Strategic Marketing Planning: Theory and Practice

In order to explore the complexities of developing a strategic marketing plan, this article is written in three parts. The first describes the strategic marketing planning process itself and the key steps within it. It also deals with implementation issues and barriers to marketing planning. The second part provides guidelines for the marketer which will ensure that the input to the marketing plan is customer focused and considers the strategic dimension of all of the relationships the organization has with its business environment. The third part provides a brief overview of a process for assessing whether the strategic marketing plan creates or destroys shareholder value, having taken account of the risks associated with the plan, the time value of money and the cost of capital. It also outlines other metrics for measuring the effectiveness of the marketing strategy.