Strategic marketing planning is one of the essential elements in promoting a brand.

Without a strategic marketing plan, defining and structuring the direction, coordination, and control of marketing activities becomes difficult.

Let’s start with the definitions… what is strategic marketing?

Strategic marketing refers to a planning process aimed at developing a competitive advantage, generally long-term and in multiple phases.

An essential part of strategic marketing is the marketing plan. This is an outline that summarizes the marketing strategy of a brand or a company. It refers to a defined time period, for example a quarter or a year, and is usually structured as a report. It serves to define the objectives for the period and provides a detailed timeline for how to reach them.

A good strategic marketing plan must also specify the key performance indicators (known by the acronym KPI). These are used to monitor and measure progress and the eventual achievement of the objectives.

The strategic marketing plan: the first steps to develop it

A good strategic marketing plan must be customer-focused, based on the target audience, and defined according to the competitive context in which the company operates. To develop it correctly, it is necessary to:

1. Define the type of business, its values, its mission, and its objectives.
2. Write a value selling proposition that is clearly articulated. It is a clear statement that explains how the product or service offered solves customers’ problems or improves their situation, quantifies its value by identifying the specific benefits, and what sets it apart from the competition;
3. Recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the company, in relation to the competition. What more does it offer? Which gap left open in the market does it fill? In what, or for whom, is the competition better? To reflect on the factors of brand positioning and differentiation, among others, it can be useful to create a visual representation of the Business Model;

4. Know the target audience and the competition, also carrying out an analysis of the competitive context and a parametric analysis of direct and indirect competitors. At this point, an analysis of Porter’s 5 forces often proves useful;
5. Identify the resources needed and those available, as well as the channels to use;
6. Identify the usable metrics to measure the progress made, that is, the KPIs mentioned earlier.

Drafting the strategic marketing plan.

The foundations of a good strategic marketing plan are always data. For this reason, once they have been gathered from analyses of the market, of competitors, and of the buyer personas, drafting can begin.

The structure, on the other hand, is flexible. This is because it must adapt to the available data and to the people it addresses, but it must contain some key elements.

These are: a market analysis, the description of the company’s products and services, the description of the competitors present in the market, and of the buyer personas.

In addition, it must contain the objectives to be achieved and must be simple, specific, realistic, and complete.

A classic example of a structure is the following:

1. Introduction and table of contents. This part usually includes a brief description of the company, the plan, and its recipients. In addition, it is useful to include the company’s objectives and the identified strategic guidelines right from the start.
2. Analysis of the current situation. This is useful for aligning the stakeholders and for reviewing and understanding, in the future, the choices made. In addition to basic information about the company, this is where market analyses and any surveys are included, in order to identify:
   • The economic context, but also the social, demographic, and technological one. Other cases can be included, if necessary and if required by the specific case;
   • Market trends, segments, and buying behaviors;
   • Competitors, their products and services, and how they position themselves;
   • The description, prices, and sales trends of one’s own products.

3. Definition of the Marketing objectives. In this section of the strategic marketing plan, it is useful to divide the goals into short, medium, and long term. In addition, these must always be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based.
4. Marketing Strategy. This is the most operational section of the plan, the one where all the information entered so far comes together to create a real roadmap. Based on the identified objectives and the available data, this is where the target, the positioning of one’s own product or service relative to that of competitors, and the prices to apply are established. Not only that: this section must also include market segmentation and the communication plan to adopt.
5. Activity planning. This is the operational section. The activities to be carried out must therefore be listed in detail, following the rules set out in the strategy, in order to reach the objectives. Not only the activities, but also their details: how to carry them out, when and by whom, with what budget, and with what expected results.
6. Budget. Every strategic marketing plan needs a section dedicated to the budget, with the resources defined for each planned action.
7. Performance indicators. This is where the KPIs are gathered, that is, the parameters to consider in order to measure the success of the strategy and of its individual phases.

That said, many valid structures exist, and many templates to follow can be found online.