Strategic Marketing: Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans

Posted on Dec 10, 2024 in Other subjects

Topic 4: Basic Principles for Setting Marketing Objectives

Basic principles for setting objectives (SMART):

• Align with corporate goals and available resources.
• Focus on “what” and “when,” not “how” or “why.”
• Be realistic but ambitious.
• Clearly documented and shared with everyone involved.
• Allow for measurable results to justify the budget.

Three main areas on which we base our marketing objectives are:

• Attraction: Increase new customers, sales, or social media followers.
• Loyalty: Encourage repeat purchases or program participation.
• Branding: Build recognition and improve positioning.

Marketing Strategy

• Level 1: Strategic corporate decisions.
• Level 2: Portfolio strategies.
• Level 3: Segmentation and positioning strategies.
• Level 4: Functional strategies.

Strategies Level 3: Segmentation, Positioning, and Loyalty

• Segmentation: Decide which market segments to focus on based on research or analysis. Types of segments:

  • Strategic segments: Main focus of the company.
  • Priority segments: Get the most marketing attention.
  • Other segments: Low priority but still considered commercially.

  Segmentation Strategies:

  • Undifferentiated: One product for everyone (e.g., massive appeal).
  • Differentiated: Custom offers for multiple segments (e.g., Zara or Bershka).
  • Customized: Personalized products (e.g., custom Converse).
  • Concentrated: Focus on a niche (e.g., women-only gyms).

• Positioning: Define how your brand is perceived by your target market. Steps:

  • Know your brand’s and competitors’ current positioning.
  • Choose a position that is relevant, credible, and unique.
  • Ensure your positioning aligns with your marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion).

• Loyalty: What loyalty is NOT:

  • Don’t focus only on short-term ROI.
  • Don’t assume all customers have the same needs.
  • Avoid offering rewards without understanding customer desires.

Strategies Level 4: Functional Strategies

Focus on the marketing mix to achieve objectives:

• Products: New product creation, brand management, or updates.
• Distribution: Sales channels, store locations, or market coverage.
• Pricing: Strategies for pricing and discounts.
• Communication: Messaging, digital marketing, and media channels.

Topic 5: Strategic and Operational Decisions

Strategic Decisions:

• Focus on the big picture: Are we targeting the right segment? Is our positioning correct?
• Ensures the entire marketing plan is consistent using the STP framework (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning).
• Example: Deciding which market to target or how to differentiate the brand.

Operational Decisions:

• Focus on execution: Are we doing things right?
• Check if actions (product, price, distribution, communication) align with the strategy.
• Example: Adjusting pricing or launching a promotional campaign.

How to Prepare an Action Plan

An action plan turns strategy into concrete steps. Key elements:

• Translate Strategy into Actions: Link each action to a specific objective and strategy; use a table to clearly organize objectives, strategies, and actions.
• Assign Responsibilities: Designate team members for each task; use a calendar to track deadlines and ensure accountability.
• Allocate Resources: Identify the human, financial, and material resources needed; prioritize actions based on their urgency and importance.

Calendar/Action Planning

A calendar organizes actions over 52 weeks to ensure consistency. Steps to follow:

• Create a table (e.g., Excel sheet).
• List: Strategy (from operational decisions) & Actions (tasks to be done).
• Assign responsibilities to team members.
• Mark deadlines and track progress systematically.

Topic 6: Control of Deviations and Reorientation Plan

Budgets and Profit and Loss Account in Marketing Plans

Key Elements:

• Determine Costs: Calculate the total budget needed for all actions.
• Forecast Contribution: Estimate profit or gross margin in the forecast operating account.
• Monthly Action Tracking: Break down actions by month to track purpose and impact.

What to Include in the Budget:

• Staff and Operating Expenses: Essential costs for the team and operations.
• Other possible actions: Database maintenance, product improvements, promotions, app development, control, and monitoring.

Provisional Income Statement:

• A forecast of financial performance over 3-5 years.
• Key considerations:
  • Fixed costs: Costs that remain constant (e.g., rent).
  • Variable costs: Costs that change based on operations (e.g., production).
  • Revenues: Sales projections based on realistic forecasts.
  • Margins: Compare unit costs to sales prices.
  • Results: Evaluate EBIT and overall profitability.
• Seasonality must be factored into monthly projections.

The Control of Deviations and Reorientation Plan

Monitoring and Control: Set measures to track actions and results (e.g., KPIs), and use regular monitoring to ensure objectives are met.

Contingency Plan: Prepare backup actions to address any significant deviations; Use a table to outline how monitoring will be done, when it will occur, and what tools will be used to measure progress.

Examples of Contingency Plans

1. Sales Objective:

   • Situation: After six months, sales targets aren’t met.
   • Actions: Adjust the sales strategy, increase promotions or offers to boost demand, enhance advertising in high-potential regions, review pricing and product positioning.

2. Social Media Objective:

   • Situation: Follower growth and engagement are below expectations.
   • Actions: Update content strategy to focus on engaging posts, launch paid campaigns to increase visibility, collaborate with influencers for audience growth, run giveaways or interactive posts like polls or Q&As.

Important table – example:

• Objective: Goal.
• Frequency: Monitoring is done monthly, for example.
• Corrective situations: Identifies when the plan isn’t working.
• Corrective actions: Actions taken to fix the problem.