Marketing Planning

1. Marketing Planning Lecture 3 Karen Knibbs Marketing Practice – U14210 S2 09/10

2. 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

3. 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 anactivity 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)

4. 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

5. Benefits of Planning Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)

6. Rationale for planning • Planning should answer questions including: • Why are we here? • What business are we in? • Where are we now? = S&W • What issues do we face? • PESTLE analysis / =O&T • Where do we want to be? • Goals vs. capabilities • How do we get there? • Activities and Controls

7. 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

8. Planning framework McDonald (2007) 1. Mission Phase One – Goal Setting 2. Corporate Objectives 3. Marketing Audit • Environmental analysis: PESTLE, SWOT • Understanding customers: Buyer Behaviour • Segmentation, targeting and positioning • 4P’s/ 7P’s Marketing Mix Phase Two – Situation Review 4. SWOT Analyses 5. Assumptions = Core strategy 6. Marketing objectives & strategies Phase Three – Strategy Formation 7. Estimated results 8. Alternative plans & mixes Phase Four – Resource Allocation & Monitoring 9. Budget Measurement & Review 10. 1st yr detailed implementation plan

9. 1 2 3 6 5 4 7 8 Brassington & Pettitt, (2006) Other Authors’ suggested contents • Executive summary • Situation Analysis • Market Summary • targets, demo-graphics , needs, trends, growth • SWOT Analysis • Competition • Product Offering • CSF’s – opportunities and threats • Marketing Strategy • Mission • Marketing 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)

10. Marketing Planning for Small Businesses (SME) Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)

11. 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: • Future oriented • Reflects value and orientations of the leader • States strategic purpose • Enabling – provides clear guidelines for each SBU

12. Group Vision & Mission

13. 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

14. Internal External Internal & External Current marketing situation or AUDIT Should include: • Market situation • Competitive situation • Macro environment situation • (PESTLE) • Product situation • Price situation • Promotion situation • Place (distribution) situation

15. Situation Audit

16. SWOT Analysis

17. 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

18. 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)

19. Qualitative targets Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)

20. Marketing Strategy • Includes: • target market • positioning • marketing mix • customer service • research and development • marketing research

21. 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

22. Action Programmes • Attempts to answer: • what will be done? • when? • who by? • at what cost and using which resources?

23. Marketing & other Departments • Marketing has a bridging / integration role with other operational departments: • Research & Development (R&D) • Engineering • Purchasing • Manufacturing • Operations • Finance & Accounts • Credit

24. Marketing Programme Sample from Boudler Stop Café • Marketing plan: • 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.

25. Control and Evaluation Process • Measures include: • performance measurements • evaluation mechanisms • feedback mechanisms • contingency planning • Budgets / Profit & Loss Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)

26. Marketing Costs and Profitability Analysis Brassington & Pettitt, (2006)

27. 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!

28. Enhancing customer service Increasing profitability Vs. Long-term value creation Short-term profit Vs. Revenue maximisation Cost minimisation Vs. Marketing Planning is Essential! Conflicting pressures make choices difficult:

29. 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 .