Marketing plan

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A marketing plan is usually a written document that shows how the company assesses the current market situation and its further development, which goals it is pursuing, and which strategies and marketing instruments it intends to use to achieve the goals. In addition, there are key figures for progress and success control as well as suggestions for reacting to (unavoidable) deviations between the actual and the planned development. A marketing plan is usually created for a product , a product group, a strategic business unit or for the entire company . A marketing plan is the basis for a business plan that includes the planning of supporting functions. This includes, for example, the production, finance, personnel and procurement plan as well as the planning of research and development and innovations .

Significance and areas of application

According to Waldemar Pelz, the most important areas of application and reasons for creating a marketing plan can be summarized as follows:

  • Investment: The introduction of new or improved products or services as well as investment decisions sometimes require considerable financial resources. In these cases, the responsible persons usually have to convince a committee of experts that these investments are sensible (profitable) - the invested funds flow back with a certain surplus (profit). In such cases, the marketing plan is the most important basis for discussion for a critical review of the assumptions about framework conditions, trends and the likely buying behavior of potential customers.
  • Responsibility: As soon as an employee assumes responsibility for a product, a product group or a business unit as part of his professional development, he must prove his contribution to the long-term success of the company and show that he can handle assets or financial and human resources responsibly. To do this, he usually needs a marketing plan.
  • Qualification acquisition: Around two thirds of all managers in German business have a technical or scientific education. As soon as they want to qualify to take on management tasks, they need basic business knowledge, and this includes a marketing plan for applying this knowledge (see also management skills ).
  • Performance appraisal: Most of the larger companies are organized around strategic business units. The performance of the responsible employees is usually measured in terms of economic success, and this requires professional planning. The marketing plan is the heart of the business plan . In this context, success means that those responsible not only incur costs, but can also generate income.
  • Target agreement: The marketing plan or elements of it are the basis of target agreements at almost all hierarchical levels (e.g. agreement of marketing goals). And the ability of a manager to translate goals into measurable results is one of the most important requirements for professional success (see also implementation skills ).
  • Starting a business: When setting up a company, investors, banks or funding agencies want to be convinced of the usefulness and prospects of the business idea. This also requires a marketing plan as the core of the business plan ( business plan ).

The graphic opposite is intended to provide an overview of the structure of a marketing plan and the process of creating it.

Illustration of the process of creating a marketing plan

Building a marketing plan

After evaluating the relevant specialist literature, a marketing plan consists of the following components:

  1. Strategic analysis,
  2. Definition of qualitative and quantitative goals,
  3. Selection of suitable strategies to achieve goals,
  4. Budgeting the operational implementation with the marketing mix and
  5. Monitoring of progress, results and milestones.

At the beginning of the marketing plan there is usually a management summary of the five elements. These are explained in more detail below.

Strategic Analysis

The marketing plan begins with the strategic analysis. It consists of the market, customer and competition analysis. The market analysis provides information about the market potential (the possible future demand in units of quantity and value), the market volume (the amount actually sold at given prices, the market shares of the most important providers and the forecast of further market growth ). The customer analysis begins with a precise definition of the target groups, their buying habits, needs and expectations. The customers can be end users (consumers) or other companies. Important data in customer analysis are customer satisfaction and loyalty, attitudes, buying motives and expectations about the type of relationship with the provider. The competitive analysis is primarily about the assessment of the most important goals, strengths and weaknesses of relevant competitors, because this is the only way to formulate competitive advantages to be striven for in the context of strategic planning. It's about the core question: What do we have to do better in order to become a preferred provider in the perception of the target group. The results of a competitive analysis can be presented in a so-called strengths-weaknesses profile. A widely used instrument for this is the SWOT analysis .

Goal setting

The objective requires certain key figures. Typical goals are, for example, sales growth, market share or return (financial goals). These key figures are so-called lagging indicators. The problem with this: if, for example, sales are already falling, countermeasures are hardly possible and usually require great human and financial efforts. The principle applies that today's sales are the result of decisions (or omissions) made three to five years ago. In other words: What has been strategically neglected can usually no longer be cured surgically. That is why in recent years the focus has shifted to key figures that can serve as leading indicators. Examples of such early indicators are customer satisfaction, innovative ability, customer orientation of the organization, commitment and satisfaction of employees, acquisition of new customers or image of the company (market and customer-related goals). When setting goals, the so-called SMART principle is particularly important: S stands for specific, M for measurable, A for attainable, R for realistic and T for time bound. Goals should therefore be specific, measurable, achievable, ambitious and formulated in a time-related manner. As a result, the marketing plan contains short and long term, as well as qualitative and quantitative goals. All goals must be coordinated and should not contradict each other if possible.

