Page 80 - Foundations of Marketing

Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Marketing Strategies | Chapter 2 47

assessment of all the environmental factors—competitive, economic, political, legal, regula-
tory, technological, and sociocultural—that can affect marketing activities. The analysis then
examines the current needs of the organization’s target markets. In the final section of the
environmental analysis, the company evaluates its marketing objectives and performance to
ensure that objectives are consistent with the changing marketing environment. The next com-
ponent of the marketing plan is the SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats), which utilizes the information gathered in the environmental analysis. The market-
ing objectives section of the marketing plan states what the company wants to accomplish
through marketing activities, using the SWOT analysis as a guide of where the firm stands
in the market. The marketing strategies component outlines how the firm plans to achieve its
marketing objectives and discusses the company’s target market selection(s) and marketing
mix. The marketing implementation component of the plan outlines how marketing strategies
will be executed. The success of a marketing strategy depends on the feasibility of marketing
implementation. Finally, the performance evaluation establishes the standards for how results
will be measured and evaluated, and what actions the company should take to reduce the dif-
ferences between planned and actual performance.
It is important to note that most organizations utilize their own formats and terminology to
describe the marketing plan. Every marketing plan is, and should be, unique to the organiza-
tion for which it was created.
Creating and implementing a marketing plan allows the organization to achieve its market-
ing objectives and its business-unit and corporate goals. However, a marketing plan is only
as good as the information it contains and the effort and creativity that went into its develop-
ment. Therefore the importance of having a good marketing information system that gener-
ates robust and reliable data cannot be overstated. Equally important is the role of managerial
judgment throughout the strategic planning process. While the creation of a marketing plan
is an important milestone in strategic planning, it is by no means the final step. To succeed, a
company must have a plan that is closely followed, yet flexible enough to adapt to the chang-
ing marketing environment.

Chapter Review

1 . Understand the strategic planning process. Corporate strategy determines the means for utilizing
resources in the areas of production, finance, research and
Through the process of strategic planning, a company iden-
development, human resources, and marketing to reach the
tifies or establishes an organizational mission and goals,
organization’s goals. Business-unit strategy focuses on stra-
corporate strategy, marketing goals and objectives, market-
tegic business units (SBUs)—divisions, product lines, or
ing strategy, and a marketing plan. To achieve its marketing
other profit centers within the parent company used to define
objectives, an organization must develop a marketing strat-
areas for consideration in a specific strategic marketing plan.
egy, which includes identifying a target market and creating
The Boston Consulting Group’s market growth/market share
a plan of action for developing, distributing, promoting, and
matrix integrates a company’s products or SBUs into a single,
pricing products that meet the needs of customers in that tar-
overall matrix for evaluation to determine appropriate strate-
get market. The strategic planning process ultimately yields
gies for individual products and business units.
the framework for a marketing plan, a written document that
The marketing environment, including economic, compet-
specifies the activities to be performed for implementing and
itive, political, legal and regulatory, sociocultural, and techno-
controlling an organization’s marketing activities.
logical forces, can affect the resources available to a company
An organization’s goals should align with its mission
to create favorable opportunities. Resources may help a firm
statement—a long-term view, or vision, of what the organization
develop core competencies, which are things that a company
wants to become. A well-formulated mission statement gives an
does extremely well—sometimes so well that it gives the com-
organization a clear purpose and direction, distinguishes it from
pany an advantage over its competition. When the right com-
competitors, provides direction for strategic planning, and fos-
bination of circumstances and timing permits an organization
ters a focus on customers. An organization’s goals, which focus
to take action toward reaching a particular target market, a
on desired results, guide the remainder of its planning efforts.
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