MARKETING PLANS

Otong Sunaryo
Understanding Marketing Plans
• A marketing plan is a document that outlines a company's marketing strategy for a specific
period of time. It's a strategic roadmap that helps businesses organize, execute, and track their
marketing efforts (1)

• A marketing plan is an important part of a business plan, which also includes a company's goals,
values, mission statement, and budget. It's usually created annually and should be monitored
regularly, especially in the beginning stages (2)

• The plan identifies the target market, value proposition of the brand or product, campaigns to be
initiated, and metrics to be used to assess the effectiveness of marketing initiatives (3)

• The marketing plan should be adjusted on an ongoing basis based on which efforts are having an
impact and which are not (4)

(1), (2) AI Generative

(3), (4) https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing-plan.asp
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Why do you need a marketing plan?
• Having a marketing plan for your business is essential, as it gives direction to
advertising strategy, sales strategy, customer support strategy, etc. It provides a
timeframe and implementation for the marketing strategies built.

• Overall, the main items a marketing plan solve are:

• Establishing measurable goals

• Actionable consistency for business strategy
• Working within a budget for clear financials and detailed expenditure
• Improves your relationship with customers
• Helps businesses to gain new investors
• It is a powerful motivator for marketing teams

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Marketing Plans vs Business Plans
• A business plan is a roadmap that details how a business will operate and function in its
entirety. It should cover the goals, missions, values, financials, and strategies that the business
will use in day-to-day operations and the achievement of its objectives. Among its many
elements are an executive summary, the products and services sold, a marketing analysis, a
marketing strategy, financial planning, and a budget.

• Marketing Plan: The primary purpose of a marketing plan is to outline the strategies and
tactics that a business will use to promote its products or services, reach its target audience,
and achieve its marketing goals.

• As mentioned, a business plan should include a marketing plan, which focuses on creating a
strategy for creating awareness of the company’s product or service, reaching the target
market, and generating sales

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Marketing Plan vs Marketing Strategy
• A marketing plan is in the form of a • Marketing strategy is more about a
document that contains a set of plan for achieving one of the
marketing strategies that the strategies you created in the
company wants to achieve marketing plan

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Elements of Marketing Plans
1. Mission statement

The foundation of any effective marketing plan begins with a clear and concise mission statement. This
crucial step sets the stage for all subsequent planning by articulating the core purpose and direction of
your company’s marketing efforts. A mission statement serves as a compass, guiding your marketing
strategies and ensuring they align with your organization’s broader goals.
Developing a mission statement is more than just a formality; it’s a strategic exercise that clarifies your
marketing vision and sets a purposeful path for your team. With a compelling mission statement in
place, you can craft a plan that resonates with your audience and drives your business toward its long-
term objectives
2. Marketing Plan Objectives

This section outlines the expected outcome of the marketing plan with clear, concise, realistic, and
attainable objectives. It contains specific targets and time frames.
Metrics, such as target market share, the target number of customers to be attained, penetration rate,
usage rate, sales volumes targeted, etc. should be used.

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Elements of Marketing Plans
3. Market Research – Market Analysis/Consumer Analysis

Market analysis includes topics such as market definition, market size, industry structure, market share
and trends, and competitor analysis. Consumer analysis includes the target market demographics and
what influences their buying decisions – e.g., loyalty, motivation, and expectations.
4. Target Market

This defines the target customers by their demographic profile, such as gender, race, age, and
psychographic profile, such as their interests. This will assist in the correct marketing mix for the target
market segments.
Pinpointing your target market is a crucial step in any marketing plan. Understanding who your
product or service is for and why forms the backbone of your marketing efforts and influences
decisions on marketing channels, content creation, and overall outreach strategies.

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• Potential Market – Those in the total
population who have interest in
acquiring the product

• Available Market – Those in the

potential market who have enough
money to buy the product

• Qualified Available Market – Those in

the available market who legally are
permitted to buy the product

• Target Market – The segment of

qualified available market that the firm
has decided to serve (the served
market)

• Penetrated Market – Those in the

target market who purchased the
product

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Elements of Marketing Plans
5. Competitive Analysis

Conducting a competitive analysis is integral to crafting a robust marketing plan. This process involves identifying your main competitors, understanding
their strategies, and evaluating how your business can establish a distinctive and superior position in your niche. Through this analysis, you’ll gain insights
into the competitive landscape, helping you to leverage your own strengths and identify areas for improvement.
• Understanding both the internal and external factors that influence your market positioning is crucial. They include:
Internal factors: Examine what could impact your competitive advantage, such as your team’s expertise, proprietary technology, or customer service
practices.
External factors: Look beyond your immediate competitive environment to broader market conditions that could affect your position. This includes
economic trends, regulatory changes, and technological advancements.
Economic considerations: Assess how the current economic climate might influence consumer purchasing behavior and, consequently, your market
strategy.
Sociological trends: Understand shifting societal values, lifestyles, and consumer behaviors and how they offer new market opportunities.
Industry trends: Keep an eye on overarching trends within your industry, including emerging technologies, shifts in consumer preferences, and new
regulatory frameworks.
• Evaluate the performance of competitors’ recent social media campaigns. One common framework for understanding market dynamics is a Porter’s
five forces analysis, which identifies the forces that contribute to industry rivals.

