Without marketing planning a Sales organization cannot beat the competitors in the market? Explaining marketing planning stages, Comment.
Marketing
Planning
Marketing
planning is a systematic process involving the assessment of marketing
opportunities and resources, the determination of marketing objectives and the
development of a plan for implementation and control. The preparation of
marketing plans can be viewed as a welcome distraction from the everyday
running of a business, providing the opportunity to put in some solid thinking
about where the business needs to be going. Some benefits of the marketing
planning are as follows:
§
To help
identify sources of competitive advantage
§
To force
an organized approach
§
To ensure
consistent relationships
§
To inform
§
To get
resources
§
To get
support
§
To gain
commitment
§
To set
objectives and strategies
§
To spell
out the desired mix of products and services
§
Planning
involves consideration of complex issues covering the whole organization, and
the marketer may come across barriers to planning, for
example:
§
The
culture of the organization – is it focused internally rather than externally?
§
Power and
politics
§
Analysis –
not action
§
Resource
issues – money and time
§
Skills and
technology – may not match customer need
§
Ability to
challenge existing ideas
In the era of
digital marketing, it is increasingly important to use planning as a means of
discovering and best harnessing the new found powers of digital strategies. Information
is accessed and absorbed differently by both consumers and businesses alike,
and so the entire process of planning digital marketing needs to be assessed
accordingly.
The marketing planning process:
The marketing planning process involves both the
development of objectives and specifications for how they will be accomplished.
There are five basic steps in the process in this process.
1. Determination of Organizational Objective
The basic objectives, or goals, of the
organization are the starting point for marketing planning. They serve as the
foundation from which marketing objectives and plans are built. These
objectives provide direction for all phases of the organization and serve as
standards in evaluating performance. Soundly conceived goals should be
S.M.A.R.T – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-specific.
2. Assessing Organizational Resources
Planning strategies are influenced by a number
of factors both within and outside the organization. Organizational resources
include capabilities in production, marketing, finance, technology, and
personnel. By evaluating these resources, organizations can pinpoint their
strengths and weaknesses. Strengths help organizations set objectives, develop
plans for meeting objectives, and take advantage of marketing opportunities.
Resource weaknesses, on the other hand, may inhibit an organization from taking
advantage of marketing opportunities.
3. Evaluating Risks and Opportunities
Environmental factors – competitive, political,
legal, economic, technological and social – also influence marketing
opportunities. The emergence of new technologies or innovations may open new
opportunities for under-marketed products. The marketing environment may also
pose threats to marketing opportunities. For example, a new genetically
engineered drug may be developed with the potential to become a $1
billion-a-year product. But a government agency may delay requests to market
the drug due to regulations.
4. Marketing Strategy
The net result of opportunity analysis is the
formulation of marketing objectives designed to achieve overall organizational
objectives and develop a marketing plan. The marketing planning effort must be
directed toward establishing marketing strategies that are resource efficient,
flexible, and adaptable. The marketing strategy is the overall company program
for selecting a particular target market and then satisfying consumers in that
segment.
5. Implementing and Monitoring Marketing Plans
The overall strategic marketing plan serves as
the basis for a series of operating plans necessary to move the organization
toward accomplishment of its objectives. At every step of the marketing
planning process, marketing managers use feedback to monitor and adapt
strategies when actual performance fails to match expectations.
Comments
Post a Comment