ELEMENTS OF A

MARKETING/
BUSINESS PLAN
Introduction
Planning is very important. A
well thought out plan will act as
a guide and is crucial in the
creation of a business plan.

Planning is therefore important

for the following reasons.
The Importance of Planning
1. It gives direction to the business
2. It forces managers to look ahead and
anticipate possible changes so as to
make better decisions.
3. It helps to avoid mistakes and waste
4. It helps set standards for control
purposes i.e., provides a measurement
to compare what happens in the firm
Long, Medium & Short Term Planning

Managers have to create different levels

of plans for the different levels of
activities in the business. There are:-
(i) SHORT term plans (operational) for
the day to day, weekly or monthly
activities of the business.
(ii) MEDIUM term plans (tactical) which
are set at department level and covers
one year
(iii) LONG term plans (strategic)

Major decisions and long range

plans for the organization are
made. Decisions include
whether to introduce a new
product, purchase other
companies or major expansion.
Plans like these require major
research and analysis.
Before the entrepreneur can create a
business plan, a feasibility study must
first be done.

A FEASIBILITY study is an analysis of

the viability of a business idea and an
examination of different aspects of
operating a business.

It will show whether the business

idea is a worthwhile opportunity or
not.
The feasibility study will examine
and conduct research on :-

 Market demand
 Target market
 Profitability
 Production methods
 Operating expenses
The feasibility study will examine and
conduct research on :-

 Distribution channels
 Competition
 Promotional requirements
 Cash flow
 Resources required
 Any special legal
requirements
If the feasibility study shows that
you have a viable business
opportunity, only then the
Business Plan should be
prepared.

The Business Plan will mostly be

based on information gathered in
the feasibility study.
The BUSINESS PLAN
This is a document that outlines
 what the entrepreneur hopes to
achieve from being in the
business
 the way the business will achieve
its aims and objectives
 how various resources will be
organized to meet these goals.
Business Plan cont’d
The Business plan therefore
becomes the written proposal
addressed to potential lenders
or investors.
Although it is associated with
starting a new business, it can
be used at any time, by anyone
in the business.
BENEFITS of preparing a PLAN
1. It ensures that careful research
is conducted into the feasibility
of the business
2. It anticipates needs and
problems which can be planned
for in advance
3. It provides a written document
that can be used when
requesting financing
Contents of a Business Plan
 Executive summary

 Current marketing situation

 Threats and Opportunity Analysis

 Objectives and Issues

Contents of a Marketing Plan cont’d

 Marketing Strategy

 Action Programs

 Budgets

 Monitoring and Control

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 This presents a brief summary of the
main goals and recommendations of
the plan for management review,
helping top management to find the
plan’s major points quickly. This is
followed by the table of contents.
2. Current Marketing Situation
 Describes the target market and the
company’s position including
information about the market,
product performance, competition
and distribution.

This section includes;

A. A Market Description
 Which defines the market and major
segments, then reviews customer
needs and factors in the marketing
environment that may affect
customer purchasing.
B. A Product Review
 That shows sales, prices and gross
margins of the major products in the
product line
C. A review of competition
 Which identifies major competitors
and assesses their market position
and strategy for product quality,
pricing, distribution and promotion.
D. A review of distribution
 Which evaluates recent sales trends
and other developments in major
distribution channels.
3. Threats and opportunity
analysis
 Assess major threats and
opportunities that the product might
face helping management to
anticipate important positive or
negative developments that might
have an impact on the firm and its
strategies.
4. Objectives and Issues
 States the marketing objectives that
the company would like to attain
during the plan’s term and discusses
key issues likely to affect it.
5. Marketing strategy
 Outlines the broad marketing logic by
which the business unit hopes to
achieve its marketing objectives and
the specifics of target markets,
positioning and expenditure levels. It
outlines specific strategies for each
marketing mix element and explains
how each respond to the threats,
opportunities and critical issues
spelled out earlier in the plan.
6. Action Programs
 Shows how marketing strategies will
be turned into specific action
programs that answer the following
questions;
 What will be done?
 When will it be done?
 Who is responsible for doing it?
 How much will it cost?
7. Budgets

 This is essentially a projected profit &

loss statement showing expected
revenues, expected costs of
production, distribution and
marketing.
Budgets continued…
 The difference is the projected profit
once approved by higher
management the budget becomes the
basis for materials buying,
production, scheduling, personnel
planning and marketing operations.
8. Monitoring and Control
 Outlines the control that will be used
to monitor progress and allow higher
management to review
implementation results and identify
products that are not meeting their
goals.