Marketing plan as a business tool
The marketing plan describes the specific marketing actions that the company will perform over a certain period of time, usually a year.
The marketing plan does not have to be long nor should it be a complicated material. It may be part of the general business plan or consist of a separate document. Its main role is as a "roadmap", which will provide detailed information about what and how the company will do to achieve its marketing goals.
A clear and well-structured marketing plan will:
- Allows companies to look internally to fully understand the impact and results of previous marketing decisions.
- It allows companies to search outwards to fully understand the market they are targeting and the competition in that space.
- Facilitate the setting of relevant objectives and provide directions for future marketing initiatives.
The marketing plan should include at least the following sections:
Introduction – This section gives a quick overview of the main points of the plan. It should be a summary of what the company has done in the past (1 year), what it intends to do in the future (1 year), and how it will get there.
Marketing Objectives – This section will define the specific marketing objectives of the company. This is essential to understand the strengths, weaknesses and business environment in which the company operates. It is essential that marketing objectives are clearly correlated with business strategy.
Situation analysis – Situation analysis details the marketing context. This section will carefully examine internal and external factors influencing marketing strategy (SWOT analysis).
Target Markets – The target market concept is one of the most important aspects of marketing. There is no "message" that suits all marketing audiences. It's unrealistic to think you can attract everyone. Target market definition or market segmentation helps the company decide where to allocate resources and what kind of promotional methods and messages to use.
Tactics – Tactics are actions that detail how product marketing variables, price, placement and promotion are used to achieve marketing plan objectives and general business strategies. This part usually also contains budget items.
Monitoring and evaluation – This section of the plan should include procedures for tracking each type of marketing activity implemented. The effectiveness of each marketing activity will be monitored, which will be useful in the overall evaluation of the entire plan over a certain period of time.
In conclusion
Unfortunately, there are still many companies that neglect the realization of an annual marketing plan. What results is an ad hoc use of the budget allocated in this respect, without a correlation with the business strategy and without monitoring the effectiveness of the marketing actions undertaken. The repercussions are from a low brand awareness and high costs in the sales process, to the lack of differentiation and even decrease in the value of the company.