Giving appropriate examples, explain the nature and contents of a marketing plan. What is the purpose of a marketing plan? What are the characteristics of a good marketing plan?

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The term Marketing has undergone a few transformations over the last couple of decades as technology and therefore opportunity and competition, has evolved. No one can �pin� an exact definition to the label of �marketing� so what is marketing exactly? Contrary to popular opinion, it is not just the act of advertising and promoting a given product or service. Marketing entails, relies on and involves many aspects of an organisations structure in order to operate with optimal efficiency and effectiveness. It involves constant updating of both process and outcome and often requires a proactive mindset or approach. Although one company�s definition of marketing may vary to that of another organisation, marketing is seen as the act of creating and building beneficial exchanges with target buyers for the purpose of achieving organisational objectives.

A marketing plan is the first step or process and is often a prominent figurehead in analising a company's current direction and success in its given field.

Marketing plans differ from company to company, however, there are a few integral sections that form the base of the marketing plans� structure. An executive summary, which contains a brief outline of the marketing plan itself and any relevant goals, objectives or opportunities is the first segment of the plan. This should be clear and concise and outline the direction of the plan so that management can quickly determine the suggested direction and/or opportunity available. The businesses current marketing situation is stated next, this should include data representing market share details, trends within the industry, competitors and customer needs relative to several past years. This is most effectively represented with figures, tables and in dot point form, so that facts can be compared easily.

A S.W.O.T or strengths/weaknesses, opportunities/threats analysis follows the current marketing situation section. Strengths and weaknesses relate to the internal running of the business whilst opportunities and threats are seen as external factors of business operation unable to be managed quite as easily. Fast Fitness, for example, identified that there location of there gym was a strength as it was located next to a coffee shop and therefore provided excellent source of exposure and community marketing yet having no child minding facilities was seen as a weakness within the company As a group personal training organisation they identified that an opportunity existed in increasing the nutritional and dietary aspect of their personal training service. On the flipside management or instructor burnout was seen as a major threat to the company's success (Kotler, Brown, Adam, Armstrong, Marketing, 6th edition, 2004; 131). Such internal strengths and weaknesses are then analised through an issues analysis section which addresses the main issues that the plan must now change or update.

Both financial and marketing organisational objectives are then produced. These organisational objectives relate to the company�s direction and goals and may be reflected through short-term goals, long-term goals or a combination of both and they usually relate to market share targets, sales revenue targets and perhaps expansion. Customer wants may also be addressed in this section. However, ultimately the majority of companies exist to make money. It is no use if a company is serving the consumer to its utmost but not returning profits and objectives outlined in the Marketing plan. A marketing strategy or �game plan� aims at then reaching the plan�s desired objectives. The strategies usually are listed in dot form and may include details such as product line changes or suggestions, advertising programs and pricing. Action programs proceed the marketing strategy section and commonly identify months or timeframes within a year where particular actions will take place. Fast Fitness planned to advertise in a local newspaper at a planned cost of $2760 in February (Kotler et al., Marketing, 6th edition, 2004; 133). Concise details outlining what department and/or individual will complete the process and at what cost to the company accompany the actual process. A projected statement of financial performance is then outlined as action planning has allowed the product manager to build a supporting budget. Senior management will then update or approve the budget forecast. Finally, the last section of a marketing plan outlines the controls aspect of the plan itself i.e. what will be done in the face of adversity and what processes will be utilised to bridge any vulnerable issues both internally and externally within the organisation?

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Nowadays a company�s main aim is to provide a customer focus to the consumer, to keep a happy customer. Many organisations have relied on the �leaky bucket� technique of customer retention, where customers often purchase and then �fall through the holes� but new customers are then replacing the old and consistent basis and thus �the bucket was remaining full�. In an age of supreme quality and frenetic competition, companies can no longer focus on just the initial sale. Research has shown that a loyal customer is of more value to a company financially than a new customer due to spending patterns based on loyalty (Kotler et al., Marketing, 6th edition, 2004; 16). A company's mission statement, which becomes a �cultural viewpoint� within the internal working environment, is created with such a customer or success focus as a prominent source of motivation. In order for all employees and departments to be working �hand in hand�, an organisations mission statement and cultural views on success and work ethic must be implemented, starting with inclusion in the marketing plan.

��A definitive example of a successful marketing plan can be reflected through McDonalds Family Restaurants. Based on quarterly reports, McDonalds enjoyed a %16 increase in revenue when compared to that of the quarter ending 31 March 2003 (McDonalds Corp., 2004). The company either places itself ideally within the marketplace in profitable markets all around the world or the reputation of the company itself is so high, that they merely have to stay in the publics eye to continue their mantle as market leader in the fast food chain. This high public regard built up over decades of success is impressive, especially when observing the fact that McDonalds operates within a fast food industry.

��Various key performance indicators can further measure McDonalds� success. It entered a niche market and since then its front line operational blueprints have altered little and been both simple, functional and market leading for many decades. Let us analise McDonalds from a consumer�s point of view. What does McDonalds provide, what services and standards do they seem to adhere to, what phrases or products come to mind when describing McDonalds, what represents McDonalds itself, what do we know we are going to be provided with? Fast food, drive though service, golden arches, �would you like fries with that�, the Big Mac and Happy Meal are phrases, processes and products that come to mind most when an individual is asked such questions (Survey, cluster). Fast food and drive through service fall under the banner of convenience, service or innovation, identified as mainstay strengths in a SWAT analysis. The �golden arches� refers to McDonalds logo, its trademark and this sign doesn�t have to contain words for it to be immediately recognised by consumers around the world. This logo is a great example of successful promotion implementation in the marketing mix. �Would you like fries with that?, a famous phrase known in the western world by millions and part of McDonalds staff training and protocols, is a simple example of a cultural aspect created by McDonalds that has been enforced by management through marketing plans and In turn lead to immediate brand recognition. The Big Mac and happy meal being worldwide �staple points� of McDonalds� menu, indicate perfect product placement within the fast food industry. McDonalds has obviously planned years in advance, reacting proactively to changing trends, such as healthier menus whilst also sticking to their key cultural values to build up high public regard.

