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Contemporary Marketing , Second Canadian Edition
Boone/Kurtz/MacKenzie/Snow
A Framework for the Process of Constructing a Marketing Plan
PREFACE
The goal of this outline is to provide you with a general overview of a framework for the process
of constructing a marketing plan. There are, of course, many ways in which to approach this
task, depending on the specific product(s), the organization, the intended audience, the amount of
available data, and the level of integration with other organizational plans and strategies (e.g.,
business, financial, human resources, operations, information systems), as well as personal style
and preference; however, the information presented here will allow you to develop and
communicate a marketing strategy framework as a foundation for making effective and efficient
tactical decisions. As such, this outline will provide a macro view of the steps involved in
writing a marketing plan. Boone, Kurtz, MacKenzie & Snow present many of the detailed
components required to complete the process in your textbook, Contemporary Marketing , First
Canadian Edition. In addition, more information on what can be included in a marketing plan,
as well as industry, market, and organizational data, can be found on the Internet and in other
academic and trade resources.
Purpose of the Marketing Plan
The purpose of a marketing plan is to convey the strategy of the organization from a
marketing perspective. A strategy is in a sense, the direction an organization wants to pursue. It
Boone/Kurtz/MacKenzie /Snow ~ Contemporary Marketing, Second Canadian Edition
Framework for Constructing a Marketing Plan
denotes a path to a desired destination.
The identification of the organization’s desired
destination is vitally important, as the organization must first know where it wants to go before it
can construct a plan (strategy) for getting there. Implicit in the identification of this desired
destination is that it is a choice of one end-point over other alternatives; and therefore, the
organization must make trade-offs when constructing its strategies to reach the desired
destination (i.e., it can not do everything or just anything; rather, the organization must employ
strategies and tactics that support achieving the desired destination). This desired destination is
comprised of both financial and non-financial goals and objectives that are derived from the
organization’s mission. From the organization’s mission, a business strategy is developed that
includes separate, but integrated and consistent plans in the areas of finance, human resources,
operations, information systems, and marketing, as well as other functions relevant to the
specific organization.
Components of the Marketing Plan
A marketing plan consists of the Executive Summary and three major components:
Organizational and Product Overview, Market Analysis, and Marketing Strategies. These
components build upon each other, must be integrated and consistent with the other components
of the organization’s comprehensive business plan, and support the overall mission of the
organization.
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary follows your cover page (which includes your business name,
title of the report, contact information, and date) and table of contents page. Its purpose is to
provide a quick, high-level review of the marketing plan. It allows the reader to understand the
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Boone/Kurtz/MacKenzie /Snow ~ Contemporary Marketing, Second Canadian Edition
Framework for Constructing a Marketing Plan
document’s purpose, scope, and focus, the most salient points discussed, and the conclusions and
recommendations presented as a result of the analysis. While it does serve as a synopsis of the
longer, more detailed, original document, it should also provide the reader (typically a decisionmaker) with enough information to be confident of the analysis and recommendations, and make
informed judgments about the situation at hand (e.g., to approve/reject the plan, or at the very
least, whether or not the original document is worth the time to read for further consideration).
While there is not an exact standard as to the length for the executive summary, this section
typically ranges in length from 1 to 10 pages, or 10% of the length of the complete marketing
plan, depending upon the level of detail and technical nature of the plan, the degree of
importance of the decisions to be made as a result of the plan, and the intended audience.
Because the information contained in this section is dependent upon what is written in the other
sections of the marketing plan, it is completed last.
Organizational and Product Overview
The Organizational and Product Overview section serves an introduction to the marketing
plan. First, it provides a brief summary of the organization, its history, its vision, mission and
goals/objectives, its size, its structure, and its culture, as well as any relevant information about
the organization that will serve as a foundation for understanding and evaluating the market
analysis and marketing strategies. Next, it provides a general description of the product mix,
lines, and items that are the focus of this marketing plan. The purpose of this section is for the
reader to have a general impression of who the organization is, what it is about, how and where it
operates, and the type of products it sells.
Much of this information is addressed in the
organization’s comprehensive business plan, so the level of detail covered in this section is
dependent upon the writer’s judgment of relevance and necessity, as well as the expectations of
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Boone/Kurtz/MacKenzie /Snow ~ Contemporary Marketing, Second Canadian Edition
Framework for Constructing a Marketing Plan
the intended readers. A more in-depth presentation of the activities included in this step of the
marketing plan framework is provided in the outline that follows.
Market Analysis
The Market Analysis section focuses on the environment in which the marketing plan is
be implemented. It begins with the identification of the market space itself, its size, structure,
players and growth, as well as the forces (political, economic, social, and technological) that
impact it. By evaluating the all of the relevant influences, an assessment of the market’s
opportunities and threats is made.
Much like the previous section for the Organizational and
Product Overview, this section is closely associated with the organization’s comprehensive
business plan; as such, factors influencing the marketing strategy will be addressed here. A more
in-depth presentation of the activities included in this step of the marketing plan framework is
provided in the outline that follows.
Marketing Strategies
Based on the strengths and weakness of the organization relative to those of its
competitors, and the market’s opportunities and threats, the Marketing Strategies section utilizes
the information in the previous two sections to formulate the specific marketing strategies for the
organization. These strategies are sub-divided into two general categories: positioning (price,
performance and brand), and sales support (switching costs, promotion, distribution, customer
service and satisfaction). A more in-depth presentation of the activities included in this step of
the marketing plan framework is provided in the outline that follows.
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