Strategic planning of marketing in theory and practice

Summary
This article is an overview of the main theoretical and practical aspects required by the
strategic marketing planning. It is divided into several sections, the first two being purely
theoretical (defining the strategic planning process and presentation of its stages), and the
other following the presentation of some essential aspects related to the implementation of
the marketing plan and the practical effects of the use of strategic marketing at company
level. The main purpose of this article is to strengthen the idea that the strategic planning
process should not miss from marketing activity of the company and to be a useful source of
documenting for the ones interested in strategic marketing.

Keywords: strategic marketing planning, marketing plan, performance, barriers

JEL Classification: M31

Introduction
Over the time, the concept of strategic marketing planning was treated and developed by
many marketing experts as a method of constant adjustment to the business environment
increasingly turbulent (Ashill, Frederikson and Davies, 2003). However, lately specialized
literature has focused to the new marketing concepts appeared (relational marketing, bank
marketing, etc.), without paying attention for strategic marketing.
Therefore, this article is an exploratory research of a special literature related to strategic
marketing planning process, the theoretical aspects involved in it, problems that can appear in
the same time with the implementation of the marketing plan and how they can be countered,
and the effects of strategic marketing planning, observed in practice, over the performance of
companies that use this strategic instrument.
The article is divided into several sections. The first two sections are purely theoretical and
try to define in a completly way the strategic planning process and then continuing with the
presentation of its stages. Then, the analyze of the plannig of strategic marketing, moves from

theory to practice by describing the obstacles that may appear in the implementation of the
marketing plan, but also by offering solutions that can solve these problems. To demonstrate
once again the need for strategic planning towards marketing activity of the company, the last
part of the article presents the results of some research about the observed effects in the
companies that had been using the process of strategic planning of marketing activities
performed by them.
The purpose of the article is to provide an overview of the theoretical and practical aspects
related to strategic marketing planning and demonstrate once again the importance of its use
by the companies performing the marketing activities, representing a useful source of
documenting for those who are interested in marketing field in general and in strategic
marketing in particular.
What is strategic marketing planning?
Strategic planning of marketing is probably one of the most used marketing techniques. The
main mechanism by which a company aligns its efforts to expectations of the consumers
(Pulendram, Speed and Widing II, 2003). So, in this sense, it can be considered a technology,
a set of techniques and activities that assist the organization in gaining the alignment of the
external environment and internal capabilities in order to achieve the desired performance.
In the vision of Brooksbank (1999), marketing strategic planning, refers to the discipline of
management to where a company improves its competitiveness, adapting and responding to
ever changing market conditions.
Other marketing experts (Vrontis, Koktsidis and Stavrou, 2006) adopt a more complex view
of it, according to which it represents a process of:

the analysis of the environment factors, competitive and of the business, which affects
the strategic units of activity and forecasting future trends in the field of business in

which the company operates;

the participation in setting the businesses objectives and defining the global strategy

of the company and on the units activity;

the selection on the target market for market-products in each strategic business unit;
setting marketing objectives;
development, implementation and coordination of positioning strategies to satisfy the
needs of the target market.

Strategic planning is defined in other papers, too (Claycomb, Germain and Droge,
2000) as a process which determines an organization's philosophy and mission, setting
short- and long-term goals through which to fulfill that mission, by selecting the
strategies and tactics that will be used to reach these objectives and determining the
policy of acquisition and resource allocation to accomplish to organizational goals.
In conclusion, we can say that strategic marketing planning is a staged process by
which, after analyzing the current situation of the company, it can be seted targets and
its marketing strategies through which they can be achieved, evaluated in the same
time the degree of fulfillment of the objectives (Dumitru, 2004).
The strategic marketing planning
Based on the definition of strategic planning we can see that this is a complex
process structured in several stages, each stage being formed from specific steps
which, in the end, draws a line of action in the company in an environment which is
constantly changing through it can achieve its objectives.
The most used structure of the planning process is the one of McDonald (2008),
which consists four major stages, each with several specific steps, as this is presented
in Figure 1.
The first step in planning marketing is to establish the company`s purpose, this
thing being achieved through the organization's mission (Dumitru, 2004). So, this
represents a clear and detailed description of the purpose on long-term of the the
company actions, reflecting the the belief, values, aspirations and strategies basic.
Having established the purpose for which the company operates for, we continue
in setting the corporate objectives, means those objectives which need to be achieved
across the whole company. To do this, they must be measurable, acceptable to the
external environment of the company and its members to be flexible, understandable
and compatible.
The process stages of the strategic marketing planning

Step I: Establishment of the intended purpose

company mission
corporate goals
Step II: Present the situation
marketing audit
analysis S.W.O.T.
formulating the hypotheses
Step III: Strategy Formulation
marketing objectives and strategies
estimation of expected results

identifying the plans and mixed alternatives

Step IV: Resource allocation, monitoring, review and control
preparing the budget
first year of implementation of the program
Source: adapted from Dumitru, I., 2004, p. 23

