Integration & Reflection - Reflective Essay

Integration & Reflection - Reflective Essay

Introduction

The practice of marketing planning has been the focus of companies from all sectors of industry. The importance of this plan allows the organization to identify market opportunities, goal orientation and allow the company to follow procedures if necessary. The marketing plan as described by Sally Dibb on marketing best practices of planning involves a systematic process that explores the marketing analysis, strategy development and the design and implementation of marketing programs and the importance of evaluation. This process has become a functional common practice in modern-day work. A study by the Times UK companies in 1000 showed that most UK companies are actively involved in some sort of marketing planning (Mintzberg, 1994, 107).

The marketing plan

Strategic marketing plans are written documents that record outputs of the planning process. The marketing plan is updated each year or a longer period depending on the organization and the competitive environment. The marketing plan provides details on the analytical and strategic thinking that has been undertaken and outlines the marketing objectives, marketing mix and plan implementation and enforcement. (McDonald, 1989, 18)

The marketing plan provides employees with company management to help companies implement their strategies and achieve its objectives. Provides functional areas such as operations and finance with the necessary information on the activities of marketing strategy and destination marketing. The marketing plan is used as a basis to apply for senior management to commit resources to the organization of a given set of marketing activities described. As such, the plan is an important element of the submission process and must be presented in a format suitable for the target audience. Market opportunities, market trends and customer needs are determined on a clear direction for the company. The process leads to economic success with companies to maximize the profitability of joining the target groups of customers most interesting (Simkin, 2000).

The planning cycle

The planning cycle marketing is best described as a continuous cycle of analysis and control. Once the plan is developed, it is recommended to update and revise each year or to reflect the macro-economic developments and the competitive market. Figure 1 illustrates a five-step continuous process, with each of the factors that must be complete before proceeding to the next. (McDonald, 1989, 18)

Any failure of the May analysis leads to the development of marketing programs inadequate with serious consequences for any business. An ...