The Marketing Plan

SWOT Analysis

•Good marketing relies on good plans

•Planning efforts begin with a critical look at itself and its business environment or market in which it operates

•This assessment lists and analyzes the company’s strengths & weaknesses

SWOT Analysis

•The acronym stands for:

•Strengths

•Weaknesses

•Opportunities

•Threats

SWOT Analysis

•The internal and external awareness will help a business identify weaknesses and prepare to handle threats such as competition or a changing marketplace

SWOT: Strengths & Weaknesses

•Analysis of strengths & weaknesses

•Three C’s: Company, Customers & Competition

SWOT: Strengths & Weaknesses

•Company analysis

•Questions about what a company does well and what areas are weak

•Looks at a review of staff, financial position, production capabilities and each aspect of the marketing mix

SWOT: Strengths & Weaknesses

•Customer Analysis

•Studying customers buying habits may reveal patterns that offer insights into product offerings and pricing strategies

SWOT: Strengths & Weaknesses

•Competitive Position

•Analyzing market share and advantages/disadvantages over a competitor

SWOT: Threats & Opportunities

•Competition

•Environmental scan: An analysis of outside influences that may have an impact on an organization as a threat or opportunity

•Includes four areas: Political, economic, socio-cultural and technological (sometimes referred to as PEST)

SWOT: Threats & Opportunities

• Political:

• Companies must be alert to changes in laws and regulations that affect their industry

• Do Not Call Registry

• Downloading music from the Internet

• Opened an industry for iTunes, etc.

SWOT: Threats & Opportunities

•Economic

•Current state of the economy is of interest to all businesses

SWOT: Threats & Opportunities

•Socio-Cultural

•Changes in attitudes, lifestyles and opinions pose a threat and opportunity to companies

•Changes in demographic factors such as income, occupation, etc.

SWOT: Threats & Opportunities

•Technological

•Changing technology can be a threat for one industry and an opportunity for another

Writing a Marketing Plan

•A formal, written document that directs a company’s activities for a specific period of time

•It details analysis and research efforts and provides a roadmap for how a product will enter the market, be advertised and sold

Writing a Marketing Plan

•A marketing plan also communicates the goals, objectives and strategies of a company’s management team

•A plan helps a company monitor a company’s performance

Market Segmentation•The process of classifying people

who form a given market into even smaller groups is called market segmentation

•Age, price, desired features, etc.

•After segments are made, companies decide which segments to target

•Segmented by demographics, psychographics, geographics & behaviors

Demographics

•Refers to statistics that describe a population in terms of personal characteristics such as age, gender, income, marital status, ethnic background, education and occupation

Geographics

•Refers to segmentation of the market based on where people live

Psychographics

•Involves grouping people with similar lifestyles, as well as shares attitudes, values and opinions

Behavioral

•Segmenting the market based on product related behavior involves looking at the benefits desired by consumers, shopping patterns and usage rate

•luxury products, etc.

Mass Marketing

•When products have universal appeal and few features to differentiate them from competitors, mass marketing is used

•It involves using a single marketing strategy to reach all customers

•Got Milk? ads