Strategic Marketing Plan

Develop a strategic marketing plan to successfully grow

your business and increase profits
After studying this lesson , you should be able to:

• Compare and contrast two types of marketing plans.

• Describe steps of the marketing planning process.
• Describe components of marketing plan
• Identify reasons of marketing plan failure
Strategic marketing planning involves careful analysis of an
organization’s environment, its competitors and its internal
strengths, in order to develop a sustainable plan of action which
will develop the organization’s competitive advantage and
maximize its performance within given resource availability.
The rationale for strategic marketing planning
Strategic marketing planning is valuable to organizations for a
number of reasons, including:
 The effective allocation of resources
 Pinpointing the organization’s strengths and weaknesses
 Identifying market threats and opportunities
 Forcing organizations to clarify their mission and look to the
future
 Ensuring that methods of evaluating performance are
developed
 Making sure attractions consider their competitors
 Guiding day-to-day marketing activities
 Allocating responsibilities to individual members of staff.
what is Marketing Planning

The systematic process of assessing opportunities and

resources, determining objectives, defining strategies, and
establishing guidelines for implementation and control of the
marketing program.
A marketing plan
A marketing plan, a written document that specifies the activities
to be performed to implement and control the organization’s
marketing activities.
A marketing plan

A marketing plan is a written document composed of an

analysis of the current marketing situation, opportunities and
threats for the firm, marketing objectives and strategy specified
in terms of the four Ps, action programs, and projected or pro-
forma income (and other financial) statements.
A marketing plan is a written document that summarizes what
the marketer has learned about the marketplace and indicates
how the firm plans to reach its marketing objectives. It contains
tactical guidelines for the marketing programs and financial
allocations over the planning period.
Types of marketing plan
Strategic marketing plans (SMP) are generally established for a
minimum three- to five-year term.
They focus on longer-term goals, such as developing market share
and growing revenues.
Core marketing decisions are made about market segmentation,
target markets and market positioning, and these decisions
establish the foundations on which tactical plans can be built.
Tactical marketing plans
Tactical marketing plan (TMP) operates within a short timeframe,
normally no longer than one year. The TMP is subordinate to the
SMP.
TMP consist primarily of campaigns and events, which may be
unit- or department-specific.
A campaign is a promotion that runs for a short period of time.
Event-based marketing is the term used to describe the creation
and communication of offers to customers at particular points in
time.
The purpose of marketing plan
 Provide clear direction to the marketing operation based upon a
systematic, written approach to planning and action
 Coordinate the resources of the organization
 Set targets against which progress can be measured
 Minimize risk through analysis of the Internal and external
environment.
 The marketing planning process
1. Conducting a Situation Analysis
2. Defining Marketing Goals and Objectives
3. Formulating marketing strategies and action plans
4. Marketing implementation
5. Marketing evaluation/ control
Conducting a Situation Analysis
The first step in the marketing planning process requires a firm to
perform a situation analysis. This begins by looking at the history of
the firm and three key environments: the internal environment, the
customer environment, and the firm’s external environment.
 Setting Marketing Goals and Objectives
Goals are the primary aims of the organization.
Goals are broad statements of what the firm seeks to accomplish.
Goals can be defined in terms of sales growth, increased
profitability, and market leadership.
For example, a firm may develop a goal that states, “We are
seeking to achieve the number one market share in the mid-
Atlantic region.
Objectives the specific aims that managers try to accomplish to
achieve organizational goals. Objectives are the activities that will
accomplish the goals.
For example
The goal of sales growth for a hotel could be reached via the
objectives of a 20 per cent increase in accommodation sales and a
30 per cent increase in food and beverage sales.
The goal of increased profitability could be translated into
objectives of a 15 per cent increase in profits across the board.
A goal of market leadership could be translated into objectives
for each city in which a hotel chain operates.
Characteristics of good objectives

