Marketing planning,

implementation and
Control
Presentation
By
Hannington Businge

Introduction

Marketing is the management process

responsible for identifying, anticipating and
satisfying customer requirements profitably. (The
Chartered Institute of Marketing)
McDonald (2007) agrees there is considerable
confusion about what marketing is.
He suggests that marketing is the process for:
Defining markets
Quantifying the needs of the customer groups
(segments) within these markets
Determining the value proposition to meet
these needs

Introduction
Communicating these value propositions to all
those people in the organisation responsible for
delivering them, and getting their buy-in to their
role
Playing an appropriate part in delivering these
value propositions (usually only communications)
Monitoring the value actually delivered.
There needs to be a clear distinction between
marketing as an activity or business function and
marketing as a concept, often referred to as a
marketing orientation

Marketing planning
Marketing planning is the series of
activities that formulate the plans to
achieve sustainable competitive advantage
for an organisation.
If a marketing orientation is to develop within
organisations, attention should be given to
each of the following:
Create a customer focus throughout the
business
Listen to the customer

Marketing planning
Target customers precisely
Measure and manage customer
expectations
Build customer relationships and
loyalty
Commit to continuous improvement
Manage profitability
Manage the marketing culture.

Marketings interface with other

organisational functions

Marketers as planners, strategists

and tacticians
Marketers play a key role as strategists within
organisations, asking and finding solutions to
questions such as:
Which market should we be in?
How should we compete in this market?
How can we embrace new technologies to sustain
our current markets?
What is the best way to deal with the threat of a
new competitor?
How should we address changing consumer
needs?
The marketing strategist will seek the best way to
deploy the resources available.

Marketing in theory and in

practiceis relatively
The theory of marketing
straightforward
customer focus,
co-ordinating resources,
competitive advantage,
planning towards goals
all appear to be sound principles for
any business or organisation to adopt.

Marketing in theory and in

practice
However the reality
of marketing in the
dynamic and ever-changing real world,
faced with constant international,
national and local competitive pressures,
is much more difficult.
However, putting it into practice
involves a great deal of skill and
knowledge, especially when
encountering implementation issues in
particular marketing contexts.

The synergistic planning

process
Synergistic planning is the rational
process of determining future actions
based on a realistic consideration of
the current situation and the outcome
that is desired.
Desired outcome
Analysing the current situation
Designing possible routes
Deciding what to do and how to do it.

The stages of the marketing planning process:, analysis,

planning, implementation and control

Analysis: This covers the analysis of the marketing

environment, both macro and micro, the industry,
markets and competitor analysis
Planning: This covers formulation of strategies and
marketing programmes with the identification of
resources and timing
Implementation: This covers the practical
execution of the plan, with any changes required to
achieve this
Control: This covers monitoring against planned
targets, control mechanisms and performance
metrics.

Sequential, cyclical and iterative

approaches to planning

Outcomes of planning and

plans
The outcomes of planning and the
marketing plan are:
A vision for the future of the
organisation
A mission to communicate
Organisational objectives covering a
range of time periods
Objectives for each of the functional
areas of the organisation.

Contents of the strategic marketing plan

So what does the strategic marketing plan

look like?
The content, structure, detail and
complexity will vary from organisation to
organisation.
However, strategic plans tend to have
common elements and the following
components would be expected:
External analysis

Contents of the strategic marketing plan

Industry analysis
Internal analysis
Opportunity identification
Objective setting
Formulation of strategy
Proposed marketing programmes
Implementation and control.

Contents of the strategic marketing

plan
A typical structure for a marketing plan is
shown below (adapted from McDonald, 2007):
1.0 Executive summary
1.1 Current position
1.2 Key issues
2.0 Corporate strategy
2.1 Corporate mission/objectives
2.2 Summary of overall position and corporate
strategy

Contents of the strategic marketing

plan

3.0
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4

External and internal analysis

Overview of market
Competitor analysis
Future trends
SWOT

Contents of the strategic marketing

plan
4.0 Marketing objectives
4.1 Financial objectives
4.2 Marketing objectives

5.0
5.1
5.2
5.3

Marketing strategy
Market segmentation
Competitive advantage
Marketing strategy

Contents of the strategic marketing

plan
5.3 Marketing strategy
5.4 Specific marketing programme
7Ps
Product/Price/Promotion/Place
People/Process/Physical Evidence
(see next)

Contents of the strategic marketing

plan
Implementation

6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4

Schedule of key tasks

Resource allocation
Budgets
Contingency

Contents of the strategic marketing

plan
7.0 Control and forecasting
7.1 Assumptions made in the plan
7.2 Critical success factors
Benchmarks
Metrics
7.3 Financial forecasts
Costs
Revenues

Barriers to planning
McDonald (2007) identifies the following ten
principal barriers:
Confusion over marketing tactics and strategy
Isolating the marketing function from
operations
Confusion between the marketing function
and the marketing concept
Organisational barriers the tribal mentality
failing to define SBUs correctly

Barriers to planning
Lack of in-depth analysis
Confusion between process and
output
Lack of knowledge and skills
Lack of a systematic approach to
marketing planning
Failure to prioritise objectives
Hostile corporate cultures.