The next step in the process of strategic marketing planning is to assess the
existing situation. This is accomplished through marketing audit by which is
studied the markets where the company operates, customers and competitors, as
well as the overall economic and political environment (Westwood,
1999).So,the marketing audit is performed in two forms, one internal, that
focuses on the controllable variables and another external which is focused on
the analysis of uncontrollable variables of the company.(Dumitru, 2004).
Internal audit takes into account the analysis of the company's resources and the
method of their presentation compared to the competitors resources - financial
and economic aspects, market share, strategy and marketing mix, marketing
organization. The analysis should include the necessary financial, technical
skills, location, equipment, personnel, relations with the distributors and
consumers (Brooksbank, 1999). External audit deals with the analysis of the
company's marketing environment, more exactly the microenvironment
(suppliers, partners, customers, competitors, government`s places) and its macro
environment (environmental factors which influence the Company's business,
reference market and the characteristics of the main competitors of the
company).
Marketing Audit concludes with a SWOT analysis, which represents the
analysis`s synthesis of the current situation and upcoming of the company,
resulted by the combination of elements between the internal environment
(Strengths-Weaknesses ) and external environment (Opportunities-Threats). It
provides a perspective on the variables the controllable and uncontrollable
events and trends (Novicevic and Harvey, 2004).

The main purpose of the two stages deployment from the analysis phase of the
company`s situation is represented by elaborating a set of hypotheses about the
company and the market. The beneficial action in this sense for a company
would be to turn weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities
(Vrontis et all., 2006). Also, by combining the elements of the internal
environment with the ones from external environment, the resulted will be four
strategic options that may be considered at the stage of formulating the
hypotheses, as they are presented in Table 1.

Strategies obtained by S.W.O.T. analyzing

Strengths (S)
Opportunities
(O)

S.O. - agressive strategy

Weaknesses (W)
W.O. - strategy shift

Use strengths to capitalize on market Using the opportunities offered by the

opportunities.

external environment to overcome their

weaknesses.

Threats (T)

S.T. - diversification strategy

W.T. - defensive strategy

Use strengths to overcome the threats relatedAvoiding

to external enviroment.

the

threats

of

the

external

environment while the company holds many

weaknesses

Source: addapted after Dumitru, I., 2004, pag. 31

Once we have been established the assumptions which goes into the planning
process, we proceed to the next stage, the one related to defining the strategy.
The first step in this process is to establish the objectives and marketing
strategies. The objectives must be correlated with the strategic objectives of the
company, beeing laid down in the beginning of the process. They may seek to
increase the profitability, in sales volume, the market share (quantitative targets)
or renewing the products, the reputation, the image (qualitative targets). Also
Brooksbank (1999) asserts that they must take into account the level of

performance required to achieve both the demand (the profit, sales volume to
current and potential customers) as well as the supply (marketing costs).
Considering this objects,they describe the methods than can be allocate in this use, methods
which represents the marketing strategies, the way which the company need to make
decisions.(Dumitru, 2004).In this stage, acoording to Brooksbank (1999),is made a
positioning strategy for single product(selecting the target consumers, the identification of
main competitors and the definition of competitive advantage.
The next step represents the estimation of the results of strategies creating in the previous
stage.In that direction they taking into account the factors that can have impact on the activity
of the company.A special attention is given to the economical factors:the inflation rate,the
rate of interest, the evolution of

PIB, the currency exchange rates, the prices of base

resources, the fiscal policy.

The marketing strategies which are creating to point the objects of a company, are putting
into practice through the marketing programme (or tactical plan), the marketing tool witch
represents a plan of a complex activity of marketing, composed of a set of
practices,echeloned

in

time,

which

indication

of

the

responsabilies,of

human

resources,material and financial, which are implicated in carrying out any actions and
overview activities.(Dumitru, 2004)
After we have set the marketing programme, we proceed to the drafting of the marketing
budget, more specifically, the distribution of the amounts needed to every strategic level.For
each business unit, we meet the objectives and it takes into account the contribution and the
importance of each marketing activity.The budget drafts in detail for each year of the
strategic plan of marketing.
All the above stages are part of the design process of a strategic plan of marketing, a written
document which shows the important aspects of the first three phases of the process of a
strategic plan of marketing.So, this is a bridge between theory(the marketing concept) and
practice(functions of marketing).(Hill,McGowan and Maclaran, 1998).After the drafting, the
presentation and this plan approval, the next step is his implementation of the company
level.In that direction, a special importance will have the marketing programs.Through them,
the marketing strategies will be developed on specific objects, for each resulting
combinations of the marketing mix.(Dumitru, 2004).

