Everyone who has a part to play in the project, including outside organizations, participates, страница 6

7.  Awareness of problems, opportunities, and threats. The very con- struction of a marketing plan requires an investigation into the environs in such a fashion that problems, opportunities, and threats are precisely identified. So the more one does planning as the plan develops, the more one understands the nature of these problems, opportunities, and threats and what can be done about them. In no case should problems, opportunities, or threats be      47

ignored, but rather the marketing plan must be constructed and, The Marketing Plan and if necessary, modified during its development so as to take ad                                 Planning Process

vantage of the opportunities, solve the problems, and, if possible, avoid or overcome the threats.⁵

All Marketing Managers Must Master Marketing Planning

Knowledge of marketing plans is not an option for marketing managers. It is a requirement. Every marketing manager must not only under stand and have a working knowledge of marketing plans, he or she must be able to develop and implement them. Studies by many researchers have shown that coordinating plans and strategies are the hallmarks of excellence in the multinational company⁶ and that the development of an annual marketing plan is perhaps the single most important activity for a marketing or product manager.' Further, the marketing plan cannot be delegated to someone else. The responsibility for the marketing plan belongs to whoever is in charge of the marketing activities concerned.⁸ Theodore Levitt, of the Harvard Business School states that since product line planning is so important to a company's future, a chief executive officer has a particular responsibility to expect that the marketing department will inform him with both data and advice.⁹ This process is made possible through the vehicle of the marketing plan.

Criticisms of Marketing Planning

Notwithstanding the fact of the advantages and the critical essentiality of marketing plans, there have been criticisms of formal marketing planning. A marketing manager should understand these criticisms and their validity for his or her particular situation and company so as to eliminate them or minimize their effect.

1.  A formal plan put together once a year can be quickly overtaken by events. This means that plans must be reviewed not only periodically but also as the environs of the marketplace change.

2.  Elements of the plan may be kept secret from those who are affected by it with no reason. For example, if resources are allocated to one department, this means that they must by necessity be lessened in another. To the maximum extent possible, all individuals affected by a marketing plan should be informed, and informed early, as to the implications of the planning as well as the reasons that different elements of the plan and resources have been allocated in the way decided upon and documented in the plan.

48                                   3. There is a gulf between the designers of the plan who are staff

The Marketing Manager:                and the line managers who have to implement it. As noted earlier,

Tasks and Responsibilities          _tne individual in charge of a marketing operation, that is, a line

manager, is the one responsible for the marketing plan. The line marketing manager must ensure that planning done by staff is integrated with the input of all line managers who are affected by the plan, so that the plan is not a product of the staff by itself but rather a product of both line and staff working together, with the final responsibility being that of the line marketing manager who is the head of the project.

4.  A plan should not merely be a descriptive document but a scheme of actions and decisions that are carried out to achieve precise objectives.

5.  Essential marketing information may be lacking to make decisions about the future. Considering the time available for construction of the plan, market research and marketing information systems should be utilized to their fullest for obtaining information. But when all else fails, logical assumptions should be made and stated clearly so that if necessary the plan itself can be altered and modified if these assumptions, the basis for the plan, prove not to be accurate.

6.  Implementation must be properly controlled by management throughout the life of the plan. If implementation is not controlled by management, the plan is worthless. In fact, it can have a negative impact on a company's marketing activities or operations, since some parts of the plan will be followed and objectives achieved, and others not. Marketing plans can always be modified as required as the environs change, but a plan must be closely monitored and controlled throughout its implementation to be successful.'"¹¹ to be done by marketing organizations. Operational plans are further divided into two different types: (1) the new product plan and (2) the annual plan.