a written document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about the market place and indicates how the firm plans to reach its marketing objectives. It contains tactical guidelines for the marketing plans and financial all toldocation over the intend period. It is one of the most important outputs of the marketing process. Marketing plans argon becoming more customer and competitor lie and better reasoned and more realis tic than in the past. Marketing planning is becoming a continuous process to respond to rapidly changing market conditions.What is a Marketing Plan?A marketing plan provides direction for your marketing activities. Marketing plans need not be long or bell a lot to put together. Think of it as a road map, with detailed directions on how to get to your destination. Sure there whitethorn be a few bumps in the road, perhaps a diversion or two, but if the marketing plan is c arefully queryed, thoughtfully considered and evaluated, it will help the organization get its goals. The marketing plan details what you want to accomplish with your marketing strategy and helps you meet your objectives.The marketing plan Allows the organization to look internally in aver to fully understand the impact and results of past marketing decisions. Allows the organization to look externally in order to fully understand the market in which it chooses to compete. Sets time to come goals and provides direction for future marketing efforts that everyone in the organization should Understand and support. Is a key component part in obtaining funding to pursue new initiatives?Components of a Marketing PlanA marketing plan consists of following components1. Executive Summary2. Situation Analysis3. SWOT Analysis4. Marketing Goals and Objectives5. Marketing Strategies6. Budget7. Marketing audit8. Evaluation and ControlExecutive SummaryThe executive unofficial is the first part of the marketing plan, but should be written after all other parts are completed. It is a brief overview of the entire plan and covers only the main points. It is useful to people you approach with your plan, such as investors, who may want to read a synthesized version to look out if they are interested in it before taking the time to read it in depth. The executive summary is too useful internally, as it helps to remind you and your employees of the organizations desired marketing goals and how to achieve t hem.Situation AnalysisThe situation analysis helps you to determine where your organization presently stands. It should meditate whats going on outside of the organization, whats happening with consumers, and how the note is functioning internally.External AnalysisWhat changes are taking place in your city, county, state, country and slightly the cosmos that could potentially impact your business? Some things to investigate are Changes in political positions and legislation at the local, state, and national level. Changes in technology Trends in societys determine and habits Identify competitors and list their characteristics Economic conditionsCustomer AnalysisBefore developing a marketing plan its important to go through out what consumers want and how they devote grease ones palms decisions. This may require some marketing research. Think about these factors Current and potential customers Trends in consumer buying habits Why do consumers purchase this crossing or service ? Why do others not purchase this product or service?Internal AnalysisKnowing the state of the organization and its resources helps to determine where it is strong and what areas need attention. Include the following in the marketing plan Current state of financial and human resources Anticipated state of financial and human resources Your businesss performance in relation to competitorsThe 5 Cs of Marketing can be summarized asCompany The product time line, experience in the market, and so onteraCollaborators (or Partners) Distributors, suppliers, and alliances. These are any companies that you work with on a day to day basis to help your company run.Customers This is your market. Ask yourself what benefits they are looking for. What motivates them in the purchase process? Where the customer does truely purchases your product? How the product is purchased (impulse buys, internet, etc)? Understand the quantity a customer will purchase and even trends in consumer tastes.Compet itors Both your actual and potential competitors and those that directly or indirectly compete with you. Understand their products, positioning, market shares, strengths and weaknesses.Climate (or Environment) These are governmental policies and regulations that affect the market. It is also the economic environment around your company which is the business cycle, inflation rate, interest rates, and other macroeconomic issues. Societys trends and fashions are found in the climate. The technological environment is creating new federal agencys of satisfying necessarily (i.e. using technology to enhance the demand for come throughing products).SWOT AnalysisConducting a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis is essential in assessing the companys position and serves as a guide to developing marketing plans.Benefits of a SWOT AnalysisA SWOT analysis provides a fairly simple, low- appeal way of assessing the companys position. It presents information that is im portant in developing business and marketing plans, as well as setting organizational goals and objectives. It tells you where the company currently sits, and where it needs to go in the future. picWhen conducting your SWOT analysis, you should Examine your companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats from a customers perspective. If youre having trouble viewing issues that way, ask customers what they think or conduct surveys. Separate internal issues from external issues. The companys strengths and weaknesses are internal opportunities and threats are external. The key test to differentiate the two environments is to ask, Would this issue exist if the firm did not exist? If the answer is yes, the issue should be classified as external.Some things to consider about your company when determining your strengths and weaknesses are Size and financial resources Scale and cost economies Customer PerceptionsYou will probably have to do some research on your competitors, you r industry, and the environment in order to complete the opportunities and threats portion of your SWOT analysis. here are some topics to consider Trends in the competitive environment Trends in the technological environment Trends in the sociocultural environmentOnce youve finished a SWOT analysis for your company, accept the resulting strategy in your business and marketing plans. Some key actions to take include Transform strengths into capabilities by matching them with opportunities in the environment.ExampleStrength The company has a very efficient order fulfillment and distribution process Opportunity There is an unfulfilled need for the companys product in other countries Capability The company is capable of distributing its products worldwide Convert weaknesses into strengths by investing strategically in key areas.ExampleWeakness Employees are not familiar with the latest technology in the companys industry Investment The employer sends employees to classes, workshops, and conferences Strength Employees now have inside information on cutting skirt technology relevant to the industry Weaknesses that cannot be converted into strengths become limitations.ExampleWeakness A start-up company that has a tight distribution cypher and no connections in the industry may have difficulty getting shelf space in stores Meaning to consumers Consumers may not be able to find the companys products Minimization Allow consumers to purchase products through