Marketing Planning Course

Lesson 1 • Core Marketing Concepts Review

Refreshes foundational concepts—value, exchange, segmentation, and positioning—needed throughout the course. Ensures a shared vocabulary before analysis begins.

Lesson 2 • Planning Process and Iterative Cycles

Introduces the plan-do-check-act cycle applied to marketing planning. Students understand that planning is continuous, not a one-time event.

Lesson 3 • What Marketing Planning Is

Defines marketing planning and distinguishes it from general marketing management. Establishes the conceptual baseline for every subsequent chapter.

Lesson 4 • Structure of a Marketing Plan Document

Maps the standard sections of a professional marketing plan and explains each section's purpose. Students gain a mental framework they will populate in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Internal Capability Audit

Guides an honest assessment of organisational resources, competencies, and constraints. Internal findings balance external opportunities to produce realistic strategies.

Lesson 2 • SWOT Analysis and Insight Synthesis

Integrates external and internal findings into a structured SWOT and actionable insight statements. Students convert raw data into strategic implications.

Lesson 3 • External Environment Scanning

Covers macro-environmental forces using the PESTLE framework and their marketing implications. Connects environmental trends directly to planning risks and opportunities.

Lesson 4 • Customer and Market Research

Teaches primary and secondary research methods for understanding customer needs and market size. Research findings feed directly into segmentation and targeting decisions.

Lesson 1 • Customer Persona Development

Translates segment data into vivid, research-backed customer personas used throughout planning. Personas make abstract segments actionable for creative and channel decisions.

Lesson 2 • Segment Evaluation and Selection

Provides frameworks for scoring and selecting target segments based on attractiveness and fit. Students practice prioritising segments against strategic and resource constraints.

Lesson 3 • Positioning Strategy and Value Proposition

Teaches how to craft a differentiated positioning statement and supporting value proposition. Clear positioning guides every downstream marketing mix decision.

Lesson 4 • Market Segmentation Principles

Explains segmentation criteria—demographic, psychographic, behavioural, and geographic—and how to apply them. Proper segmentation prevents wasted resources on poorly defined audiences.

Lesson 1 • Selecting Key Performance Indicators

Distinguishes leading from lagging indicators and matches KPIs to each objective type. Choosing the right KPIs prevents measurement theatre and drives real decisions.

Lesson 2 • Baseline Measurement and Benchmarking

Establishes current-state baselines and industry benchmarks against which progress is measured. Without baselines, objectives lack credibility and tracking is impossible.

Lesson 3 • Linking Objectives to Business Goals

Shows how marketing objectives cascade from corporate and business-unit goals. Misaligned objectives are the most common cause of plan failure.

Lesson 4 • Objectives Dashboard Design

Designs a one-page objectives dashboard that communicates progress to stakeholders clearly. Students apply visualisation principles to make data actionable.

Lesson 1 • Growth Strategy Frameworks

Applies Ansoff's Matrix and other growth models to identify strategic growth paths. Students evaluate trade-offs between market penetration, development, and diversification.

Lesson 2 • Writing the Strategy Brief

Synthesises growth, competitive, and brand choices into a concise, actionable strategy brief. The brief becomes the reference document that aligns all tactical planning.

Lesson 3 • Brand Strategy Within the Marketing Plan

Integrates brand architecture and brand equity goals into the overall marketing strategy. Brand strategy provides the guardrails for all tactical creative decisions.

Lesson 4 • Portfolio and Resource Allocation

Uses portfolio analysis tools to allocate marketing investment across products, segments, or markets. Students practice making explicit trade-off decisions under budget constraints.

Lesson 1 • Integrated Marketing Communications Plan

Designs a coordinated communications plan across paid, owned, and earned media. Integration ensures consistent messaging and efficient budget use across touchpoints.

Lesson 2 • Campaign Calendar and Tactical Roadmap

Builds a phased campaign calendar that sequences tactics against objectives and key dates. The roadmap makes the plan executable and accountable.

Lesson 3 • Distribution and Channel Planning

Maps channel options—direct, indirect, and digital—and selects the optimal distribution mix. Channel decisions determine customer access and fulfilment cost.

Lesson 4 • Product and Service Planning

Covers product lifecycle management, feature prioritisation, and service design within the plan. Product decisions set the foundation for pricing and promotional choices.

Lesson 1 • Cost Estimation and Vendor Management

Teaches how to estimate costs for creative, media, technology, and agency services accurately. Accurate cost estimation prevents budget overruns and scope creep.

Lesson 2 • Marketing ROI and Financial Justification

Introduces ROI, customer acquisition cost, and lifetime value calculations to justify spend. Financial fluency builds credibility with finance and executive stakeholders.

Lesson 3 • Budget Monitoring and Reallocation

Establishes processes for tracking actual vs. planned spend and reallocating mid-cycle. Dynamic budget management keeps the plan responsive to performance data.

Lesson 4 • Allocating Budget Across Channels and Tactics

Applies allocation frameworks to distribute budget across channels, segments, and time periods. Students practice making explicit trade-offs when resources are constrained.

Lesson 1 • Implementation Planning and Governance

Defines roles, responsibilities, and governance structures needed to execute the marketing plan. Clear governance prevents execution gaps and accountability confusion.

Lesson 2 • Project Management for Marketers

Applies project management tools—timelines, milestones, and risk logs—to marketing execution. Students manage complexity without losing sight of strategic priorities.

Lesson 3 • Analysing Results and Diagnosing Issues

Teaches structured analysis of performance data to distinguish signal from noise and diagnose root causes. Accurate diagnosis prevents reactive decisions based on misleading data.

Lesson 4 • Performance Measurement Systems

Builds a measurement system that collects, integrates, and reports KPI data in near real time. Reliable measurement is the prerequisite for meaningful optimisation.