The Hindu Business Line : Preparing the marketing plan

Think of any organisation, not necessarily a business, and consider what they want from any annual plan. They want first and foremost, growth in size, in volume of transactions.

S. Ramachander

A marketing plan begins with a numerical and qualitative overview of the current market situation where the company or brand is situated, its competitive strengths and weaknesses, as well as a brief reference to the major efforts and initiatives taken the previous year and the outcomes. Obviously, a poor last year in which the targets were not achieved would call for a listing of the lessons learnt and re-doubling of efforts or a course-correction. This is a necessary firs t step.

Competitive developments that have a bearing on the positioning and strategy of the company must be explicitly stated. Comments on why there have been shifts in market shares between the different players brings home to any reader just how much of a challenge the company is facing in the marketplace in the year ahead. Well-written brand marketing plans carry charts and tables of any relevant trade or consumer research. New product launches already effected or expected from major competition must also be mentioned with a brief reference of contemplated further steps.

That said, the main task is to agree on the goals for the year ahead. These could be in the form of sales, market share and profits. Often, it is also possible to highlight important areas of changes in distribution width or significant new segments that a proposed new model or brand would address.

Where will the growth come from? Think of any organisation, not necessarily a business, and consider what they want from any annual plan. They want first and foremost, growth in size, in volume of transactions. Even a hospital or an NGO would look for full occupancy of its facilities and capabilities. It needs, in short, more customers, clients or what have you. This then is the fundamental issue around which the plan is built. The clearer this goal is and the simpler a statement of where the growth is expected to come from, the easier it is to rally the rest of the organisation around it. The rest of the document is just a detailed route plan of how to get there. Remember it is not cast in stone, yet it is important as a reference and a working document. It is also the very basis of the financials of the company, because everything flows from the top line. Even if we do happen to deviate from a plan, we should know what we originally wanted to do. Also worth noting is that this is not just a sales plan, but a business plan. Indeed, scholars like Peter Drucker would hold that in this sense business is ultimately about marketing – getting and keeping customers.

The core of the plan

This will thus spell out several levels of goals for the next year: sales; market share in several segments; customer-wise share-of-business; growth ambitions; new product launches; new business acquisitions; new territories; and countries. Assumptions about the economy, industry, competition and consumer that would be critical to the achievement of these goals must also be reiterated, as also potential hurdles or gaps in likely achievement. From this would flow a critical section, namely “what must happen, what we must ensure at the minimum, for the year’s plan to have a reasonable chance.”

In the map, due place is given — separately — to both a list of activities as well as cost estimates, margins and profit numbers. In particular, operating plans are detailed for merchandising and trade promotion, with their rationale and specific goals. An example would be: “To stock up the retail outlets in advance of the back-to-school season and encourage young first-time buyers to try our brand” or “Ensure enough incentives and credit facilities are in place to catch the marriage season”. To this end, there might be a consumer scheme and a media advertising plan that backs it up. Similarly, on advertising, the plan is far more detailed and step-by-step, starting with the overall communication goals. These could take one back to the first ‘P’ of the four — the product itself. For example, one might mount an advertising campaign specially to arouse fresh interest in the brand by announcing a facelift to it by some redesign, labelling or some kind of cosmetic change.

If, on the other hand, there is a need to change the very basis of its attractiveness to the consumer, that goes in front, before everything else. One cites research evidence to prove the need for a change, vis a vis competition. In the case of a service such as a restaurant, the marketing plan might say that the “product” so to speak could be augmented by the addition of a standard set menu executive lunch to attract a larger mid-day clientele and increase the throughput. This might be backed by a survey done amongst office goers to seek what additional benefits and features they look for. After the changes in product, changes to price-related positioning should also be spelt out.

Implementation

An annual plan starts getting implemented almost as soon as the planning cycle ends. The first requirement is the breakdown of all the foregoing targets (sales, costs and profit margins) into months and quarters. For example, sales expected would devolve into key accounts, assigning them to persons responsible and to customer segments. Other questions that must be asked are: What can go wrong? How good or loose are the estimates? What happens if…? Contingency thinking includes the bullet proofing of the action plan with fallback positions. It is good to remind ourselves that well laid plans of mice and men do tend to get awfully screwed up! So, any sensible and mature management spends time not just on the budgeted numbers, but also on measures to take to keep track of and ahead of market developments. Although a review process is taken for granted, the better tuned the organisation is to the weak signals, the better.

More Stories on : Management | Strategy | Manager's Handbook

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Why marketing equals business strategy

The tough shall inherit the earth

Preparing the marketing plan

Taking a strategic view of HR

Learn to embrace technology

Innovation propels success

Three loops of agility