Strategy choice

A strategy can be defined as a bundle of measures that appear suitable to move from A (current state) to B (target state), i.e. to achieve goals. Strategies can essentially be divided into four groups: competitive, positioning, portfolio and innovation strategies. Competitive strategies answer the question: How can those responsible for the marketing plan achieve a competitive advantage? According to Robert S. Kaplan and David Norton, there are essentially three sources of competitive advantage: superior (attractive) products, superior (efficient) processes or superior customer relationships (loyalty and trust). According to Michael Porter's model , competitive advantages can be achieved by focusing on quality and service ( differentiation ), through a price advantage ( cost leadership ) or by specializing in market niches. A company uses a positioning strategy to design its offer in such a way that it occupies a special, valued place in the consciousness of target customers and is set apart from competitors. Portfolio strategies ( portfolio analysis ) are intended to help plan the product range in such a way that the company has as many profitable products as possible in growing, attractive markets.

Strategy implementation with the marketing mix

The implementation of the strategy usually requires extensive human and financial resources. These are planned as part of the marketing budget. The central question is how to divide the marketing budget among the marketing instruments and what contribution these instruments (product, price, communication and distribution policy) should make to the efficient achievement of goals. An essential task of product and price policy is to set the price-performance ratio in such a way that it appears attractive in the eyes of customers. The task of communication policy is to inform customers about the offer and to get them to buy. In the marketing plan, one must therefore determine which means of communication (e.g. advertising, personal sales , public relations , sales promotion or direct marketing ) and in which combination are best suited to this. The financial resources must be planned accordingly.

Success control

The marketing plan ends with the success control (progress and profitability) mainly in three areas. On the one hand, you have to regularly check to what extent the marketing instruments make the expected contribution to the implementation of the goals. This is the only way to take corrective action. On the other hand, the success of the people involved (who implement the marketing plan) must be monitored with regard to their contribution to the success of the marketing plan. This is the only way to develop the personal skills of the specialists and managers concerned and to use them efficiently according to their strengths. In the event of any sanctions, the principle applies that they should only come into play if the persons involved are not carefully prepared for unavoidable deviations from the plan, especially since it is not possible to predict the future (principle of forward planning). In the third area, key figures about the profitability of products, markets, segments, customers, sales channels, etc. are to be determined so that opportunities for improvement and the need for adjustments can be derived at an early stage (basic requirement for corporate management).

Example of a marketing plan

The Pindari Boomerang Factory marketing plan is an example of the application of the methodology outlined. It comprises 42 pages, 3 of which are the executive summary. The Pindari Boomerang Factory is a non-profit organization that manufactures and markets local handicrafts from the Rockhampton region (Queensland, Australia). Around 1.1 million tourists come to this region every year, 90 percent of them Australians and 10 percent foreigners (British, Germans, Americans and New Zealanders). Examples of frequently requested products are boomerangs , wooden sticks (musical instruments), T-shirts, music CDs and didgeridoos . The purpose of the company is to promote local culture and handicrafts and to create new jobs (vision). The legal form is comparable to a German stock corporation or cooperative ; The shareholders are local shops and artisans.

swell

  • Ch. Homburg, H. Krohmer: Marketing Management. 3. Edition. Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8349-1656-3 .
  • Ho Yin Wong et al: Building a Marketing Plan - A Complete Guide. Harvard Business School Press / Business Expert Press, Boston / New York 2011, ISBN 978-1-60649-159-1 .
  • RS Kaplan, DP Norton: The Strategy Focused Organization. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass. 2001, ISBN 1-57851-250-6 .
  • P. Kotler, KL Keller: Marketing Management. 13th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 2009, ISBN 978-81-203-3570-7 .
  • M. Macdonald: Marketing Plans. An introduction to practical application. 6th edition. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-1849-4 .
  • H. Meffert among others: Marketing. 10th edition. Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 978-3-409-69018-8 .
  • W. Pelz: Strategic and Operative Marketing. A Guide to Creating a Professional Marketing Plan. Norderstedt 2004, ISBN 3-8334-0634-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ P. Kotler, G. Armstrong: Principles of Marketing. 15th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 2014, p. 56 ff. And W. Pelz: Strategisches und Operatives Marketing. A guide to creating a professional marketing plan. Norderstedt 2004, p. 79 ff. Online version (accessed on December 10, 2017)
  2. ^ W. Pelz: Strategic and Operative Marketing. A guide to creating a professional marketing plan. Norderstedt 2004, p. VI ff. Online version (accessed December 10, 2017)
  3. ↑ Ch. Homburg, H. Krohmer: Marketingmanagement. 3. Edition. Wiesbaden 2009; P. Kotler, KL Keller: Marketing Management. 13th edition. Upper Saddle River, New Yersey 2009; W. Pelz: Strategic and Operative Marketing. A guide to creating a professional marketing plan. Norderstedt 2004.
  4. ^ RS Kaplan, DP Norton: The Strategy Focused Organization. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass. 2001, p. 215 ff.
  5. ^ H. Meffert et al: Marketing. 10th edition. Wiesbaden 2008, p. 372.
  6. ^ Ho Yin Wong et al: Building a Marketing Plan - A Complete Guide. Harvard Business School Press / Business Expert Press, Boston / New York 2011.