Marketing Planning--How do businesses connect to the environment in which they function?

3.3 Marketing Planning

DEFINED Marketing planning includes those activities

devoted to accomplishing marketing objectives.

A marketing objective is something that a marketing function is attempting to achieve in support of a strategic business plan. A marketing function can select a wide range of possible objectives, including building awareness of a product or service. Increasing sales,increasing market share,and reducing resistance to a product or service.

Examples of marketing objective include the following:

·Increase sales of high-end navigation systems among owners

of European luxury cars by 10% in one year.This can be measured through analyzing annual sales data.

·Increase market share of a specific brand of office furniture within the business market by 5% in six months. This can be measured through industry data published by an office furniture trade association.

·Create awarenes of a new wetsuit line among high school swimmers.This can be measured through a questionnaire given to high school swimmers.

A target market is a group of consumers that a business determines is the most viable for its products or services. Consumer wants, needs, and business resources and strategies all contribute to the selection of a target market.

In some cases, several targets are selected. A marketing mix is a group of marketing variables that a business controls with the intent of implementing a marketing strategy directed at a specific target market. As discussed in Chapter 1,the most common variables of the marketing mix include product, place, pricing, and promotion.