Executive Summary

1. Purpose of the Marketing Plan

a) Offer brief explanation for why this plan was produced

o e.g., introduce new product, enter new markets, continue growth of existing product, yearly review and planning document, etc.

b) Suggest what may be done with the information contained in the plan

o e.g., set targets to be achieved in the next year, represents a departmental report to be included in larger business or strategic plan, etc.

2. Mission Statement
For larger firms this may already exist in a public way (e.g., found in annual report, found on corporate website) but for many others this may need to be formulated.
The mission statement consists of a short, finely-honed paragraph that considers the following issues:

a) Identifies a stable (i.e., not dramatically changing every year), long-run vision of the organization that can answer such questions as:

o Why is the company in business?

o What markets do we serve and why do we serve these markets?

o In general terms, what are the main benefits we offer our customers?

§ e.g., a low price software provider may state they offer “practical and highly affordable business solutions”

o What does this company want to be known for?

o What is the company out to prove to the industry, customers, partners, employees, etc.?

o What is the general corporate philosophy for doing business?

o What products/services does the company offer?

b) In developing the vision presented in the mission statement consider:

o Company History

§ How company started and major events of the company, products, markets served, etc.

o Resources and Competencies

§ Consider what the company currently possesses by answering the following:

§ What are we good at?

§ What is special about us compared to current and future competitors (in general terms do not need to mention names)?

§ What do we do that gives us a competitive advantage?

§ Consider the questions above in term of:

§ people, products, financial position, technical and research capabilities, partnership/supply chain relations, others

o Environment

§ Consider the conditions in which company operates including:

§ physical (e.g., facilities), equipment, political regulatory, competitive, economic, technological, others

Situational Analysis

Environmental Problems and Opportunities
Describe trends, events, conditions that are external (usually uncontrolled by the company) that may impact the company’s product(s) or the market. (Length: 1-2 pages)

• Areas of consideration: PESTEL

Product/Market Analysis Tools
In an effort to provide an easy to visualize summary of the product(s) consider using one or more of the following commonly used product/market analysis tools. (Length: 1 page)

• Product Life Cycle Analysis
• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Growth/Share Matrix

SWOT Analysis

Summary of Current Situation
Summarize all information in the Situational Analysis. (Length: 1 page)

• Provide a SWOT analysis for the company’s product(s) that includes:
• strengths
• weaknesses
• opportunities
• threats

Marketing Objectives

1. Financial Objectives
For many organizations the ultimate goal of the marketing plan is the effect it will have on the bottom line. Measures reflect income statement items and common ratios. (Page length: less than 1 page)

a) Customer sales

o by volume and growth percentage

o by segments

b) Channel sales

o by volume and growth percentage

o by channel

c) Margins

d) Profitability

2. Marketing Objectives
Marketing success can be measured on several non-financial market metrics. These measure are important since these often shed light on underlying conditions and circumstances facing the company that are not easily seen within financial measures. For instance, a company may report strong sales for a product but market share information may suggest the product is losing ground to competitors. The marketing objectives section will indicate targets to be achieved across several marketing decision areas. To add additional strength to this section include marketing metrics where possible. (Page length: less than 1 page)

a) Target market objectives

o market share

§ total

§ by segments

§ by channel

o customers

§ total

§ number/percentage new

§ number/percentage retained

o purchases

§ rate of purchases

§ size/volume of purchases

b) Promotional objectives

o level of brand/company awareness

o traffic building

§ (e.g., store traffic, website traffic)

o product trials

§ (e.g. sales promotions, product demonstrations)

o sales force

§ (e.g. cycle time, cost per call, closing rate, customer visits, etc.)

