What defines an excellent marketing plan? In this detailed chapter, Professor Malcolm McDonald breaks down the structure, thinking, and practical techniques required to create a world-class strategic marketing plan. Combining academic rigor with boardroom practicality, this document guides readers through a four-part blueprint for building plans that are both effective and accountable.
The content is especially relevant for marketing leaders, planners, and general managers responsible for aligning strategy with performance across multiple business units.
Why It Matters
- Marketing plans are often confused with tactics — this fixes that
- The framework links audit, objectives, segmentation, strategy, and budgets in one coherent process
- An evaluation checklist helps score your marketing plan across key quality indicators
Four Core Sections Covered
- What a Strategic Marketing Plan Should Contain: Mission, financials, market maps, SWOTs, strategy, and budget
- The Strategic Planning Process: 10-step planning cycle, implementation risks, and integration with corporate functions
- Guidelines for Effective Planning: 12 principles for building competitive, customer-focused, and resilient strategies
- Performance & Profitability: Marketing metrics, zero-based budgeting, and accountability frameworks
Featured Tools & Models
- Strategic Planning Quality Checklist (developed for IBM)
- The 10 Steps of Marketing Planning
- Hierarchy of Audits model
- Guidelines for segmentation, portfolio analysis, and competitor mapping
Insight
“Any fool can forecast a profit — but it takes intellect to spell out how to achieve it.” – Professor Malcolm McDonald
Download the Full Planning Framework
This summary outlines the core structure, but the full document includes diagnostic tools, planning templates, and implementation techniques.