Marketing Plan Handbook 5th Edition Solution Manual
Marketing Plan Handbook 5th Edition Solution Manual is your study companion, providing answers to textbook exercises and reinforcing key concepts.
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Marketing Plan Handbook, 5th ed.
Discussion Questions and Sample Answers
Chapter 1 – Marketing Planning: New Pace, New Possibilities
1. How can a company hold marketing managers accountable for results when so many
elements in the marketing situation are beyond their control?
Sample answer: Although marketing managers can’t control the economy or many other
elements in the marketing environment, they can and should be alert to changes and trends
and carefully analyze potential opportunities and threats as they create and implement their
marketing plans. Marketing managers also have the advantage of being “close to the
customer,” being in touch with customers’ needs and watching for changes in behavior and
attitudes that drive shifts in purchasing and brand loyalty. Marketers must have the ability to
notice, interpret, and react to changes in the marketing environment so they can adjust
marketing plans and achieve their objectives despite the many uncontrollable elements they
face.
2. In what ways might an internal marketing strategy benefit a nonprofit organization? A
government agency that deals with the public?
Sample answer: A nonprofit would benefit from using internal marketing to solidify support
and reinforce the loyalty of employees, volunteers, contributors, and others inside the
organization. These groups need to stay informed about and maintain a positive attitude
toward the nonprofit’s marketing activities and results. In turn, these groups would be
encouraged to actively support external marketing programs through their personal
connections and their behavior and communications. Similarly, a government agency could
use internal marketing to build internal support for public contact programs, educate
employees about the agency’s mission and marketing, and improve understanding of the
people served by the agency.
3. A typical marketing plan covers a calendar year. Given the rapid pace of change in
today’s environment, should companies switch to preparing marketing plans for shorter
periods, such as three or six months?
Sample answer: Students who favor a shorter period may say that this will force marketers to
reevaluate the marketing situation and results more often and give them momentum to move
quickly in the event of significant changes. It will also force marketers to focus on the
immediate consequences of their planned activities. Students who do not favor a shorter
period may say that marketers need to balance short- and long-term results because building
relationships and loyalty can take time. They may also say that a marketing plan must cover
sufficient time to allow for situational analysis, research if needed, planning for
implementation, and evaluation of interim results. Marketers who create a plan for a
calendar year should be reassessing the situation on a regular basis and tracking results so
they can apply marketing control at any point.
4. What role do key performance indicators play in preparing for marketing plan
implementation?
Sample answer: To use key performance indicators, marketing managers select a few
Discussion Questions and Sample Answers
Chapter 1 – Marketing Planning: New Pace, New Possibilities
1. How can a company hold marketing managers accountable for results when so many
elements in the marketing situation are beyond their control?
Sample answer: Although marketing managers can’t control the economy or many other
elements in the marketing environment, they can and should be alert to changes and trends
and carefully analyze potential opportunities and threats as they create and implement their
marketing plans. Marketing managers also have the advantage of being “close to the
customer,” being in touch with customers’ needs and watching for changes in behavior and
attitudes that drive shifts in purchasing and brand loyalty. Marketers must have the ability to
notice, interpret, and react to changes in the marketing environment so they can adjust
marketing plans and achieve their objectives despite the many uncontrollable elements they
face.
2. In what ways might an internal marketing strategy benefit a nonprofit organization? A
government agency that deals with the public?
Sample answer: A nonprofit would benefit from using internal marketing to solidify support
and reinforce the loyalty of employees, volunteers, contributors, and others inside the
organization. These groups need to stay informed about and maintain a positive attitude
toward the nonprofit’s marketing activities and results. In turn, these groups would be
encouraged to actively support external marketing programs through their personal
connections and their behavior and communications. Similarly, a government agency could
use internal marketing to build internal support for public contact programs, educate
employees about the agency’s mission and marketing, and improve understanding of the
people served by the agency.
3. A typical marketing plan covers a calendar year. Given the rapid pace of change in
today’s environment, should companies switch to preparing marketing plans for shorter
periods, such as three or six months?
Sample answer: Students who favor a shorter period may say that this will force marketers to
reevaluate the marketing situation and results more often and give them momentum to move
quickly in the event of significant changes. It will also force marketers to focus on the
immediate consequences of their planned activities. Students who do not favor a shorter
period may say that marketers need to balance short- and long-term results because building
relationships and loyalty can take time. They may also say that a marketing plan must cover
sufficient time to allow for situational analysis, research if needed, planning for
implementation, and evaluation of interim results. Marketers who create a plan for a
calendar year should be reassessing the situation on a regular basis and tracking results so
they can apply marketing control at any point.
4. What role do key performance indicators play in preparing for marketing plan
implementation?
