1. MARKETNG PLAN
A marketing plan is a written document that details the necessary actions to achieve one
or more marketing objectives. It can be for a product or service, a brand, or a product
line. Marketing plans cover between one and five years.
A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the
foundation of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains a list of
actions, a marketing plan without a sound strategic foundation is of little use.
The questions to be answered in a marketing plan are :
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Who are the customers?
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What are their key characteristics?
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What differentiates them from other members of the population?
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What are their needs and wants?
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What do they expect the `product' to do?
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What are their special requirements and perceptions?
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What do they think of the organization and its products or services?
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What are their attitudes?
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What are their buying intentions?
Also, points to be considered are
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'Portfolio planning'. In addition, the coordinated planning of the individual
products and services can contribute towards the balanced portfolio.
•
'80:20 rule'. To achieve the maximum impact, the marketing plan must be clear,
concise and simple. It needs to concentrate on the 20 per cent of products or
services, and on the 20 per cent of customers, which will account for 80 per cent
of the volume and 80 per cent of the `profit'.
•
'7 Ps': Product, Place, Price and Promotion, Physical Environment, People,
Process. The 7 Ps can sometimes divert attention from the customer, but the
framework they offer can be very useful in building the action plans.

2. The main contents of a marketing plan are
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Executive Summary
Situational Analysis
Opportunities / Issue Analysis - SWOT Analysis
Objectives
Strategy
Action Programme (the operational marketing plan itself for the period under
review)
7. Financial Forecast
8. Controls
In detail, a complete marketing plan typically includes
Title page
1. Executive Summary
2. Current Situation - Macroenvironment
o economy
o legal
o government
o technology
o ecological
o sociocultural
o supply chain
3. Current Situation - Market Analysis
o market definition
o market size
o market segmentation
o industry structure and strategic groupings
o Porter 5 forces analysis
o competition and market share
o competitors' strengths and weaknesses
o market trends
4. Current Situation - Consumer Analysis [4]
o nature of the buying decision
o participants
o demographics
o psychographics
o buyer motivation and expectations
o loyalty segments
5. Current Situation - Internal

3. company resources
 financial
 people
 time
 skills
o objectives
 mission statement and vision statement
 corporate objectives
 financial objective
 marketing objectives
 long term objectives
 description of the basic business philosophy
o corporate culture
6. Summary of Situation Analysis
o external threats
o external opportunities
o internal strengths
o internal weaknesses
o Critical success factors in the industry
o our sustainable competitive advantage
7. Marketing research
o information requirements
o research methodology
o research results
8. Marketing Strategy - Product
o product mix
o product strengths and weaknesses
 perceptual mapping
o product life cycle management and new product development
o Brand name, brand image, and brand equity
o the augmented product
o product portfolio analysis
 B.C.G. Analysis
 contribution margin analysis
 G.E. Multi Factoral analysis
 Quality Function Deployment
9. Marketing Strategy [5] - segmented marketing actions and market share objectives
o by product,
o by customer segment,
o by geographical market,
o by distribution channel.
10. Marketing Strategy - Price
o pricing objectives
o pricing method (eg.: cost plus, demand based, or competitor indexing)
o pricing strategy (eg.: skimming, or penetration)
o discounts and allowances
o

4. price elasticity and customer sensitivity
price zoning
break even analysis at various prices
11. Marketing Strategy - promotion
o promotional goals
o promotional mix
o advertising reach, frequency, flights, theme, and media
o sales force requirements, techniques, and management
o sales promotion
o publicity and public relations
o electronic promotion (eg.: Web, or telephone)
o word of mouth marketing (buzz)
o viral marketing
12. Marketing Strategy - Distribution
o geographical coverage
o distribution channels
o physical distribution and logistics
o electronic distribution
13. Implementation
o personnel requirements
 assign responsibilities
 give incentives
 training on selling methods
o financial requirements
o management information systems requirements
o month-by-month agenda
 PERT or critical path analysis
o monitoring results and benchmarks
o adjustment mechanism
o contingencies (What if's)
14. Financial Summary
o assumptions
o pro-forma monthly income statement
o contribution margin analysis
o breakeven analysis
o Monte Carlo method
o ISI: Internet Strategic Intelligence
15. Scenarios
o Prediction of Future Scenarios
o Plan of Action for each Scenario
16. Appendix
o pictures and specifications of the new product
o results from research already completed
o
o
o
Use of Marketing Plans

