Importance of the Marketing Plan

Introduction

The optimal way to start an organizational endeavor is to establish and formulate a strong marketing plan. A marketing plan is a necessary prerequisite and an invaluable process within the foundation of any successful organization and its future. For any competitively-successful organization, one of the foremost and integral components of making a product and service stand out amongst the competition is – a marketing plan. The main purpose of a marketing plan is to support the development of products and services for an organization, that directly-hit its target market or audience.

As mentioned, an effective marketing plan steers an organization towards its target market or audience, increases overall customer base, and all in all, boosts the bottom line. It is also quite often that when seeking funding, loans or capital, a marketing plan helps create a transparent, accurate and quantifiable objectives for the organization.

Formulating a marketing plan, initially, involves and/or requires research, dedication and time. As with anything in life, all things within an organization must be ready to adjust and pivot with external changes: i.e. customer demand, economy, environment and politics.

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The Marketing Plan

The premise of a marketing plan and its purposes are to provide:

1. A script of sequence-of-events for the organization to follow
2. An attractive document to reel in the personnel and resources needed to succeed, which include:

• Getting the right people on the bus, and the right people in the right seats (Collins, 2001)
• Creditors and banks to offer competitive interest rates
• Capital from investors
• Inspired and motivated team members who feel he or she are in the right organization

There are many clichés that can be used to describe what it would be like to operate an organization without a marketing plan, but at the end of the day, the moral of the story is – no organization can survive without it. Without a marketing plan, the risks are far too costly and unpredictable. When an organization successfully targets its desirable customer(s) via marketing plan, it significantly reduces the risks of marketing costs, as well as, the opportunity to flip leads into sure-fire sales; simply put, an ideal marketing plan makes sales easier for an organization.

There are various versions and formats of a marketing plan that are used all around the world, but in the end, all entail the same core ingredients: an analysis (SWOT/PESTLE, etc.), a target market (or audience) outline with segmentation included (Geographic, Demographic, etc.), objectives (targets and milestones), strategy (4Ps) and financial planning (budgeting and forecasting sales).

Size Does Not Matter

The one thing an organization with a product and service cannot survive without is, customers. When it comes to an organization and its target market or audience, attraction and retention are pivotal; the value of the market can never be overstated. It is highly doubtful that a customer will nonchalantly waltz through the doors of a business that he or she is unfamiliar with, and just purchase something – without an ounce of sense of what that business is all about, what exactly is being sold, and for more matters, what is different from the products and services provided – compared to any or all other competitors.

More often than none, in regards to a lot of smaller organizations, emphasis on marketing is not expressed seriously enough. Typically, smaller organizations view marketing as too costly and unsuitable for their needs. On the contrary, marketing entails much more than painting a picture for current and future customers, it provides intangible outcomes that help create an identity for smaller organizations (and larger ones), that bridge the relationship gap between them and their customers – instilling trust and loyalty, both ways.

Organizational Identity

Within the overall walls of marketing, establishing a brand is a vital and fundamental element of getting an organization up-and-running, and going in a positive direct. There are handfuls of questions and considerations when it comes to laying the slab of the foundation of an organization and its brand including but, not limited to:

• Who/what is the target market (or audience) and what is their wants/needs?
• In correlation to the previous, how does the competition fulfill those needs?
• How does the organization effectively convey and accomplish that, the customers understand and agree the products and services provided are more desirable and sought out vs the competition?

A Strategic Document that Lives and Breaths

A marketing plan is undoubtedly important for an organization and its performance against the competition. Another factor it plays when establishing a plan is it allows leadership and management to hone on its resources, which furthermore, helps them to focus on planning and forecasting the growth of the organization.

The planning and forecasting part of the process allows the organization to understand and identify various areas (eternally and externally) that may benefit or hinder success.

The R&D aspect of establishing a marketing plan provides many beneficial details towards the overall picture, to:

• Identify the target market (or audience) and their wants/needs
• Confirm who the competition is and then, gathering feedback from customers on their strengths and weaknesses
• Capitalize on the marketing mix from the information gathered thus far, then, situate the products and services in such a way that they stand apart and above the competition
• Assertively, create quantifiable goals, objectives and timeframes for specific marketing actions
• Plotting strategies to influence and satisfy the target market (or audience), which will include all means and resources utilized to accomplish such taskings

It is also important to understand and note, that a marketing plan is not set in stone, once it has been formulated and given the stamp of approval. From conception, on after, it will be known as a living document – which will breath, grow and change as the organization does in regards to any eternal and external anomalies; quarterly, bi-annual and annual reviews should be conducted to ensure accuracy and applicability to any or all instances, to maintain situational awareness and continuity.

Having a Grip on the Wheel

The marketing plan brings the day-to-day operations of an organization, full-circle. When developing a marketing plan, an organization will create specific target points and milestones (indicators), that will further allow them to: allocate resources and budget – accordingly, inspire and motivate the team that makes up the organization, and, appropriately manage the performance of the team members and their marketing exertions.

As the marketing plan continues to be executed by the organization, real costs are measured up in comparison to the budget, and real sales are measured against the forecast(s). In the instance of a substantial swing from milestones, targets and budgets of performance, analyses must be conducted to pinpoint the areas of weakness. After the completion of investigating, imminent corrective actions must be done as quickly as possible to avoid any further anomalies or complications; a solid marketing plan, regardless of any arising issues, should undeniably help an organization get back on track.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, there is no getting around the fact that a marketing plan is required for the success for any organization, regardless of its size. Another hard fact is, organizations and its products and services, cannot survive without customers. A marketing plan is kind of like a playbook in sports – it’s some form of a document that aligns all the necessary pieces and actions together that are needed to be successful and concise; it should never be too extensive or complex. In essence, and in any matter, we all need something like a marketing plan that provides contingency plans that helps us be more steadfast and keeps us focused on our goals, objectives, wants and needs – so that we can be as successful as we can be.

References

1. Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to great. London: Random House Business.
2. Department of Industry. (2018, August 14). Why do I need a marketing plan? Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://www.business.gov.au/planning/marketing-plans/why-do-i-need-a-marketing-plan
3. Kalb, I. (2017, August 26). Creating a Marketing Plan That Works. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/creating-a-marketing-plan-that-works_us_59a0ec0de4b0d0ef9f1c13fc
4. Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management. Boston, etc.: Pearson.
5. Murphy, D., Lin, D., & Veen, S. (2016, September 18). 10 Reasons to Create a Simple Small Business Marketing Plan. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://masterful-marketing.com/simple-marketing-plan/
6. Richards, L. (2017, September 26). Survival Marketing Strategy. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://bizfluent.com/info-8302557-survival-marketing-strategy.html