planning

Definition:
A pervasive human activity by which we seek to exercise some degree of control over the future. As a process it will vary enormously depending upon a number of variables, foremost among which will be the complexity of the activity and the degree of uncertainty concerning the future situation in which the activity will take place. Fundamentally, however, all planning seeks to arrive at a present decision concerning future action - the more complex the activity and the more uncertain the future, the greater the need for formal, systematic planning procedures. It is important to distinguish clearly between the environmental constraints within which the firm must operate and those activities over which it can exercise control. It is also important to recognize that in the long run all fixed constraints are variable in some degree - thus in the short term management must accept the existing distributive network, in the long term it can modify it through its own action, just as it can develop new markets and shape the nature of competition. However, in time the environment will change too owing to technological innovation and competitive activity, and the firm must seek to develop objectives which are sufficiently well defined to require commitment, yet flexible enough to permit a change in emphasis and direction as the situation evolves. 'Servicing the travelling public' is a good example of an overall long-term objective which meets these criteria. In the short term, the skill lies in developing strategies which make the best use of available resources in moving the firm from where it is to where it wants to be. In essence a strategy is a broad statement of the means to be employed in achieving a given objective. while the actual methods used constitute the tactics. At the risk of overstating the obvious, the success of a given strategy depends upon the coordination of the tactics into an integrated, complementary and cohesive whole. There is a finite number of alternative strategies open to the firm and, in a given market. it is usual to find several competing firms pursuing the same basic strategy simultaneously. If this is so, then observed variations in performance must arise out of the quality of the plan, or statement of tactics, and its execution. Factors such as motivation and morale have an important bearing on the execution of a plan, but also tend to be a function of the plan's quality and credibility. Some guidelines are included on the analysis and presentation of a written marketing plan. There is little point in restating the descriptive content of a case as the objective of an appreciation is to define the central issue. This is probably best achieved by a systematic analysis of the available material in terms of: (a) What business is the company in and what are the salient features of this business? (b) What is the firm's goal, explicit or implied? (c) What resources has the company - productive - technical - financial - marketing? (d) What policies, explicit or otherwise, has it adopted in respect of these resources? (e) Is there a single strategic variable which dominates all others - if so, what is it? (f) Has the firm any special skill or distinctive competence? In analysing the case (or problem, in real life), one should seek to isolate those areas which bear directly upon both the immediate problem and the more general problem of which it is symptomatic. Once these areas have been defined they should be ranked in some rough order of importance and analysed in detail. For example, if a major issue is the nature of the product itself, one should list all the advantages and disadvantages which one can think of to permit an overall conclusion to be drawn. Similarly with all other issues. The conclusions drawn from the separate analysis of the relevant issues should then be summarized and stated as the basis upon which the plan has been based. This statement should also make explicit any assumptions which have been made, together with the reasons which support their adoption. The marketing plan must be realistic in the light of the analysis described in the appreciation, and should commence by stating the overall objective or aim. If it is felt that the company's stated aims are incapable of attainment it must be able to present a very convincing argument as to why, and how, they should be changed. Thus the statement of the long-term aim must be supported by an exposition of all those factors which will affect the company's ability to achieve its objective, paying particular attention to environmental changes and changing consumer needs. Following the statement of the long-term aim, the plan should state the short-term objective and the specific policies to be adopted to achieve it. In the interests of both clarity and coverage of all salient factors, some form of outline should be used similar to that given below: (a) Short-term aim, e.g. to increase market share by 5 per cent; (b) forecast of market conditions for the period of the plan; (c) statement of further marketing research to be undertaken to provide feedback on performance and to be used in the preparation of future marketing plans; (d) statement of product policy; (e) statement of pricing policy; (f) statement of packaging policy; (g) statement of distribution policy; (h) statement of advertising and sales promotion policy; (i) statement of sales policy; (j) budget statement with explanation of how it is to be used for control purposes; (k) outline of how plan is to be financed; (1) timing for implementation of various policies. Clearly; the amount of detail will vary considerably depending upon the central issue identified in the appreciation, and the data available. It should be remembered, however, that the overall marketing plan cannot be expected to go into the same detail as would be expected of, say, the media plan, but it should provide the skeleton around which such plans can be prepared by the various functional specialists. Finally, the impact of a marketing plan will be lost if it lacks clarity of expression, no matter how logical the sequence or how sophisticated the analysis.

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