other channels, such as a web site or mail order catalog.Marketing Goals and Objectives afterward determining your companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, youll have a better idea of what marketing goals and objectives should be set. Goals are the overall accomplishments that youd like to falsify and objectives are benchmarks to meeting those goals. You might say that goals are more qualitative and objectives are more quantitative.For exampleMarketing Goal Increase awareness of Product XCor responding Objectives Increase expiry years direct mail distribution by 20% this year develop a web site for Product X by June inaugural participate in five trade shows by the end of the year. Goals must be realistic and consistent with the firms mission. Objectives must be measurable and time-specific. You may also want to include the person responsible and the calculate required for each objective.Marketing StrategiesIn this section, youll define your primary, secondary, and tertiary target markets and their purchasing characteristics. Next, discuss the marketing mix elements (product, price, distribution, and promotion) as they relate to your product or service. Some questions you may want to answer for eachtarget market includeProduct What are the features and benefits of your product? What is your competitive advantage? How will you position and differentiate your product? What complementary products are available? What customer services are available? damage What are the c osts associated with the product or service? What will your pricing strategy be? Will you give discounts?Distribution Who are your suppliers and intermediaries? How will you make the product or service conveniently available to consumers? What partnerships can be developed to distribute the product?Promotion Where will you advertise? What public dealing activities will be involved? If you will be involved in personal selling, what is your sales strategy? What types of promotions will you run? What sponsorship opportunities are available? view the Promotion MixWhen deciding how to properly utilize the marketing communications mix to meet your marketing objectives, it is important to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of each component of the mix. Further, you must always define your total budget first (generally defined in the Marketing and/or Business Plan) and then decide upon the best way to leverage the different elements of the mix to maximize the return on your inv estment. You will balance the various parts of the mix to not only create an compound approach to your marketing communications but you must also devote enough resources for each component to be successful. Here are some things to restrain in mindpicReaches large, geographically dispersed audiences, often with high frequency Low cost per exposure, though overall costs are high Consumers comprehend advertised goods as more legitimate Dramatizes company/brand Builds brand image may stimulate short-term sales Impersonal, one-way communication pricy picMost effective tool for building buyers preferences, convictions, and actions Personal interaction allows for feedback and adjustments Relationship-oriented Buyers are more attentive Sales force represents a long-term commitment Most high-ticket(prenominal) of the promotional tools picMay be targeted at the trade or ultimate consumerMakes use of a variety of formats premiums, coupons, contests, etc. Attracts attention, offers strong purchase incentives, dramatizes offers, boosts sagging sales Stimulates energetic response Short-lived Not effective at building long-term brand preferences picHighly credible Very believable Many forms news stories, news features, events and sponsorships, etc. Reaches many prospects missed via other forms of promotion Dramatizes company or product Often the most under used element in the promotional mix Relatively inexpensive (certainly not free as many people thinkthere are costs involved) picMany forms Telephone marketing, direct mail, online marketing, etc. Four distinctive characteristics Nonpublic, Immediate, Customized, synergetic Well-suited to highly-targeted marketing effortsBudget The goal of your marketing budget is to control your expenses and project your revenues. It also assists in the coordination of your marketing activities within your organization. A realistic budget establishes a standard of performance for your actions, and communicates those standards to o thers responsible for implementing your marketing strategy. A well-designed budget is also a tool to keep you on target and indicate when there is call for modification of your marketing plan, especially if something goes really right or very wrong.Budgeting ApproachesWhere do you get budget numbers? How do you set a budget and organize it? What are some standard ways to measure your budget? There are several approaches you can take to create your budget. Examples of these approaches may include basing your budget on Percent of projected gross sales. Percent of past gross sales. Per unit sales. Seasonal allocation. Projected cash flow.Select a budget methodology that will work best for your business. You may want to make this choice based on how you track your sales and revenues, or based on industry standards.Marketing AuditThe Marketing Audit is committed to up(p) strategic decision making when companies are faced with specific business challenges. Our market research studies p rovide clarity and insight, often on the most important questions faced by top executives, corporate managers, and strategy professionals.Here are 10 of 25 key dimensions a marketing audit should assess1. Key factors that impacted the business for good or for bad during the past year. Including an evaluation of marketing surprisesthe unanticipated competitive actions or changes in the marketing climate that affected the performance of the marketing programs.2. The extent to which each decision in the marketing plane.g. targeting, positioning, pricing, advertising, etc.was made after evaluating many alternatives in terms of profit-related criteria.3. Marketing knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction of all executives involved in the marketing function.4. The extent to which the marketing program was marketed internally and bought into by top management and non-marketing executives.5. Customer, distributor, vendor, and intermediary satisfaction based on research among key target groups .6. The performance of advertising, promotion, sales force, and marketing research programs in terms of ROI.7. The performance of non-traditional programs, particularly digital offerings, in terms of ROI.8. Whether the marketing plan achieved its stated financial and non-financial goals and objectives.9. Which aspects of the plan that failed to meet objectives with specific recommendations for improving next years performance.10. The current value of brand and customer equity for each brand in the product portfolio.Evaluation and ControlMany business owners forget the importance of evaluating their marketing plan. This is extremely important, because it serves as a guideline for what to do or not to do in the next marketing planning period. It is also ensures that the plan will be implemented properly. Some questions to be answered include How will employees be evaluated and compensated for their work? How can communication mingled with employees be improved? Do the employees share the firms values? Is management committed to the implementation of the marketing plan? What can be done if the product or service does not meet performance standards? What corrections can be made if the pricing, distribution, and promotion strategies do not accomplish the marketing goals and objectives? How will marketing activities be evaluated?