Develop and implement marketing plans

This standard is about developing and implementing marketing plans for your area of responsibility. It covers understanding of your markets and customers by gathering and reviewing data, and consulting specialists when required. You evaluate current and potential markets and customers, and how your organisation delivers products and services compared to your competitors.

You engage colleagues and stakeholders in the development of marketing plans for target markets for your organisation's products and services. You discuss your plans and budgets with senior management to gain their commitment and secure the resources you require. You implement your plans, brief the colleagues involved and provide training and support. The standard also includes monitoring your marketing activities and reporting on performance.

This standard is for all managers and leaders.

1. engage colleagues and stakeholders in developing and implementing marketing plans
2. identify and prioritise marketing objectives for your area of responsibility
3. check that marketing objectives are consistent with your organisation's overall business plan, culture, vision and values
4. consider the needs of other areas of your organisation when developing marketing objectives
5. obtain advice and support from marketing specialists and those providing marketing services, as required
6. engage colleagues within your organisation and stakeholders in developing understanding of your markets and customers
7. review the available customer data and information
8. review the available data and information about your markets
9. carry out research to develop understanding of your organisation's markets and customers
10. evaluate information on current and potential markets for your products and services to identify the characteristics that distinguish market segments
11. evaluate current and potential customers to identify their behaviour, needs and expectations
12. evaluate the extent to which current and potential customers' needs and expectations are being met by your organisation's or competitor's products and services
13. evaluate current and potential developments in your sector, including competitors' activities
14. evaluate opportunities to enter new markets
15. assess the opportunities to introduce innovations that meet customers' needs
16. establish why customers select specific products and services, either your organisation's or your competitors'
17. identify any threats to, and weaknesses in, your organisation's products and services
18. provide data and information about markets and customers to help managers take decisions
19. develop marketing plans and budgets for the achievement of the strategies, setting out clear actions, risks, contingencies, responsibilities and milestones
20. discuss marketing plans and budgets with senior management and stakeholders
21. confirm the commitment of senior management and stakeholders to your marketing plans and providing the necessary employees and resources
22. identify and access the employees and other resources required for your marketing plans
23. communicate your marketing plans to ensure the understanding and commitment of colleagues and the support of stakeholders
24. ensure that those involved in implementing marketing plans understand their individual responsibilities and are committed to achieving objectives
25. provide training, support and supervision to enable colleagues to carry out their responsibilities
26. implement marketing plans as agreed, whilst responding flexibly to responses from customers and changes in the markets, including competitor activity
27. monitor the implementation and performance of your marketing plan against milestones and budgets
28. take action to address any significant variances in performance against the plan
29. report on the performance of your marketing plans to senior management and stakeholders
30. seek authority to make any significant changes to marketing plans, where required
31. evaluate the implementation of your marketing plans and use the information to improve future marketing planning
32. follow the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role and the activities being carried out to develop and implement marketing plans

General knowledge and understanding

1.      how to engage employees within your organisation and stakeholders in developing and implementing marketing plans

2.      how to identify, develop and prioritise marketing objectives for your area of responsibility that are consistent with your organisation's overall business plan

3.      the importance of obtaining advice and support from marketing specialists and those providing services, as required

4.      how to engage colleagues within your organisation and other stakeholders in developing understanding of your markets and customers

5.      where you can get information about your customers and the market and the advantages and disadvantages of different sources

6.      how you can get information on competitors or similar organisations

7.      how to assess sources of information about your customers and the market to see how suitable they are to use

8.      the sources of professional market research expertise

9.      the methods of gaining customer feedback, and the costs and benefits associated with them

10.   how to analyse, measure and assess data and turn it into information that is suitable for business purposes

11.   how information software products can help you collect and analyse information

12.   the principle that customers buy products and services for the benefits they give them

13.   the principle of trying to secure competitive advantage so that more customers will prefer the products and services of your organisation

14.   how to identify and target markets by developing appropriate strategies for realising marketing objectives

15.   how to develop marketing plans and budgets for the achievement of the strategies, setting out clear actions, accountabilities and milestones and the importance of agreeing these

16.   how to identify and access the resources and capabilities required for your plans

17.   the importance of communicating plans to employees and ensure understanding and commitment, and how to do so effectively

18.   the importance of ensuring the commitment of senior management and other stakeholders to your marketing plans, and how to do so effectively

19.   how to identify and provide employees with the training, support and supervision they need to carry out their marketing responsibilities

20.   how to monitor and report on the implementation and performance of plans against milestones and budgets

21.   the importance of taking action to address any significant variances in performance against the plan, and how to do so effectively

22.   the importance of identifying ways in which future marketing planning can be improved

23.   how to produce and implement measures and methods for evaluating the development and implementation of marketing plans

Industry and sector specific knowledge and understanding

24.   the industry and sector requirements for developing and implementing marketing plans

25.   the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role and the activities being carried out to develop and implement marketing plans

Context specific knowledge and understanding

26.   your organisations' overall business plan relevant to your area of responsibility

27.   the sources of advice and support from marketing specialists and marketing service providers

28.   your organisation's products and services, their features and potential benefits

29.   your organisation's actual and potential customer base

30.   the competitors for your products and services

31.   the available organisational resources and capabilities to support your plans

1. Analysing
2. Communicating
3. Consulting
4. Decision-making
5. Forecasting
6. Involving others
7. Planning
8. Presenting information
9. Prioritising
10. Setting objectives
11. Thinking creatively
12. Thinking strategically
13. Communicating
14. Consulting
15. Delegating
16. Evaluating
17. Involving others
18. Monitoring
19. Motivating
20. Obtaining feedback
21. Presenting information
22. Problem solving
23. Providing feedback
24. Questioning
25. Reporting
26. Thinking with a focus on customers
27. Time management