TABLE OF CONTENTS Planning is an integrative, co-ordinating activity that gives focus to the organization s activities. Strategic and tactical decisions are made at corporate and functional levels. Addressing the analytical, behavioural and organizational aspects of planning can help overcome the many barriers to success. While the format and presentation of marketing plans may vary, a common purpose exists to identify, select and implement appropriate marketing activities.
Marketing managers plan in order to complete tasks on time and without exceeding pre-set resource limits. It is likely that objectives, targets and budgets will be set as part of the overall corporate planning and budgeting process. The task is to translate these factors into a workable marketing plan.
When developing a plan, the process involves choosing certain courses of action and ruling out other possible options. Planning should be systematic, structured and involve three key components: (i) objectives what has to be achieved; (ii) strategy (or actions) defining how the objectives are to be achieved, and (iii) resource implications the resources required to implement the strategy.
Clearly, it is important to understand the interface between marketing and corporate strategy. This is best illustrated by considering the hierarchical structure of an organization. Senior management formulates objectives and strategy for the entire organization (or a strategic business unit SBU). Managers in various functional areas, such as marketing, contribute to the process by developing specific functional strategies and ultimately tactics to achieve these corporate objectives. Effectively, the...
