STRATEGIC FORMULATION

Strategy is a game plan for getting what you want to achieve.

Central Role of Strategic Planning

Successful CMOs (Chief Marketing Officer) have strong quantitative and qualitative skills, work
well with others but have an entrepreneurial attitude, understand the bottom line and listen to
the voice of the customers.

Successful CMOs are risk takers, problem solvers, change agents and results-oriented with
global experience, multichannel expertise, cross-industry experience, digital focus and
operational knowledge.

Five priorities for a successful CMO

1. Act as the visionary for the future of the company.
2. Build adaptive marketing capabilities.
3. Win the war for marketing talent.
4. Tighten the alignment with sales.
5. Take accountability for returns on marketing spending.

The Nature and Contents of a Marketing Plan

Marketing plan is a written document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about
the marketplace and indicates how the firm plans to meet its marketing objectives

Provides direction and focus for a brand, product or company. Informs and motivates key
constituents inside and outside an organization about its marketing goals and how these can be
achieved.

The most frequently cited shortcomings of current marketing plans, according to marketing
executives, are lack of realism, insufficient competitive analysis, and a short-run focus
Here are some questions to ask in evaluating a marketing plan.
1. Is the plan simple and succinct? Is it easy to understand and act on? Does it communicate
its content clearly and practically? Is it not unnecessarily long?
2. Is the plan complete? Does it include all the necessary elements? Does it have the right
breadth and depth? Achieving the right balance between completeness and lots of detail and
simplicity and clear focus is often the key to a well-constructed marketing plan.
3. Is the plan specific? Are its objectives concrete and measurable? Does it provide a clear
course of action? Does it include specific activities, each with specific dates of completion,
specific persons responsible, and specific budgets?
4. Is the plan realistic? Are the sales goals, expense budgets, and milestone dates realistic?
Has a frank and honest self-critique been conducted to raise possible concerns and objections?

Smaller businesses may create shorter or less formal marketing plans; corporations generally
require highly structured documents.

A marketing plan usually contains the following sections:

1. Executive summary and table of contents
2. Situation analysis (relevant background data on sales, costs, the market, competitors and the
macroenvironment)
3. Marketing strategy (mission, marketing and financial objectives, needs the marketing offering
is intended to satisfy and its competitive positioning)
4. Marketing tactics (marketing activities that will be undertaken to execute the marketing
strategy)
a. The product or service offering section describes the key attributes and benefits that
will appeal to target customers.
b. The pricing section specifies the general price range and how it might vary across
different types of customers or channels, including any incentive or discount plans.
c. The channel section outlines the different forms of distribution, such as direct or
indirect.
d. The communications section usually offers high-level guidance about the general
message and media strategy. Firms will often develop a separate communication plan to
provide the detail necessary for agencies and other media partners to effectively design
the communication program.

5. Financial projections include a sales forecast, an expense forecast, and a break-even

analysis.

a. The break-even analysis estimates how many units the firm must sell monthly (or how
many years it will take) to offset its monthly fixed costs and average per-unit variable
costs

b. Risk analysis obtains three estimates (optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely) for each
uncertain variable affecting profitability, under an assumed marketing environment and
marketing strategy for the planning period.

6. Implementation controls
 Outlines the controls for monitoring and adjusting implementation of the plan
 Spells out the goals and budget for each month or quarter so management can review
each period’s results and take corrective action as needed.

The Role of Research

 Up-to-date information is needed about the environment, competition and selected
market segments
 Research helps marketers learn about customers’ requirements, expectations,
perceptions, satisfaction and loyalty
THE SCOPE OF MARKETING RESEARCH

Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the
marketer through information

The information is used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate,
refine and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve
understanding of marketing as a process.

Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the
method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process,
analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.

Importance of Marketing Insights

Marketing insights provide diagnostic information about how consumers and markets behave,
why we observe certain effects in the marketplace and what that means to marketers

Marketing insights can form the basis for successful marketing programs, and gaining insights is
crucial for marketing success

Who Does Marketing Research?

Most large companies have their own marketing research departments, which often play crucial
roles within the organization.
Smaller companies use everyone to carry out marketing research, including customers, and
they hire research firms or use affordable methods like:
1. Engaging students or professors to design and carry out projects
2. Using the Internet
3. Checking out rivals
4. Tapping into marketing partner expertise
5. Tapping into employee creativity and wisdom

THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

Step 1: Define the Problem, the Decision Alternatives, and the Research Objectives
 Do not define the problem too broadly or too narrowly
 Some research is exploratory – the goal is to identify the problem and to suggest possible
solutions
 Some research is descriptive – it seeks to quantify demand
 Some research is causal – it tests a cause-and-effect relationship

Step 2: Develop the Research Plan

 Develop the most efficient plan for gathering needed information
 Discover what it will cost to execute the plan
 Consider data sources

Secondary data – collected for another purpose; already exists

Primary data – freshly gathered for a specific purpose or project
 Consider research approaches or type of research
 Choose research instruments
1. Questionnaires
2. Qualitative measures
3. Technological devices
 Choose a sampling plan
1. Sampling unit: whom should we survey?
2. Sample size: How many people should we survey?
3. Sampling procedure: How should we choose the respondents?
 Choose a contact method
1. Mail contacts
2. Telephone contacts
3. Personal contacts
4. Online contacts
5. Online research pros:
 a. Inexpensive
b. Expansive
c. Fast
d. Honest and thoughtful responses
e. Versatile
6. Online research cons:
a. Samples can be small and skewed
b. Online panels and communities can suffer from excessive turnover
c. Online market research can suffer technological problems and
inconsistencies

Step 3: Collect the Information

 Most expensive and error-prone phase
 Need to achieve consistency is one of the biggest obstacles

Step 4: Analyze the Information

 Extract findings by tabulating the data and developing summary measures
 Test hypotheses and theories, applying sensitivity analysis to test assumptions/strength of
conclusions
Step 5: Present the Findings
Step 6: Make the Decision

Good marketing research

 Uses the principles of the scientific method
 Is creative
 Does not rely on one method; uses two or three to increase confidence in the results.
 Recognizes that data are interpreted from underlying models that guide information sought.
 Balances cost and value of information
 Avoids glib assumptions/has a healthy skepticism
 Is Ethical