Source: Image of document, paper, down chart, up chart, three people meeting, images by Video Scribe, License held by Jeff Carroll; Image of SWOT Analysis, Creative Commons, http://bit.ly/1lnnmvj.
Hi, I'm Jeff, and in this lesson, we'll learn about the key parts of the marketing plan. So let's get started.
A marketing plan is a plan of action that creates a framework for the marketing efforts within an organization. It's a necessary component to any successful business, and it can have an effect on the entire organization. It should include all advertising and public relations though in some cases PR can be a separate division for marketing.
The goal of the marketing plan is to create a unified approach toward the consumer's wants and needs. A business will use the marketing plan to successfully reach its target market and identified a cluster of customers that are the focus of business, specifically marketing efforts. And a marketing plan does this by balancing all the various components of consumer communications.
A marketing plan typically has a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in marketing programs, and it is usually displayed as the two by two grid as shown here. The strengths and weaknesses are internal attributes of the company and its marketing while the opportunities and threats are attributes of an external origin.
A marketing plan will also have objectives, which are tangible goals and the targets that can gauge success. The strategic plan, which would include the full roadmap of the marketing plan and the methods and strategies that will be used to complete the objectives. An implementation plan, which will be a breakdown of the tasks and deliverables for each marketing project. An evaluation, which includes assessments on the current state of the marketing plan and any adjustments that should be made based on updated information. These evaluations should be ongoing.
And the control tools, these are any standards for performance or financial controls such as budget that must be considered and used when implementing the plan. Now each of these areas may not be specific sections of the marketing plan, but this information should be included. You'll also find that much of the information in these areas will overlap into different sections.
Now not having a marketing plan is one of the reasons a business can fail. Great ideas can be common in the business world, but it's the execution toward goals that bring success. A marketing plan can provide both goals and the methods used to reach those goals. It also allows the business stakeholders a chance to discuss how they'll interact and communicate with customers before the actual interactions occur. They can then agree on vision, the brand, and the relationships they wish to form with customers.
Nicely done. In this lesson, we learned about the marketing plan, what it contains, and why it's important for the success of a business. Thanks for your time and have a great day.