 Objectives should be specific and easy to understand. They

should not be too broad and difficult to define.
 A marketing objective should be measurable, which allows the
organization to track progress and compare outcomes against
beginning benchmarks.
 A marketing objective should specify a time frame for its
accomplishment, such as six months or one year.
 Objectives must be within the power of the organization to
achieve.
 Objectives must be acceptable to the individuals within the
organization.
 Examples Marketing objectives

well-stated objectives poorly stated objectives

• Our objective is to increase Our objective is to increase

occupancy rate from 70% to occupancy rate.
75% within one year by
decreasing group rates by
5%.
Our objective is to increase our
• Our objective is to increase awareness
awareness over rating from
60% to 70% within one year
the next year.
 TYPES OF OBJECTIVES

Financial objectives
Financial objectives focus on the firm’s ability to generate enough
money to pay its bills, offer investors an adequate return, and
retain some of the earnings for investing in the firm.
• Financial Maximize profit
• Target rate of return
• Increase cash flow
Sales objectives focus on the level of sales in units or dollars,
and the firm’s sales relative to its competitors (i.e., market
share)
Sales objectives
Increase or maximize sales revenues
Increase volume (number of units sold)
Increase or maximize market share
Competitive objectives
Competitive objectives focus on the firm’s ability
to compete in the marketplace
• Position against competitors
• Long-term survival
• Maintain competitive parity (market share or
marketing expenditures)
Customer objectives
Customer objectives focus on the firm’s ability to make
consumers aware of its products, provide them with a product-
service mix that meets their expectations, and create a level of
goodwill among customers and other stakeholders.
• Increase market awareness
• Increase customer satisfaction
• Improve or change image
• Create goodwill
Formulating marketing strategies and action plans
This section of the marketing plan outlines how the firm will
achieve its marketing objectives.
A marketing strategy is the selection of a target market and the
creation of a marketing mix that will satisfy the needs of target
market members.
i. Selecting the Target Market
ii. Creating Marketing Mixes
consistency, it should be consistent with the business unit
and corporate strategies.
Flexibility, it permits the organization to alter the marketing mix in
response to changes in market conditions.
Action Plan
An action plan is a road map leading to the achievement of
objectives.
It describes the what, when, who, how, and the extent of
each activity.
Activities should be developed for each objective within the
individual market segments. Each activity item should also
have a time line and specify the personnel responsible for
implementation.
Actions Timetable Budget Who is
responsible?
Marketing implementation
The implementation section of the marketing plan describes how
the marketing program will be executed.
Marketing implementation is the process of putting marketing
strategies into action.
 Proper implementation requires creating efficient organizational
structures.
 Motivating marketing personnel
 Properly communicating within the marketing unit.
 Coordinating the marketing activities.
 And establishing a timetable for implementation.
Marketing Evaluation and Control
 The final section of the marketing plan details how the results of
the marketing program will be evaluated and controlled.
Marketing Control
 Process of measuring marketing results and adjusting the
marketing plan as needed
 Controls are necessary to detect, correct and prevent
unacceptable variances from the plan’s objectives and cost
profile.
Control Tools
Customer surveys
Profit and Loss documents
Comment cards
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rights reserved.
Why Marketing Plans Fail
Lack integration marketing plan and into the day-to-day
activities of the firm.
Plans are carefully prepared, but they remain unused because
employees are either unable or unwilling to implement them.

Poor competences in the marketing planning process.

Sometimes managers want to jump ahead and draw conclusions
before all environmental variables are considered and before a
clear consensus is determined.
Lack of input from line managers
Professional marketing managers assume responsibility for
developing marketing plans but line manager don’t show the
interest to implement the plan.
Inadequate input and insufficient consideration of all
environmental variables.
Managers often want to rush to a conclusion rather than gather
information and make informed decisions.
Lack of monitoring and control procedures
Many managers fail to establish procedures to monitor the
planning process from beginning to end.
Hence they are unable to make appropriate change.
Contingency planning
Many companies also develop contingency plans.
Contingency Plan is a plan designed to take a possible future
event or circumstance into account. Only the major risks are
considered in contingency planning that have had a serious
impact on hospitality companies.
Examples of possible future event
 The sudden arrival of a powerful new competitor
 A problem in your supply chain
 The resignation of an important sales representative
 A virus attack on your website
 The discovery of a major product
Note: The strategic marketing plan should always include a budget
item for contingencies.
This provides funds to enable the company to take advantage of
an unforeseen opportunity, or to respond to a downturn in demand
by increasing marketing activity.