Question

There are 4 major steps in strategic planning. In your opinion why is it important for a marketer to perform these steps in order, and how does Marketing play a key role in the strategic planning process?

Answer 1

There are basically four steps in the strategic planning process, formulating a plan, Implementing the plan, Evaluating the plan and modifying the process. Formulating the plan involves setting objectives and how you are going to achieve those objectives. Implementing the plan involves executing the process or ideas selected while formulating the plan. Evaluation is when you evaluate the outcome of the project against your set objectives whether you achieved the set goals or not. Modification is the step where after evaluating the project you make certain change in the plan to improve the process. It is very important for marketer to perform these steps because it makes the process systematic and easy to evaluate where things are not working properly. Following these process helps in setting a realistic objective for the marketer and take appropriate actions to achieve those objectives. Marketing plays a key role in the strategic planning process because if you are going to sell your product or services to outside customer then while formulating plan you have set your objectives accordingly. A good marketing process also makes sure that the company product or services image is rightly presented in the market and it is not having negative image in the market. Market image or perception of a company product or services can play a key role in enhancing the revenue level for the company and ultimately contributing to the overall objectives of the company.