The Marketing Plan

Everything is Possible From

Here!

Major Components

Situation AnalysisProblems and OpportunitiesMarketing ObjectivesMarketing Strategies Implementation Evaluation

The Situational Analysis

A SA is a snapshot in time .. A picture of your company TODAY … you do not address plans, the future, etc. This is an analysis of the current situation!

Situation Analysis

2 primary sections 1) Internal

Considerations – the marketing mix (in your control)– Product– Promotion– Distribution– Price

2) External Considerations (not in the control of the firm)– Marketplace– Competition– Consumers– Demand– Environment

Product

What stage of the PLC are your products/organization?

What is your product mux in terms of the market share/market growth model (BCG)?

What are your products and attributes, competitive advantages?

What is the depth, width and length of your product line?

What is your branding strategy?

Price and Place

What is your current pricing strategy? Competitive, skimming, penetration, etc.?

Distribution– How, when and where

do you deliver product to the consumer

Distribution– Hours of operation– Location– Payment methods

What is your distribution strategy? Intensive, selective or exclusive?

Promotion

How do you communicate with consumers?– What is your

promotions budget? Mix of personal selling,

advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, social media efforts and PR

What has worked for you in the past in terms of communication with the consumer?– What is your existing

promotions mix?– Do you have any

slogans, or spokespersons

Situational Analysis

External Considerations– Marketplace– Competition– Consumers– Demand– Environment

External Factors – Outside of your control

Marketplace – what is your overall sales potential

Legal Issues – are there any concerns with current regulations, govt oversight?

Technology – does technology impact the delivery of your products and services? Does it impact changes in your product design?

Economy – how has the economy impacted your firm?

External Considerations

Competition– 3 levels to discuss

Direct brand Substitute (provides

the same benefits General – competing

for your customer’s disposable income

Consumer– Provide a detailed

profile of your consumer including:

Demographics Geographics Behavioristics AIO (Attitudes,

Interests and Opinions)

External Considerations

Demand – Analyze the demand

function of your consumer

What price and set of features are they seeking?

Additional External Situational Factors– Could include

(depending on the business) sociodemographic trends, politics, etc.

Problems and Opportunities

Identification Possible After SAProblems May be Opportunities in

DisguisePromotion only Solves

Communication Problems

Setting Objectives

Must be Specific and MeasurablePrimary Marketing Objectives

– Sales, Market Share, VolumeSecondary Objectives

– 4 P’s Product – brand Promotion - awareness Price - % markup Place - # outlets open

4P’s Objectives

Should support overall marketing objectives (like increasing market share)

Price Objective

ex: during the 1st 6 months set price to yield $200k profit

Distribution

product bulky – objective minimize shipping costs

product small – develop a channel

Promotion Objectives

Developed to support overall marketing objectives– Increase awareness by 50% in TM in 3 month

campaign– Generate recall in 20% of TM in 25%

Product Objectives

Can be individual product or product line– Are you expanding the product line to reach new

customers or better serve existing customers

Quality Objectives– Level or consistency objectives

Steps in the Target Marketing Process

Segmentation

Identify and describe marketsegments

Targeting*Evaluate segments and determine which to pursue

PositioningDesign a product or service to meet the segment’s needs and develop a marketingmix that is competitiveto the TM

Marketing Strategies

Investigate Segmentation Opportunities

Determine Target MarketDevelop your Positioning

Strategy

Target Markets

these are the aggregate segments that you will direct your marketing efforts towards

You’re prospects!

The Target Market Decision

Undifferentiated MarketingDifferentiated MarketingFocused (Concentrated

Marketing)

Marketing Segmentation

Identifying groups of people with shared characteristics within the broad markets for consumer or business products

aggregating these groups into larger segments according to their mutual interest in the product’s utility

Steps to Segment

Identify the needs structure of the consumer population

Group the customers into homogeneous segments

Id factors that are correlated with the segments (segmentation variables)

Select your target market Develop your positioning strategy

Segmentation Variables

Demographics– age, income, sex, family

size

Geographics– regions, climate, density

Behavioristic – benefits sought, usage

rates, purchase occasion, psychographics

– VALS

Marketing Strategies

Product Strategies– Branding– Packaging

Distribution– Push vs. Pull

Develop a Positioning Strategy

Analyze Competitor’s position

– This helps with identifying promotional hooks to pursue

Identify Competitive Advantage

Finalize the Marketing Mix

The elements of the marketing mix must match the selected segments.

– Product must deliver benefits the segment values

Convenience or status Price at the level customers

will pay that also complements promotions strategy

Available in locations sought

Advertising and Distribution

Direct Distribution - Network Marketing Indirect Distribution - resellers and channel

members to consider Three Primary Strategies

– Intensive– Selective– Exclusive

Marketing Strategies

Promotion

Promotions Mix – how will you spend budgeted dollars on your mix of promotional tools

Pricing

competitive, skimming, penetration, promotional

Marketing Strategies

Co-op Strategies IMC

– seek synergy

Implementation

Scheduling – when will you end and begin this plan, use calendar to identify which strategies will come into play at certain times of the year

Budgeting – how much will all of this cost, when will your payouts be?

Evaluation

Compare Against Quantifiable Objectives

Promotions Plan

natural outgrowth of the marketing plan outline of the actions, approaches and tactics that

will be used to meet promotions objectives. – Advertising– pr– Sales promotion– Personal selling– Direct marketing

often bounded by budgetary considerations

Advertising Pyramid

Action Desire Conviction Comprehension Awareness

Promotions Objectives

should support marketing objectives

deal with all elements of the promotions mix. awareness, recall, likeability, recognition, action, sales, contacts (or calls), # media contacted and story pickups

Promotions Strategies

our plan of action! Broken into section for each of the elements of the promotions mix

utilizes the creative mix to mobilize the forces!

target audience product concept communications media Advertising, pr, personal selling message

Product Concept How will the ad present the

product? In terms of:

– Positioning– Differentiation– Life Cycle– Branding, packaging,

classification– Thinking or feeling?

Advertising Message

Copy Elements– Advertising appeals

Humor, fear, slice of life

– Copy Platform– Key Consumer Benefits to be identified

Art Elements– Visuals for packaging, ads, POP– Layout and Design

Sales Message

Id Contact Person Develop scripts for specific TMs Training Setting reasonable expectations Developing long-term relationships

Creative Mix

target audience - the people you want to speak to and address the message to

– Primary and Secondary product concept - the bundle of values or benefits

– may be psychological or utilitarian communications message

– TV, radio, magazines, newspaper advertising message - combo of art and copy and production to

form message pr message – what is the “newsworthy” item or message Sales promotion – target new segments and spur action Personal selling – demonstrate, address b to b customers,

develop trade show information, overcome objections Direct marketing – can this be a reasonable additions to mix?

Media Planning

Define Media Objectives– Reach, frequency, GRP, scheduling

Profile audiences/readershipMatch the audiences to the TMEvaluate economics of TM vs. TANegotiate purchases

Evaluation and Testing

Advertising Research

Pretest ads

Test Concept

Posttesting