You want to develop your first-ever Marketing Plan, and the primary question that comes to your mind is, “Where and How do I even begin?” Thorough research over the internet would lead you to different websites, which would, in turn, help you learn different perspectives on a marketing plan.
However, developing a marketing plan is not a one-day job. There is a lot that goes into it.
It is extremely important to have a marketing plan and research process that explains all your efforts, from your product strategy to pricing strategy to positioning.
For this, you need to first understand the entire marketing management process. It might sound a little challenging, but once it is completed, it will fetch you great results.
This post will give you an understanding of the process and how you can create your marketing plan.
Contents
What is Marketing Management?
Philip Kotler, the Marketing Guru, defines Marketing Management as “the process of bringing required changes to sales operations through the effective planning, implementation, and analysis of marketing techniques.”
Simply put, Marketing Management refers to the process which enables one to find out the possible profitable opportunities for your business and create them in a way that provides maximum customer satisfaction. Marketing Management is a customer-oriented process.
The Marketing Manager’s responsibility is to ensure complete customer satisfaction and eliminate those services which dissatisfy them. A Marketing Manager must have proper knowledge about the Marketing management process to fulfill customers’ expectations. Moreover, staying updated with the latest trends and technologies in the field is crucial. This includes being well-versed in digital marketing strategies and tools, as well as obtaining relevant certifications like Microsoft AZ-305 Exam Dumps to enhance proficiency and credibility.
Why is Marketing Management Important?
The heart of any brand lies in how well you have made your marketing efforts. Many times businesses do not realize the importance of Marketing Management. An effective marketing campaign is essential for a brand’s goodwill in the market.
1. It helps in introducing new Products
The most important way to increase your gains is by introducing new products in the market. However, customers must be aware of the products and services launched. That’s why it makes sense to use a product management tool like Notion, Trello, and Zeda to boost your marketing management efforts.
Product management software allows you to organize all aspects of new product development into one centralized system, including feature tracking, roadmapping, milestone management, etc.
2. It can improve the scope of your marketing campaign
Several marketing techniques like video advertisements, online banners, pamphlets, white papers for ICO, etc. are proven very effective in creating any marketing campaign. Proper research should be done on the emerging trends in marketing. This would fetch you good results.
3. It helps you in making the correct branding decisions
The customers must perceive your brand in the right way. Your entire success is dependent on how customers recognize your brand. Therefore, a company should make the right branding decisions to improve its brand reputation.
4. An effective marketing management team can help a brand combat competition
Marketing Management helps small businesses to compete with larger firms in the market. If proper customer research is done along with creating creative campaigns, it can give you an edge over the competitors. Apart from this, it can also help you widen your career prospects.
By providing mentoring to their employees, an effective marketing management team can help them develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. This can lead to a more competitive marketing team that can help the brand achieve its goals.
What is the Marketing Management Process?
It is essential for your marketing management process to be unique and out of the box. Below are certain steps a company should follow when creating a strategy.
Step 1: Defining a brand
The first and foremost process in any marketing management process is to define your brand and its objectives. To do so, it is important to devise a mission statement explaining your company’s USP and vision.
There are certain tips that you can follow to define your brand:-
A 5 Question Mission Statement
You should devise a mission statement that should answer these 5 questions-
- Who are my potential customers?
- Who are my competitors?
- What is the problem that I want to solve?
- How am I different from my competitors?
- What kind of Personality should my brand have?
The “Golden Circle”
This technique is used by many businesses while define their brand. The three rings represent three strategies: Why as the bull’s eye, How in the next ring, and What in the outermost ring. It is important to define your brand’s “why” element, which is the prime way to make customers and investors believe in your business.
Then you define “how” you accomplish that “why” element. Finally, you will define “what: your product or service is trying to accomplish.
By following the above-listed techniques, a business could define its brand without any hassle.
Step 2: Defining the customer’s profile
When formulating your marketing strategy, the most important aspect is creating your customer’s profile. You cannot devise a marketing strategy without knowing and understanding your customers. Every customer profile should have the following demographic information listed in it-
- Age
- Income level
- Education status
- Gender
- Interests
- Occupation
- Needs
- Marital status
- Problem and how do they currently solve it
The best way to know your customers is to regularly survey them. As a marketer, you should conduct regular surveys by asking simple questions from your customers.
This would not only provide you with the desired demographic information but will also provide you with feedback regarding any issue.
Step 3: Strategy Formulation
Once you have defined your market and researched your customer, it is time for you to formulate an effective marketing strategy.
A successful marketing management process has a comprehensive and integrated marketing strategy. The strategy should include elements that can catch an eye like videos, blogs, social media, print media, electronic media, etc.
All these mediums should be able to communicate the same message so that it can create a Top of the Mind recall. Along with formulating the strategy, you should also formulate the goals you are trying to accomplish. You should engage both your marketing and sales team for the same.
Step 4: Evaluation
The final step in the marketing management process is reviewing and evaluating your strategy and taking corrective measures (if required). Getting hold of booking software that can generate reports and track your data is always better.
The reports give you an idea about the effectiveness of your campaign and with whom your campaign is resonating the most.
TIP:- Always watch out for your competitors when evaluating your strategy and adjust yours accordingly. Your competitor’s actions can provide a reasonable hint on how you should adjust your strategy.
Wrapping up
So, it is time for you to devise a marketing plan for your firm! Prepare a draft by including all the above steps and strategies.
Do brainstorming to grab a couple of ideas, analyze your competitors, do thorough research, develop a hypothesis, conduct surveys, take feedback, and there you go- your marketing plan is ready!
To elevate the performance and know more about it, you can schedule a demo that may help you with campaign optimization, audience segmentation, etc.
FAQs
1. What is a Marketing Plan?
A marketing plan is a report outlining a mix of the strategies a company shall execute in the upcoming quarter or year.
2. How can I develop a Marketing Plan?
For developing a successful marketing plan, you should be able to define your market and customer properly, formulate a strategy and effectively evaluate and adjust it according to the desired situation.
3. How can I create an integrated marketing strategy?
An integrated marketing strategy involves all the necessary methods for promotion like videos, blogs, social media, print media, electronic media, etc.