Marketing Strategies, Planning Levels, and the Marketing Plan
This paper examines the foundations of strategic marketing planning within a corporate context. It outlines the three levels of strategic planning — the superior organizational level, the strategic unit level, and the functional level — and explains how marketing strategy must align with each. The paper then discusses the role of the company mission statement in guiding strategic decisions, the requirements for well-formulated marketing objectives, and the functions of the marketing plan itself. Finally, it details the standard structural components of a marketing plan, from the executive summary and environmental analysis through SWOT analysis, strategies, the marketing program, budgeting, and the control system.
- Introduction to Marketing Strategy and Strategic Planning: Three organizational levels of strategic planning explained
- The Marketing Strategy and the Mission Statement: Mission statement components and their role in strategy
- Strategic Marketing Planning Objectives: Requirements for effective marketing objectives
- The Marketing Plan and Its Functions: Functions and time horizons of the marketing plan
- The Structure of the Marketing Plan: Detailed components from summary to control system
- Conclusion: Marketing planning as an integrated corporate process
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly distinguishes between the three interdependent levels of strategic planning, giving each a focused explanation with concrete characteristics.
- Connects abstract planning concepts (mission, objectives, strategy) to practical outputs like the marketing plan's components, creating a logical progression from theory to application.
- Presents the requirements for good marketing objectives as a structured list with brief rationales, making the content immediately usable as a reference.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses a hierarchical framework to organize its argument: it moves systematically from the broadest level (corporate strategy) down to the most specific (the marketing plan's control system). This top-down structuring technique is effective for business and management writing because it shows how each element depends on and flows from the one above it, demonstrating coherent systems thinking.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an overview of strategic planning levels before narrowing to the mission statement and its role in guiding objectives. It then addresses the requirements for effective objectives, the functions of the marketing plan, and finally the detailed components of the plan's structure. Each section builds on the previous, culminating in an operational reference for marketing plan construction.
Introduction to Marketing Strategy and Strategic Planning
Understanding the role of marketing planning requires taking into consideration the strategic planning process as a whole. Developing a marketing strategy requires certain key aspects to be established from the outset, including the levels of strategic planning that exist in most companies, the relationship between the planning process and the company's mission, and specific objectives for each strategic planning level.
Any marketing strategy must be integrated into the corporate strategy, as marketing objectives must be in full accordance with the company's general objectives (Wikipedia, 2008). In any company, the strategic planning process takes place across several interdependent organizational and decisional levels. International experience in the field reflects the existence of the following levels:
The superior organizational level — this is the highest level of strategic planning. The most important strategic aspects addressed at this level include establishing the company's mission statement and vision, formulating general objectives, determining the structure of the activity portfolio, identifying development directions, and allocating financial resources. Superior strategic planning is primarily concerned with financial objectives, as well as other types of objectives such as company image and social responsibility.
The strategic unit level — in order to attain its general objectives, a company is typically involved in producing or commercializing several products across different markets. As a consequence, the company becomes a system comprised of several strategic units. A strategic unit is characterized by separate planning, separate management, and its own set of competitors. Strategic unit planning involves establishing which products and services are to be developed, identifying target markets and segments, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Compared to superior-level planning, strategic unit planning does not encompass the entire company, but only part of it. At this level, marketing strategy is oriented toward identifying and exploiting competitive advantage.
The functional level — the third level of strategic planning concerns the company's individual functions, since the company's competitiveness in the market is influenced by how well these functions are performed. At this level, the marketing department elaborates marketing plans for each product. Each product's marketing plan must include both strategic and tactical decisions.
Reference List
Marketing strategy (2008). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from
Fuchsberg, G. (1994). Visioning missions becomes its own mission. The Wall Street Journal.
Write a marketing plan (2008). The Chartered Institute of Marketing. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/.
Marketing (2008). Department of State and Regional Development, Australia. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from http://www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/.
Mission statement (2008). Business Resort Software. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from http://www.businessplans.org/mission.html.
Strategic marketing plan (2008). Business Resort Software. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from http://www.businessplans.org/Market.html.
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