Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans page 2

Back to Page 1: Implementing a Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans you Develop
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So the situation analysis for marketing plans you are working on begins with a proper definition of what business you are truly in, and your overall mission (what you want to achieve).

Don’t Forget to SWOT with Your Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans You Develop

Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans SWOT AnalysisThroughout you Marketing Planning process, the SWOT analysis may be extremely helpful.

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, and can be applied to just about every area of your Marketing Plans.

If you are a glass-half-empty or glass-half-full type of person, the SWOT will get you to explore areas on the other side, where your instincts may have you overlook potential problems or opportunities you may not have otherwise considered.

So doing a SWOT analyses throughout the situation analysis for marketing plans you are working on can be crucial.

Marketing Plan Elements 

Overall, the primary areas you want to analyze for your marketing plan include:

The Environment

  • Economic Environment
  • Legal Environment
  • Technological Environment
  • Industry and Competitive Landscape (including distribution channels available)

The Company

Target Markets

  • Demographics,
  • geographics,
  • psychographics,
  • buying behaviors,
  • unsatisfied needs

Opportunities and Issues (through SWOT Analysis)

Elements Essential to the Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans You are Working On

Here is an overview of a few of these elements essential to the situation analysis for marketing plans you are working on

The Economic Environment

Analyzing the Economic Environment is an important element of your situation analysis for marketing plans you are working on.

It includes a look at the overall economy and how that could affect your business.

For instance, when fuel prices are rising, that may be a bad time to get into the trucking business. However, it might also be an ideal time to be selling solar panels, especially in the Southern climates.

So how is the economy making your potential for success better or worse?

The Legal Environment

A thorough review of the legal environment your business operates in may be essential to your situation analysis for marketing plans you are working on.

Are there current or upcoming laws and regulations that could impact you? Are lawsuits rampant and have they drive up your costs? Are there permits and licenses that restrict entry into your market, or that could block your potential competitors?

These could all be important factors that impact your business.

The Technological Environment

Technology review is another essential element of situation analysis for marketing plans you are developing.

Are technologies available or changing that could affect your business? The music, printing, newspaper, bookselling and other industries have all been virtually decimated by the Internet.

But the Internet is not the only kind of technology that influences industries.

The printing business has been altered by high quality, low cost color and black and white photocopies.

The iPhone has altered the mobile phone industry and is currently impacting the credit card reader industry (a simple add-on to an iPhone enables it to scan and process credit cards).

GPS has significantly altered the shipping and the teen monitoring industries.

So, do current or upcoming technological advancements threaten to alter your industry?  If so, is there some way you can capitalize on it? Or might someone else capitalize on it and therefore provide you a competitive disadvantage?

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See Page 3: Marketing Plan Elements that Boost Your Situation Analysis for Marketing Plans… continued