APPENDIX A
Marketing Plan Worksheets
These worksheets will assist you in writing a formal
marketing plan. Worksheets are a useful planning tool because they help to
ensure that important information is not omitted from the marketing plan.
Answering the questions on these worksheets will enable you to:
1.
Organize and
structure the data and information you collect during the situation analysis.
2.
Use this
information to better understand a firm's strengths and weaknesses, and to
recognize the opportunities and threats that exist in the marketing
environment.
3.
Develop goals and
objectives that capitalize on strengths.
4.
Develop a
marketing strategy that creates competitive advantages.
5.
Outline a plan for
implementing the marketing strategy.
These worksheets are available in electronic format on
our text's website at http://ferrell.swlearning.com. By downloading
these worksheets, you will be able to change the outline or add additional
information that is relevant to your situation. Remember that there is no one
best way to organize a marketing plan. We designed our outline to serve as a
starting point and to be flexible enough to accommodate the unique
characteristics of your situation.
As you complete the worksheets, it might be useful to
refer back to the text of the chapters. In completing the situation analysis
section, be sure to be as comprehensive as possible. The viability of your SWOT
analysis depends on how well you have identified all
of the relevant environmental issues. Likewise, as you complete the SWOT analysis,
you should be honest about the firm's characteristics. Do not depend on
strengths that the firm really does not possess. Honesty is also important for
your listing of weaknesses.
I. Executive Summary
The executive summary is a synopsis
of the overall marketing plan. It should provide an overview of the entire plan
including goals/objectives, strategy elements, implementation issues, and
expected outcomes. The executive summary is easier to write if you do it last,
after you have written the entire marketing plan.
II. Situation Analysis
A. The
Internal Environment (refer to Exhibit 4.3)
Review of marketing
goals and objectives
Identify
the firm's current marketing goals and objectives.
Explain
how these goals and objectives are being achieved.
Explain
how these goals and objectives are consistent or inconsistent with the firm’s
mission, recent trends in the external environment, and recent trends in the
customer environment.
Review of current marketing strategy and
performance
Describe
the firm's current marketing strategy with respect to products, pricing,
distribution, and promotion. Which elements of the strategy are working well?
Which elements are not?
Describe
the firm's current performance (sales volume, market share, profitability,
awareness, brand preference) compared to other firms in the industry. Is the
performance of the industry as a whole improving or declining? Why?
If
the firm's performance is declining, what is the most likely cause (e.g.,
environmental changes, flawed strategy, poor implementation)?
Review of current and
anticipated organizational resources
Describe
the current state of the firm's organizational resources (e.g., financial,
capital, human, experience, relationships with key suppliers or customers). How
are the levels of these resources likely to change in the future?
If
resource levels are expected to change, how can the firm leverage additional
resources to meet customer needs better than competitors?
If
additional resources are not available, how can the firm compensate for future
resource constraints (lack of resources)?
Review of current and anticipated cultural and
structural issues
In
terms of marketing strategy development and implementation, describe the
positive and negative aspects of the current and anticipated culture of the
firm. Examples could include:
The
firm's overall customer orientation (or lack thereof)
The
firm's emphasis on short-term versus long-term planning
Willingness
of the firm's culture to embrace change
Internal
politics and power struggles
The
overall position and importance of the marketing function
Changes
in key executive positions
General
employee satisfaction and morale
Explain
whether the firm’s structure is supportive of the current marketing strategy.
B. The
Customer Environment (refer to Exhibit 4.4)
Who are the firm's
current and potential customers?
Describe
the important identifying characteristics of the firm's current and potential
customers with respect to demographics, geographic location, psychographic
profiles, values/lifestyles, and product usage characteristics (heavy vs. light
users).
Identify
the important players in the purchase process for the firm's products. These might
include purchasers (actual act of purchase), users (actual product user),
purchase influencers (influence the decision, make recommendations), and the
bearer of financial responsibility (who pays the bill?).
What do customers do
with the firm's products?
How
are the firm’s products connected to customer needs? What are the basic
benefits provided by the firm’s products?
How
are the firm’s products purchased (quantities and
combinations)? Is the product purchased as a part of a solution or alongside
complementary products?
How
are the firm’s products consumed or used? Are there special consumption
situations that influence purchase behavior?
Are
there issues related to disposition of the firm’s products, such as waste
(garbage) or recycling, which must be addressed by the firm?
Where do customers
purchase the firm's products?
Identify
the merchants (intermediaries) where the firm's products are purchased (e.g.,
store-based retailers, ecommerce, catalog retailers, vending, wholesale outlets, direct from the firm).
Identify
any trends in purchase patterns across these outlets (e.g., how has ecommerce has changed the way the firm's products are
purchased?).
When do customers
purchase the firm's products?
How
does purchase behavior vary based on different promotional events
(communication and price changes) or customer services (hours of operation,
delivery)?
How
does purchase behavior vary based on uncontrollable influences such as seasonal
demand patterns, time-based demand patterns, physical/social surroundings, or
competitive activities?
Why (and how) do
customers select the firm's products?
Describe
the advantages of the firm's products relative to competing products. How well
do the firm’s products fulfill customers' needs relative to competing products?
Describe
how issues such as brand loyalty, value, commoditization, and relational
exchange processes affect customers' purchase behaviors.
Why do potential
customers not purchase the firm's products?
Identify the needs,
preferences, and requirements of non-customers that are not being met by the
firm's products.
What
are the features, benefits, and advantages of competing products that cause
non-customers to choose them over the firm's products?
Explain
how the firm’s pricing, distribution, and/or promotion are out of sync with
non-customers. Outside of the product, what causes non-customers to look
elsewhere?
