Strategic Marketing Planning: What It Is and How to Do It

All areas of a company need planning to ensure alignment with business objectives, resource allocation, and achievement of defined goals.

For the marketing department, this planning is also essential, with even more specific objectives and steps.

If you want to better understand what strategic marketing planning is, how to create it, and why it is important, this is the perfect article for you.

What is Strategic Marketing Planning?

Strategic planning is the description of integrated action plans that will be carried out within a determined period, with the objective of achieving the defined goals and objectives.

In addition, this document also details the resources employed in each action, as well as their deadlines and those responsible.

In the case of marketing planning, it is used to launch a new brand or new products into the market, increase market share, and improve sales results.

What are the Types of Marketing Plans?

Yes, there are different types of marketing plans.

Here are the three main ones that will help you choose the right one for your company:

Campaign-Based Marketing Plan

One way to work with the marketing plan in smaller steps, to facilitate its execution, is through division by campaigns.

In this format, first define which campaigns will take place during the period and then the actions to be carried out to boost each of them.

These campaigns can be seasonal, such as Mother’s Day or Black Friday.

They can also be related to product launches, trade shows, events, etc.

It all depends on the business dynamics.

Check it out too – Marketing and Sales: How to Combine Strategies and Achieve Goals

Strategy-Based Marketing Plan

In the strategy-based marketing plan model, in addition to a general plan, there are plans according to each marketing subarea.

Therefore, specialized teams create more detailed plans for actions in digital marketing, content marketing, social media, paid media, internal marketing, etc.

It is important to ensure that the teams have clarity in building the actions, and it is recommended that the leader works with an overall vision to also ensure the distribution of resources among these subareas.

Level-Based Marketing Plan

Another way to break down marketing planning is according to management levels: strategic, tactical, and operational.

In this model, the strategic planning describes the objectives and strategies, but the actions are detailed only in the tactical plan.

This includes the channels, budgets, and schedules for each action.

Finally, in a third document, the operational planning is even more detailed in relation to actions, with information such as task lists, responsible parties, suppliers, etc.

This model facilitates step-by-step construction and better distribution of responsibilities within the team.

Why is a Strategic Marketing Plan Important?

Having a good strategic marketing plan in hand is essential for the team and the department.

Only with a detailed plan is it possible to allocate resources and efforts in an optimized and intelligent way.

Employees know the direction and the path they should follow to get there.

In addition, the plan ensures that the actions carried out are aligned with the company’s main objective, that results are monitored throughout the period, and that adjustments can also be made strategically.

How to Create a Strategic Marketing Plan?

There is no single way to build a plan.

But for you who want to start this strategy, we have selected a step-by-step process that works.

1. Build your Buyer Persona

The Buyer Persona is a representation of your ideal customer, based on research and data, which will help you understand how each type of audience you want to reach behaves and consumes.

By creating a persona, you help the company and the marketing department understand how to position themselves and communicate with potential customers at any stage of the buying journey.

For this reason, this is the first step in building your strategic marketing plan.

Learn more: ICP, Persona, and Target Audience – Don’t Confuse These 3 Concepts

2. Analyze your Company’s Internal and External Environments

Analysis is the initial part of any planning.

After all, you need to know the scenario to then define how you will act on it.

At this stage, study current data and the market history in which your company operates, as well as your own business.

Understanding internal and external aspects helps in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities at play.

3. Establish your Marketing Mix

Once the scenario information is gathered, we move on to detailing the internal environment, with the definition of the Marketing Mix that will be the focus of the strategic planning.

This marketing concept encompasses what the sector calls the “4 Ps,” as it describes the following items:

Product: solutions, products, or services your company offers to the public;
Price: the amounts charged for each type of solution;
Place: focus and location of operations;
Promotion: actions, materials, and channels to be used to promote the solutions offered.

4. Define your Objectives

Strategic marketing planning must be aligned with a main objective, which is the overall business goal.

In addition, it must also have specific objectives that will help reach the final goal.

These objectives must be easily measurable, relevant, and clearly described: with which resources, how, and in what timeframe they should be achieved.

5. Create an Action Plan

At this point, you already have your audience, internal and external scenarios, marketing mix, and objectives well defined.

From there, you need to start designing the detailed action plan, which encompasses all these aspects.

Here you will define the actions, necessary materials, responsible parties, and how each action will be connected to the objectives, strengthening the achievement of these objectives.

6. Establish a Schedule

Place all actions within a schedule that should consider the period determined for that strategic marketing plan.

For example, if you are working with a six-month plan, distribute the actions into months and weeks to have greater control over execution.

Also, don’t forget to take into account seasonal dates according to their relevance to your sector.

In the schedule, define the start dates of each action/material, as well as the delivery and completion deadlines.

7. Define the Budget

For planning, we should think about the budget in two ways.

First, understand the total amount of resources available to the department.

Then, distribute this amount among the defined actions.

Don’t forget to account for material production, outsourcing, ads, etc.

The more detailed the actions, the more accurate the budget allocation for each of them will be.

And don’t forget to monitor the entire plan, especially the budget.

If certain actions do not bring the expected result, the allocation of resources can be revised for better use.

You may also be interested in: Is It Better to Hire an Agency or a Marketing Team?

8. Determine the Mechanism to Monitor the Execution of the Plan

How do you monitor the results of the plan while it is being executed?

Define relevant metrics aligned with the objectives.

A good KPI is one that will help the company achieve the desired goal by measuring progress and results.

