BUS602: Marketing Management

8a. Analyze the alignment of a marketing plan with the mission and vision of a firm and stated company objectives within the organizational strategic plan 

• What is the purpose of a marketing plan?
• How do the various elements of the marketing plan help an organization develop effective strategies?
  

A marketing plan enables a company to identify its customers' needs and determine if the organization has the capabilities to meet those needs. A Mission Statement is created so that the company can develop offerings to specifically address consumer needs and demands. This Mission Statement will communicate why the company exists, its overall goals, and the goods and services provided to its customers. Additionally, a Vision Statement can guide the organization's desired long-term results of their efforts. These will lead to crafting marketing activities – advertising, promotion, and public relations – which enable the company to engage in meaningful communications with their customers.

The elements in the Marketing Plan encompass an overall description of the purpose of the plan and the goals it is seeking to achieve. A comprehensive evaluation of the market will include customer analysis, company analysis, competitive analysis, and an evaluation of the business climate. Once this information is known, the company can begin developing a strategy for their offerings and a communication plan to generate awareness of the product. However, goals might be other than awareness and can include reminder marketing, promotions to generate quick sales, new product introductions, etc.

A detailed budget will be included to ensure that funds are appropriately allocated and are effective in helping the company reach their objectives.

It is important to note that a Marketing Plan should be evaluated regularly to determine if goals are being met and to identify any changes in the marketplace that would require revisions to the company's strategies.

To review, see Components of the Marketing Plan.

8b. Explain how to create specific action plans to execute on a given strategic objective 

• How do SMART marketing objectives impact strategic development?
• What is a product strategy?
• What is the purpose of brand positioning?
• How can marketers leverage the elements in the promotional mix to achieve their goals?
  

The acronym for SMART marketing objectives represents Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. This provides a guideline for marketers to set meaningful and specific objectives. This tool ensures an observable way to identify goals and determine if they have been met. For example, suppose a company wants to increase customer loyalty through social media. In that case, they might set a goal of repeat customer purchases by 20% within three months and create an inbound marketing campaign. At the end of that time, the company will be able to evaluate the results of their efforts to determine if goals have been met.

A product strategy encompasses user needs, the market, and the business goals for the product. The product strategy resides directly within the value proposition, which identifies the company's promise to its customers stating why the customer should buy that product. A product strategy should identify long-term objectives, how the company will achieve the vision and current conditions that can affect success.

Brand positioning enables a company to stand out from the competition. It provides the consumer with a reason to purchase one brand over another in the marketplace and can identify how it best meets consumer needs.

First, it is important to identify the target market and determine why they seek your product. Another component of brand positioning is to ensure that customers can find your brand when searching for alternatives. It is essential to understand the competition to identify and promote distinct differences. This is where a brand will promote their USP (unique selling proposition).

A clear brand position statement that identifies the target market and your competitive advantage will illustrate what you have to offer and to whom. The overall purpose of this is to help develop strategies within the marketing plan and maximize the company's return on investment.

The promotional mix is a component of the marketing mix, known as the 4Ps. This can include advertising, such as television, radio, newspapers, outdoor, and direct mail. Additionally, personal selling, in-store displays, brochures, mobile apps, websites, sales promotions, online efforts, and public relations may also figure into a company's plans. The key to any organization's success is determining the appropriate combination of activities that will enable the company to reach their goals.

To review, see Statement of the Firm's Marketing Objectives: Business Objectives, Product Strategy Overview, Brand Positioning, Report of the Promotional Strategy and Execution: Promotion Mix.

8c. Determine how to measure the effectiveness of a marketing execution strategy given the stated objectives of a marketing plan, and how often to conduct that measurement 

• What is the purpose of benchmarking in performance measurement?
• What are the performance measures used to evaluate product differentiation strategies?
• What metrics would a company measure when conducting a digital marketing campaign?
  

Benchmarking is the process by which performance standards are based on a company that is superior to all others within an industry. The Ritz-Carlton hotel, for example, might be the standard by which other hotel brands measure their levels of customer service. Additionally, this helps to illustrate what a company needs to change to improve performance. This can include quantitative data and qualitative data related to best practices.

There are a variety of tactics a company may use to demonstrate product differentiation. Additionally, different types of performance measurements are used to evaluate success. For a product differentiation strategy that revolves around innovation, the performance measure will focus on the number of new products launched. For a product differentiation strategy that seeks to increase customer satisfaction, measuring customer complaints is most meaningful. Finally, for a product differentiation strategy that seeks quality improvement, the measurement used will address product defect rates.

There are a variety of activities a company will engage in when implementing a digital marketing campaign. These can include social media marketing, email marketing, paid media, and website marketing. As with all marketing efforts, each component of the campaign should be monitored to ensure that goals are being met. These metrics include: reach and engagement for social media activities; opens and click-throughs for email marketing campaigns; costs and impressions for paid media; and various aspects of "visits" when measuring website activities.

To review, see Measuring and Evaluating Strategic Performance and Metrics.

Unit 8 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

• benchmarking
• best practices
• brand positioning
• business climate
• communication plan
• company analysis
• competitive analysis
• customer analysis
• digital marketing campaigns
• marketing plan
• metrics
• objectives
• product differentiation
• product strategy
• promotional mix
• SMART
• target market
• unique selling proposition