You can use swot analysis and PEST tools to help analyze internal and external factors and Porter’s five forces analysis

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10
PEST Analysis

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Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

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Elements of Marketing Plans
6. Marketing Strategy

• The marketing strategy section covers actual strategies to be included according to the marketing mix
• The correct marketing mix is determined by the target market. The most expensive options are advertising,
sales promotions, and PR campaigns. Networking and referrals are less costly.
• Marketers also need to pay attention to digital marketing strategies that make use of technology to reach
a wider market and have also proven to be cost-effective.
• Digital marketing channels, which became popular in the early 21st century, may eventually overtake
traditional marketing methods. Digital marketing encompasses trending methods, such as the use of social
media for business.
• Other strategies within the marketing strategy include pricing and positioning strategy, distribution
strategy, conversion strategy, and retention strategy.

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Elements of Marketing Plans
7. Marketing Budget

The marketing budget or projection outlines the budgeted expenditure for the marketing activities documented in the marketing plan. The marketing budget consists of
revenues and costs stated in the marketing plan in one document.
It balances expenditures on marketing activities and what the organization can afford. It’s a financial plan of marketing activities to be carried out – e.g., promotional
activities, cost of marketing materials and advertising, and so on. Other considerations include expected product volume and price, production and delivery costs, and
operating and financing costs.
The effectiveness of the marketing plan depends on the budget allocated for marketing expenditure. The cost of marketing should be able to make the company break
even and make profits.

8. Performance Analysis

Marketing concepts and strategies are not only compiled on a planning sheet. Before the company implements the marketing plan, first determine the success indicators
of the marketing strategy with KPI (Key Performance Indicator).KPI is a measuring tool or indicator that can be used by companies to monitor the targets of the strategies
that have been prepared. The use of KPI (Key Performance Indicator) in the company will make the evaluation stage more efficient.
Establishing clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) is a pivotal step in crafting a marketing plan that aligns with your company’s value proposition and ensures
measurable success. This stage involves setting financial and non-financial objectives to guide your marketing efforts and evaluate their effectiveness.
Marketers who set specific goals are significantly more likely to report success. By defining financial and non-financial objectives, you create a comprehensive framework
for guiding your marketing strategies. This dual focus not only drives economic value but also fosters qualitative improvements in your marketing efforts, ensuring a
balanced approach to achieving your company’s vision.
SMART Goal methodology may help you to define the right KPI

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SMART Goals

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Marketing Plan Examples

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Marketing Plan – Example
Executive Summary & Customer Profile

https://www.smartsheet.com/content/marketing-plan-examples
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Marketing Plan – Example
Strategi, Mix, and Channels

https://www.smartsheet.com/content/marketing-plan-examples
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Marketing Plan – Example
Budgeting

https://www.smartsheet.com/content/marketing-plan-examples
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Marketing Plan – Example
Timeline

https://www.smartsheet.com/content/marketing-plan-examples
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Administration of a Marketing Plan
• The marketing plan should be revised and adapted to changes in the environment periodically. The use
of metrics, budgets, and schedules to measure progress towards the goals set in the marketing plan is a
continuous process by marketing personnel.

• There should be a continuous assessment to verify that the goals of the marketing plan are being
achieved. The marketing manager should be able to review if the strategies documented are being
effective, given the operating environment.

• It is irrational for the marketing manager to notice anomalies and wait to review at year-end when the
situation might have already deteriorated.

• Changes in the environment may necessitate a review of plans, projections, strategies, and targets.
Therefore, a formal periodical review – such as monthly or quarterly – may need to be in place. This may
mean preparing an annual marketing plan but reviewing the plan quarterly to keep targets and plans
aligned closely to environmental changes. It goes without saying that plans are as good as their feasibility
to succeed in the given environment.
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Conclusion
• No book can provide you with a set of foolproof tricks for your marketing plan, nonetheless
after reading this blog you clearly understand what goes into a successful plan and how to
write it.

• A good marketing plan is the foundation for your business which helps a business grow and
evolve over time. Every step you take will have a great impact on your business.

• Spend a good amount of time creating the best marketing plan to benefit you in the near
future

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