With the increase of the competition occurring due to globalization, marketing has become a key factor that decides the profitability of any organization. This has brought out the importance of having a proper marketing planning process for the successful placement of the products or services in the correct market segment. It is important to identify the stages of the marketing planning process as it helps the organization to analyze the marketing environment and to build a marketing plan that can stand out in the competition.
There are 4 main stages that can be identified in the marketing planning process.
01. Analysis- The marketing planning team needs to analyze and assess the current situation in the organization as well as the environment of the organization. If the organization cannot identify who they are and what they are expecting to achieve, any marketing plan will be a failure. In addition, they should identify their competitors, customer expectations, and external factors such as economic and social environmental conditions. The organizations marketing planning team should be capable of identifying where the business is standing compared to the competitors and compared to the industry.
Internal and external business environment analysis methods such as SWOT analysis and PESTEL analysis can be used to evaluate the environmental factors as well as to identify where the organization is standing compared to the competitors.
02. Planning- This is the most crucial stage of the marketing planning process. At this stage, the marketing planning team should work out a plan to achieve the corporate objectives through the marketing plan. The plan should provide the most appropriate strategies and tactics that will help to achieve the organizational
objectives while providing profitability. This stage involves providing the plan for marketing which product or service and providing detailed aspects that are expected to be achieved.
03. Implementation- Implementation is the stage where the marketing team will put the plan into action. It is important that each member of the organization is aware of exactly how they are expected to continue their role and responsibilities in order to achieve the expected outcome from the marketing plan. The job role of every employee should be specifically mentioned in the marketing plan, setting time skills, and identifying the appropriate systems and structures for each employment role. The budget should be determined supporting the activities involved and the time scale should be identified prior.
04. Control- Once the marketing plan is implemented based on the prepared structure a suitable measuring and feedback system should be in place for the marketing team to measure the success of the implemented marketing plan. Due to the changing pattern of the business, no marketing plan will survive the first implementation because it is important to foresee all the aspects of the marketing process. It is essential to have flexibility in the marketing plan, so the marketing team can make the necessary changes accordingly to achieve the objectives through the marketing plan.
In addition, monitoring is the most essential part of controlling the marketing plan as it will help to identify the changes that are necessary and the achievement of the objectives. The final stage of marketing planning involves identifying the fulfilled target and actions that are unnecessary to put the plan back on track and achieve the expected outcome. it is mandatory to reevaluate the achievements from the marketing plan I am still the expected objectives are met.
It is important for the marketing team to follow the correct steps of the marketing planning process in order to avoid missing the important aspects of marketing planning which can create major damages to the marketing process of the organization.