by Cathleene Filmore

Created on: August 23, 2010

In a global marketplace facing an economic recession for a product or business to succeed it must have a strategic marketing plan.  Every strategic marketing process has three key phases; planning, implementation and control.  It is how these three phases are carried out that will set a business apart and take a product from ordinary to extraordinary. 

Planning and Market Analysis 

Planning is the most crucial step in every strategic marketing process it is where a new product or business could very well fail or succeed.  Every planning phase begins with a thorough SWOT analysis.  Researchers and project managers carefully weight a product or businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Viskovich, 2010).  The next part of the planning phase sets goals and objectives against the market research; this part of the planning phase is crucial as it is where benchmarks are set that will later determine the measurable outcome of the goals (Viskovich, 2010).  The marketing mix; price, place, product and promotion, is crucial in creating marketing segments.  Breaking the marketing mix down into questions will help a project manager determine their target market segments (MindTools,2010). 

“Does the [product] meet a need? 

Will the customer that needs the product find it [in the place] where they shop? 

 Will the customer that needs the product consider it priced favorably?  

Will the promotions reach the customer that needs the product” (MindTools, 2010)? 

Answering these four questions plays a crucial role in creating customer or brand loyalty.  Although the key factor in developing brand loyalty is “creating a satisfying emotional experience on the part of the customer,” one must first “address the value concerns of a customer before an emotional experience can be established” (Sharma, 2010).  It is important to find just the right marketing mix to convince the targeted market that a business has a product or service worth trying.  Brand loyaltymust be built.  While there is a new push to use social marketing to build brand loyalty too many businesses are leaving the crucial step of the marketing mix out of the equation (Franks, 2009). 

Implementation 

“Implementation is the process that turns strategies and plans into actions in order to accomplish strategic objectives and goals” (MyStrategicPlan,

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