Marketing Planning as an Essential Foundation for Marketing Success - Essay Example

Marketing Planning as an Essential Foundation for Marketing Success YOUR FULL YOUR INSTITUION OR SCHOOL PROFESSOR DATE Marketing Planning as an Essential Foundation for Marketing Success The idea that success requires planning is not new, and its application to marketing is as straightforward as any management or other business principle. Even industries or professions that have traditionally not been marketing-intensive have found that new ideas and their implementation require forethought; but yield results when that thoughtful plan is executed. For example, in relating the efficacy of a direct mail marketing strategy for accounting firms, McCracken (1990) noted that the profession is becoming increasingly competitive and then states the obvious solution; "firms that succeed will take an active role in planning and implementing marketing strategies" (130). Thus, the link between marketing success and marketing planning is axiomatic. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the extent to which marketing planning is foundational to marketing success; and that degree of import is dramatic. Without proper planning, the marketing efforts of a business are likely to be haphazard and unfocused, create vulnerabilities for competitors to exploit, and ultimately fail in effectiveness. Planning the marketing strategy, however, allows an organization to control processes and create evaluative methodologies for refining its message, its markets, and its goals. Marketing planning is an essential foundation for the success of a business because it establishes a roadmap or sequence for executing a well-considered strategy, it serves to require management to identify opportunities, competitive weaknesses, and employ sound business practices, and it facilitates the strategic thinking necessary to succeed in business enterprise. Marketing Planning Establishes a Sequence for Execution Prior to formulating an effective marketing program, it is incumbent upon management to consider the company's current position within the market, the competitive landscape it faces, the unique aspects of the organization and its product, as well as how to position the organization for future profitability; all of which are a natural part of marketing planning. At its simplest expression, marketing planning is focused on two major sequential components, "establishing the corporate planning perspective and...developing marketing programs" (Lazer 1971: 87). Effective marketing cannot be implemented as a series of random events; it should be viewed as a sequence that takes in the corporate condition and then tailors a marketing program to maximize opportunities. There are three vital aspects to this process that provide foundational support for success. The first is that marketing planning is, itself, a linear sequence. The value of such a scheme is that execution follows the form. In sequential management processes, it is relatively easy to identify where you are, and deduce where you should go. For the purposes of marketing planning, the fact that the first step in the sequence-and the second vital aspect of the process-is a corporate planning perspective that allows management the opportunity to analyze the organization's position and evaluate its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This "first stop" on the map creates the necessary understanding to take the next step in the sequence, which is the third vital aspect of the linear process, and actually formulate a marketing program that meets the needs of customers, aligns with corporate philosophy, and stands a good chance at defeating competitive pressure. These goals would never be achieved, however, if a sequential process were not in place. Marketing planning is more than just a linear process that defines a sequence of events. It is also a mechanism by which leadership is compelled to analyze its current market environment and proactively engage in sound business practices. Marketing Planning Facilitates Good Management As with any positive business process, marketing planning assists management by providing the opportunity to review multiple aspects of the organization's operations while engaging in appropriate strategic analysis. As Mullens and Cummings (1999) state, it is important for proactive management to adapt to change, and this adaptation is "pertinent to market opportunities and marketing planning" (468). Greenlee (2004) goes on to point out the four elements of the process; "uniform encoding" among the managers for the changing scenario, achieving managerial consensus regarding objectives and strategies for pursuing "market opportunities," motivation for implementation of the necessary strategies, and the "organizational ability to implement" those chosen options (938). It is in this dynamic that the marketing planning assists management in building the appropriate foundation for marketing success and, by extension, organizational success. Part of marketing planning is allowing for the changes that are occurring within the market, whether those changes include differences in consumer buying trends, adjustments to competitive pressures, or product adaptation. The act of engaging in marketing planning requires that managers "get on the same page" regarding the changing landscape in which they are promoting their product. Once a consensus is built, the opportunities presented can be analyzed in light of the overall corporate strategy and a plan for effective implementation crafted. At that point, management has to determine the best way to enact the strategy so that they can reach their customer base. It is important to note the practical advantages this provides. Authors like Pulendran, Speed & Widing (2003) note that while "managers have long been exhorted to become close to their customers and adopt the marketing concept, academic