Marketing Strategies

Marketing Strategy
In this section identify the general marketing strategy under which this plan is being developed. It is very possible that a product will follow more than one strategy (e.g., sell more of same product to current customers but also find new customers in new markets). Plan developers may get some guidance and also rationale for strategy by examining results from the Situational Analysis. In particular, planners may look to strategies that are suggested within the scope of Product/Market Analysis Tools. Additionally, planners should refer to the Mission Statement in Step 1 to insure strategies are in line with how the company views itself. (Page length: less than 1 page)

Strategies generally fall under one of the following (or in some cases more than one) ideas:

a) Market growth (see ansoff matrix)

o Higher market penetration

§ Sell more to same market (i.e., get current customers to buy more or buy more frequently)

§ If overall market is growing this may not necessarily mean a growth in overall market share

§ If overall market is not growing this means a growth in overall market share

o Find new markets

§ Sell to markets or market segments not previously targeted

o Develop new products for existing customers

o Develop new products for new customers

b) Market stability

o Techniques to keep the status quo

§ Primarily used in times of economic decline or market decline

§ Generally requires the taking of market share from others in the industry

c) Cost control

o Techniques to contain costs or operate more effectively

§ Can work in combination with market growth or market stability

d) Market exit

1. Techniques to depart a market

Marketing Programme (Tactics)

In this section details and timetables are presented for six key decision areas:

• Target Markets
• Product
• Promotion
• Pricing
• Distribution
• Other Areas

1. Describe the Current Target Market(s)
Examine in detail the company’s current target market(s). Obviously to do this section correctly takes a great deal of customer-focused research. (Length: 2-3 pages).

a) Describe the target market approach:

o What general strategy is used to reach targeted customers? Generally approaches include:

§ mass market – aim to sell to a large broad market

§ segmentation approach – aim to selectively target one (niche) or more markets

b) Identify planned changes:

o Describe using profile (e.g., demographic, psychographic, behavioral, etc. ), Describe how it will be accomplished

c) Justify planned changes:

o Due to results

o Due to research

o Due to competition

o Others

d) Describe target market tactics:

o Objectives

o Methods used change target market

o Profile the target marketing

e) Describe demographic/psychographic profile of the market:

o Profile criteria may include:

§ gender, income, age, occupation, education, family life cycle, geographic region, lifestyle, attitudes, purchasing characteristics, etc.

f) Describe the following characteristics of targeted customers:

o Needs/benefits sought by market

o Product usage

§ Consider answers to these questions related to customers using the product such as:

§ who is using the product?

§ why do they use the product?

§ when do they use the product?

§ how is the product used?

o Product positioning

§ Evaluate how customers perceive the product in relation to competitor’s products or to other solutions they use to solve their problems

g) Summarize changes in product positioning

• Justify planned changes:
• Due to results
• Due to research
• Due to competition
• Others

· Describe tactics to carryout changes

• Objectives
• e.g. what is desired position?
• Methods used to change position

2. Product Issues
In this section discuss the decisions to be made for existing or new products and services. Make sure to consider all aspects of product decisions (branding, labeling, packaging) and not just the product itself. Also, keep in mind product decisions can also impact distributors (e.g., distributor’s response to packaging used to ship the product). (Length: 1-3 pages)

a) Brief summary of current product decisions for users and distributors in terms of:

§ General description

§ e.g., category of product, product line information

§ Features/attributes offered

§ list key features

§ main benefits target market receives

§ Branding

§ Packaging

§ Labeling

b) Identify planned changes:

§ Summarize changes

§ For new products

§ How was product developed?

§ Stage in development process

§ Timetable for availability

§ Justify changes:

§ Due to results

§ Due to research

§ Due to competition

§ Others

3. Pricing Issues
Pricing decisions can be a complicated undertaking that requires knowledge of the market, competitors, economic conditions and, of course, customers. For this section it is not necessary to provide extensive financial evaluation of the pricing decision since most of this will take place in Part 5 Budgeting and Implementation, however, the use of tables and graphs may be helpful in showing pricing trends and pricing decisions within various categories. (Length: 1-2 pages)

a) Brief summary of current pricing decisions:

o Describe pricing decisions by:

§ model/product

§ segment

§ channel

§ geography

§ other

o Adjustments and Allowances

§ Discounting

§ Payment terms

b) Identify planned changes

o Summarize changes

o Justify changes:

§ Due to results

§ Due to research

§ Due to competition

§ Other

4. Distribution Issues
This marketing tactics section lays out the distribution plan for the product or service. Distribution is a broad concept that includes all activities and entities (e.g., value chain partners) responsible for getting the product or service to the customer. Distribution costs can represent a high portion of the overall cost of the product so an efficient distribution system may be critical for marketing success. (Length: 1-3 pages)

a) Brief summary of current distribution network/value chain decisions:

o Types of channels used

§ direct - e.g., direct via sales force, Internet, etc.

