The Marketing Plan

Vishnu Parmar, IBA,

University of Sindh, Jamshoro
 Steps in Preparing the Marketing
Plan
1. Defining the Business Situation
1. Where we have been?
2. Where do we want to go (in the short term)?
3. How do we get there

Management must understand that the marketing

plan is a guide for implementing marketing
decision making and not a generalized,
superficial document
 What is a Marketing Plan ?
A marketing plan is the blueprint or the map you
intend to follow in order to achieve your goals. If you
are planning for existing programs, the plan will
incorporate the strengths of your current effort with
needed changes and improvements. If the plan is
for a brand new product or service, it will pull all the
elements together for an effective start on
marketing.
 What is Marketing Plan?
 The marketing plan must be linked to the
overall goals and objectives of your
organization…..your business plan

customers circulation both

 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
 The primary focus of the Industry Analysis is
to provide sufficient knowledge of the
environment (national and local Market) that
can affect marketing strategy decision making.
 It begins with the broadest based assessment
of environment and Industry trends than
proceed to local market environmental and
industry trend , competition
 Competitor Analysis
 The information on competitors can be gathered
initially by using as much public Information as
possible and then complementing this with a
marketing research project.
 Newspaper articles, websites, catalogs, promotions,
interviews with distributors and customers and any
other marketing strategy or company information
available should be reviewed.
 Table 8.1
 Marketing Research For the New
Venture
 Marketing research involves the gathering of
data in order to determine such information as
who will buy the product or service? What is
the size of the potential market? What price
should be charged? What is the most
appropriate distribution channel? And what is
the most effective promotion strategy to
inform and reach potential customers?
 Steps of Marketing Research
1. Defining the Purpose or Objectives
- How much would potential customers be willing to pay
for the product or service?
- Where would potential customers prefer to purchase the
product or service
- Where would the customers expect to hear about or learn
about such a product or service?
 2. Gathering Data from Secondary
Sources
 Before considering either primary sources or
commercial sources of information the
entrepreneurship should exhaust all free
secondary sources
 Trade magazines, newspaper articles,
 Libraries government agencies and the internet
are biggest sources to obtain secondary data
 3. Gathering Information from
Primary Sources
 Gathering primary data involves a data
collection procedure such as observation,
networking, interviewing, focus groups, or
experimentation and usually data collection
instrument like questionnaire Table 8.2
4. Analyzing the interpreting results
At this stage the result should be evaluated and
interpreted in response to the research
objectives that were specified in the first step
of the research process. The data should be
cross tabulated in order to provide more
focused results
 Understanding the Marketing Plan
 After gathering the necessary information
entrepreneur can prepare the marketing plan
 MP helps an entrepreneur to compete
effectively and operates in the market place to
meet the objectives and goals of this new
venture
 Understanding the Marketing Plan
 MP designs to provide the answers of the
following three questions
1. Where have we been?
2. Where do we want to go?
3. How do we get there?
 Outline for a Marketing Plan
1. Situation Analysis
- Background of the Venture
- Strength and Weaknesses of Venture
- Market Opportunities and Threats
2. Competitor Analysis
3. Marketing Objectives and Goals
4. Marketing Strategies and Action Plans
5. Budgets
6. Controls
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A
MARKETING PLAN
 It should provide a strategy for accomplishing
the company mission or goal
 It should based upon facts and valid
assumptions (Table 8.6)
 Allocation of resources must be well described
 It should provide continuity as long term plans
can be built upon them
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A
MARKETING PLAN
 It should be simple or short but not too short
as detail of goals are excluded
 It must be flexible
 It must specify performance criteria that will
be monitored and controlled
 Difference between Marketing Plan
and Marketing System
 Marketing Plan means written statement of
marketing objectives, strategies, and activities
to be followed in business plan
 Marketing System means interacting internal
and external factors that affect venture’s
ability to provide goods and services to meet
customer needs
External Environment Figure 8.1, The Marketing System
Economy
Culture
Technology
Demand
Legal Consideration
Raw Material
Competition Feed Back
Marketing
Entrepreneur Marketing Planning Purchase Decision
Strategies for
Decisions Of Customers
Customers

Internal Environment
Financial Resources
Suppliers
Goals & Objectives
Management Team