Marketing Planning Germany

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Advice on completing this template

The template is a guide, not a rule book; please feel free to amend, drop, and add, as suits your circumstances Rather than leaving blank pages to fill in, or boxes to tick, the template asks some key questions, to stimulate your thinking on what should be entered here It is divided into three section: Strategic Positioning (by market) Delivering the Value (by segment) Tactical Application (by segment) You should identify the time horizon for each of these sections You will notice that the Audits and their tools are not included. The plan is a set of actions, not a record of data and analysis. Include the audit data and analysis if you wish, but we advise you do so as an appendix Try not to exceed two slides for any particular section - this is meant to be a concise action plan, suitable for presentation to colleagues, not War and Peace!
Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Vision & Objectives

What business are we in?

What future position do we aspire to?

What is our planning horizon?

What core competencies will get us there?

What segments and customers will help us get there?

What measure of success (including financial) will we use?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Growth Strategy
What is our growth target?
What is the current gap analysis?

How do we plan to grow?

Penetration? Market Extension? NPD? Diversification?

What level of risk does this imply? What steps will we take to reduce risk?
Research? Test market? Partnerships?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Competitive Advantage
Who are our main competitors?
Market shares? Their value propositions?

What will be the source of our competitive advantage?

Lowest cost supplier? Differentiated supplier?

What steps are required to achieve our desired level of competitive advantage?
What internal capabilities must be built, or enhanced?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Value Drivers
What combination of values will drive us?
Operational Excellence? Product Leadership? Customer Intimacy?

Define our position on each of these drivers Will we operate through push or pull marketing? What balance between chasing market opportunities and managing our internal assets must we strike? How close are we to achieving our desired position?
What steps are required?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Segmentation
What is our basis for segmentation? What are our priority target segments?
You can make use of a Directional Policy Matrix

How will we manage our priority segments?

Segment managers? Key Account Managers? Brand Managers? Supply Chain Managers?

What position do we aim to have in any lower priority segments?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Brand Strategy
What will be our brand architecture?
Product brands? Corporate brand? Etc

What will be our chosen value context, by brand

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

From here on, you need to complete the template for each target segment

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Segment Objectives
What is our planning horizon? Volume, Revenue, Profitability? Segment share?
Actual share? Share of voice? Share of mind?

What competitive position do we aim for? Timetable

Summary of main activities

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

The Value Proposition

What positive impact will we make, on which parts of the customer activity cycle?
You can make use of the Activity Cycle tool

What value will we deliver?

From the customers perspective Quantified Relevant How much better than the competition?

What reward do we expect for the value delivered?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Relationship Management
Who are our key accounts?
and our key development accounts and our maintenance accounts and our Opportunistic accounts

What sales and service strategies will we apply to each classification? For each Key Account, what is the headline plan:
Opportunities/objectives Contact Matrix and GROWs Activity Cycle and Positive Impact package

What role will Customer Service play in building and maintaining relationships with customers? What role will CRM play in managing customer relationships?
Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Brand Management
What is the brand definition:
The value context? The intended customer experience? The emotional charge?

What activities will build positive experiences and associations? What plans are there (if any) for brand extension?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Functional Alignment
Which functions are vital to the successful implementation of the plan? What actions are we taking to ensure alignment?
How have other functions been involved in building this plan? What information do they need to carry out their roles?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Portfolio Management
How will we allocate resources to each product?
You can make use of the Directional Policy Matrix

Where will we invest for growth?

Sustaining our winning position? Building competitive advantage?

Where will we manage for cash? Where will we divest (if any)? What returns do we expect from each product:
Volume, value, profitability?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Tactical Objectives
What is our planning horizon? Volume, Value, Profit Segment Share
Penetration Share of voice Share of mind

Customer satisfaction Timetable

Summary of main activities

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Product Plans
How will we support existing products? What actions will we take to extend the life of existing products?
Augmentation, Repositioning?
Project plans Timelines Financial measures

What are our plans for NPD?

Project plans Timelines Financial measures What impact will there be on existing products?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Pricing Plans
What is our pricing policy:
Cost plus? Market based? Value based?

What is our pricing mechanism:

General pricelists? Customer pricelists? Tactical response?

Who is responsible for setting price?

Who can amend prices?

What are our plans (if any) for using marginal pricing tactics? Pricelists
with expected margins
Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Place Plans
What channels to market will we target? Who are our channel partners/customers? What are our plans for managing our channel partners/customers? What are our plans (if any) for refiguring the tasks undertaken and rewards received by channel partners/customers? Do we plan to open any new channels?
Project plan Timelines Financial measures

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008

Promotional Plans
What media will we use?
What is the plan for the sales force?

What is our message:

Overall? By campaign? By communication?

What is your budget?

Per campaign Per media Per communication

Promotional Activity Timetable

How will we track the effectiveness of our promotional activities?

Ariston Group Performance Consulting 2008