The Strategic Marketing Plan

Course Overview

A marketing plan clarifies the key marketing elements of a business and maps out directions, objectives, and activities for the business and its employees. This course tackles several aspects of a company’s marketing and promotion plan such as the marketing mix (the 4Ps), the evaluation of marketing opportunities, researching, analyzing, and identifying target markets, and developing a strategic position for the company in order to implement the strategy. The course covers everything from the preparation and implementation of the marketing plan to measuring and evaluating the results of organizational marketing efforts.

Course Methodology

The course employs a variety of case studies and exercises aimed at enhancing the right set of skills needed to develop and monitor the implementation of a strategic marketing plan. Group presentations and short debriefs related to different strategic marketing planning topics will also be integral parts of the course.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Apply a logical step-by-step process to produce a sound marketing plan
• Devise a marketing plan that builds on marketing audit findings
• Use marketing audit findings to identify effective strategies and tactics
• Develop the components of the strategic marketing plan
• Identify and implement the different marketing warfare strategies (offensive, defensive and flanking)

Target Audience

General managers, marketing managers, Senior Marketing Professionals, product and sales managers will find excellent value in attending. Market researchers, planning managers, and other practicing managers associated with the development of marketing plans, will also significantly benefit from the course.

Target Competencies

• Micro and macro analysis
• Setting marketing mix
• Devising ‘SMART’ goals
• Blue ocean strategies
• Managing business portfolio
• Producing a Boston Consulting Group matrix
• Structuring a marketing plan

Course Outline

• The marketing concept
  • Scope and functions
  • Competitive pressures changing the world
  • The smart bomb strategic approach
  • Definition of strategic planning
  • Organizing the general planning framework
• The marketing planning process
  • The benefits of planning
  • Reasons to write a marketing plan
  • The marketing plan format
  • The marketing planning process
  • Setting ‘SMART’ objectives and goals
  • Linking the marketing strategy to the vision, mission and objectives of the company
• The business situation analysis
  • The components of a company’s environment
  • The framework for competitive analysis
  • Components of internal analysis
  • Components of external analysis
  • Competitive and customer analysis
  • Environmental analysis
  • ‘SWOT’ analysis
  • The five forces diagram
  • Portfolio analysis and design (the Boston Consulting Group matrix)
  • Workshop: marketing analysis
• Planning segmentation, targeting and Positioning
  • Basis for segmentation
  • Benefits of segmentation
  • The market segmentation process
  • Criteria for B to B segmentation
  • Effective positioning
  • Steps in market segmentation, targeting, and positioning
  • Creating a powerful value proposition
  • Workshop: crafting a value proposition and positioning
• Strategy development
  • Considering different strategic alternatives (‘TOWS’ analysis)
  • Analyzing different marketing strategies
  • The growth strategy matrix
  • Factors shaping the choice of strategy
  • Blue ocean versus red ocean strategies
  • Workshop: formulating strategies and contingencies
• Tactical planning applications
  • Setting the scene: the marketing mix
  • The components of the marketing mix
  • Using the marketing mix model
  • Workshop: setting the marketing mix