ANNUAL MARKETING PLANNING

 Apart from the basic
strategic planning spanning several years into the future, it is also necessary
to develop a more specific, and shorter- term marketing plan. Hence, strategic
marketing planning in an organization leads to the preparation of an annual
marketing plan. Annual marketing plan is the master blueprint for a year’s
marketing activity for a specified organizational division or major product. It
is usual y a written document.

PURPOSES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AN ANNUAL MARKETING
PLAN

An annual marketing plan serves at least three
purposes:

(i)               
It
summarizes the marketing strategies and tactics that will be used to achieve
specified objectives in the upcoming year. Thus, it serves as a
“how-to-do-it” document that guides executives and other employees
involved in marketing.

(ii)             
The
plan also points to what needs to be done with respect to the other steps in
the management process, such as implementation and evaluation of the marketing
programme.

(iii)           
The
annual market plan also outlines who is responsible for which activities, when they
are expected to be carried out, and how much time and money can be spent. Very often, the executive responsible for
the division or product covered by the plan typically is the task to
subordinates.

CONTENTS OF AN ANNUAL MARKETING PLAN

The
following are the contents of an annual marketing plan:

(i)Executive
Summary and Table of Contents:

The marketing plan usually opens with
a brief summary of the main goals of the plan and recommendations. The
executive summary permits senior management to grasp the plan’s major
thrust. A table of contents follows the executive summary.

(i )Current marketing situation:

This section presents relevant
background data on sales, costs, profits, the markets, competitors,
distribution, and the macro environment. The data are drawn from a product fact
book maintained by the product manager.

(iii)Opportunity and issue analysis:

After summarizing the current
marketing situation, the product manager goes ahead to identify the major
opportunities/threats, strengths and weaknesses, as well as issues facing the product line.

( i v ) Objectives

With the
summary of the issues given, the product manager must decide on the plan’s financial and marketing objectives.

(i)                
Marketing strategy:

In this section, the product
manager outlines the broad marketing strategy or “game plan” to
accomplish the marketing plan’s objectives. In developing the strategy, the product manager often discusses with
the purchasing and production personnel to confirm that they will be able
to buy enough materials and produce enough units to meet the target sales
volume levels. In addition, the product manager needs to discuss with the sales
manager in order to obtain sufficient sales force support. Furthermore, he
should discuss with the accountant to obtain sufficient funds for advertising and
promotion.

(ii)     
Action programmes:

The marketing plan must specify
the broad marketing programme for achieving the business objectives. Each
marketing strategy element must be elaborated to answer such questions as: what
will be done? When will it be done? Who will do it? How much will it cost?

(iii)     
Projected profit-and-loss statement:

This section usually includes two
kinds of financial information: On the revenue side, this budget shows
forecasted sales volume in units and the average price. On the expense side, it
shows the cost of production, physical distribution, and marketing, broken down
into finer categories. The difference between these two sides is the projected
profit. With its approval, the budget is the basis for developing plans and schedules for material
procurement, production scheduling,
employee recruitment, and marketing operations.

(viii)
Controls

The last section of the marketing
plan outlines the controls for monitoring the plan. Typical y, the goals and budget are
spelled out for each month or quarter. The results for each period are reviewed
by senior management. Some control sections often include contingency plans, which outline the
appropriate steps to be taken by management with respect to specific adverse developments, such as
price wars or strikes.