10 important marketing planning frameworks you need to start using now.

What is a marketing planning framework?

Also known as strategic frameworks, marketing planning frameworks are a series of questions / ideas that organizations use to define specific marketing objectives or initiatives to achieve their brand goals.

Most organizations rely on these frameworks to guide them in clarifying their business goals and achieving them. At the agency, we deploy a lot of these frameworks to get a better sense of what our clients’ goals are, their audiences, the key message, channels and other important building blocks of successful marketing campaigns.

As you brainstorm ideas for your brand marketing in 2021, let these frameworks guide you.

Objectives and Key Results (OKR):

This framework will help you define your brand’s objectives and key results that allow you to measure. You need this framework to align with your internal stakeholders and measure the outcome of the work your team does.

Source: slidebazaar.com

The Ansoff Matrix:

The matrix is also known as the Product/Market Expansion Grid. It is used to analyze and plan an organisation’s strategies for growth and innovation. The grid is made up of four strategies that are used to guide an organisation towards growth and further analyze any potential risk that comes with the choice of strategy. The four strategies of the Ansoff Matrix are Market Penetration which focuses on increasing sales of existing products to an existing market.

Product Development which has to do with introducing new products to an existing market,

Market Development focuses on entering a new market using existing products and Diversification which is centred on entering a new market with the introduction of new products.

Source: corporatefinanceinstitute.com

SMART Goals:

One of the more popular frameworks, it guides an organization in setting a goal that answers all five key questions.

• Smart/Specific – goals are clear, well defined and unambiguous.
• Measurable – a possible and feasible way of determining the progress or accomplishment of a set goal.
• Attainable – setting an achievable goal.
• Realistic – the goal is set within the company’s objectives and relevant to them. Time-Bound – the goal is defined with a clear timeline including its genesis and target or end date.

Source: Project manager.com

SWOT Analysis:

This is a popular tool for analyzing an organization’s business strategy and situations allows you to identify the internal factors (Strengths and Weaknesses) that affect the output of an organization and the external factors (Opportunities and Threats) that have an impact on the organization. It helps in taking advantage of a company’s strength by identifying its opportunities and threats and correcting its weaknesses.

Source: SlideModel.com

The BCG Matrix:

The matrix is a way of analyzing the product portfolio and informing decision making about possible marketing strategies (Cash Demands of Products) and development cycle of products. Companies gain knowledge on what product to invest resources in, based on its growth to increase their market share.

From GaryFox.co.

Market Segmentation Chart:

Market segmentation is the practice of dividing your wide, target market into small, homogeneous, approachable groups based on similar characteristics, wants and needs. It is used to personalize marketing campaigns, create better solutions that satisfy the needs of different customers.

From SlideGeeks.com

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis:

A tool used to understand the competitiveness of a business environment and for identifying a strategy’s potential profitability. The analysis measures levels of profit, opportunity and risk based on five key factors in an industry – Supplier Power, Buyer Power, Entry/Exit Barriers, Threat of Substitution and Competitive Rivalry. This tool is useful for businesses when they understand the internal and external forces that can affect their profit.

Source: strategicmanagement.blogspot.com

Perceptual Map / Positioning Map:

This framework helps you understand how target consumers view, feel, perceive and understand your brand or product.  By engaging this framework, you can consider comparisons of attributes that are important and to identify open areas within your addressable market.

Source: thebalancesmb.com

Segment Attractiveness and Resource Strength Framework:

The framework is designed to analyze the attractiveness of a market segment before deciding which market to target. Based on a company’s resource capabilities, they are able to prioritize market segments that fit their resources.

Source: Pinterest

Brand Identity Prism:

The prism exhibits how to build a good brand story while giving the brand a recognizable identity based on six aspects of brand identity. A brand is successful when a company employs complete utilization of physique, personality, culture, relationship, self-image and reflection. Through the prism, a company can evaluate all the important sentiments of their brand to come up with effective marketing and branding strategies.

Source: merlinone.com

These marketing frameworks are important elements that will improve your brand’s performance in the marketplace. Which of these have you used in the past?

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