CHAPTER

Overview
1

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 Major Topics of Ch. 1

1. What is a Marketing Plan?

2. Marketing Plan Sequence
3. Contents of A Typical Marketing Plan
4. Good and Bad in Marketing Planning
5. Sources of Help for You

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 What is a formal marketing plan?
A marketing plan is a written
document containing the guidelines
for the business unit’s marketing
programs and allocations of
resources over the planning period.

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 Time Horizons for Marketing Plans

Time Period Consumer Industrial Services

Products Products
1 year 62% 45% 65%
3 years 5 5 8
5 years 15 17 3
Long term 4 3 6
Indefinite 0 2 2
Other 14 28 16

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 Hierarchy of Planning
Corporate Strategic Planning

Group or sector
planning

SBU planning
www.ge.com/
Annual marketing
(business) plan
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 Objectives of a Marketing Plan

1. To define the current business situation.

2. To identify problems and opportunities
facing the business.
3. To establish business objectives.
4. To define the strategies (e.g.,target
market) and programs necessary to
achieve the objectives.

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 Objectives of a Marketing Plan cont.

5. To pinpoint responsibility for objectives.

6. To establish timetables and metrics for
achieving objectives.
7. To encourage careful and disciplined
thinking.***
8. To establish an outward
(customer/competitor) orientation.
* Two Approaches: Top-Down or Bottom-Up
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 Marketing Planning Sequence
Collect
data
Analyze
data

Develop
objectives,
strategies,
programs Develop
financial
documents
Negotiate
final plan
Measure
progress
toward
objectives
Audit

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 Marketing Plan Summary

I. Executive summary (Don’t forget this!)

II. Situation analysis
A. Industry analysis (should be on the industry)
B. Sales analysis (Industry level)
C. Competitor analysis
D. Customer analysis
E. Planning assumptions
F. Forecasts

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 Marketing Plan Summary (con’t)

III. (Marketing) objectives

IV. (Marketing) strategy***

V. Marketing programs (Marketing Mix)

VI. Financial documents

VII. Monitors and controls*

VIII. Contingency plans*

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 Frequent Mistakes in the Planning Process
 The Speed of the Process

 The Amount of Data/Information Collected

 Who does the Planning?

 The Structure

 Length of the Plan: 20-30 Pages

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 Frequent Mistakes in the Planning Process (cont)
 Number of Courses of Action Considered*

 Who Sees the Plan

 Not Using the Plan as a Sales Document

 Insufficient Senior Management Leadership

 Not Tying Compensation to Successful Planning Efforts

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 What Makes a Good Planning System?
 Utilize experience from multiple managerial levels

 Employ internal and external sources of

information

 Spend Sufficient Time

 Give Incentives for Good Planning

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 Sources of Help
I. Planning Software
I. Marketing Plan Pro* www.paloaltosoftware.com
II. Some websites
I. www.bizcenter.org
II. www.brs-inc.com
III. www.startupjournal.com
III. Workshops
I. Tech Transfer Forum
II. Corvallis Tech Pub (www.sao.corvallis.or.us)

IV. Previous Project Reports (At my office)

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