Marketing Skills: Strategy and Planning

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Course Overview

This two day course shows the delegate how to develop an appropriate marketing strategy. This practical course will provide delegates with a structured approach to developing their knowledge and skills in this vital area.

Audience

Marketers who are moving into positions requiring a better understanding of strategic marketing and who are undertaking marketing planning for the first time. It will also benefit those wishing to refresh their knowledge and skills or to place their existing experience into a more formal structure. Managers in other disciplines or supervisory roles, wishing to secure a better understanding or introduce a more structured process into their organisations, will also benefit.

Skills Gained

• Understanding the role of marketing strategy in an organisation
• Establishing a comprehensive marketing audit process
• Learning how to use a range of strategic planning tools
• Developing a strategy to secure competitive advantage
• Creating a plan to implement your objectives

Prerequisites

None

Course Outline

Day One

Preparing the Groundwork

• Introduction to strategy
• How marketing strategy fits
• The auditing process
• Market research needs: primary and secondary
• Analysis tools: Porter and PEST
• Understanding customers and competitors
• Segmenting the marketplace
• Isolating critical success factors
• Preparing a quantified SWOT
• Using the SWOT
• Establishing target markets and opportunities

Developing the Strategy

• Strategic options
• Portfolio analysis: Boston and GEC matrices
• The role of brands
• Brand auditing
• Brand positioning
• Creating competitive advantage
• Adding value to the marketing mix

Day Two

Creating the Plan

• The critical role of planning
• The planning cycle
• Marketing plan structures
• Forecasting and market modelling
• Objectives, strategies and tactics
• Setting objectives
• Decision-making modelling
• The Consumer Purchase Funnel
• Communication objectives
• Setting the budget
• Monitoring the plan
• Implementation and control issues
• Planning errors
• Integration

Marketing Skills: Strategy and Planning / 2892268