Marketing Planning and Marketing Strategies

Marketing planning involves a systematic process of collecting relevant market information and preventing future market problems. Planning forces all levels of management to monitor changes and market developments.

Marketing planning process

This process consists of three steps:

1. Situation analysis

2. Planning goals and strategies

3. Planning for specific activities

These steps are necessary regardless of whether we are talking about short-term, medium-term or long-term planning. Goals should be understood as strategic, more general goals, and tactical, which are more specific goals formulated from strategic goals.

As a result of the planning process, we should get a marketing plan that describes in detail what situation is currently prevailing in the market, analysis of chances and risks, goals, strategy, implementation program with product, distribution, communication and contract policies, as well as detailed information about costs and options for control over the result.

Marketing goals can be both economic (monetary) indicators, such as increasing profitability, market share, sales, and psychological goals, such as increasing fame, recognition, improving the image.

Marketing strategies

A marketing strategy should be derived directly from the company’s strategy and should be an intermediate link before the formation of a suitable marketing mix.

Marketing strategies are divided into 4 levels:

• Market space strategies: market penetration strategy, market deployment (creation) strategy, product development and development strategy, diversification strategy

• Market stimulation strategies: preference strategy, price-quantity ratio strategy

• Partial market strategies: mass production strategy and segmentation strategy

• Market area strategies: local strategy, regional strategy, national strategy, international strategy, etc.