MODULE 3: MARKETING PLAN
Is a document that lays out the marketing efforts of a business in an upcoming period, which is usually a year. It
outlines the marketing strategy, promotional, and advertising activities planned for the period.
A marketing plan is a document that a business uses to execute a marketing strategy. It is tactical in nature, and, as
later sections of this article explore, it typically includes campaign objectives, buyer personas, competitive analysis, key
performance indicators, an action plan, and a method for analyzing campaign results.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING PLAN AND FEASIBILITY STUDY
MARKETING PLAN - only proposal and document of what particular product you want to pursue. focus on products and
marketing strategy. Only focus on marketing no financial statement needed. Consisting marketing activities. Goal is to
have direction or guide or blueprint to your business.
FEASIBILITY STUDY - broad paper or more detailed. what are your resources
Financial aspect - projected up to 3 to 5yrs even income statement and all financial docs
THE 4 “Fs” OF MARKETING PLAN
Product should not only be good product but it should be one kind of a product that is hard to resist in which customers
will be compelled to get into their way of responding to your marketing efforts. A marketing guru’s firm conviction goes
something like, “Even if you have the best product in the world, if you will not promote it, then it is just among the ordinary,
futile product!”
This is why marketing plan should not only view as a simple product of the mind proposal but it should be viewed as the
heart of the marketing mix elements that could enliven the brand’s personality.
1. FACTUAL – The ideas, opinions or statements to be included in the proposal should be based on reliable facts that
were logically gathered; in which upon gathering ideas, the organization allotted some time to allow ideas to incubate or
to grow and to be verified through further fact-finding activities.
> reliable informations must be based on true experiences of the customers
> consult to your target markets and gathered
2. FOCUSED – Ideally, marketing plan is prepared annually and reviewed and assessed on a monthly basis. If this is
so, then every written marketing plan should be directed to solve a specific problem.
> remember marketing plan is only conducted and applicable for 1yr (short period) while feasibility is long term
> made for once a year
> each plan should aim to solve the main problems.
> choose immediate actions or solutions
3. FINANCIALLY -SET – Management support is among the keys in achieving organizational goals and objectives. No
matter how grand the ideas of the middle managers and how willing are the lower-level managers to execute the
marketing plan, and yet the top management is not disposed to it, then it will go nowhere.
> even though marketers have good proposal or plan but there's no money, how they can execute?
> basic resources like money, machines, equipment
4. FLEXIBLE – The execution of the marketing plan allows interventions any time deemed appropriate; if upon evaluation
and monitoring, it was found out that the plan caused little improvement or contributed less in the attainment of the pre-
determined goal, then an effective marketing plan allows the organization to take some modified steps to counteract the
flaws.
> marketing plan should be open to changes according to the changing needs of the market or problems of organzation
PURPOSE OF A MARKETING PLAN
The purpose of a marketing plan includes the following:
• Set Clear Marketing Goals - To clearly define the marketing objectives of the business that align with the corporate
mission and vision of the organization.
goals must watch the:
Vision - your purpose
Mission - your future dream
• Help the Business Grow- The marketing plan usually assists in the growth of the business by stating appropriate
marketing strategies, such as plans for increasing the customer base.
• Use the 8Ps of Marketing - State and review the marketing mix in terms of the 8Ps of marketing – Product, Price,
Place, Promotion, People, Process, Physical Evidence, and Performance.
8P's
Product - What is your selling?
Price - How much the price or Conduct costing
Place - Where will you sell or your location
Promotion - Strategies (long term) / Tactics (short term)
People - Employees
Process - How you deliver or Production / Serve
Physical Evidence - Packaging, design, layout
Performance - How will your marketing is doing?
• Increase Market Share and Brand Awareness - Strategies to increase market share, enter new niche markets, and
increase brand awareness are also encompassed within the marketing plan.
Market Share - Percentage of customer choosing your brand over competitors
Brand Awareness - How people know your brand / Market Identity
• Plan the Budget - The marketing plan will contain a detailed budget for the funds and resources required to carry out
activities indicated in the marketing plan.
> detail explanation of budget
> How much money will spend
> Avoid overspending / Monitor
• Assign Responsibilities- The assignment of tasks and responsibilities of marketing activities is well enunciated in the
marketing plan.
> shows who responsible each task or work
> Avoid confusion
• Find and Use New Opportunities - The identification of business opportunities and any strategies crafted to exploit
them is important.
> discover new things
• Understand the Market and Competition - A marketing plan fosters the review and analysis of the marketing
environment, which entails market research, customer needs assessment, competitor analysis, PEST analysis, studying
new business trends, and continuous environmental scanning.
> understanding customer
4 Ways / Factor how to understand market and competitor
1. Market Research - collect data from customer
2. Competitor Analysis - Study other company
3. PESTEL Analysis
• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Technology
• Environmental
• Legal
4. Environmental Scanning - watching trends
• Work Together Across Departments - A marketing plan integrates business functions to operate with consistency –
notably sales, production, finance, human resources, and marketing.
