Marketing Plans

Marketing plays a critical role in the strategic planning process of both large and small companies. The marketing plan operates at two levels;

1. At the strategic level it develops the marketing strategy based on the environment and the opportunities available to the firm;
2. At the tactical level it specifies the marketing tactics for advertising, merchandising, pricing, after sales service etc, in a particular period (usually one year).

Typical marketing plans specify the 4 P’s of marketing namely Product, Price, Promotion and Place.  In recent years marketing plans have begun featuring 6 P’s by adding People and Process to the mix.

Key benefits of formalising a marketing plan are:

1. They formally study the impact of changes in the macro environment and industry environment of the firm, and the lifecycle of the firms products or services, in a competitive environment;
2. They provide a focus on the marketing tools that will provide the best ‘bang for buck’ to the firm, and allocate marketing dollars to the firms best advantage;
3. They focus on brand building, and customer service; and
4. They make the firm aware of the customer’s needs and make the customers aware of what the firm has to offer.