G4 Camacho, Sophia Laine G.

11 – STEM 3
“Financial Planning”

I. Narrative Report

The webinar that was conducted on March 1, 2024, was led by Mr. JD Suarez. The topic
tackled was financial planning. He taught us the different types or kinds of marketing plans, or
how to get, create, keep, and grow customers. To start off, the definition of marketing was
discussed. It was defined as understanding, creating, communicating, and delivering value to
satisfy the needs of one’s target market at a profit. Then, he proceeded to the parts of the
marketing plan; the first topic that was discussed was the executive summary. There are three
key components of an executive summary: key changes vs. last year, specific objectives to be
achieved, and resources to be used to achieve results. We were also taught about its proposed
growth and the chart for it, wherein the marketing objectives are sales, profits, and market share.
Moving on, for the second part, we have business review; these are its key components:
company VMG or profile, 12-month performance, and recommendations based on research or
sighting. After that, the four environmental analyses were discussed, which are as follows:

1. SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

2. TOWS: threats, opportunities, weaknesses, and strengths
3. PESTLE: political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental
4. Competitors grid: strength, weakness, differentiation

Afterward, the fourth part, which was the target market, was tackled; the table for market
segmentation was taught to us, in which we have the demographics (gender, sex, age, education,
etc.), geographics (location), psychographics (activities, attitudes, personalities, values, etc.), and
behavioral variables (purchase frequency, user status, loyalty, etc.). As for the target market, the
MVS, or most valuable segment or most profitable shares, was mentioned. Moving on to the fifth
part, the positioning. It was said that positioning refers to an overall strategy that “aims to make a
brand occupy a distinct position, relative to competing brands, in the mind of the customer. Next,
marketing objectives were tackled, and below it, we have the marketing philosophy, where we
have three goals and objectives: better than before (sales), better than others (market share), and
better than expected (profit). Then, the marketing mix strategy was discussed next, where we
talked about the 4 layers of a product: core, actual, augmented, and story. In addition, the
promotion mix was also discussed, wherein we have five: advertising, selling, direct marketing,
sales promotion, and public relations. Along with this, the AIDA model, which stands for
awareness, interest, desire, and action, was presented. Then, the topic of profit and loss accounts
was discussed, and here we have the sensitivity analysis or what we also call a scenario building,
and a table is shown for it. Lastly, appendices were tackled, and this includes a summary of
research, statistics, and other information. Upon discussing these topics, we had a mini quiz to
test our learning, and then we ended the meeting peacefully.

II. Learning Insights

The webinar taught me a lot, especially what I need to know in terms of financial
planning in business. It gave me the purpose of business, which is to create and keep customers,
not just to sell one’s products, make revenue, or increase sales. In addition, I learned about the
significance of planning in the world of business—that without a plan, a business wouldn’t thrive
or be successful. In addition, it taught that strengths and weaknesses are internal analyses; they
are about one’s company. While the opportunities and threats are an external analysis, they are
about one’s environment or community. Other than teaching me the different parts of a
marketing plan or the different types of positions, such as functional positioning, where it
resolves problems and provides benefits to customers; symbolic positioning, where it addresses
self-image enhancement, ego identification, belongingness, and so on; and experiential
positioning, where it provides sensory and cognitive stimulation, the webinar taught me to be
SMART, or specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timebound; and also to be SMAC, or
specific, measurable, attainable, and challenging. I learned that an entrepreneur does not create a
need for a product, but they also answer a problem through their products; in short, entrepreneurs
are not just problem solvers but innovators as well. In terms of the topic of positioning, I gained
an insight that positioning is like conditioning your clients or partners about who you are and
what sets you apart. In positioning, you do not just sell the product but also the experience.
Certainly, financial planning is essential for individuals and businesses to achieve their
objectives by effectively managing their resources. It assists in setting realistic financial goals,
budgeting, debt management, and saving for emergencies or future investments. A marketing
plan, on the other hand, specifies how products or services will be promoted to specific
customers. Its primary components are market analysis, target audience identification, marketing
objectives, strategies, tactics, budget allocation, and evaluation metrics. Financial planning, when
combined with a marketing plan, ensures sound financial management and drives business
growth. To conclude marketing in a nutshell, we’ll say the greater the fit, the greater the results.