Strategic Marketing - Success can be planned

Strategic marketing addresses the view of markets and the question: How can we sell our products to an optimum/maximum within the respective target groups.

The world wasn't created in a day and also the billionaires around the world needed some years to build up their huge companies. Thus also entering this 'way of success' will need some time.

But ...

- Chinese people say: 'Each trip begins with the first step' - Albert Einstein formulated: ,Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand'

and

- Kajo Neukirch (a well-known German consultant) made the remark: ,Entrepreneurs should be active not negligent.'

If we take this into consideration as well as the fact that the industrialized countries have about 2 billion inhabitants worldwide, it becomes soon clear that there is ample space for international activities of [nearly] every company and that only planned activities can reach this orderly and controlled.

Surely we have to take into consideration that not every company can export its products or not every industrialized country is interested in buying our specific products.

However, it remains a general fact that every company producing products which could be exported has an enormous space for more and insofar - as e. g. despite the present economic crisis obviously many industries do quite well (like solar energy, health industries, etc. - a higher stability and crisis-resistance will be a result.

It is true: Success - even if not in detail from the very beginning - can be planned.

How then ?

The starting point is marked by a marketing plan which is unfortunately regarded as too 'work intensive' by many SMEs, which, however, offers a future-orientated decision basis for all company sectors and actions to be taken.

Besides of that it serves as a framework for the continuous growth of a company because it reflects the markets' activities - due to regular additions and amendments incorporated into the plan - and thus targets and activities which have been/have to be changed.

Based on the analyses performed for such planning - like for market potentials, potential clients and competitors, and much more - the sales channels available are defined and followed.

Normally with each of these sales channels targets are defined at the very beginning, it is discussed how they can be reached and then they are mutually fixed and later controlled by the company.

As a result a company obtains a lot of information how the sales partner works, whether an additional channel is needed in order to cover the market segment or if additional support for this specific sales partner has to be given.

Within a time of 1 - 3 years it can then be evaluated which further potential clients could possibly be reached during the coming financial year, sub-divided per market segment, sales partner or else - with which sales arguments, which technical features, which kind of customer care, etc.

This statement then again gives the chance to discuss with the individual sales partner new targets for the coming fiscal year, the results of which discussions are put together then in a total 'Marketing/sales preview of Messrs. XYZ for 20..' and it will become an Annex to the marketing plan.

Consequently a ,profit estimate for 20..' can also be elaborated.

It remains now at the discretion of each company to evaluate the chance to reach the results as per this plan - taking into consideration as well the past performances as the possibility to implement additional marketing actions - and to derive the necessary budgets in order to reach such targets per sales partner/country/market segment or else.

Based on the turnover and profit previews further plans may be construed - as they are needed for the finance department, the production department, the personnel department, etc.

Conclusion: Success can be planned - and such documentation may also be helpful when discussing with the bank further needs.

The ,Financial Times - Germany' once wrote about the ,Strategists of 2007'. They stated at that time that a proper marketing planning is one of the most important aspects of these strategists - from gut instinct put in writing to detailed analyses - it is never only one aspect but always a healthy mixture.


Michael Richter - International marketing and sales consultant Hauptstrasse 27 88422 Seekirch/Germany Marketing: http://www.marketing-und-vertrieb-international.com/en/ Country experience: http://www.internationales-marketingkonzept.de/en/ Michael.richter@marketing-und-vertrieb-international.de Phone: +49-7582-933371,


About the Author

Michael Richter - International Marketing- and sales consultant, Seekirch/Germany - concentrates for more than 35 years on strategic marketing planning as well as marketing and selling of investment goods and long-lasting consumer goods in/to all 5 continents. He offers this knowledge and experience to his worldwide clientele. In 1991 he started his work as an independent marketing consultant, especially for SMEs worldwide.