Overview of Planning Process

The key components of the Marketing Management Process are the deep understanding of the consumer (called consumer insight) and creative marketing strategies. Developing the right marketing strategy requires a blend of discipline and flexibility...Marketing Organisation must not only adhere to the strategy and execute it flawlessly, they must find ways to constantly improve ti and keep it contemporary.

Marketing & Customer Value.

•  Marketing means satisfying the needs and the wants of the customer
• The aim of the business is to deliver customer value profitably
• While also being social responsible.

The traditional view is that a commercial organisation makes something and then sells it. Figure 2.1 on page 34 of the 13th edition of Marketing Management by Philip Kotler et al gives a diagrammatic view of the Traditional Physical Process Sequence. this may be applicable to markets where goods are in short supply and hence consumers not choosy about quality, feature or style.

The current view is that it all starts with marketing. A diagrammatic representation of the Value Creation & Delivery Sequence is available in Micheal Porter book's.

On page 35, figure 2.2 explains Micheal Porter's Value Chain that distinguishes between the primary activities and the support (secondary) activities of any commercial (manufacturing) organisation.

Core Business Processes.

• Market sensing: gathering and disseminating market intelligence within the organisation and acting upon this information.
• New offering realization: researching, developing, launching high quality offerings, quickly, within budget
• Customer acquisition: defining target markets, prospecting for new customers
• Customer relationship management: acquiring deeper understanding of, and building stronger customer relationships
• Fulfillment Management: receiving orders, shipping & collecting payment

Core Competencies

• It is a source of competitive advantage - it makes significant contribution to perceived customer benefits. 
• It can be applied in a  wide variety of markets
• It is difficult to competitors to emulate.

Corporate Mission

• What does the organisation exist for ?
• What is our business?
• Who is the customer?
• What is the value to the customer?
• What will our business be?
• What should our business be?

A clear thoughtful mission statement creates a sense of purpose, direction and opportunity among  employees, besides being essential to the corporate planning strategy process.