What you need to know about the new marketing plan
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 4:22 am
The traditional formula that most communications professionals learn in college to put together a marketing plan no longer works.
And it’s not hard to understand why. Until a few years ago, thinking about management and planning was something that required an extremely in-depth macro analysis, with strategies and actions defined for a medium to long period of time – which often encompassed a universe of 1 to 5 years. In this scenario, the marketing professional would delve into environmental analyses, market research, customer profiles, set goals and then measure the results achieved. So far, nothing wrong. The concepts of Kotler’s 4Ps that we learned are valid and make sense. However, what has changed since then is the way brands communicate with the public, the behavior and consumption needs of shoppers and, mainly, the speed at which information is renewed – fundamental points for reviewing the way we plan.
Inbound Marketing Era
Therefore, marketing planning can no longer be seen as a static tool, which was prepared by the area manager at the end of the year, approved by the board and became the main dictator of the marketing uganda whatsapp data actions that will be carried out throughout the next year.
We are in the era of Inbound Marketing. Successful companies in their marketing actions are those that connect their content and their offer with what the customer is looking for at the moment. Shoving information “down their throat” no longer works. You need to keep in mind that it is not the will of your business (or boss) that should prevail, but rather what your audience wants to know.
Uber is a great example of a company that did not follow a traditional marketing planning model – partly because of its business format – and achieved excellent results. When it launched its offering on the market, users did not know exactly that they needed transportation in the format presented. The needs were discovered and developed after the offering was launched.
The same happened with the definition of competitors. It may be that initially, the startup had the idea of competing exclusively with traditional taxi drivers. However, as the business matured, the company became an important player in the transportation segment as a whole, being a relevant competitor even for public transportation, due to its attractive pricing policy.
What do we mean by this? Simple. The business model was first launched and then the communication and marketing actions were refined as the offer was tested, to achieve results. Note that through the app and the amount of information that Uber receives about routes, customer profiles, dates and times of use, it is possible to plan in advance, including for an event, such as games or concerts. Obviously, the company made a market plan , defined a business plan and a marketing plan, but not in a static and inflexible way.
Marketing planning should be seen as a constantly updated piece, a living organism. It should be updated according to changing scenarios, and, mainly, according to insights obtained through Big Data (large databases, usually coming from applications or the internet itself).
We are not saying that planning should die. Quite the contrary. You will continue to plan . The point is that instead of wasting time trying to just hit the target, the plan must first be put into action and then it must be adjusted according to demand. In the same way, you must continue to profile the customer and apply the traditional marketing mix (the 4Ps), but based on the use of real-time data.
Having access to the wealth of structured and unstructured information that circulates inside and outside your company is essential for being able to perform predictive analyses and make assertive decisions. Based on this, you can adapt your planning according to the feedback from the environment. By analyzing the data, you may have identified that it is more worthwhile at this time to reduce the AdWords budget and increase the investment in Facebook Ads – it all depends on the performance of each channel and the acceptance of the target audience in each media.
Don't forget that just like the consumer, your competitors have also changed. Investing in the same old formula can leave you behind and compromise promising results. Think about this and innovate in the way you plan your communication actions.
And it’s not hard to understand why. Until a few years ago, thinking about management and planning was something that required an extremely in-depth macro analysis, with strategies and actions defined for a medium to long period of time – which often encompassed a universe of 1 to 5 years. In this scenario, the marketing professional would delve into environmental analyses, market research, customer profiles, set goals and then measure the results achieved. So far, nothing wrong. The concepts of Kotler’s 4Ps that we learned are valid and make sense. However, what has changed since then is the way brands communicate with the public, the behavior and consumption needs of shoppers and, mainly, the speed at which information is renewed – fundamental points for reviewing the way we plan.
Inbound Marketing Era
Therefore, marketing planning can no longer be seen as a static tool, which was prepared by the area manager at the end of the year, approved by the board and became the main dictator of the marketing uganda whatsapp data actions that will be carried out throughout the next year.
We are in the era of Inbound Marketing. Successful companies in their marketing actions are those that connect their content and their offer with what the customer is looking for at the moment. Shoving information “down their throat” no longer works. You need to keep in mind that it is not the will of your business (or boss) that should prevail, but rather what your audience wants to know.
Uber is a great example of a company that did not follow a traditional marketing planning model – partly because of its business format – and achieved excellent results. When it launched its offering on the market, users did not know exactly that they needed transportation in the format presented. The needs were discovered and developed after the offering was launched.
The same happened with the definition of competitors. It may be that initially, the startup had the idea of competing exclusively with traditional taxi drivers. However, as the business matured, the company became an important player in the transportation segment as a whole, being a relevant competitor even for public transportation, due to its attractive pricing policy.
What do we mean by this? Simple. The business model was first launched and then the communication and marketing actions were refined as the offer was tested, to achieve results. Note that through the app and the amount of information that Uber receives about routes, customer profiles, dates and times of use, it is possible to plan in advance, including for an event, such as games or concerts. Obviously, the company made a market plan , defined a business plan and a marketing plan, but not in a static and inflexible way.
Marketing planning should be seen as a constantly updated piece, a living organism. It should be updated according to changing scenarios, and, mainly, according to insights obtained through Big Data (large databases, usually coming from applications or the internet itself).
We are not saying that planning should die. Quite the contrary. You will continue to plan . The point is that instead of wasting time trying to just hit the target, the plan must first be put into action and then it must be adjusted according to demand. In the same way, you must continue to profile the customer and apply the traditional marketing mix (the 4Ps), but based on the use of real-time data.
Having access to the wealth of structured and unstructured information that circulates inside and outside your company is essential for being able to perform predictive analyses and make assertive decisions. Based on this, you can adapt your planning according to the feedback from the environment. By analyzing the data, you may have identified that it is more worthwhile at this time to reduce the AdWords budget and increase the investment in Facebook Ads – it all depends on the performance of each channel and the acceptance of the target audience in each media.
Don't forget that just like the consumer, your competitors have also changed. Investing in the same old formula can leave you behind and compromise promising results. Think about this and innovate in the way you plan your communication actions.