> monitoring
> all business work together to run smoothly
5 departments in business company:
• Marketing
• Financing
• Human Resource
• Sales
• Operations
THE MARKETING PLAN PREPARATION
A marketing plan helps companies identify their ideal customer base and determine which marketing techniques are
most effective in cultivating greater awareness and interest in a product, service or the business itself. Using a number
of metrics and existing marketing data, companies define the channels and methods they plan to incorporate in order to
appeal to their target audience.
1. Know your competition
Competitor research helps companies better understand how their competitors are currently achieving success in the
market, where their vulnerabilities lie and how they can successfully compete with existing products and services.
Competitor research is also necessary to avoid creating a product or service that's too similar to an existing one or
overpricing products and services.
> study about competitors, it helps see what they do well or where they are weak and how you can do better. Avoid
Copying strategy or idea. Through emails, newsletter, social media
Conducting competitor research may begin with activities like:
◼ Reading competitor newsletters and promotional emails to learn how they leverage trends or address market
demands
◼ Following competitors on social networks to understand how they engage with customers and cultivate brand
loyalty
◼ Examining competitor website content to determine what topics they cover and their own strategy
2. Run a SWOT analysis
> it helps understand your business
A SWOT analysis helps companies decide how to maximize opportunities and minimize threats by understanding the
strengths and weaknesses within the organization. It can also aid in developing goals and objectives that complement
the company's mission. A SWOT analysis evaluates a company's:
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats
3. Develop buyer personas
A buyer persona details the specific qualities and traits of the customer most interested in buying a company's product
or service. This qualitative data seeks to explain why they would purchase a product or use a service offered by the
company by creating a comprehensive bio of said market segmentation. Creating buyer personas allows the company
to narrow its focus to target people who buy from the business so they don't use resources marketing to a broader
audience.
> like a profile of ideal customers such as details, age, gender, locations, where they shop
Buyer personas seek to answer the following questions:
◼ Who may purchase or currently purchases products or services from the company?
◼ What are the buyer's needs, and how does the company satisfy them?
◼ Where and how do they shop?
◼ What is their demographic, including factors like age and location?
◼ What social media platforms do they use on a regular basis, and which marketing channels can be leveraged to
attract their attention?
4. Set budget parameters
Businesses need to understand how to allocate funds for particular strategies. This allows them to get the best return on
investment (ROI). Budgets set the boundaries for how much marketers spend on a plan, which ultimately determines
which marketing channels they implement in a strategy.
> Decide how much you can spend in marketing plan
5. Establish KPIs and goals
Key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals serve to ensure that marketing campaigns are meeting the company's
expectations. KPIs also give organizations the data they need to make necessary changes after a campaign has
launched. Establishing both of these early on is crucial to launching successful marketing campaigns that help
companies reach their desired goals.
> number or data to measure success like how many people bought. Determine KPI as early as possible to track if your
marketing plan is effective
6. Create an outline
> every business needs clear structure for marketing plan. It helps organize all important about marketing plan
Though marketing plans vary from organization to organization, the basic outline offers more insight into how to
conceptualize a marketing plan. Some of the elements a marketing plan outline should include are as follows:
• Business information - basic details about company, name, business location, history, product or services,
vision and mission
• Competition - determined 2 types of competitors
a. Direct competitors
b. Indirect competitors
• Strengths and weaknesses - what is your strength and area need of improvement
• Target buyers - specific ideal customers
• Buying cycle patterns - steps of customers that we use how to purchase like researching, comparing/product
differentiation, final decisions
• Brand - how people recognize your business
• Website - where they will buy or inquires
• Marketing channels - ways where to purchase (social media, print ads, online ad)
• Strategies - actions business takes the marketing goals
HOW TO WRITE A MARKETING PLAN
With a better understanding of the prerequisite research required to draft a marketing plan, it's time to use this planning
and research to draft a comprehensive marketing plan. You can follow these steps to draft an effective marketing plan
for your organization:
1. Identify the company's mission
Before anything else, it's important to identify your mission statement. The company's mission is the foundation upon
which all branding and marketing take place. This mission statement and the values of the company are what ultimately
impact internal processes, consumer perception and the course of the company as it scales and develops.
> it explains what business all about and what it wants to achieve. How customer see you.
2. Address the competition
> know your competitors are. To know you spot in market. Marketing plan explains who is better
Product development is preceded by an in-depth understanding of what needs a product or service fills within a given
market. Beyond this, marketing plans should seek to address the competition and how the company distinguishes itself
from existing brands to fill a specific need in the industry. You can generally find two categories of competition:
◼ Direct competition: These are businesses that offer the same products or services as the company in question.
For instance, if a small business owner planned to open a yoga studio a few miles away from an existing yoga
studio, this would be direct competition.
