The Marketing Plan

Executive Summary  This is at the beginning of the marketing plan and is an overview of the entire marketing plan  It briefly addresses each topic in the plan  It also provides an explanation of all the costs involved in implementing the plan  This is usually 1-2 pages in length

Situation Analysis  A situation analysis is a study of the internal and external factors that impact a marketing plan.  After studying these factors, the company will have the information it needs to conduct a SWOT analysis

Internal vs. External Factors Internal factors  Involve the company  Target market  Current performance  Financial resources External factors  Competitive factors  Political factors  Economic factors  Regulatory factors  Legal factors  Technological factors  Cultural factors  Industry trends

SWOT Analysis  Helps to develop a product that matches the company’s objectives

SWOT Analysis BDI3C1

What is SWOT?  SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps businesses to focus on key issues.

What is SWOT?  SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors.  Opportunities and threats are external factors.

Strengths  What does the company do well?  Is the company strong in its market?  Does the company have a strong sense of purpose and the culture to support the purpose?

Weaknesses  What does the company do poorly?  What problems could be avoided?  Does the company have serious financial liabilities?

Opportunities  Are industry trends moving upward?  Do new markets exist for the company’s products/ services?  Are there new technologies that the company can exploit?

Threats  What are competitors doing well?  What obstacles does the company face?  Are there troubling changes in the company’s business environment (technologies, laws, and regulations)?

SWOT  In pairs, complete a SWOT for North Albion Collegiate Institute

NACI SWOT STRENGTHS -Diverse population -Committed Staff -Lots of extra curricular -School spirit -Academic success WEAKNESSES -Security -Unfriendly neighbourhood -Low advancement in technology -Math/English (lack of) success -Lack of financial support OPPORTUNITIES -Local recreational centres -Advancement in technology -School and community events -Expand -Local focus group -Sponsorship THREATS -Drugs/robberies/crime -Bad reputation / Negative publicity -Other schools -Depression / Mental health

SWOT  Individually, complete a SWOT for McDonalds Corporation

Objectives  Objectives let everyone know what needs to be accomplished by the marketing plan  They are used to evaluate the marketing plan  To be useful, they must:  Be simple  Be single-minded  Be specific  Be reasonable  Be measurable  Contain a time frame

Think S-M-A-R-T

# 1 GOAL… Customer Satisfaction

Marketing Strategies  A marketing strategy is a method that identifies target markets to make marketing- mix decisions that focus on those target markets.  The ultimate goal of a marketing strategy is customer satisfaction  Point of difference or a competitive advantage  What are some examples of this?  Marketing mix (4 P’s)

P P P P The Marketing Mix—The Four Ps 20 involve the goods, services, or ideas used to satisfy consumer needs. Product Decisions involve the exchange process between the customer and the seller. Price Decisions involve making the product available to the customer. Place Decisions involve how the goods or services are communicated to the consumer. Promotion Decisions

Implementation  Implementation is putting the marketing plan into action  Who will be responsible for each phase of the plan?  How much will each activity cost?  When will each part of the plan be executed?  Need to outline a schedule of activities, job assignments, a budget, details of each activity  This requires a lot of communication between everyone involved

Evaluation and Control  Evaluation involves answering the question: Did we accomplish our marketing objectives in the specified time frame?  The business reviews sales data, market share, brand- name recall, or any other area from the marketing plan objectives  The information gathered is compared with the objectives to see if they were met  The difference between the planned an achieved performance tells the company which areas need to be revisited  In the control phase, the company takes action to reduce the gap between planned and actual performance

Activity  Read the Sample Marketing Plan on page196 for “Fairway Fundamentals Corporation (FCC)”  Complete the Activity Reflection Sheet