Most Important Part of a Marketing Plan
By Glenn Andrew on Nov 30, 2009 in Business Development
I recently ran a poll in LinkedIn asking the question, “What is the most important part of a marketing plan?” Over a 100 marketing professionals responded to the poll over a seven-month period spanning from May through November 2009. Responses were solicited from the major executive and marketing groups within LinkedIn. Responders were given the five (5) main components of a traditional marketing plan to choose from:
- Description of Target Market
- Description of Competitors
- Description of Product/Service
- Marketing Budget
- Pricing Strategy
About a quarter of the responders left descriptive comments that were heavy on content. What follows are the results of that poll broken down by overall results, job title, company size, job function, gender and age.
OVERALL RESULTS
According responders, the description of the target market was the most important part of a marketing plan by 57%. The description of product/service came in a distant second by 25% The marketing budget garnered 9% of the vote coming in third. Description of competitors came in fourth with 5% of the vote. And pricing strategy came in fifth with 2% of the vote. Clearly the majority of responders felt that the target market should be the main focus in any marketing plan.
Below is a chart of the overall results.
RESULTS BY JOB TITLE
Results varied significant when sorted by job title. Owners comprised 11% of the responders with 56% saying the product/service description was most important followed by 22% saying the marketing budget was most important. C-Level and VPs comprised 8% of the responders with 50% calling the target market most important and 33% saying the product/service description was most important. Management made up 15% of the responses and clearly voted target market by 83%. All other titles comprised 66% of the responders with 63% voting for target market and 23% voting for product/service description.
Below is a chart of the job title results.
RESULTS BY COMPANY SIZE
Responders from Enterprise companies (10,000+ employees) made up 13% of responders and 50% chose product description as most important. Large companies (1,001-10,000 employees) comprised 13% of responders and 67% selected target market as most important. Medium companies (201-1,000 employees) made up 11% of responders and 80% voted target market as most important. Small companies (1-200 employees) made up 64% and were in the majority; 70% selected target market as the most important part.
Below is a chart of the company size results.
RESULTS BY JOB FUNCTION
When the poll results were sorted by job function, there were a few surprises. Academics comprised 6% of the responders and 100% voted for target market. Business Development made up 19% of the responders with 67% voting for product/service description and 33% for target market. Those with Marketing job functions made up 38% of responders and 50% voted for target market and 33% voted for marketing budget. Product (13%) and Sales (25%) job functions all voted for target market (100%).
Below is a chart of the job function results.
RESULTS BY GENDER
Gender was not a factor in the results of this poll. Females comprised 30% and males 70% of the responders. In both cases, 57% voted for target market as most important and 29% selected product/service description.
Below is a chart of the gender results
RESULTS BY AGE
Age was not a factor in the voting process for the primary response, but it was for the secondary response. The 18-24 group made up 9% of the responders and 67% selected target market as the most important part. The 25-34 group comprised 22% of the responders and 60% voted for target market. The 35-54 group made up 57% of the responders and 64% selected target market. Lastly, the 55+ group comprised 13% of the responders and 56% voted for target market.
One interesting trend was that as the groups became older, product/service description took on an increasing significance. Another trend was that 17-20% of those below age 35 felt that the marketing budget held significant importance, while those 35 and older felt it was of minimal importance.
Below is a chart of the age results.
The poll has concluded and you can view the poll results at http://polls.linkedin.com/poll-results/36873/fmrpp. You will need to log into your LinkedIn account. If you do not have a LinkedIn account, you can set up for free at https://www.linkedin.com/secure/login.
Please add your comments below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. And do share this post with your favorite social media sites.
Glenn Andrew
www.glennandrew.com
Lori Ann Mertens | Nov 30, 2009 | Reply
That was an awesome report and I agree with Target Marketing. Because if you target to the wrong market you have no success.
Luis Maimoni | Nov 30, 2009 | Reply
Given the options, I’d have to agree that “Description of Target Market” is the winner.
Even so, I’d have liked to have seen the word “Understanding” used in lieu of “Description.”
Each choice the poll offers is an important part of a marketing plan.
But, it seems to me that the MOST important part is how you’re going to make the revenues happen.
All the other stuff is good to know, but it’s the actions you take that make the cash flow.
Marcy Pellegrino | Nov 30, 2009 | Reply
I agree with Target Marketing 100%. Targeting high end and follow through ALWAYS with creative, product, calls, etc. No matter what your age is, exuding intense love of what you do is important as well!
I am a 31 year old Mother, Wife, and CEO of 2 companies and I will work until 4am if I must. Clients come first in many ways. Especially in the Advertising business and the quality of your work must reflect the Target Market you have your sights set on.
You have to be able to balance everything to a “T” ….a challenege….but the heart and soul of a NYC/suburban creative family woman. When you LOVE what you do, patrons can tell, family can tell, and all marketing etc follow.
Himanshu | Dec 1, 2009 | Reply
It’s an amazing piece of analysis and report. I agree wholly with the fact that if you don’t have your facts and figures in place, you just can’t market or launch your product.
Pratyush | Dec 1, 2009 | Reply
An awesome report.
Minh Tien Nguyen | Dec 1, 2009 | Reply
Dear Mr.Glenn Andrew,
Thank you for sharing your experience.I agree with your poll in LinkedIn.Description of Target Market is the most important part of a marketing plan,shall ensure that requirements are determined and fulfilled with the aim of achieving customer satisfaction.