> business offer same product or services as yours
◼ Indirect competition: These competitors are similar in form and function but are different enough that they are
not directly related to the company. For example, a yoga studio that opens near a large gym that offers one or
two yoga classes is an example of an indirect competitor.
> Business offers different but related product or services
3. Determine strengths and weaknesses
> use swot analysis to figure out what your business good at and what need improvement
Using a SWOT analysis can help companies understand where they have an advantage and which areas, they need to
focus on in order to improve their marketing strategy and their company as a whole. Aim to address these points and
more in each section for a more comprehensive SWOT analysis.
Example:
Strengths – what is your asset
- Length of time in business
- Loyal customer base
- Trusted reputation
Weaknesses – what you need to improve
- Lack of social networking outreach
- Competitive disadvantage
- Outdated software
Opportunities - chances to grow or get better
- Upgrade packaging
- Offer website tutorials
- Grow social media influence
Threats - challenges to faced
- Direct competitors use advanced technologies
- Indirect competitors offer pricing discounts
- Budget restricts campaign limits
4. Describe the target buyers
Because a specific product or service fills a need within a given market, it's important to create a buyer persona that
helps companies truly understand who they're targeting in their marketing strategy. Describing these individuals helps
marketers determine which marketing channels are best for reaching them.
Example: A fitness center caters to a specific market of 18- to 45-year-olds but wants to begin marketing its wellness
programs to older adults. The market research determines they can find target customers in:
- Senior centers
- Rehabilitation centers
- Fitness centers that don't offer wellness programs
5. Determine the buying cycle patterns
> It is a pattern or step by step procedure of customer before actual decision whether to purchase or not
Buying habits are essential for marketers because these habits inform you about how to move customers through the
sales funnel and which stage to focus on until they become a successful conversion. Determining these buying cycle
patterns can help you improve the overall marketing strategy.
Examples:
• Awareness - out of curiosity of the new products
• Consideration - identify the product
• Decision - decide to buy the products
6. Identify the unique selling proposition (USP)
> How your product different to others. What makes you unique.
Use market research to understand the ideal customer's preferences and detail precisely how a company fulfills a need
that other competitors don't. Include supporting evidence of what makes the product or service offered by the company
unique by listing the expertise of staff, value proposition and competitive advantages.
7. Describe your brand
Most marketing strategies focus on the promotion of products and services. For brands that have little visibility, however,
building a positive reputation is key to establishing brand loyalty among new customers. Coming up with a detailed brand
description will make it easier to establish the benefits of turning to a specific company as well as sets the tone and style
for marketing copy to come.
> gain customer loyalty.
8. Address any issues with the website
The company website is often the first place a customer goes to find out more about the business. Websites that are
slow and challenging to navigate can mean the difference between converting leads and driving prospective customers
away. After competitor research, determine any changes that you can make to better direct customer buying patterns.
> Business should have many tools to connect to your customers. Business should review site to guide visitors for
improvement. It much be simple, and clear information
9. Determine marketing channels and best practices
The above research culminates in determining which marketing channels are most effective and the best practices that
produce the anticipated results. Learning the needs of the customer helps develop strategies the buyer can respond to,
such as social media marketing. Form a detailed analysis of how the company can use each channel.
> choose best way to reach customer
Example:
Content marketing: Write articles and blog posts and offer training, advice or education.
• Social media Marketing: Engage with customers, ask for feedback, conduct surveys and develop relationships.
• Email Marketing: Share vital information and offer promotions or services exclusive to subscribers.
• Networking Marketing: Team up with other companies to benefit from the other company's customer base.
• Trade shows or events Marketing: Participate in local events to drive brand awareness and brand loyalty.
• Content Marketing: Vlog / write helpful articles and open advices
10. Define SEO strategies
> Keywords in social media
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps position the company at the top of search engine results using on-page
strategies like keyword research and optimization and off-page strategies like link building. Every company, no matter
what size, needs to define these strategies to rank on search engines and gain visibility online.
Example: An ice cream shop searches popular keywords and uses them throughout its website's content and copy.
Some of the popular keywords they found were:
- Ice cream store
- Ice cream
- Best ice cream near me
- Sundaes
- Cones
11. Track measurements through KPIs
> set clear tools to measure if your marketing is working To track progress and to make improvement
Discuss how you can determine the success of your plan and define the key performance indicators (KPIs). These
metrics should measure various elements of marketing campaigns to determine if they work and how well. Form short-
term goals to measure the marketing plan's progress, and make adjustments as needed.
12. Develop marketing strategies
> details plan to reach customer.
ex. To teach customer tutorials.
Strategies are detailed and extensive, making it so that there is an established process marketers follow in order to reach
company objectives. It's important to define strategies beforehand to help marketing departments execute plans and
gain traction. You can always perfect strategies later after analyzing more data.
Marketing strategies might include:
- Adding new video tutorials to increase product knowledge
- Posting to social media three times per day
- Joining the local chamber of commerce to network with complementary businesses
