MA53 Refining your marketing plan
MARKETING

REFINING YOUR MARKETING PLAN

By Kenneth Fisher • January/February 2017 • Issue 53

In order to refine your marketing plan it is necessary to conduct an environmental scan and a marketing SWOT analysis.

Once you have determined your marketing goals or objectives, it is advisable to perform a detailed environmental scan or STEPCOM analysis as well as a SWOT analysis of your business.

Do not underestimate the importance of this assessment and always be brutally honest about the potential impact of these factors on your marketing effort. Armed with the results of your assessments, you will be able to devise an all-inclusive marketing strategy to take your company to the next level. 

Conducting a STEPCOM analysis 
The purpose of a STEPCOM analysis is to conduct a review of external sources to discover events/factors that are likely to impact your business. While these sources may be outside of your control, it is important to consider them in your decision-making processes. 
  • Socio-cultural factors — Culture, demographics (age, gender, income groups, etc.), attitudes and current topical issues of national concern.
  • Technological factors — New products, materials, components, ingredients, services, distribution channels, processes and technologies.
  • Economic factors — Government policy, economic status of the country, market structure, trading blocks, taxation, interest and inflation rates, petrol and electricity prices.
  • Political factors — National, local and provincial government regulations, trade blocks and regulatory bodies, trade associations and unions
  • Competitor analysis 
    • Who are your major competitors and which of their products compete with yours?
    • What advantages do their products have over yours — what are their strengths and weaknesses?
    • What is their market positioning and their cost and pricing strategy?
    • What distribution channels to they successfully use?
    • What is the likelihood of new competitors entering the market and what would the impact on your business be?
Conduct a marketing SWOT analysis
SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment; it assesses the internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and the external factors (opportunities and threats) that impact your business. Armed with this information you will be able to turn weaknesses into strengths, threats into opportunities and, perhaps match internal strengths with external opportunities. The main purpose of the analysis is to enable you to add value to your products and services and increase your competitive advantage. 

Product and service design 
To endure in the competitive world of small business where only the best and most resilient products and services survive over the long term, meticulous product or service design is an imperative. In addition to a distinctive brand personality, a well-designed product or service will have Competitor Product Advantages (CPAs), a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and perhaps even an Emotional Selling Proposition (ESP). It should also be supported by an aggressive sales and promotion strategy. 

Get it right the first time
Recommended product/service guidelines for an effective marketing plan:
  • Conduct fastidious research and be meticulous in the design of your product or service.
  • Establish your brand personality upfront and ensure that it is aligned with your core product.
  • Coin a catchy marketing slogan that depicts your core product.
  • Make sure that you fully understand the market segmentation of your product or service.
  • Ensure that you have clearly defined CPAs, a USP and ESP if applicable, and that these are aligned with your core product, brand personality and marketing slogan.
  • Take care to position your product or service appropriately in respect of the price-quality matrix. 
  • Design a simple, cost-effective sales and promotion strategy capable of delivering the projected turnover. 
  • Be single-minded in the implementation of your marketing strategy. Making it happen is in your hands. 
The 9 dimensions of good product design 

1. The nucleus product
This is the essence of your product or service. It is often the essence of your marketing slogan and brand personality and the dominant feature of your sales and promotion strategy. 
Example:  BMW’s marketing slogan, ‘sheer driving pleasure’, is clearly illustrated in all their advertising. Their consumer-friendly, modern, safe cars depict sheer driving pleasure, which is the essence of their product.

2. The characteristic product
The characteristic or tangible product refers to the physical attributes of the product. 
Example:  BMW cars are constructed from materials that enhance safety and improve fuel efficiency.

3. The supplementary product
The supplementary product comprises all the value-adds or guarantees that increase the perceived value of the product.
Example:  BMW offers a free motor plan with selected models up to a certain number of kilometres.

4. The future product
The future or prospective product refers to the future alternative applications and potential of the product. 
Example:  BMW brought out a range of 4x4 vehicles and corporate clothing to supplement their existing product range. 

5. Determine your USP 
Most products, brands or companies usually have something that differentiates them from the pack; their USP. Not all products have a USP and in this day and age, with competitors quick to follow suit and eliminate the advantage, they do not normally last long.
Example:  BMW’s iDrive system. 

6. Determine your ESP (if one is available)
Most products, brands or companies have a differentiating ESP. 
Example:  The deodorant brand Axe (previously Ego) has ‘sex appeal’ as their ESP.

7. Determine your product’s CPA 
Most products have certain CPAs over their competitors which may stem from the design, features, price, service, guarantees or maintenance contracts etc. 
Example:   The aluminium frame of certain cars makes it lighter and therefore more fuel-efficient. 

8. Align your brand personality with your core product
It is important to determine the brand personality you want your product to portray at the outset and then to ensure that it is aligned with your core or nucleus product. The most eminent researcher in this field, Professor Jennifer Aaker, has determined that the following model can generally be used, however, you should develop your own descriptive terms and dimensions to portray the brand personality you require. 

Dimension and descriptive terms
  • Sincerity: Domestic, honest, genuine, cheerful
  • Excitement: Daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date
  • Competence: Reliable, responsible, dependable, efficient
  • Sophistication: Glamorous, pretentious, charming, romantic
  • Ruggedness: Tough, strong, outdoorsy, rugged
Example:  BMW brand personality descriptors are modern, innovative, reliable, unconventional, safe, pleasurable, sophisticated, honest and practical.

9. Design a marketing slogan
A marketing slogan typically symbolizes the essence of your product or service and communicates what your company or product/service stands for.

Examples: 
  • Nike — Just Do It.
  • BMW — Sheer Diving Pleasure
  • Volvo — Volvo for life
  • McDonalds — I’m lovin' it
  • LG — Life's Good.
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