Strategic Marketing Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on May 6, 2024 in Economy

Course Outline

Planning Stages

  1. Planning
  2. Strategic Path
  3. Brand Strategy
  4. Consumer Strategy
  5. Competitive Advantage Strategy

Planning

Planning involves forecasting and strategizing for the future, considering various timeframes:

  • Long-Range Forecasting (3-10 years): Focuses on corporate, market, brand, and consumer strategies.
  • Mid-Range Forecasting (12-24 months): Involves sales and operational planning, marketing execution decisions, and financial forecasting.
  • New Product Forecasting (Year 1, Year 2): Assesses brand marketing and innovation for new products.
  • Short-Term Forecasting (3-12 months): Deals with demand planning, capacity planning, and supply chain orders.

Planning Phase

This phase involves analyzing the current situation and setting goals:

  1. Situation (SWOT) Analysis: Identify industry trends, analyze competitors, assess your company, and research customers.
  2. Market Product Focus and Goal Setting: Set market and product goals, select target markets, find points of difference, and position the product.

Marketing Plan & Implementation Phase

Develop and execute the marketing plan:

  • Obtain resources
  • Design marketing organization
  • Develop schedules
  • Execute marketing program

Results & Control Phase

Evaluate the plan’s effectiveness:

  • Compare results with plans to identify deviations.
  • Take corrective action for negative deviations and exploit positive ones.

The Marketing Planning Process

  1. Goal Setting: Define mission and corporate objectives.
  2. Analyzing the Current Situation: Conduct a marketing audit, SWOT analysis, and assess marketing assumptions.
  3. Creating the Marketing Strategy: Establish marketing objectives and strategies, forecast expected results, and create alternative plans.
  4. Allocating Marketing Resources and Monitoring: Develop a marketing budget and a detailed action plan.

Strategic Path

Growth Strategies

Explore various growth strategies based on existing and new markets and products:

  • Market Penetration: Increase market share in existing markets with existing products.
  • Product Expansion: Develop new products for existing markets.
  • Market Expansion: Enter new markets with existing products.
  • Diversification: Introduce new products in new markets.

Strategic Marketing Framework

A framework for developing a successful marketing strategy:

  • Market Analysis: Understand customer needs, define the market, analyze competition and market dynamics, and identify collaborators.
  • Market Selection: Segment, target, and position your product within the market.
  • Marketing Mix: Utilize the 4 Ps of marketing: product, price, place/distribution, and promotion.
  • Customer Acquisition: Build awareness, generate interest, drive action, and foster customer loyalty and retention.

Smart Marketing Strategy

Ensure your marketing recommendations align with business goals and are based on data and revenue targets.

Brand Strategy

Building a strong brand is crucial for success:

  • Create a brand-focused organization.
  • Understand the positive and negative aspects of your brand.
  • Make your brand a “door opener” and a key differentiator.
  • Continuously build and protect your brand reputation.

Brand Strategies

Consider various branding approaches:

  • Distributor brand
  • Distributor exclusive brand
  • Manufacturer brand
  • 2nd manufacturer brand
  • Co-branding
  • Fake branding

Brand Drivers

Focus on key drivers to build a successful brand:

  • Emotion: Connect with customers on an emotional level.
  • Value: Deliver the expected value.
  • Awareness: Ensure customers and stakeholders know your brand.
  • Difference: Give customers a reason to believe in your brand.

Consumer Strategy

Understand your consumers and their needs:

  • Answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about your target audience.
  • Help consumers understand quality, its importance, and how to obtain it.
  • Encourage the use of comparative information and make consumers partners with your brand.

Customer Lifecycle

Guide customers through the lifecycle stages:

  • Refer
  • Know
  • Like
  • Trust
  • Try
  • Buy
  • Repeat

Winning Zone

Identify and capitalize on your unique selling proposition that meets consumer needs.

Consumer Engagement

Engage with consumers at various stages:

  • Potential customer
  • Interested customer
  • First-time customer
  • Repeat customer
  • Word-of-mouth propagator
  • Opinion leader

Competitive Advantage Strategy

SWOT Analysis

Analyze internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats, to gain a competitive advantage.

Strategic Planning Process

Develop a strategic plan to achieve your goals:

  1. Visualize the future state and draft a vision statement.
  2. Analyze strengths and weaknesses.
  3. Identify opportunities and threats.
  4. Reflect on purpose and values and draft a mission statement.
  5. Consider critical issues.
  6. Determine goals and objectives.
  7. Form an action plan.
  8. Implement the action plan.
  9. Monitor, revise, and repeat the process.