The Marketing Planning Process
This unit is designed to provide a detailed understanding of marketing planning,
including the synergistic planning process and its links with the delivery of marketing
strategy. It also considers a thorough assessment of the dynamic and complex
nature of the marketing environment and its impact on developing marketing plans to
achieve strategic outcomes and competitive advantage in the market place.
The unit includes significant consideration of segmentation, targeting and positioning,
with a view to developing sophisticated approaches to targeting customers and the
development of effective positioning strategies, all based upon a sound assessment
of market segment opportunities and value.
By the end of this unit, students should be able to apply the concept of the marketing
planning process to a variety of organisational contexts and sectors, and to account
for their varying goals when developing marketing plans. They should be able to
demonstrate their ability to relate the challenges posed by a dynamic marketing
environment to the marketing planning needs of different organisations and to devise
appropriate, innovative positioning strategies in response to environmental changes.- Evaluate the role of the marketing planning process and the marketing plan implementation in a range of marketing contexts including that of the organisation’s strategy, culture and broader marketing environment
- Evaluate the interconnectivity between corporate, business and marketing objectives and consider the impact of the external marketing environment and the organisation’s resources on their development and achievement
- Conduct a marketing audit including a detailed analysis of the internal and external marketing environments
- Assess the findings of the audit and develop a marketing plan that is responsive to market and organisational changes and underpins the organisation’s marketing strategy, Determine the importance of segmentation, targeting and positioning and their relative interdependencies and develop effective segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies which are innovative, cost effective, valuable and maximise the potential marketing opportunities successfully
- Utilise a range of positioning platforms including price, quality, service and brand perception, to establish an organisation’s marketing positioning strategy
- Recognise the significance of retaining existing customers through relationship marketing when developing strategies to achieve marketing objectives
