Preparing and Integrated Marketing Plan and Program

The company’s marketing strategy outlines which customers the company will serve and how it will create value for these customers. Next the marketer develops an integrated marketing program that will actually deliver the intended value to target customers. The marketing program builds customers relationships by transforming the marketing strategy into action. It consists of the firm’s marketing mix, the set of marketing tools the firms uses to implement its marketing strategy.

The major marketing mix tools are classified into four broad groups, called the four Ps of marketing product, price, place, and promotion. To deliver on its value proposition, the firm must first create a need satisfying market offering (Product). It must decide how much it will charge for the offer (Price) and how it will make the offer available to target consumers (Place). Finally it must communicate with target customers about the offer and persuade them of its merits (Promotion). The firm must blend all of these marketing mix tools into a comprehensive, integrated marketing program that communicates and delivers the intended value to chosen customers. We will explore marketing programs and the marketing mix.