4.2 Marketing Planning

marketing plan

outlines a firm’s marketing objectives and the marketing strategies used to achieve these objectives

marketing process

conduct a marketing audit —> set marketing objectives —> plan marketing strategies —> monitor and review performance —> evaluation

advantages of marketing planning

• improves the chances of success

• provides clear objectives + constraints

• allows managers to have better control + understanding

disadvantages of marketing planning

• time cost

• money cost

• human resource cost

• plans may be inflexible + outdated

target market

a firm wishes to sell to a particular market segment

market segment

refers to a distinct group of customers with similar characteristics (such as age and gender) and similar needs or wants

consumer profiles

• demographic factors

• geographic factors

• psychographic factors

demography

the study of the characteristics of the human population within a certain area, country or region

geographic factors

location of customers can have implications for segmentation because demographic factors can be largely influenced; location + climate

psychographic factors

consider the emotions and lifestyles of customers; culture, status, religion, values, hobbies, + interests

position maps

reveals customer perceptions of a product or brand concerning others in the market; allows a business to identify any gaps in its product portfolio and refine its marketing strategies

what goes in the X?

cowboy products: these products are positioned to deceive customers and are only used as a short-term tactic to boost sales.

What goes in the X?

premium products: these tend to be luxury products.

what goes in the X?

economy products: these products are often used to appeal to price-sensitive customers into a shop e.g. supermarkets selling ‘no-frills’ own-label brands.

what goes in the X?

bargain products: this strategy is not sustainable, so the approach is only used as a short-term tactic to boost sales.

positioning strategies - stages

• identify competitive advantages of a product

• select key competitive advantages to market

• implement desired positioning using an appropriate marketing mix

niche marketing

targets a specific and well-defined market segment

advantages of niche marketing

• better marketing focus

• able to charge higher prices due to less competition

• highly specialized in meeting needs and wants

disadvantages of niche marketing

• limited customer base

• few opportunities to exploit economies of scale

• successful niche markets can attract new entrants into the industry, leading to more competition

mass marketing

targets multiple market segments to maximize sales

advantages of mass marketing

• economies of scale

• able to use a single marketing campaign to address entire market

• large customer base

disadvantages of mass marketing

• high barriers to entry

• heavy competition

• lacks focus + may not satisfy individual needs + wants

unique selling point (USP)

any aspect of a business, product or brand that makes it stand out from competitors

differentiation

the act of distinguishing a business or its products from rivals in the industry

advantages of differentiation

• price advantages

• brand recognition + loyalty

• distribution advantages

disadvantages of differentiation

• costly

• economies of scale cannot be exploited

• excessive differentiation can confuse customers