MODULE 3- MARKETING MANAGEMENT GROUP 5 ASIGNMENT

Marketing planning and marketing control are the two sides of the same coin. Critically evaluate the statement considering the nature and relationship between these two terms. Discuss the techniques and significance of marketing control in the modern business world

MARILYN KAYS NYASHA MULLINS KWAME AZONBA

INTRODUCTION

The thrust of this essay is d

Definition of Marketing American Marketing Association defines marketing as the activity, set of instruction and process for creating, communication, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large. (Approved October 2007) The Concise Encyclopaedia defines marketing as activities that direct the flow of goods and services form producers to consumers. In other words, marketing is the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in orders to capture value from customers in return. In other words, marketing is about offering a person (s) what they want. When marketing fails to meet a customers needs and wants, then it has been unsuccessful both to the customer and the organisation. The customer or end consumer of a product or service should be the focus of marketing. Marketing is a management process that requires planning, organising, staffing, directing, leading and controlling. Phillip Kotler and Gary Armstrong (1999:3) define marketing as a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and freely exchanging products and services of values with others. A management theorist, Peter Druker reminds us that marketing is not about selling products only but believes there will always be a need for some selling but the aim of marketing is to making selling superfluous.

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. (Druker: 1973, 64-65) Marketing planning and marketing control both form components of marketing management which is generally defined as the sum of all the activities done for managing all the marketing related activities. It includes all the activities necessary to plan, research, implement, control and evaluate the marketing efforts of an organisation. The second edition of the Dictionary of Marketing Terms edited by Peter D. Bennett in 1995 defines marketing management as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, services to create exchanges that satisfy individuals, and organizational goals

Philip Kotler (2002:8), regards marketing management as the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value

Marketing management involves a lot of activities such as strategic planning, analyzing marketing opportunities, programming marketing strategies, making marketing decisions, managing and developing marketing programs. It also involves managing demand which in turn entails managing customer relationships. Marketing management then forms the bases of the argument to be displaced in this essay that indeed marketing planning and marketing control are two sides of the same coin since marketing planning should be followed by marketing control- it becomes inefficient to do marketing planning alone and not follow it with marketing control for marketing management to be recognized.

Marketing Planning Marketing planning is defined as the systematic approach to development of marketing strategy and the achievement of goals. It leads to the documentation of a marketing plan which is a specification of an organisation marketing intentions and objectives. McDonald

defines marketing planning as a logical sequence and a series of activities leading to the setting of marketing objectives and the formulation of plans for achieving them. Jobber also defines marketing planning as a process by which businesses analyse the environment, decide upon sources of marketing action and implement those decisions. The rationale for marketing planning answers the following questions; Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How are we going to get there? How do we ensure we get there?

Why do we Plan? Marketing planning serves the purpose of; Developing systematic, long term thinking Creating an organised approach Developing a specificity and consistency Getting agreement form colleagues & support from non-marketers Identifying sources of competitive advantage.

Marketing Planning Steps

(The Architects Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th edition Revised December 2006) STEP 1: Determine the firms Mission

The firms/organisation mission statement reflects the reason for the existence of the organisation. It details in summary why a firm is in business, provides basic guidelines for further planning and establishes broad parameters for the future. STEP 2: Set company goals

Goals define the overall desired results for the organisation; guide the development of a marketing plan and shape the strategies needed to implement it.

Step 3:

Perform External Analysis

An external analysis examines trends in the market place, the local economic outlook, market types, available financing and market needs. Step 4: Perform Internal Analysis

An internal analysis looks at your firms strengths and weaknesses that should include a client review of your firms performance. Step 5: Establish marketing goals

Marketing goals should reflect what you think your firm can accomplish through marketing in the coming years: the amount of new business vs. old or repeat business, job and client profiles, and promotional and sales goals. Step 6: Define strategies to achieve your goals.

Strategies are specific activities to achieve stated marketing goals over two or three years. They range from pursuing a new type of client to expanding an existing market geographically or even adding or changing a specialty. Step 7: Research and refine strategies.

Focus your energies as much as possible, selecting only those strategies that will make it possible to reach your goals. Step 8: Create and refine promotional and sales tactics.

Tactics are short-term, immediate, planned actions undertaken to implement strategies. Tactics are specific reactions to research. Limit tactical planning to those tasks necessary to accomplish marketing goals. Step 9: Implement the plan. Once the plan is put into action, good coordination and

record keeping are critical to its success. Step 10: Evaluate the plan in action.

A point to note is: Business organisations do marketing planning to incorporate overall marketing objectives, strategies and programs of actions designed to achieve marketing objectives. Marketing planning involves setting objectives and targets to people responsible

to achieve them. The entire marketing planning process must be continuously evaluated and updated, conduct regular evaluations of your efforts to achieve desired marketing goals. Benefits of Marketing Planning 1. Control of marketing activity Ensures that targets are achieved Provides early warning of things going wrong Allows corrective measures to be taken soon

2. Coordination of marketing activity Specifies exactly what is expected Integrates different functional areas Communicates objectives and plans to staff Reduces internal rivalry

3. Development of marketing activity Analyses environments and highlights strengths and weaknesses. Identifies available options and aids choice Helps to allocate resources Helps to handle change Ref: Brassington & Pettitt 2006 Macdonald (1995) suggests that several stages have to be completed in order to arrive at a strategic marketing plan. These are summarised in the diagram below:

The extent to which each part of the above process needs to be carried out depends on the size and complexity of the business. In a small or undiversified business, where senior management have a strong knowledge and detailed understanding of the overall business, it may not be necessary to formalise the marketing planning process. By contrast, in a highly diversified business, top level management will not have knowledge and expertise that matches subordinate management. In this situation, it makes sense to put formal marketing planning procedures in place throughout the organization. Marketing Control It can be defined as the process of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing strategies and plans and taking corrective action to ensure that marketing objectives are achieved. (www.enotesmba.com). It is true to say that planning gives direction to an organisation to achieve its objectives but without control measures, planning is of no meaning to the organisation. There is no planning without control. Marketing control is the process of monitoring the proposed plans as they proceed and adjusting where necessary. If an objective states where

you want to be and the plan sets out a road map to your destination, then control tells you if you are on the right route or if you have arrived at your destination. Control involves measurement, evaluation, and monitoring. Resources are scarce and costly so it is important to control marketing plans. Control involves setting standards. The marketing manager will than compare actual progress against the standards. Corrective action (if any) is then taken. If corrective action is taken, an investigation will also need to be undertaken to establish precisely why the difference occurred. Definition Marketing control is gathering information on marketing performance and comparing the achieved performances against planned or budgeted performances using predetermined standards and yardstick. It is the process of taking steps to bring actual results and desired results closer together. The aim of control systems is to evaluate the results of the marketing plan so that corrective action can be taken if performance does not match objectives. Significance of marketing control: It puts the unit on the progress path It helps in locating responsibility for deeds Keep pace with environmental changes It absorbs organizational complexity It brings about realistic reformulation of plans.

THE MARKETING CONTROL PROCESS

Establish Standards & Methods of Measuring Performance

Measure Performance

Does perform ance conform to standard s

Take Corrective Action

Do Nothing

Therefore, one can safely conclude that marketing control is the process of taking actions or steps to bring the desired results and actual result closer. Many a times actual marketing results deviate from the expected results due to the change in the government regulation or change in competitors strategy and likewise. An efficient and effective marketing control system can help in detecting such deviations and take suitable and appropriate measures to control them Types and Techniques of Marketing Control

Type of Control 1 Annual Plan

Techniques a) Sales analysis b) Market share analysis c) Marketing expense to share analysis d) Financial analysis

Profitability Control

Profitability by; a) Product b) Territory c) Customer d) Segment e) Trade Channel f) Order Size

Efficiency Control

Efficiency of; a) Sales Force

b) Advertising c) Sales Promotion d) Distribution 4 Strategic Control a) Marketing effectiveness rating review b) Marketing Audit

Annual plan Control Techniques These are used to monitor planned performance. The comparisons can be made monthly, quarterly, bi- annually and annually. Sales analysis compares actual sales to planned sales. The reason of the discrepancy is then explained. Market share analysis compares the organisations sales to competitors in the same industry. Marketing expense to sales analysis. Costs of marketing the products are compared to the sales revenue, how much the company spends in achieving the sales targets. Usually companies have an acceptable ratio. Financial analysis include comparison of profit to sales (profit margin), comparison of profits to asserts (return on assets) , asset to worth (financial leverage) and profits to worth (return on net worth).

Profitability Control Techniques These show the different profit contributions of a companys products and consumer groups. Profitability may be measured by Product, Territory, customer, segment, and trade channel and customer order. This shows where the company is making or losing money. It may be surprised that a small percentage of a companys products contribute to a large percentage of their profits. This knowledge helps a company to allocate its resources efficiently.

Efficiency Control Techniques These involve the micro level analysis of the various elements of the marketing mix. Efficiency may be measured by sales force, advertising, sales promotion and distribution. For example, to understand workforce efficiency, the company finds out how many calls

were made by a sales representative, how much the cost is versus the revenue generated form these calls. The analysis highlights areas where they can focus their marketing efforts in a productive and cost effective manner.

Strategic Control Techniques This involves a detailed and objective analysis is a companys organisation and its ability to maximise strengths and market opportunities. Strategic control processes allow managers to evaluate a companys marketing program from a critical long term perspective. The strategic control techniques are marketing effectiveness rating review and marketing audit which is a comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic analysis that a company uses to examine its strengths in relation to its current and potential market(s). The audit includes analyses of the companys marketing strategy, marketing organisation, marketing systems and marketing productivity. Marketing audits should be done not only when the value of a companys current marketing plan is in question; they must be done periodically in order to isolate and solve problems before they arise.

Significance of marketing control in the business world The significance of market control in the modern business world is influenced by the global constant changes such that the best useful strategy today may not be useful in the near future hence it is important to constantly monitor the marketing program to ensure that marketing objectives are being achieved as planned. Marketing controls are important because resources are scarce and costly thus there is need to control marketing planning activities. Marketing controls also ensure that marketing plans and strategies are continuously monitored, evaluated and corrected in order to meet the changing market, environment, needs and opportunities. Marketing control improves organisations performance by minimising the gap between the actual and desired results. It aids in the adjustment of plans versus set standards. Timeous marketing control reduces waste and increases overall market share. Production planning is enhanced by marketing control.

 Research

Nyasha please explain these two points, I forgot, otherwise

we delete them hedu.

Promotion

CONCLUSION

As the study of marketing became more prevalent throughout the 20th century, large companiesparticularly mass consumer manufacturersbegan to recognize the importance of market research, better product design, effective distribution, and sustained communication with consumers in the success of their brands. Marketing concepts and techniques later moved into the industrial-goods sector and subsequently into the services sector. It soon became apparent that organizations and individuals market not only goods and services but also ideas (social marketing), places (location marketing), personalities (celebrity marketing), events (event marketing), and even the organizations themselves (public relations). The above discussion is set to present the inter-rationship of marketing planning and marketing control which are both hinged or stuck together as both sides of the same coin of marketing management at large.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(The Architects Handbook of Professional Practice, 13th edition

Revised December 2006) Kotler

Peter Drucker American Marketing Association (Approved October 2007) Macdonald (1995) Brassington & Pettitt 2006