For track to way in which it achives the marketing plan, and especially if its objectives are
reached, we need to control the process,that means a periodically measure of a performances,
identify the possible causes which are determinated a low performace and the adoption of
corrective measures.
Once the evaluation of the marketing plan (both performances induced by this), we need
another evaluation of the marketing plan.
Taking into account this theoretical aspects of the marketing strategic plan, it can say that this
is a process formed by of a order of stages,through the company, need to decide o good action
to achieve the onjectives.For this reason, is necessary to check periodically the marketing
plan.
Practical aspects of marketing plan
If in teory, to solve the stages of the strategical planification process since to be simple,
practically it is not that easy.First, since the stage of marketing audit, can appear very easy
problems connected to the relevant dates acces for the curent and future analisys of the
company.
But, the biggest problems occurs in the marketing implementation stage.On this line,
McDonald showed, in 1989, a variety of problems(,,bars) that occurs in the same time with
the incorporation of marketing strategic plannification of the company and which are showed
in Table 2,first coloumn. Starting from this, Hill et al. (1998) explained nine principal
competences that are necessarly in the strategic planification process,which, once known,
represents an advantage stepping over McDonalds bars.The nine competences are:
knowledge, experience, analitic abilities, leadership, vision, reflection, abilities of
organisation, engagement and communication, and the combination between them can help to
solve the problems that occurs in the same time with the marketing plan implementation are
showed in Table 2, second column.
Table2
Bars of strategy plannification
Necessary competences
1.the confusion between the strategy and Reflection/knowledge/vision
marketing tactics
2.the decuplation between the marketing Knowledge/engagement/vision
functions and other sections

3.the confusion between the marketing Knowledge/communication/reflection/analytical

function and marketing concept
abilities
4.the prevalence of the organizatoric Communication/Organizatoric abilities
structures towards functional lines
5.the lack of abilities in detailed analisys
Analitic abilities/reflection/vision
6.the confusion between the process and Reflection/knowledge/vision
the result
7.the lack of main knowledges and the Knowledge
abilities in marketing management area.
8.the lack of a systemic approach in Analitic abilities/vision/reflection/engagement
marketing plannification
9.the need to organise according to the Leadership/vision/reflection/
priority of objects
10.the need for adequate marketing

organizatoric

abilities
Organizatoric
abilities/vision,communication/knowledge/leade
rship

Source:Hill et al.,1998,pag.74

Beneath this problems, related especially to the low training of marketing people in
strategically plannification area, in the implementation stage of marketing plan, can also
appear problems caused by the organisation culture of the company, by the managerial vision
view and the way a plan is editated. This problems are related to the low support of the top
managers implicated in the implementation of marketing plan, to the problematic editation of
the marketing plan (numbers instead of the object and marketing strategies, out of measure
particularity), which can lead to a difficult evaluation of the results.(McDonald,2008)
Therefore, is necessary to upload the theory and practice of the strategic marketing, with new
information, methods and techniques related in the same time to elaboration and
implementation of the plan, information that can lead to a better instruction of the people.
There are also necessary actions to decrease the resilience of changing in the company, to
increase the degree of acceptation imposed by a new plan of marketing and accede of the
actions described by it.
Simkin (2002) suggests some actions to solve the problems which are occurring in the
practice of the marketing strategy planification.He said that the most problems are related to
internal marketing. Therefore, he made some requirements which need to respect for a good

internal marketing, which must use the instrumental of marketing in a company:the

communication of the information,the organisation of orientation sessions,the interaction
between teams,staff motivation,the encouraging management. Also, the marketers, should
provide the infrastructure and the required ressources for the plannification activity, to use an
analytic and objective process and to give time and attention for the coordination and
implementation of the marketing plan.
Basically, its all about a cyclic process which can ameliorate the performance of strategic
plannification:a periodic review of the literature and an improvement of it is a good idea for
the people of marketing because they will realize plans of marketing increasingly better and
they will understand better how can solve the problems and achieve the objectives in a
company.
The effects of strategic planning
In the previous paragraph, were analysed the negative aspects of the marketing plan but the
strategic planning have positive effects on the activity in a company.
These effects have been validated on the basis of some investigations of the marketers
((Lzsonski i Pecotich, 1992, Claycomb et al., 2000. Pulendran et all., 2003, Kksal i zgl,
2007) to the companies which appeal on the marketing plannification to guide their activities.
The investigations have come to the conclusion that exist a positive relation between the
quality of marketing planning and the business performance.
First of all,marketing plannification must have a good quality. This quality, is obtained when
the plannification is formal,rationale,and interactive.(Pulendran et al., 2003)
Claycomb et al. (2000) analised the performance of the industrial companies which realise
the process of the strategic planning and they said that a date with the increasing of the step
of formalization, increase the financial performances of the company. The results showed that
the companies which engage people in the process of marketing planning, can have superior
results related to the market share, the sales growth,the profit and the recovery rate.
Conclusions
The strategic marketing, is a fundamental factor for the competitive advantage in a company
to obtain superior performances. The formalization of the strategic marketing, under the guise
of marketing planning, contribute to generate resources for the company and give a lot of

information and experience related to the environment of activity in a company( know better
the clients, the competitors, they knows what to expect).
The literature says that the use of the strategic marketing planning in a company represent the
key for superior performances. The principal idea is that the companies can realise a lot of
thing if adopt a good and correct marketing plan.
In conclusion, each stage of the process of strategic marketing planning is a good poin to
know better the company, the strategic marketing contributing to use good resources, to
identify new opportunities of marketing, to achieve the objectives and the most important, the
progress of the company.

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