Marketing planning aims and objectives

Behind the corporate objectives, which in themselves offer the main context for the marketing plan, will lie the "corporate mission," which in turn provides the context for these corporate objectives. In a sales-oriented organization, the marketing planning function designs incentive pay plans to not only motivate and reward frontline staff fairly but also to align marketing activities with corporate mission.

A "traditional" - albeit product-based - format for a "brand reference book" (or, indeed, a "marketing facts book") was suggested by Godley more than three decades ago:

1. Financial data—Facts for this section will come from management accounting, costing and finance sections.

2. Product data—From production, research and development.

3. Sales and distribution data - Sales, packaging, distribution sections.

4. Advertising, sales promotion, merchandising data - Information from these departments.

5. Market data and miscellany - From market research, who would in most cases act as a source for this information. His sources of data, however, assume the resources of a very large organization. In most organizations they would be obtained from a much smaller set of people (and not a few of them would be generated by the marketing manager alone).

1. Review of the marketing environment. A study of the organization's markets, customers, competitors and the overall economic, political, cultural and technical environment; covering developing trends, as well as the current situation.

2. Review of the detailed marketing activity. A study of the company's marketing mix; in terms of the 7 Ps - (see below)

3. Review of the marketing system. A study of the marketing organization, marketing research systems and the current marketing objectives and strategies. The last of these is too frequently ignored. The marketing system itself needs to be regularly questioned, because the validity of the whole marketing plan is reliant upon the accuracy of the input from this system, and `garbage in, garbage out' applies with a vengeance.

Portfolio planning. In addition, the coordinated planning of the individual products and services can contribute towards the balanced portfolio.
80:20 rule. To achieve the maximum impact, the marketing plan must be clear, concise and simple. It needs to concentrate on the 20 percent of products or services, and on the 20 percent of customers, that will account for 80 percent of the volume and 80 percent of the profit.
7 Ps: Product, Place, Price and Promotion, Physical Environment, People, Process. The 7 Ps can sometimes divert attention from the customer, but the framework they offer can be very useful in building the action plans.

The marketing objectives must usually be based, above all, on the organization's financial objectives; converting these financial measurements into the related marketing measurements. He went on to explain his view of the role of "policies," with which strategy is most often confused: "Policies are rules or guidelines that express the 'limits' within which action should occur. "Simplifying somewhat, marketing strategies can be seen as the means, or "game plan," by which marketing objectives will be achieved and, in the framework that we have chosen to use, are generally concerned with the 8 P's. Examples are:

1. Price - The amount of money needed to buy products

2. Product - The actual product

3. Promotion - Getting the product known

4. Placement - Where the product is located

5. People - Represent the business

6. Physical environment - The ambiance, mood, or tone of the environment

7. Process - How do people obtain your product

8. Packaging - How the product will be protected

In principle, these strategies describe how the objectives will be achieved. The 7 Ps are a useful framework for deciding how the company's resources will be manipulated (strategically) to achieve the objectives. However, they are not the only framework, and may divert attention from the real issues. The focus of the strategies must be the objectives to be achieved - not the process of planning itself

One aspect of strategy which is often overlooked is that of "timing." Exactly when it is the best time for each element of the strategy to be implemented is often critical. Taking the right action at the wrong time can sometimes be almost as bad as taking the wrong action at the right time. Timing is, therefore, an essential part of any plan; and should normally appear as a schedule of planned activities. As in the rest of the marketing discipline, you will need to employ judgment, experience, market research or anything else which helps you to look at your conclusions from all possible angles.

Conclusion

Like any business, the media industry evolves in cycles. In the past, there have been few job openings at media companies, but now, as content converges and more media companies are looking for ways to branch out and reach larger population bases, there is an increase in the availability of highly coveted marketing positions. However, the availability of new technologies and new developments in the media industry have created a demand for new kinds of experience, cultural knowledge and skills sets that candidates must be aware of if they wish to see for such a position. When searching for a marketing position in the media industry, it is important to know that the industry is highly heterogeneous. Because of this it can be difficult to identify what sort of marketing jobs are most prevalent. HarperCollins and MySpace, for example, are both media businesses and are owned by the same parent, but they go to market in very different ways. In addition, they have different revenue models that require very different forms of marketing. Marketing opportunities abound in a variety of niche specialties. For example, an e-commerce company might be interested in hiring marketing professionals to support customer acquisitions or product development, while a magazine might need marketing support in circulation. Candidates should focus on where their skills and interests lie before pursuing marketing positions at media companies so that they can adequately match their qualifications to a specific marketing function.

The career potential for marketers in the media industry is anticipated to keep growing. Should the economy dip, this may change slightly, however the media industry is fairly resilient and the continued conglomeration and convergence will ensure growth for years to come. On the whole, the media space is a welcome environment for ambitious marketers who will continue to enjoy good career prospects and interesting, meaningful work.

References

1. http://www.tutor2u.net/

2. http://marketing.about.com/

3. http://en.wikipedia.org

4. D. Daniels, Lee H. Radebaugh, International Business. "Moscow - 1994

5. Web-site «Big Direct Marketing» http://www.b2b.ru/

6. "Basic Marketing" by F. Kotler, Moscow – 1995

7. Lamb J. - Strategic Marketing - London.: Economics, 1998

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