Strategic, Tactical & Contingency Plans

The Marketing Plan

Section 1: Analysis of Previous (current) years business performance includes

• Economic climate
• Share gains/losses
• Volume growth/decline
• Competitive activity
• Key customer movements expenditure level
• Profit performance

Section 2: Company Audit includes

• Company strengths/weaknesses
• Problems/opportunities

Section 3: Objectives for following year includes

• Brief statements of key objectives eg shares, volumes, margins
• Expenditure, profitability
• Detail for one year
• Summary for next two or more years

Section 4: Outline of key strategies includes

• Advertising
• Promotion
• Pricing
• Product development
• Sales
• Which will be adopted with rationale where neccessary

Section 5: Programmes and timetables includes

• By key area
• Translates strategies into action

Section 6: Appendices includes

• Any relevant support data

Note: Objectives are a destination to be reached, Strategies are the roads that lead there, Tactics are the means of transport. It may be neccessary to change the means of transport but seldom a change in direction.

Key Objectives for which Marketing Manager is responsible

• Volume
• Sales turnover
• Contribution
• Marketing expenditure
• To juggle the variables to achieve the total objectives

Basic Truism of Marketing - Spend money to make money

Key points

• Objectives must be clearly and realistically defined
• Adequate measurement of results must be taken