Chapter 8

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 Learning Objectives
• To understand the relevance of industry and
competitive analysis to the market planning
process
• To describe the role of marketing research in
determining marketing strategy for the
marketing plan
• To illustrate an effective and feasible
procedure for the entrepreneur to follow in
engaging in a market research study
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 Learning Objectives
• To define the steps in preparing the marketing
plan
• To explain the marketing system and its key
components
• To illustrate different creative strategies that
may be used to differentiate or position the
new venture’s products or services

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 Industry Analysis
• Provides knowledge that can affect marketing
strategy decision making
• Identifies competitors’ strengths and
weaknesses
• Competitor analysis
• Documenting current strategies of primary
competitors

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Table 8.1- An Assessment of Competitor Marketing
Strategies and Strengths and Weaknesses

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 Marketing Research for the New
Venture
• Step one - Defining the purpose or objectives
• Step two - Gathering data from secondary
sources
• Step three - Gathering information from
primary sources
• Step four - Analyzing and interpreting the
results

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Difference Between a Business Plan and
a Marketing Plan
• Business plan
• Road map for the entire organization over time
• Focuses on decisions pertaining to all the
functional departments and future growth
strategies
• Marketing plan
• Focuses on marketing activities of a venture
• Integral part of a business plan

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Understanding the Marketing Plan
• Marketing plan
• Written statement of marketing objectives,
strategies, and activities
• Provides answers to three basic questions
• Where have we been?
• Where do we want to go (in the short term)?
• How do we get there?

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Characteristics of a Marketing Plan
• A marketing plan should:
• Provide a strategy
• Be based on facts/valid assumptions
• Describe an appropriate organization for
implementation
• Provide for short-term and long-term continuity
• Be simple and short
• Be flexible
• Specify criteria for control
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Table 8.5 - Outline for a Marketing Plan

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Characteristics of a Marketing Plan
• Marketing system
• Interacting internal and external factors that
affect:
• Venture’s ability to provide goods and services to meet
customer needs

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 Figure 8.1 - The Marketing System

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 The Marketing Mix
• Combination of product, price, promotion,
distribution:
• Needed to meet marketing objectives

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 Table 8.7- Critical Decisions for
Marketing Mix

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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Defining the business situation
• Situation analysis: Describes past and present
business achievements of new venture
• After the start of venture, information should
relate to:
• Present market conditions
• Performance of the company’s goods and services
• Future opportunities or prospects

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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Defining the target market/opportunities and
threats
• Target market: Specific group of potential
customers toward which the venture aims its
marketing plan
• Market segmentation: Dividing a market into
definable and measurable groups for purposes of
targeting marketing strategy
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in the
target market
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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Establishing goals and objectives
• Marketing goals and objectives: Statements of
level of performance desired by new venture
• Respond to the question, “Where do we want to
go?”
• Organizational goals should:
• Represent key areas
• Be limited in number (between six and eight)

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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Defining marketing strategy and action
programs
• Marketing strategy and action plan
• Specific activities outlined to meet the venture’s
business plan goals and objectives
• Product or service
• Describe the product or service

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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Pricing - Three important elements include
• Costs
• Margins or markups
• Competition
• Distribution
• Evaluate the choice of distribution channel
• Promotion
• Identify the medium to inform potential consumers
about the products

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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Marketing strategy: Consumer versus
business-to-business markets
• Business-to-business markets - Selling products or
services to another business
• Consumer markets - Sales to households for
personal consumption

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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Budgeting the marketing strategy
• Identifying costs to meet desired goals and
objectives
• Implementation of market plan
• Monitoring the progress of marketing actions
• Tracking results of the marketing effort
• Preparing for contingencies

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Steps in Preparing the Marketing Plan
• Weaknesses in market planning
• Poor analysis of the market and competitive
strategy
• Unrealistic goals and objectives
• Poor implementation of the outlined plan actions
• Unforeseen hazards like weather or war

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