Sample answer: To use key performance indicators, marketing managers select a few
indicators that will show whether a marketing plan is effective in achieving the
organization’s strategic goals and marketing plan objectives. For example, a company might
determine that customer retention is a key performance indicator when the marketing plan is
intended to reinforce customer loyalty; if retention goes up, the plan is having the desired
effect—but if retention goes down, performance is not meeting expectations. Ask students to
suggest other key performance indicators related to common marketing objectives.
Chapter 2 – Analyzing the Current Situation
1. What clues about strengths and weaknesses might you find in a competitor’s annual
report to shareholders? Identify at least three specific types of information and explain
how you would use such data in a competitive SWOT analysis.
Sample answer: Students may identify a variety of types of information, including: revenues
and profits (changes over time can indicate financial strength or weakness); markets served
(reduction in markets served can indicate insufficient resources or changes in strategy that
can be exploited); product lines and mix of products (multiple introductions may indicate
strength in product development, whereas elimination of multiple products may indicate
weaknesses in market share).
2. Why do marketers need to understand business relationships (as part of the internal
environment) when planning to address opportunities and threats in the external
environment?
Sample answer: Although business partners are not, strictly speaking, inside the
organization, the relationships with these partners (including suppliers and resellers) are an
important part of the internal environment. Often a company’s ability to take advantage of
an opportunity or defend against a threat depends, in large part, on the resources, products,
staffing, or supply networks of its partners. If the company outsources certain functions (such
as production), its marketing plan must take into account the capabilities and responsiveness
of the partners that handle those functions. [Suggest that students refer to the discussion
about alliances (in Chapter 1) for more about the importance of business relationships.]
3. Do companies that market products only in their home countries need to be concerned
with the political-legal environment in other parts of the world? Explain your answer.
Sample answer: Such companies should monitor major political-legal developments in areas
where their suppliers are located (or where their raw materials come from), to be prepared
for changes that could affect their ability to obtain inputs. They should also be aware of
political-legal movements that can potentially spread to other countries, such as increased
regulation of environmentally sensitive activities. Finally, these companies should watch how
political-legal trends elsewhere may be affecting other elements in the external environment
that could eventually influence the home country.
4. From a marketing perspective, what do you think a company can do to correct inaccurate
perceptions of greenwashing if, in fact, its products are ecologically friendly?
Sample answer: The company should be able to demonstrate, through tests or certification,
that its products are truly green. Publishing the results of these tests and mentioning
certification on product labels, on the brand’s website and/or in the annual report, will help
organization’s strategic goals and marketing plan objectives. For example, a company might
determine that customer retention is a key performance indicator when the marketing plan is
intended to reinforce customer loyalty; if retention goes up, the plan is having the desired
effect—but if retention goes down, performance is not meeting expectations. Ask students to
suggest other key performance indicators related to common marketing objectives.
Chapter 2 – Analyzing the Current Situation
1. What clues about strengths and weaknesses might you find in a competitor’s annual
report to shareholders? Identify at least three specific types of information and explain
how you would use such data in a competitive SWOT analysis.
Sample answer: Students may identify a variety of types of information, including: revenues
and profits (changes over time can indicate financial strength or weakness); markets served
(reduction in markets served can indicate insufficient resources or changes in strategy that
can be exploited); product lines and mix of products (multiple introductions may indicate
strength in product development, whereas elimination of multiple products may indicate
weaknesses in market share).
2. Why do marketers need to understand business relationships (as part of the internal
environment) when planning to address opportunities and threats in the external
environment?
Sample answer: Although business partners are not, strictly speaking, inside the
organization, the relationships with these partners (including suppliers and resellers) are an
important part of the internal environment. Often a company’s ability to take advantage of
an opportunity or defend against a threat depends, in large part, on the resources, products,
staffing, or supply networks of its partners. If the company outsources certain functions (such
as production), its marketing plan must take into account the capabilities and responsiveness
of the partners that handle those functions. [Suggest that students refer to the discussion
about alliances (in Chapter 1) for more about the importance of business relationships.]
3. Do companies that market products only in their home countries need to be concerned
with the political-legal environment in other parts of the world? Explain your answer.
Sample answer: Such companies should monitor major political-legal developments in areas
where their suppliers are located (or where their raw materials come from), to be prepared
for changes that could affect their ability to obtain inputs. They should also be aware of
political-legal movements that can potentially spread to other countries, such as increased
regulation of environmentally sensitive activities. Finally, these companies should watch how
political-legal trends elsewhere may be affecting other elements in the external environment
that could eventually influence the home country.
4. From a marketing perspective, what do you think a company can do to correct inaccurate
perceptions of greenwashing if, in fact, its products are ecologically friendly?
Sample answer: The company should be able to demonstrate, through tests or certification,
that its products are truly green. Publishing the results of these tests and mentioning
certification on product labels, on the brand’s website and/or in the annual report, will help
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