The purpose of a marketing plan includes the following:

 To clearly define the marketing objectives of the business that align with the
corporate mission and vision of the organization. The marketing objectives
indicate where the organization wishes to be at any specific period in the
future.
 The marketing plan usually assists in the growth of the business by stating
appropriate marketing strategies, such as plans for increasing the customer
base.
 State and review the marketing mix in terms of the 8Ps of marketing – Product,
Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, Physical Evidence, and Performance.
 Strategies to increase market share, enter new niche markets, and increase
brand awareness are also encompassed within the marketing plan.
 The marketing plan will contain a detailed budget for the funds and resources
required to carry out activities indicated in the marketing plan.
 The assignment of tasks and responsibilities of marketing activities is well
enunciated in the marketing plan.
 The identification of business opportunities and any strategies crafted to
exploit them is important.
 A marketing plan fosters the review and analysis of the marketing
environment, which entails market research, customer needs assessment,
competitor analysis, PEST analysis, studying new business trends, and
continuous environmental scanning.
 A marketing plan integrates business functions to operate with consistency –
notably sales, production, finance, human resources, and marketing.

Steps Of Marketing Process

Understanding the Marketplace and the Customer Needs and Wants
The process starts with the identification of customer needs. However, it can grow to
identify their wants and demands as well. Now, this can be confusing for the readers
because we have mentioned three different terms. That’s why we are going to
differentiate all of them.

 Needs.It include all the basic necessities such as shelter, food, clothing, safety,
self-expression, communication, transportation, and individual needs for
knowledge. As a marketer, you cannot create these needs; they are just
basic ingredients of human markup.
 Wants. Wants are basically an advanced version of needs, but this time, it is
the society or culture that shapes them. For instance, transportation is a need,
but Suzuki Hayabusa or Mercedes Bens are wants.
 Demands. Demands are basically a reflection of peoples’ high buying power.
When a company meets customers’ demands, it gives them pleasure rather
than just satisfaction.
Here are some vital aspects that every marketer must consider at this stage;

 Understanding the local market/area/country/region.

  Identifying the interests of the target audience/potential customers.
 Evaluate how much people can spend on your product. i.e., their buyingpower.
Identifying the needs is simply not enough. As a marketer, you must know whether
you would be able to produce an “affordable” product for your customers or not.

Design a Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy

At this stage, a business needs to find answers to these two questions;

1. Which group of consumers should we target- identification of target market.

2. How can (or should) we satisfy the needs/wants of that group- selecting a
value proposition.
Apart from that, you need to identify the local market trends and the level of intensity
of customers’ needs (how badly they want a solution).

Choosing The Target Audience

It is simply impossible to satisfy everyone or all types of audiences. That means you
have to divide the market into small segments and then choose the one you can target.
Of course, you can choose multiple market segments if you have the funds, workforce,
and all other resources.

Selecting The Value Proposition

Once you decide your target audience and identify their needs/wants, the next thing
on your agenda is how you can satisfy that specific need of that group of customers.
This is a stage where you can differentiate your brand in the market. Your value
proposition includes the benefits and value you can provide to your customers.

Build an Integrated Marketing Program that Delivers Superior Values

As a marketer, you are now clear about your company’s marketing strategy’s outline.
The next step for you is to build an integrated marketing plan that focuses on
providing value to the customers. At this stage, you need to think about these aspects;

 Product specifications and their feasibility

 Budget
 Mediums of product promotion
 Room for product development/improvement in future
 Price
Basically, we are talking about a company’s marketing mix. A marketing mix is a
combination of different marketing tools that a business uses to practically implement
its marketing strategies. Remember, your marketing mix will have a decisive role in
building strong relationships with your customer, delivering the customer’s expected
value, and achieving your overall organizational goals.

Build Profitable Relationships and Create Customer Equity

A marketing process is simply incomplete without building profitable relationships
with your customers. The word “profitable” means that you have to please your
customers and make them buy your products or services again and again.
Yes, you must keep striving to acquire new customers as well, but it is important that
you retain customers for the long term. In simpler words, increasing customer equity
should be the primary objective of any marketing mix.

The question is, how can you build this profitable relationship? Well, this is where
customer relationship management comes in handy. Customer relationship
management focuses on;

 Providing value to the customers.

 Helping customers in the pre-purchase stage.
 Offering after-sales services.
 Seeking regular feedback from customers.
 Urging customers to come up with suggestions and recommendations about your
product.
Capture Value from Customers to Create Profits
As we have already mentioned, the best way to capture value from customers is by
creating customer equity. A company’s loyal customers are directly proportional to
the company’s customer equity. Most importantly, these loyal customers not only
give you business (and ultimately profits), but they work as your marketing advocates
to convert your potential customers into actual customers.

There is absolutely no doubt that marketers simply cannot build customer

relationships or create customer value on their own. It is only possible when they
have a strong collaboration with other departments in the organizations and make
partnerships with external bodies. That means marketers need to be good at customers
relationship management as well as partner relationship management.