15 Mar NB- Post your response to one other student’s post which has not received a response by Mar 12 EOD. Include:? discussion of

NB- Post your response to one other student's post which has not received a response by Mar 12 EOD. Include:

· discussion of your agreement or disagreement with the selected initial discussion author's key discussion points

· information and evidence with citation and reference supporting your agreement/disagreement

· identification of any key points that have not been addressed by the initial discussion author

· APA format references and citations

“Myra Student post”

Marketing is a rapidly growing and multifaceted industry that requires individuals to be aware of several specific terms. In MKTG Principles of Marketing, the authors provide an in-depth look at the fundamental marketing concepts and theories. While the book provides users with a comprehensive overview of many ideas, three very relevant aspects of marketing stand out as vital to the industry in terms of strategic planning. These are the marketing plan, the mission statement, and a situational or SWOT analysis. Strategic planning is a crucial stage in marketing, as poor preparation can affect the organization negatively. By having a solid strategic plan, one can protect and develop the organization’s resources, and define its objectives easily (Lamb et al., 2020). These three steps and their respective relevance in a typical marketing environment are discussed below:

The Marketing Plan

A marketing plan’s primary goal is to provide the marketing manager and their clients with direction regarding the project. It enables details to be concretized and helps them record their communication (Lamb et al., 2020). Marketing planning is a relatively complex process because it is used to segment markets and identify market positions (Westwood, 2022). This marketing process is vital in real-life contexts because it helps potential clients or customers to understand the business’s positioning. It shows them how the marketing strategy will be implemented through these critical components: The business mission, a situation analysis, outlining the organization’s objectives, and establishing the target market (Lamb et al., 2020). Within this framework, they could also develop budgets, timetables, and establish what other types of marketing initiatives are necessary (Lamb et al., 2020). Writing the marketing plan should also be completed carefully, as it is a key contributor to meeting the organization’s objectives or goals (Lamb et al., 2020). Because the marketing plan highlights the organization’s marketing objectives, it is also linked strongly to the mission statement.

The Mission Statement

The mission statement is used to explain the reason for the organization’s existence; it helps customers to identify its role and purpose. As David et al. explain, mission statements should be informative, concise and beneficial to the customers in order to form an emotional bond with the firm. For example, Amazon’s mission statement is, “We aim to be Earth’s most customer centric company” (Amazon, 2018). They explain that they will focus on the customer experience using technology and the internet. Additionally, the mission statement also provides guidance and, in a way, develops a blueprint off of which the marketing manager and client can work from, concerning decisions and strategies (Lamb et al., 2020). The next appropriate step would be to conduct a situational analysis to gain greater insight into what internal and external elements affect a business.

A Situational or SWOT Analysis

A situational analysis is mainly performed to assess the internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization. The key characteristics of a situational analysis are represented by the acronym SWOT, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. By examining these aspects, the marketing manager can understand where the business can improve, and where they are excelling. Additionally, they can gain information about external forces, events, and relationships, which may affect the organization in the future – This is called environmental scanning (Lamb et al., 2020). A situational analysis is also helpful to identify the target audience.

Conclusion

The marketing plan, mission statement, and situational analysis are crucial components to succeed as a marketing practitioner. All three are exceedingly helpful in establishing and guiding the organization’s objectives, and as such, should be understood as far as possible.

References:

Amazon. (2018). Our mission. https://www.aboutamazon.eu/news/how-amazon-works/our-mission (Links to an external site.).

David, M. E., David, F. R. & David, F. R. (2014). Mission statement theory and practice: a content analysis and new direction. International Journal of Business, Marketing, and Decision Sciences, 7(1) 95-109.

Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F. & McDaniel, C. (2020). MKTG principles of marketing (13th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.

Westwood, J. (2022). How to write a marketing plan: define your strategy, plan effectively and reach your marketing goals. London: Kogan Page.