Marketing plan

External Analysis (Part 1)

In order to create the ultimate marketing plan, you must take into account the overall environment and the markets that you compete in.  The goal is not to look at the present, but to look into the future.

 

1. List of all markets and submarkets the organization is in or should be in (marketing)

Example Transportation-Buses-School Buses, Passenger buses

 

The purpose of this is to have all of the markets on one list, those that you are competing now and those that you could compete in the future to remove the possibility of attacking markets on an ad-hoc basis.  These markets will be the basis for many of the following steps that will continue later in this blog.

 

Pest Analysis–environmental changes

 

Political-power relationships, regulations, taxes etc

Economy-capital needs, are there enough customers to target, what is the future business environment

Social/cultural-open new horizons, major changes

Technology-threats needed to consider, opportunities to lower costs/improve productivity

 

Again, you are not looking for the present aspects, but trends that you can apply to the future.

For Economy, I look at 2 factors interest rates and unemployment.  If interest rates decline, there is a high probability that the economy will expand in the next 18 months.  If interest rates increase, there is a high probability that the economy will decrease in the next 18 months.  Unemployment is used to determine how much the economy will expand or contract.

 

Again, you want to plan for the future and implement marketing in the present, to achieve the future.