Marketing Planning Lecture Notes
Introduction to Marketing Plans
- Conceptual Analogy: Marketing plan likened to a basketball team huddle.
- Objectives, strategies, and tactics used to reach goals.
- Unit 16 Overview: Marketing planning and its significance in exams.
Lesson 16.1: Marketing Plans
Definition and Purpose
- Marketing Plan: A document outlining business and marketing objectives, strategies, and goals.
- Importance: Essential for executing a marketing campaign (compared to a road trip needing Google Maps).
- Preparation: Involves months of researching past company performance and sales improvement strategies.
Types of Marketing Plans
- Varies by business size and stage:
- Startups: May lack a full plan initially.
- Large Companies: Often have multiple plans for different product lines.
Key Questions for a Marketing Plan
- Marketing objectives for the upcoming year?
- Best strategies to achieve objectives?
- Efficient marketing tactics for each strategy?
- Positioning and messaging for the audience?
- Economic and competitive situations affecting business?
- Measuring success of the marketing plan?
The Four P's of Marketing Mix
- Product Strategies: Decisions on what to sell, including quantity, sizes, packaging, etc.
- Price Strategies: Balancing competitive pricing and profit margins.
- Place Strategies: Decisions on production, shipping, and sales locations (physical & online).
- Promotion Strategies: Involving the promotional mix elements.
The Four Elements of Promotional Mix
- Personal Selling: Face-to-face persuasion (e.g., salespeople in stores).
- Advertising: Creating awareness through various media (TV, online, etc.).
- Sales Promotions: Temporary strategies like discounts and rebates.
- Public Relations: Building goodwill and maintaining public relationships.
- Example: Tree planting initiatives for environmental goodwill.
Marketing Plan Templates
- Resources: Free or low-cost templates available from:
- Small Business Association
- Chambers of Commerce
- Universities
- American Marketing Association
- Service Corps of Retired Executives
- State websites
Conclusion
- Sources: Provided for further exploration and questions.
These notes summarize the basics of creating and understanding marketing plans, focusing on objectives, strategies, and tactical elements critical for business success.