To define a good KPI, first understand the objective and how the metrics relate to it.

Also, identify the best data collection system, determine those responsible, reporting models, and frequency.

What are the Best Marketing Strategies for the Plan?

Several strategies can be explored to achieve the objectives of the marketing plan.

They need to be included in the detailed descriptions and can also be combined.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound Marketing, also called Attraction Marketing, is a methodology that aims to attract potential consumers by offering relevant content for the brand’s personas.

Instead of interrupting content, as in traditional marketing, Inbound Marketing proposes to be the content.

The goal of Inbound Marketing is to attract visitors and generate leads through the offer of content, then build relationships, nurture and qualify these leads, directing them through the sales funnel.

Outbound Marketing

Outbound Marketing, or Interruption Marketing, is a more traditional way of promoting brands and companies.

It gets its name because it interrupts the content being consumed to present solutions and brands to the potential consumer.

With a more proactive dynamic, outbound includes more traditional media such as advertising on radio, TV, billboards, and printed materials.

With the evolution of digital marketing, there are also many outbound formats and tools that can be explored in this context.

The goal of Outbound Marketing is to generate revenue and scale the business quickly by presenting the brand’s solutions to a large volume of consumers.

Branding-Focused Marketing

Branding focuses on the brand’s image and identity in the market.

Through it, tone of voice, brand territories, audience building, customer relationships, and more are defined.

This type of strategy improves brand recall, builds identification and trust, strengthens relationships and bonds between the brand and the consumer, and can also be applied to the execution of strategic marketing planning.

Content Marketing

Content Marketing is part of the Inbound Marketing strategy and can also be relevant in your action plan.

Resources such as blog posts, rich materials, e-books, videos, online events, and email marketing can be used in planned actions to produce content of interest to your target audience.

Influence Marketing

The best sellers of your brand are satisfied customers.

Influence Marketing, or referral marketing, works with strategies to ensure these customers become multipliers and spontaneous promoters of your solution.

This strategy also includes partnerships with digital influencers.

Relationship Marketing

If you’ve thought about customer loyalty, you’ve thought about Relationship Marketing.

This type of strategy aims to strengthen ties between brand and consumer, provide satisfaction in the experience, and encourage repeat purchases.

With good relationship marketing, an important post-sale relationship is built for the brand’s strategy: customers are more likely to make another purchase and even become brand advocates, recommending it to family and friends.

Retention Marketing

Retention Marketing is part of relationship marketing, as it focuses its efforts on customer loyalty.

Often, encouraging a new purchase from a customer who has already bought from your company is less costly than acquiring a new customer.

That’s why retention marketing can be part of your plan, especially if your company has a high churn rate.

Social Media Marketing

Another way to work with marketing strategies is to invest in Social Media Marketing.

In addition to advertising on social media, you can also create posts in various formats, with content tailored for each channel.

Interactive Marketing

Interactive Marketing is the new trend in content marketing.

In this type of strategy, the focus is on creating interactive experiences between brand and users, such as quizzes, polls, tests, virtual assistants, etc.

Through these resources, brands offer consumers relevant information and, most importantly, can capture important data on preferences and consumption habits.

Also read this article: Why You Should Use Conversational Marketing in 2022

What are the Methodologies of Strategic Marketing Planning?

To ensure the execution of each action within the set deadline and budget, those responsible for implementation must have easy access to information and clear guidelines, and leaders must be able to monitor work cycles, keeping an eye on metrics and results.

To make this process easier and more professional, some tools and methodologies can be used.

Here are some examples:

Agile Marketing

As the name suggests, Agile Marketing adopts agile methodologies, short cycles, and flexibility so that each action can be put into practice quickly, followed by analysis to determine necessary changes.

OKR Methodology

The OKR methodology focuses on Objectives and Key Results.

In this format, all actions, investments, and results are compared with the defined metrics.

A dedicated professional is needed to monitor them, as metrics are defined and tracked not only for the company but also for the department, teams, and individual employees.

Waterfall

Another widely used approach is “Waterfall.”

In this execution format, activities are listed sequentially and linearly.

Actions are planned more in isolation, with the necessary step-by-step for each, as well as the distribution among those responsible.

Execution is simpler, but the plans are less adaptable.

Examples of Strategic Marketing Planning

Conexorama

Conexorama is an agency focused on inbound marketing.

On the brand’s blog, they shared part of the digital marketing plan they created, with buyer personas, market analysis, and actions divided by strategies and channels.

Coca-Cola

A new media consumption scenario that could boost a beverage brand: this is what Coca-Cola saw as another opportunity.

The market giant stands out for its long period as number one in the sector and for its incredible campaigns.

This is only possible with solid strategic marketing planning.

Jonathan Mildenhall, the brand’s Vice President of Global Advertising Strategy and Creative Excellence, shares in a series of videos how they built a long-term plan for this new narrative.

Pipefy

Pipefy is a project management and workflow automation platform.

Thinking about content of interest to its target audience (Content Marketing in action!), the company made available a template for marketing strategies, showing everything from defining the target audience to selecting channels and tracking results.

Conclusion

Working with a strategic marketing plan makes all the difference—not only in achieving desired results but also in developing this department of the company.

As you and your team develop your own action plan, you will understand the best type, documentation format, and execution methodology for your company’s reality.

Now gather all the tips we’ve shared, send this article to the rest of your team, and start building the plan that will change your company’s marketing results!

Do you have any questions? Would you like to share your experience?