Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans – 4 Important Factors That Determine Success

Situation Analysis is a major pillar in making an effective marketing plan outline. The marketing business makes use of situation analysis to look at the internal and external factors affecting the business situation.

Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans is unique in such a way that it carefully looks at the 5 C’s or crucial aspects of marketing:

Company – these are internal factors such as philosophies, business goals, product time line, advertising strategies, offers, administration and staff

Collaborators or partners – these * suppliers, distributors and alliances that help the company operate on a daily basis

Customers – this is the target market that fuels the company’s goals

Competitors – knowledge of how competitors operate is essential in boosting the company’s marketing strategies such as advertising and product positioning

Climate or environment – these include cultural, societal and economic factors, government policies and current trends to name a few

The 4 important factors that determine success can be summarized in this example S.W.O.T. analysis marketing plan that takes into consideration the 5 C’s previously discussed:

1.    Strengths
•    What are the strengths of the company?
•    Can the company be proud of its staff?
•    Has the company been awarded for a certain service or product?
•    What are the strong points of the company according to the consumers and the sales or service statistics?
•    How strong is the company’s presence in the market?
•    Does the company affect the current trends in its field of concentration?

2.    Weaknesses
•    What is the company lacking in terms of achieving the business goals?
•    Are there personnel factors that affect the overall performance of the company?
•    Are there conflicts of interests between collaborators?

3.    Opportunities
•    How can the company’s performance be improved to be at par if not better than that of the top competitor’s?
•    What are the suggestions from consumers?
•    What are the current trends in advertising and marketing?
•    How can the rapidly advancing technology be used to boost sales and visibility?
•    How can the company expand its collaborations and partnerships?
•    Does the company make sure that it stays within reasonable competitive advantage in terms of offers to collaborators, workers and consumers?

4.    Threats
•    Does the competitor make use of more up-to-date marketing strategies?
•    Does the company’s product or service cater to the ever-changing needs and wants of consumers?
•    Does the company ensure that all staff members are on the same page in terms of what the company stands for?
•    Are there government policies, existing or pending that could affect how the company operates?

Given above is just a sample of a situation analysis plan for marketing. Use of the SWOT analysis and consideration for the 5 C’s are effective tools in maintaining a system of check and balance in companies. Situation analysis has long been employed to ensure that everyone in the company stays on track on the road to achieving the company’s business goals.

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