Describe
the potential for converting non-customers into customers.
C. The
External Environment (refer to Exhibit 4.5)
Competition
Identify
the firm's major competitors (brand, product, generic, and total budget).
Identify
the characteristics of the firm's major competitors with respect to size,
growth, profitability, target markets, products, and marketing capabilities
(production, distribution, promotion, pricing).
What
other major strengths and weaknesses do these competitors possess?
List
any potential future competitors not identified above.
Economic Growth and
Stability
Identify
the general economic conditions of the country, region, state, or local area
where the firm’s target customers are located. How are these economic
conditions related to customers’ ability to purchase the firm’s products?
Describe
the economics of the industry within which the firm operates. These issues
might include the cost of raw materials, patents, merger/acquisition trends,
sales trends, supply/demand issues, marketing challenges, and industry
growth/decline.
Political Trends
Identify
any political activities affecting the firm or the industry with respect to
changes in elected officials (domestic or foreign),
potential regulations favored by elected officials, industry (lobbying) groups
or political action committees, and consumer advocacy groups.
What
are the current and potential hot button political or
policy issues at the national, regional, or local level that may affect the
firm’s marketing activities?
Legal and Regulatory
Issues
Identify
any changes in international, federal, state, or local laws and regulations
affecting the firm’s or industry’s marketing activities with respect to recent
court decisions, recent rulings of federal, state, or local government
entities, recent decisions by regulatory and self-regulatory agencies, and
changes in global trade agreements or trade law.
Technological
Advancements
How
have recent technological advances affected the firm's customers with respect
to needs/wants/preferences, access to information, the timing and location of
purchase decisions, the ability to compare competing product offerings, or the
ability to conduct transactions more effectively and efficiently?
Have
customers embraced or rejected these technological advances? How is this issue related
to customers’ concerns over privacy and security?
How
have recent technological advances affected the firm or the industry with
respect to manufacturing, process efficiency, distribution, supply chain
effectiveness, promotion, cost-reduction, or customer relationship management?
What
future technologies offer important opportunities for the firm? Identify any
future technologies that may threaten the firm's viability or its marketing
efforts.
Sociocultural Trends
With
respect to the firm’s target customers, identify changes in society's
demographics, values, and lifestyles that affect the firm or the industry.
Explain how these
changes are affecting (or may affect) the firm’s products (features, benefits,
branding), pricing (value), distribution and supply chain (convenience,
efficiency), promotion (message content, delivery, feedback), and people (human
resource issues).
Identify the
ethical and social responsibility issues that the firm or industry faces. How
do these issues affect the firm’s customers? How are these issues expected to
change in the future?
III. SWOT Analysis
A. Strengths
Strength
1: _________________________________________________________
Strength
2: _________________________________________________________
(Repeat
as needed to develop a complete list of strengths)
How
do these strengths enable the firm to meet customers' needs?
How
do these strengths differentiate the firm from its competitors?
B. Weaknesses
Weakness
1: ________________________________________________________
Weakness
2: ________________________________________________________
(Repeat
as needed to develop a complete list of weaknesses)
How
do these weaknesses prevent the firm from meeting customers' needs?
How
do these weaknesses negatively differentiate the firm from its competitors?
C. Opportunities
(external situations independent of the firm—not strategic options)
(Repeat
as needed to develop a complete list of opportunities)
How
are these opportunities related to serving customers' needs?
What
is the time horizon of each opportunity?
D. Threats
(external situations independent of the firm)
Threat
1: ___________________________________________________________
Threat
2: ___________________________________________________________
(Repeat
as needed to develop a complete list of threats)
How
are these threats related to serving customers' needs?
What
is the time horizon of each threat?
E. The
SWOT Matrix
|
Strengths: • • • • |
Opportunities: • • • • |
|
Weaknesses: • • • • |
Threats: • • • • |
F. Developing
Competitive Advantages
Describe ways that the firm can match its strengths to its opportunities to create capabilities in serving customers' needs.
Are these capabilities and
competitive advantages grounded in the basic principles of operational
excellence, product leadership, and/or customer intimacy? If so, how are these
capabilities and advantages made apparent to customers?
Can the
firm convert its weaknesses into strengths or its threats into opportunities?
If not, how can the firm minimize or avoid its weaknesses and threats?
Does the
firm possess any major liabilities (unconverted weaknesses that match
unconverted threats) or limitations (unconverted weaknesses or threats that
match opportunities)? If so, are these liabilities and limitations apparent to
customers?
Can the
firm do anything about its liabilities or limitations, especially those that
impact the firm's ability to serve customers' needs?
What is the overall strategic focus of the marketing
plan? Does the strategic focus follow any particular direction, such as
aggressiveness, diversification, turnaround, defensiveness, or niche marketing?
Describe
the firm’s strategic focus in terms of a strategy canvas. How does the firm’s
strategic thrust
provide sufficient focus and divergence from other firms in the industry?
IV. Marketing Goals and Objectives
A. Marketing
Goal A: __________________________________________________
(should be broad, motivational, and somewhat vague)
Objective
A1: ______________________________________________________
(must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame
for completion, and identify
the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)
Objective
A2: ______________________________________________________
(must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame
for completion, and identify
the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)
B. Marketing
Goal B: __________________________________________________
(should be broad, motivational, and somewhat vague)
Objective
B1: ______________________________________________________
(must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame
for completion, and identify
the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)
Objective
B2: ______________________________________________________
(must contain a specific and measurable outcome, a time frame
for completion, and identify
the person/unit responsible for achieving the objective)
(Repeat
as needed to develop a complete list of goals and objectives)
V. Marketing Strategy
A. Primary
(and Secondary) Target Market