10 common mistakes in making marketing plans

The wrong marketing plan is almost one of the core programs of all for-profit organizations, and the right marketing plan often makes the most fundamental contribution to the company's success. The marketing plan is the core document for answering three basic questions about the company's operations: where we are now (analyzing the status quo), where we want to go (the strategic direction and objectives of the company), and how we get there (choose Strategy and Marketing Mix).

A survey found that more than 90% of corporate marketing senior executives involved in the marketing plan process, on average 45 days a year to do the work. The basic framework and process of the marketing plan plays a key role in the correctness of the marketing plan. In general, there are some standard procedures for making marketing plans, but we will also find that in many successful companies, they do not always adhere to a number of "confucianism、the" type of fixed structure, but based on the actual situation of the marketing plan to make some useful changes in the process, so as to save time, and prevent the marketing plan from becoming a text game to fill out a form, or some very bureaucratic practice.

As mentioned above, the importance of marketing programs is self-evident to the company. But, as with many things, we always make such mistakes in the process of accomplishing these tasks. The same is true of the marketing plan completion process. I've summed up the following 10 kinds of mistakes are the most common in the process of making marketing plans.

1, ignore the present situation analysis, only attaches importance to or emphasizes the marketing plan target and the marketing mix plan.

A lot of marketing executives in the planning, do not pay attention to data collection and information quality, at this stage of the analysis of the lack of thinking and scrutiny, such a marketing plan can not be wrong. It is irresponsible and not professional for some supervisors to decide the strategy to be adopted beforehand, and to focus on selecting some data to support these strategies during the analysis phase.

The present analysis requires a comprehensive audit of the previous stage of the marketing work, using SWOT and other analytical tools to confirm the current situation, the division of the market, comparative analysis of competitors, customer purchase behavior analysis and so on. This data collection is very necessary, and should ensure the quality and quantity of data, the correct analysis of these key data information can lay a solid foundation for the formulation of effective strategies.

2, marketing executives to form a written marketing plan does not pay attention to, or just to meet the requirements of the company to make a symbolic document, but the whole content in their own mind, at different stages of a sudden to put forward different requirements.

The marketing plan is the important guiding document in the company's business process, it is not only related to the marketing director. We know that the marketing process is closely related to production, sales, finance and research and development, and these support departments play a crucial role in the implementation of the marketing plan. Therefore, the written plan is not only to force marketing executives to think systematically, but also, it can clearly inform the Company's relevant functional departments in the implementation of the marketing plan in the process of responsibility, what needs to be prepared in advance? Fragmented plans not only impede the implementation of the plan, but are also likely to create management confusion.

3, the process of making marketing plans too demanding or too hasty, so as to bring problems to the company's operations.

Some managers are demanding on the process of making a marketing plan, and the pursuit of unrealistic "perfection" for each stage or part of the content. We know that the nature of the plan is based on the analysis of the existing situation and the prediction and deployment of the future. First, the analysis of the present situation cannot be perfect. For example, can you 100% accurately know the total sales of calcium supplements in the last year's China market? You can't, because there is a limit to the scope and accuracy of the information collected; For example, even if you know the current situation is 100%, then the inference to the future will be 100% accurate? Neither can you, for there may be many changes in the future that we cannot foresee. Therefore, the process of making marketing plans is not perfect, we must be on the basis of limited information to develop the best possible strategic goals and programmes. The lengthy process not only shows that the management is not decisive, too bureaucratic, and will make the relevant work lag.

Also some managers are too hasty in the process of marketing planning, fill out some forms, even if the task is completed. The accuracy of these forms is well worth considering, and the thought process appears to be scientifically reliable under the coats of a series of tables, which may be logically confusing and lacking in relevance. Sloppy marketing programs are devastating and can cause serious mistakes and even disasters.

4, the company management directly specify the target, do not let the marketing plan executives participate in the goal development process.

So far, many companies, even many already large-scale companies, the company's top management directly designated targets, and then by the marketing department in accordance with this goal to develop implementation plans, such a phenomenon in China is still more common. Responsible marketing executives will say that no matter how difficult or overly conservative the company's assigned goals are, they will spare no effort to what extent they can do it; irresponsible marketing executives will mentally think that the goal is the company, that is the company's idea, not our ideas we don't have to take it seriously. The 60 's European and American companies have a similar phenomenon: the company's marketing plan to the company's planning department according to a number of strategic models to develop, and then the implementation of the plan to the marketing department and other functional departments. The same approach caused the executive floor manager to rebound, fortunately later in the "middle-class revolution" era of these planning departments were cut, the first line manager more involvement in the planning process. The similarities between the two phenomena are that the managers who are responsible for the implementation of these plans are put aside when they make marketing plans.

Many companies, such as the Emerson Electric, who has just been elected to the world's most respected company, advocate the idea of "planner is the executor", and other relevant functional departments are involved in the marketing program, in addition to the marketing department, which has the most important responsibility for marketing. This approach not only increases the satisfaction of the Executive Department's participation in management and decision-making, and greatly improve the initiative to achieve the plan (this is our own commitment, of course, we want to achieve), it can also draw on the experience of front-line managers and market sensitivity, intuition, experience, Increase the reliability and operability of the plan.