marketing has been able to offer relatively little guidance as to the practical steps" needed to actually implement the concept (476). In real-world marketing planning, the process itself drives management to make up for the guidance that academic sources fail to provide. For example, consider an organization like PepsiCo which decides that one of its products, Mountain Dew, is facing competitive pressure from alternative drinks and its market share is being eroded. The marketing planning process obviates the need to engage in burdensome theoretical research. Using the principles set forth herein, management initiates a marketing planning process which requires that sufficient market research be done to determine the changes faced by the product. At that point, management comes to an understanding of what needs to be done and codifies that requirement into a marketing plan. New opportunities are identified as competitive threat is understood, and the entire marketing and management team begins to comprehend the need for a fresh marketing approach. At that point, the marketing planning drives the organization to commit the necessary assets for a marketing plan that will regain market share. The very nature of the marketing planning process has assisted management in the sound business principles of analysis, adjustment, and implementation. If PepsiCo were to perceive the loss of market share and attempt to employ marketing tactics without a marketing plan, their chances of effectively reversing the competitive threat would be significantly diminished. Using the foundational approach to marketing planning, however, not only would result in a fresh campaign, but would also have the organizational benefits provided by the required market analysis and managerial integration. Thus, marketing planning does exactly what a foundational component is supposed to do; it provides stability not only for the product and its marketing implementation, but also helps to hone the overall corporate objectives. Further, proper marketing planning can benefit the organization beyond the proper positioning of a single brand or product. The process can also facilitate strategic thinking that guides the entire organiztion. Marketing Planning Promotes Strategic Planning There is a natural relationship between the elements of marketing planning and the organizational strategic planning necessary for corporate success. This is because the stages of good marketing planning correspond to strategic goals. As Brooksbank & Taylor (2002) point out, there are four key stages related to the process; "strategic situation analysis, the development of marketing objectives, the formulation of marketing strategy, and the implementation of strategic control" (452). Consider the relationship between organizational strategic planning and the aspects which are duplicated in marketing planning. First, situational analysis; marketing planning requires that management gauge the environment in which the product is going to be presented, the constituency to whom the marketing is going to be directed, and the overall image the company wishes to present. Second, this situational analysis provides the platform upon which the marketing strategies will stand. This necessarily integrates the marketing efforts with the central corporate objectives. Third, once the objectives have been defined, understood, and agreed upon, a marketing strategy is crafted. This strategy, having been informed by the elements of the process to this point, is coherent, cohesive, and on message. The strategy, by nature, embodies the market environment as well as the goals of management for the product. After these three processes are in place, the fourth element is the execution of the determined strategy. Accordingly, while a company may not have a full strategic plan in place, the process of marketing planning provides use of the same principles and allows management to formulate a full understanding of the market environment, their product's place within that environment, a set of objectives to move that product efficiently above the competition, and a plan to make the objectives a reality. It would be hard to conceive of a more foundational premise than marketing planning as a means of stimulating organizational planning. Marketing planning is absolutely essential to marketing success, which is central to organizational profitability. Rather than engaging in a general product presentation that may or may not effectively reach consumers, marketing planning allows organizations to understand its market, to refine its overall image and message, to establish its product sales goals, and to formulate the necessary means to enact those strategies. By creating a virtual roadmap or sequence for execution, reinforcing the principles of sound management, and providing a framework for strategic thinking within the organization, marketing planning empowers the modern business to obtain profitability while building on a solid foundation. References Brooksbank, R. & Taylor, D. (2002). 'The adoption of strategic marketing and its contribution to the competitive success of New Zealand companies.' Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 20 (7) 452- Greenley, G., Hooley, G. and Saunders, J. (2004). 'Management Processes in Marketing Planning.' European Journal of Marketing, 38 (8) 933-955 Lazer, W. (1971). Marketing Management: A Systems Perspective. New York: John Wiley & Sons McCracken, L.J. (1990). 'An Attention-Getting Marketing Strategy.' Journal of Accountancy 170, (3) 129-130 Mullens, J.W. & Cummings, L.L. (1999). 'Situational strength: a framework for understanding the role of individuals in initiating strategic change.' Journal of Organizational Change, 12 (6) 462-479. Pulendran, S., Speed, R. and Widing, R. (2003). 'Marketing Planning, Market Orientation and Business Performance.' European Journal of Marketing, 37 (3) 476-97 Read More