I would like to invite you to join my group on LinkedIn.
Best Regards,
Minh Tien Nguyen
Management Strategist/Founder,Sustainable Development Group (SDG)
Hanoi,Vietnam
Mike | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Dear Glenn,
Thanks for sharing this poll with us, But I would like to raise an important question:
How many of the poll answerers make the decisions based on such marketing plans?
The people making the decisions following the presented marketing plan are the ones who will tell us what really is important .
If you look carefully into your data you note that Owners & Enterprise personnel& Bus Dev & the older (more powerful I assume ) population tend towards the yellow product description. Don’t you think that is a lead to a different conclusion ?
Thanks again, Michael
Glenn Andrew | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for your great comment, Michael!
You bring up a good point, one that I myself reflected over when writing the article. As you point out, the product/service description does tend to weigh more heavily upon owners, enterprise level, business development and older personnel, and it was voted as the second most important part.
My take from this is that the target market AND product/service descriptions are highly important parts and ones that I will certainly focus on. Thank you for highlighting this, Michael!
Robert Shugdinis | Dec 2, 2009 | Reply
What I would be interested in finding out is why senior level executives and owners as well as enterprise organizations feel that description of products and services is more important than the description of the target market. Do very large oraganizations and executives with a lot of experience know something that the rest do not?
Glenn Andrew | Dec 3, 2009 | Reply
Robert, you ask a good question! My take is that senior-level executives, owners, and enterprise organizations may already have a good handle on their target market and perhaps focus their efforts on the product/service description. It’s hard to know without actually asking them directly. That might be a good action item…
Chris Paschane | Dec 4, 2009 | Reply
Hello Glenn. It’s nice to hear from you again.
I completely agree with you and Michael on noting that your poll results are confirming that “Description of Your Product or Service” is just as important as “Describing Your Target Market”.
As the poll results show, it’s your most accomplished individuals (i.e. Owners, C-Level and VP’s, who are older and seasoned… 35+) and your largest companies and Enterprises who already understand the importance of Describing your Product or Service.
We can further note these Owners mentioned above are the ones who hire “Business Development” and “Marketing” people who, as your poll showed, are also aware of the importance of Describing Your Product or Service.
Having been an Owner, a Marketer, and a Business Developer, I may be able to offer some simple insight for people like Robert Shugdinis (above) who ask, “Do very large organizations and executives with a lot of experience know something that the rest do not?”
Here is what I know Robert; I do not have all the answers and these are only my answers based on my experience, but perhaps this can help you or someone else:
A good Marketing plan begins by Describing who you will be pitching your product to (i.e. Your Target Market). Once you know WHO you are marketing to, you must now figure out HOW to market to them.
The marketing process begins by creating a Description of Your Product or Service that is: 1) Eloquent/Persuasive, 2) Simple…with the least amount of words having the most impact), 3) Easy to Understand, 4) It Distinguishes you from your competitors (therefore, it is vital to also “Describe Your Competitors” as a part of Describing Your Own Products), and most importantly 5) Points out it solves a problem for your Target Market (TM).
Bottom line: To gain the most customers, you need to create the most effective description that makes your TM want/need your products and/or services.
It may also be worth noting that many companies have multiple products that all serve one universal purpose, so in describing their company mission they are simultaneously Describing their Products and Services (e.g. when Symantec posts on the top of their website, “Symantec helps consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored.”).
What follows in your marketing plan includes putting together your “Marketing Budget” and “Pricing Strategy”, along with other priorities. I hope this has been of some help to you.
Chris Paschane
Jennifer Middleton | Dec 5, 2009 | Reply
Hey Glenn,
Thanks for sharing this. I am sorry it has taken me so long to look at it. A truly outstanding piece of research that ought to make all of us think!
Your results confirm a couple of general “observations” or “heuristics” that most of us share:
- When small companies make it big, it is because they have the smarts/gumption to identify a key market need/deficit/opportunity and focus whole-heartedly on solving the need or capitalizing on the opportunity
- Large companies tend to be shorter on innovation (which requires greater market sensitivity) and longer on delivering solid, “goof-free” products to market that perfom as planned.
- Medium companies are often in a transition, having successfully “run through” a first highly innovative product to get to where they are, they are desperately seeking the next “big win” regardless of product description or budget.
This is a great guide to any Management Consultant in the Marketing space:
- If your client is Enterprise, the big win will be by focusing on innovation
- If the client is Large, make sure they don’t ignore the competition!
- If your client is Medium, minimize panic and balance the search for innovation with a realistic understanding of the costs and product requirements, thereby enabling them to successfully transition to a large institution
You are less likely to be engaged by a small company, and I am surprised that “owner” and “small co” are so different in their perceptions, as most “small co” people act & work like owners. My guess is that this means that a number of the owners in your survey are from Larger institutions or the only ones in a small co watching the bottom line!!
Thanks again for these great insights!!
Best, Jennifer
Glenn Andrew | Dec 5, 2009 | Reply
Chris and Jennifer,
Thanks for your in-depth comments. You have added a new dimension in understanding the poll results and offered valuable insight for implementing an action plan. You really bring a lot of value to the conversation as did the other commenters.
Thanks!
Bill Lowell | Dec 12, 2009 | Reply
Great report Glenn and thank you for sending me this update. I like the poll that you took and all the effort that went into it. I also appreciate Chris Paschane’s comment and find it to be insightful.
Thanks again!
Bill