The Marketing Planning Process

1. The Marketing Planning Process Strategic marketing: a planning process that seeks to establish a clear direction and unified purpose for all marketing efforts. Its conclusions are documented in a marketing plan that is regularly updated.

2. 5 Steps of Marketing Planningchron.com Small Business The five steps in strategic marketing are: • Identify the mission; Describe your unique selling proposition (USP) • Analyse the situation; Define your target market • Setting objectives; How do we define success? • Develop a marketing strategy; How do we reach the customer? • Planning for evaluationHow will we know if we are successful?

3. Why Plan for Marketing? • The Marketing Planning Process focuses business’s limited resources on opportunities to increase market share and boost profit by creating a sustainable competitive advantage.

4. Situational Analysis • Product Situation • What is the current product? • What is the Core product and Secondary/supporting products? • Competitive Situation • Who are the main competitors? • What are their competitive advantages? • Distribution Situation • How is the product getting to market? • Are new distributors needed? • Environmental factors • PEST analysis (Political, Environmental, Social, Technological) • Opportunity and Issue Analysis • SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

5. Define your target market • What group/s are you best placed to serve? • What are their specific needs, and how can your product/service meet those needs? • Demographic (age, income, population factors) eg Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y • Psychographic (attitudes, beliefs, intentions) eg early adopters, laggards, greens • Behavioural (actions and activities) eg Sailing club members, basketballers, political activists • Geographic (location) eg ACT, Southern NSW Region, Australasia

6. Psychographic Segmentation • Psychographic segmentation divides the population into groups based on reported beliefs or attitudes. • One example is based on willingness to adopt new ideas. (Diffusion curve) • Innovators: Explore what's new. Generally young, educated and high income, willing to pay high prices for “leading technology” (sometimes useless) “toys”. • Early Adopters: Seek out the leading edge. Make serious use of new technology. Keep their eye on innovators as a source of competitive advantage. • Early Majority: Prefer the market leader. Cautious in adopting new technologies and seek the opinions of early adopters. • Late Majority: Want 'cheap and easy'. Will put off adopting new technology until it is as straightforward and inexpensive as possible. • Laggards: Avoid innovations and resist change. Laggards will resist to the end. May appear to adopt ideas while actually undermining them. Adopt new technology only when absolutely necessary. changingminds.org

7. The Competition • Look at your business’s opportunities and threats • Opportunities & threats are external to the business; you can’t control, but should attempt to plan and forecast • What are your competitors doing? • Where can you locate relative to their offerings? • How can you keep from being copied? • What response will your competitors make to your actions?

8. Describe the benefits of your product/service • Be very clear about your product/service • How will these benefit your target market/s? • Can the product/service be modified to suit another target market/s? • Who are NOT your target market? • Don’t target “everyone” – this is a sure way to be bland, and to be ignored

9. Position your product/service • How will your product/service fit into the market? • High-end, luxury: high-price, high-quality eg First Class airline tickets • Budget: cheap, indifferent or basic quality eg Economy • Midrange: serviceable, better than basic but targeted to specific needs eg Business class

10. Describe your unique selling proposition (USP) • A Unique Selling Proposition sets you apart from others • What makes your product/service offering the best in its niche? • Assess Strengths and Weaknesses (internal factors, under your control) • How can you get where you want to be? • Mass marketing is gone! • Target a specific niche market or target group • Develop a unique selling proposition for that group

11. Define your marketing methods • How will you reach your customer? • Think about the whole product cycle: • from idea/design through to • production • packaging • delivery, payment and • After-sales followup (warranty, additional services) • Encouraging word-of-mouth sales and repeat business

12. Other Considerations • Ensure sufficient budget, staffing and time is allocated to marketing. • Set clear, concrete and measurable steps • Sales forecasts • Monthly review, tracking • Non-monetary measures (eg quality, satisfaction) • Revise the marketing plan at least each quarter • perhaps more often, if you are in a fast-moving market • Clearly schedule and outline marketing in your business plan • Periodically, undergo a major/complete overhaul (2-3 yearly), by an external marketing agency

13. 5 Steps of Marketing Planningchron.com Small Business The five steps in strategic marketing are: • Identify the mission; Describe your unique selling proposition (USP) • Analyse the situation; Define your target market • Setting objectives; How do we define success? • Develop a marketing strategy; How do we reach the customer? • Planning for evaluationHow will we know if we are successful?