Week 3 Project

Implementing the Marketing Plan

© 2016 South University

Page 2 of 2

Marketing Management

©2016 South University

2 Implementing the Marketing Plan

Week 5 Lecture 2

Even the best written marketing plan in the world will be a failure if it is poorly implemented. In fact, the effective implementation of a marketing plan is as important as its design. This is the reason why the implementation strategy, often referred to as the action plan, needs to be designed as a part of the marketing plan from the start. To do so, it is essential to identify the people who will actually be responsible for the plan's implementation and include them in the development of the plan as early as possible. There are actually three reasons for doing so, which are discussed here.

Plan Implementer’s Role in Plan Development

This is Bob, and he works as an operations executive in an electronics company. His company wants to launch a new product, and Bob has been chosen to be part of the marketing team on this project. The first reason for including the people who will finally implement the plan has to do with the fact that these individuals are very aware of the organization’s current business environment and opportunities because usually they are already working with suppliers, retailers, advertisers, and customers. Thus, they are very aware of the organization’s current business environment and opportunities. This ensures the plan will be grounded in reality.

The marketing manager should also reach out beyond the marketing department to include key individuals from production, finance, and research, so they will be aware of the plan and will be able to provide their insight early in its development. The inclusion of these individuals ensures the implementation strategy will have a solid foundation based on what is actually possible for the organization to accomplish with the marketing plan.

Page 3 of 2

Marketing Management

©2016 South University

3 Implementing the Marketing Plan

Week 5 Lecture 2

The second reason for including the individuals who are going to implement the plan in its development is because doing so provides them with the bigger picture of what the plan is trying to accomplish so they better understand their specific part and its importance. This insight becomes critical in the implementation since it makes them sensitive to any changes in the business environment that may impact the success of the plan and enables them to quickly adapt the plan to those changes.

The third reason for including these individuals is it results in “buy- in” to the plan. Since these people have had an active role in the development of the plan, they will be more motivated to make it succeed.

This motivation is often critical to the success of a plan since persons who have been so involved frequently will give an extra effort to see their ideas work. Commonly, this is the difference between success and failure when the implementation of the plan encounters obstacles to its success.