Contents Of The Marketing Plan 04

Contents of the Marketing Plan Executive summary and table of contents: The marketing plan should open with a brief summary of the plan’s main goals and recommendations. The executive summary permits senior management to grasp the plan’s major thrust. A table of contents should follow the executive summary. Current marketing situation: This section presents relevant background data on sales, costs, profits, the market, competitors, distribution, and the macro-environment. The data are drawn from a product fact book maintained by the product manager. (For your report you need to draw on secondary data. This is where the internet will be very useful in gathering the data.) Opportunity and issue analysis: After summarizing the current marketing situation, the product manager proceeds to identify the major opportunities/threats, strengths/ weaknesses, and issues facing the product line. Goals and Objectives and issues: Once the product manager has summarized the issues, he or she must decide on the plan’s financial and marketing objectives. Target Market: Provide an explanation of segmentation, targeting and positioning decisions. A quantifiable analysis of the market and the segments to be targeted for the marketing strategy proposed is necessary to support you customer base for the strategy. Marketing Strategy: This section can be divided several ways. It should at least have a target Market Section and a Marketing program section including discussion on Price, Place, Product, and Promotion (Marketing Mix), The product manager now outlines the broad marketing strategy or “game plan” to accomplish the plan’s objectives. In developing the strategy, the product manager talks to the purchasing and manufacturing people to confirm that they are able to buy enough material and produce enough units to meet the target sales volume levels. (For a service, the human resources people and mid to top management is consulted) The product manager also needs to talk to the sales manager to obtain sufficient sales force support and to the financial officer to obtain sufficient funds for advertising and promotion. Action programs or Marketing Programs: The Marketing plan must specify the broad marketing program for achieving the business objectives. Each marketing strategy element must be elaborated to answer these questions: What will be done? When will it be done? Who will do it? How much will it cost? (This can be done with a project time/project plan sheet, and a budget. Remember the budget outline the funds necessary to implement the Marketing Plan not develop the product/service) Projects profit and loss statement or Financial Plans: Action plans allow the product manager to build a supporting budget. On the revenue side, this budget shows the forecasted sales volume in units and the average price. On the expense side, it shows the cost of producing the marketing plan.

Implementation Controls: Each plan needs to be assessed to determine its level of success and failure. The Controls identify how the plan will be assessed to determine if it will meet its objectives. There should be a time-table for when the controls will be administered. The objective should have identified levels for determining the success or failure thus termination of the plan.

Table of Contents for a Marketing Plan 1. Executive Summary and Table of Contents -- Presents a brief overview of the proposed plan 2. Current Marketing Situation -- Presents relevant background data on sales, costs, profits, the market, competitors, distribution, and the macro-environment. 3. Opportunity and Issue Analysis – Identifies the main opportunities/threats, strengths/weaknesses, and issues facing the product line. 4. Objectives – Defines the plan’s marketing and financial goals in terms of sales volume, market share, and profit 5. Target Market: Identified and quantifies the segmentation, and positioning stance taking for the target audience. 6. Marketing Strategy – Presents the broad marketing approach that will be used to achieve the plan’s objectives. 7. Marketing (Action) Programs – Presents the special marketing programs designed to achieve the objectives 8. Financial Plans / Projected Profit and Loss Statement or Budget – Forecasts the plan’s expected financial outcomes. 9. Implementation Controls – Indicates how and when the plan will be monitored based on the Objectives for the Marketing Plan.

summer, 2004 smss