Strategic marketing planning

Clear marketing thinking is essential for developing a powerful competitive tool that every business needs - a strategic marketing plan.

We talk of a strategic marketing plan because what a business plans to do in the shorter term will be far more effective if it is based on a clear idea of longer term objectives and strategy. Self-evident perhaps, but marketing strategy must be rooted in the strategic thinking for the organisation as a whole.

So a strategic marketing plan will review the strategic situation, identify the issues that will need to be addressed if the longer term objectives are to be achieved, and then focus on activities to move the business forward in the more immediate future.

Because a strategic marketing plan deals with the fundamentals of the business it is often in effect a market-oriented business plan.

The structure and flow of a strategic marketing plan have to be intelligently tailored to the situation and needs of the organisation, but a set of consistent principles are widely applicable.