�Marketing plans are integral for both small and large business operation. They create a sense of authority or cultural significance, look at both financial and visual opportunities and threats and take into account the ever-changing publics perceptions and spending patterns. Without a marketing plan, the direction of not only the marketing department but also the company itself would be non-existent. A company can no longer afford to have a weak link in the chain. Marketing is expanding its influence as �pigeon holed� perceptions of the department start to eradicate and is fast becoming a driving force and determining factor in the success of the individual business.

Marketing Plan

A Marketing Plan consists of three main factors these are:

Market Analysis
Market Research
Marketing Mix

A marketing analysis is made up of several different ways of analysing the current market activity, each one is just as important as the last as they each look at different areas, for example the SWOT analysis looks at all internal issues, whereas the PEST analysis looks at all external. It is important that you have some idea of the business environment before making decisions about the new business venture.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis enables a business to analyse the business internally and make informed decisions on how it would be best for the company to continue.

Strengths � What internal strengths a business has, for example if a business has a strong, loyal employee base, or if their product was particularly cheap.

Weaknesses � Like any other successful business, it must have weaknesses within the business such as bad publicity, the product being particularly unhealthy or bad for the economy.

Opportunities � This is where there is opportunity for the business to expand or increase profits in some other way, possibly by introducing new machinery to cut labour costs.

Threats � this could be anything from large rival companies to critics to a local corner shop, anything that may affect the amount of customers and sales that a company could bring in.

All this information is then used from the swot analysis to help the company evaluate itself and make educated business decisions.

PEST Analysis

A PEST analysis is used to evaluate the business environment by looking at economic issues, trends etc. It is used to help make short-term and longer-term decisions that could affect the company greatly if made wrongly.

The word pest stands for:

Political

Privatisation
Trade Unions
Licences
Legislation
Change In Taxes

Government decisions in these areas could have an impact on businesses such as a change in demand if there was a change in tax rates.

Economic

Unemployment
Exchange Rates
Interest Rates
Inflation

A rise in unemployment, interest rates or inflation would mean a decrease in disposable income which would mean that people would want cheaper goods or buy less, giving an overall loss in profits for a business.

Social/Cultural

Environmental Issues
Demographic Issues
Education
Lifestyles
Trends Such As Increase In Health Awareness And Exercise

A recent increase in ethnic minorities could affect many issues within the business environment, for example the recent increase in the level of polish in the UK has meant an increase in the number of polish shops and goods.

Technological

New Product Development
New Technology
Energy Saving Techniques
Environmentally Friendly Equipment/Processes

Technology change in the last 20 years has meant a drastic change in the business environment, with e-commerce being part of everyday life now businesses have had to adapt to fit this demand.

All this information in the PEST analysis is used to make up an external analysis of the company, to see if there are any gaps in the present market, or anything that the business can be doing differently to increase profits.

Product Life Cycle

All products go through a life cycle, however some may stay in this cycle for a lot longer than others, staying in the maturity section can be very profitable for a company as this is when the product sales peak. For example mars bar is still as popular today as it was 20 years ago, where as products such as toys, or the latest craze have a very short life cycle.

Product Life cycle:

Introduction � this is where the product has first been introduced into the market, and has not really built up much of a reputation for itself, as people don�t really know about it.

Growth � this the part of the cycle where the product has been discovered by the public and they are developing a taste for it where sales just keep going up and up.

Maturity � this is the peak part of a products life, companies try and keep there product in this area for as long as possible as this is where the most sales are achieved.

Saturation � this is when a product may start to lose its novelty value and people begin to lose interest. There are now many competitors and the market is saturated.

Declining � The final stage in a product life is the decline, this may because the product has gone out of fashion or the novelty has completely worn off, it could be for any number of reasons but the final outcome is always the same, with a decrease in sales.

The Boston Matrix is another marketing tool used to help look at the position of the product in the market. Used with the product life cycle it can help to confirm the results.

This is the Boston box and this when used in sync with the product life cycle can be a very strong set of marketing tools to define where a product stands within a market. The Boston matrix is a portfolio analysis that assists with decision making. This portfolio is a collection of products or services that a business offers and the analysis looks at the position of these products or services in their relevant markets.

Stars � this area of the Boston box Is the high profitability, good market share with a high growth rate.

Question marks � low market share in a high growth market, this means that cash in required to maintain or increase their market share to become stars or they will lose their share of the market.

Cash cows � these produce a lot of cash and have a high market share but have a fairly low growth rate.

Dogs � these have a low market share and a low growth rate and need to be withdrawn as they will only end up losing the business money.

Ansoff Matrix

The Ansoff Matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide upon which product to use as well their new market growth strategies.
Ansoff�s product/market growth matrix suggests that a business�s attempts to grow depend upon whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets.

Different forms of marketing:

Market Penetration is a strategy for growth as it is when a business focuses on selling existing products into already developed market places�.
Market development is a growth strategy where a business tries to sell it existing products into new markets.
Product development is a growth strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets
And the final one is where a business takes a new product and introduces it into a new market.

These are the only four types of marketing a product and no matter what a business does to marketing; it will always fall into one of these categories.