2. Developing Marketing Strategies and Plans

The concept of Marketing at a fundamental level, addresses the sequence of activities that take place to better understand the customers, and develop a long lasting relationship in which, their wants and needs are addressed. While the implementation of marketing and its efficiency is directly linked with organizational success, it is worth mentioning that marketing on its own, possesses subtypes varying in impact, size and methodologies.

Ultimately, the ideology of marketing is an extension of the sale's teams endeavors, therefore, a unified front is a necessity for success in the current era. Overall, the efficiency of marketing is highly dependent on the preparation and the team's ability to utilize available information from their surroundings; " a good marketing plan details what you want to accomplish and helps you meet your objectives".

With preparation driving the success of Marketing, the creation of a marketing plan should be considered as one of the primary steps taken before the implementation of any practicalities. Hence, a marketing plan should be able to explain the influence that decisions possess upon the audience that is subjected to the marketing message, as well as, the internal and external environment of an organization. Additionally, a marketing plan should be able set and develop a clear direction for future marketing endeavors, while it is of immense importance, that it is defined by clear, realistic and measurable targets.

Before finalizing the overview of the marketing plan concept, it is important to address certain attributes that it should possess, as, deadlines, budgets as well as detailed instructions for accountability and measures, define its applicability in terms to technicality and implementation. Having gone over the first topic of the entry, I will now address the available tools that assist in the process of strategic options generation, with the most popular ones being the Boston Matrix, as well as the McKinsey Matrix. In a nutshell, BCG capitalizes upon four different quadrants in which, they showcase a different degree of profitability (Hanlon, 2020) while the GE- MCKisney Matrix,  utilizes multiple variables to determine industry attractive as well as competitive strength (“GE McKinsey Matrix: The Ultimate Guide - SM Insight,” 2021)

References:

Developing Marketing Strategies and Plans presentation - Strategic Marketing Management course - KAMK. Retrieved from: DevMoodle - Strategic Marketing Management Course.

GE McKinsey Matrix: The Ultimate Guide - SM Insight. (2021, October 7). Retrieved November 27, 2021, from Strategic Management Insight website: https://strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/ge-mckinsey-matrix/#:~:text=GE%2DMcKinsey%20is%20a%20framework

‌Hanlon, A. (2020, November 16). How to use the BCG Matrix - Smart Insights Digital Marketing. Retrieved from Smart Insights website: https://www.smartinsights.com/marketing-planning/marketing-models/use-bcg-matrix/

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