5. A formal, written marketing plan is essential; in that it provides an unambiguous
reference point for activities throughout the planning period. However, perhaps the most
important benefit of these plans is the planning process itself. This typically offers a
unique opportunity, a forum, for `information-rich' and productively focused discussions
between the various managers involved. The plan, together with the associated
discussions, then provides an agreed context for their subsequent management activities,
even for those not described in the plan itself.
Budgets as Managerial Tools
The classic quantification of a marketing plan appears in the form of budgets. Because
these are so rigorously quantified, they are particularly important. They should, thus,
represent an unequivocal projection of actions and expected results. What is more, they
should be capable of being monitored accurately; and, indeed, performance against
budget is the main (regular) management review process.
The purpose of a marketing budget is, thus, to pull together all the revenues and costs
involved in marketing into one comprehensive document. It is a managerial tool that
balances what is needed to be spent against what can be afforded, and helps make choices
about priorities. It is then used in monitoring performance in practice.
The marketing budget is usually the most powerful tool by which you think through the
relationship between desired results and available means. Its starting point should be the
marketing strategies and plans, which have already been formulated in the marketing plan
itself; although, in practice, the two will run in parallel and will interact. At the very least,
the rigorous, highly quantified, budgets may cause a rethink of some of the more
optimistic elements of the plans.
Approaches to budgeting
Many budgets are based on history. They are the equivalent of `time-series' forecasting. It
is assumed that next year's budgets should follow some trend that is discernible over
recent history. Other alternatives are based on a simple `percentage of sales' or on `what
the competitors are doing'.
However, there are many other alternatives - Ven:
•
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Affordable - This may be the most common approach to budgeting. Someone,
typically the managing director on behalf of the board, decides what is a
`reasonable' promotional budget; what can be afforded. This figure is most often
based on historical spending. This approach assumes that promotion is a cost; and
sometimes is seen as an avoidable cost.
Percentage of revenue - This is a variation of `affordable', but at least it forges a
link with sales volume, in that the budget will be set at a certain percentage of
revenue, and thus follows trends in sales. However, it does imply that promotion
is a result of sales, rather than the other way round.

6. Both of these methods are seen by many managements to be `realistic', in that they reflect
the reality of the business strategies as those managements see it. On the other hand,
neither makes any allowance for change. They do not allow for the development to meet
emerging market opportunities and, at the other end of the scale, they continue to pour
money into a dying product or service (the `dog').
•
•
Competitive parity - In this case, the organization relates its budgets to what the
competitors are doing: for example, it matches their budgets, or beats them, or
spends a proportion of what the brand leader is spending. On the other hand, it
assumes that the competitors know best; in which case, the service or product can
expect to be nothing more than a follower.
Zero-based budgeting - In essence, this approach takes the objectives, as set out in
the marketing plan, together with the resulting planned activities and then costs
them out. Differences between marketing and business plans.

7. Both of these methods are seen by many managements to be `realistic', in that they reflect
the reality of the business strategies as those managements see it. On the other hand,
neither makes any allowance for change. They do not allow for the development to meet
emerging market opportunities and, at the other end of the scale, they continue to pour
money into a dying product or service (the `dog').
•
•
Competitive parity - In this case, the organization relates its budgets to what the
competitors are doing: for example, it matches their budgets, or beats them, or
spends a proportion of what the brand leader is spending. On the other hand, it
assumes that the competitors know best; in which case, the service or product can
expect to be nothing more than a follower.
Zero-based budgeting - In essence, this approach takes the objectives, as set out in
the marketing plan, together with the resulting planned activities and then costs
them out. Differences between marketing and business plans.