§ indirect - e.g., retailers, wholesalers, agents

§ combination

o Level of market coverage

§ intensive - e.g., mass availability

§ selective - e.g., wide availability

§ exclusive - e.g., restricted availability

o Outlets handling product

§ types

§ number/level of penetration

§ geographic location

o Perceived product positioning

§ in relation to competitors

o Distribution costs

b) Identify planned changes:

o Summarize changes

o Justify changes:

§ Due to results

§ Due to research

§ Due to competition

§ Others

5. Promotion Issues
Describe the decisions related to how the product will be promoted. In general, promotion consists of four major areas – advertising, sales promotion, public relations and personal selling – though not all may be used. Timetables for promotion are important since certain types of promotions (e.g., magazine ads, trade shows) require long lead times. Most information in this section can be shown in tables and graphs. Each of the four promotion areas is separated out, however, some planners find it easier to combine the areas. For instance, the promotional areas could be combined within special promotion programs, such as Holiday Promotion Program, Summer Promotion Program, etc. (Length: 1-4 pages)

a) Brief summary of current promotional decisions for users and distributors in terms of:

o General description for four promotional areas:

§ advertising

§ sales promotion

§ personal selling

§ public relations

o Message/theme

o Methods used:

§ Summarize methods used

§ Summarize spending for each method

o Interrelation of four promotional areas

§ e.g., explain how advertising supports sales promotion

b) Describe planned changes:

• Identify changes directed to the targeted user market:
• General description for four promotional areas:
• Objectives
• Advertising - e.g., build general awareness/inquiries/traffic, encourage product trial, shift awareness (e.g., change attitude), response to competitor promotion, increase use or purchase rate, support other market decisions (e.g., support sales force), general corporate/product image building, etc.
• Sales promotion - e.g., build inquires, increase product trial, encourage repurchase, build traffic, support other promotions
• Personal selling - e.g., new account development, account support/maintenance, increase product trial, encourage purchase/repurchase, build traffic, support other promotions
• Public relations - e.g., build general awareness/inquiries/traffic, encourage product trial, shift awareness (e.g., change attitude), respond to negative news/perception, image building, prepare markets for future activity (e.g., new product)
• Methods and message:
• type and media used: e.g., ad type (e.g., television spots, Internet banner ads, roadside billboards, direct mail, etc.) , sales promotion type (e.g., coupons, demonstrations, etc.), selling type (e.g., sales force, call center), pr type (e.g., press release, pitch to magazines, etc.)
• message conveyed
• Spending and timetables
• total
• sub-divided by:
• type
• e.g., ad spending, sales force compensation
• media used
• targeted users

Marketing Budget

The Marketing Budget
This section should lay out spending requirements necessary for meeting the plan’s objectives. It is expected that several tables and graphs will be presented along with narratives explaining important budget issues. (Length: 2-3 pages)

a) Outline spending requirements for each tactical marketing decision

o Breakdown each tactical category

§ e.g., types of advertising, types of services offered, marketing research expense, etc.

o Show detailed spending timetable by:

§ Month

§ Year

o Show spending by:

§ Product (if plan is for more than one)

§ Segment/Geographic area

§ Distribution Network/Channel

Implementation & Control

Implementation
Provide a discussion of how and by whom the plan will be carried out. (Length: 1-2 pages)

• Detailed schedule of tasks and those responsible:
• Breakdown by important tactical marketing decisions
• Best presented in a Gantt chart format.
• Identify those responsible for each important task:
• If unsure leave generic
• e.g., advertising agency, web hosting company, distributors, etc.