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There are several things a good marketing plan does to help ensure its effective implementation.

A good marketing plan needs to show a high level of detail in research that went into the analyzation of the current situation confronting the firm and the assessment of the competitive environment. This is usually one of the first steps in the process and arguably one of the most important. All of the lessons learned in the research phase of the process will ultimately play a factor in the implementation of your marketing plan. A mistake in the research in the assessment of the competitive environment could have far reaching consequences down the line. The research should be thorough and specific to the plan’s target audience. This part of the marketing plan can include a SWOT analysis of the organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities to take advantage of as well as any perceived competitive threats. Well thought out research in the situational analysis phase of the marketing plan will pay dividends throughout the rest of the marketing plan and will make things much easier.

As briefly touched on above, another crucial element to the effective implementation of a good marketing plan is the identification and segmentation of the target market for the product, the characteristics that set your product apart from its competitors and lastly, the vision for the product positioning in the market place. It is important in this phase of the marketing plan to be as specific as possible. This part of the marketing plan is basically taking what was learned in the research phase and outlining the segments of the market or target audience with the most potential. A good marketing plan will couple that information with the known strengths and weaknesses of the organization or marketing team and try to align all three of these important pieces together.

In order to achieve effective implementation of a good marketing plan, the next part of the marketing plan must be very technical. A good marketing plan will lay out specific strategic initiatives the team plans to make and lays out how they will complete these initiatives. This means having researched numbers and figures that will be as close as possible to what the actual costs of the initiatives will be. The plan should also lay out specifics in terms of places the product will be marketed, how the product will actually be distributed and a strategy for what physical markets the plan will target.

An effective marketing plan will also give well researched and accurate projections for the estimated sales that marketing plan will generate and the profits that the team hopes to see from implementation of the plan. When a marketing team is pitching their plan to a senior member of the organization, this will be what they pay attention to the most. This will also be the area that will make or break the plan. If there are great costs associated with the plan and the potential for only small profits, the likelihood that the plan will move forward is small.

 

Finch, J., (2012). Managerial marketing [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu

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A marketing plan is a set of working blueprints that interprets the initial tactical choices recognized by the advertising administration and its process into actions (Finch, 2012). A good marketing plan provides strong direction and provides a description of the merchandise, its high advantages define the needed investment and expected sales and incomes (Finch, 2012).  A marketing plan includes a product differentiation which is based on the main aspects of the merchandise or services being offered, setting it apart from similar goods and services. A good example is QuikTrip is a gas station company that is known for other products sold and not just one product. They sell coffee and you’d assume that customer go there for just gas; however, customers go to QuikTrip for their coffee and the experience it provides. From the purchase of cheaper gas, younger staff and vibrant customer service to other bistro menu items, customers enjoy their brief dealings with the employees, the scent of the coffee and much more.

The advertising plan is part of the marketing strategy and it is executed effectively when product differentiation is used because customers value the experience, though the corporation is constantly changing the ways used to improve the experience through calculated planning.

A beneficial marketing plan fulfills its purpose through the preparation of a SWOT analysis.  A SWOT analysis implements the current strong point and weaknesses of the business’s product in contrast to other prospects and threats posed by the outside settings and the competition (Finch, 2012). With this knowledge, the company can make developments changes to its product and perfect its marketing plan in order to highpoint the product’s better qualities. It also exposes any possible difficulties or concerns, which may need to be addressed as quickly as possible.

A product positioning is necessary when you advertise, it sets a foundation and it has its advantages when you target a specific audience. Using the demographics of the area to sell a product is part of a good marketing plan.

Marketing plans are effective when the four Ps of the marketing mix is used:  product, pricing, place, and promotion. The marketing mix is a simple marketing instrument used to provide the means necessary to execute the strategy (Finch, 2012). The correct usage and application of this tool will help secure the proper implementation of a strategy as it pertains to the merchandise. The marketing mix has to consider vital elements like test marketing, branding and brand management, product design and styling, and packaging, and product safety. Pricing allows the company to meet the production cost and consider other economic constraints. Place considers the location to which the product will be assigned and introduced for customer interaction. The product must reach the customer through a selective distribution channel. Lastly, the promotion has to deal with establishing promotion budgets, measuring promotional effectiveness, advertising, and message and media planning.

A product must be selected properly and the marketing strategy needs to be effective as well as the team in order to secure the product's success as it is position in a targeted market.

Reference

Finch, J., (2012). Managerial marketing [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu

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Some things that stand out to me that help to ensure a marketing plan is effective are clear data and language explaining the process, solid market test plan full of specific activities to answer specific questions, and a comprehensive projection of profits.  The first part is clear data and language to explain the process.  Before anyone buys into a marketing plan, they first need to understand exactly what is being marketed so all parties involved in the decision-making process can give input and support the marketing plan.  This is important because those supporting the plan, like the shareholders, most likely have the most to lose if the marketing plan is not successful.  ensure a clear direction is extremely important for developing an effective marketing plan.  A solid market test plan full of specific activities answering specific questions is also important.  Most of the time, companies will not want to sponsor multiple tests when preparing a product for the market especially if it can get all the information it needs in the first go.  Establishing a list of all questions will then help you build the test plan around ensuring all necessary information is collected.  The last piece that stands out to me is a comprehensive projection of profits.  Stakeholders need to know at what point the product will breakeven to understand the potential of future earnings.  Part of the breakeven point is understanding all the costs involved in the development of a product as well as the number of units that would need to be produced.  All this information compiled together help understand if a project is worth effort to begin production or if more research is needed to reduce the cost, work on promoting the product better or whatever is needed to make the launch successful.  There are many other great things that need to be considered but these stand out as the most important to me.