Developing a marketing plan isn't just about qualitative elements, such as the color scheme of a poster, which celebrity to use and the font of a billboard. Quantitative elements are just as significant when devising a marketing plan. Quantitative factors tend to be controlled by the company's economists, financial analysts and statisticians.
Consumer Demographic Statistics
One prominent role of a marketing research analyst is getting the numbers behind the company's targeted demographic. These analysts gather data through surveys, consumer feedback reports and test groups. From these methods, the analyst assesses how many customers the marketing plan is expected to reach, the customer age group, economic background and other quantitative data. Consumer statistics from test groups also indicate preferences listed on a scale from one to 10. For instance, the demographic statistics might reveal that customers ranked a blue color scheme package as less favorable than one designed in red.
Budgeting Constraints
Funds limit the size and scope of marketing campaigns and therefore must be watched carefully. Some companies have bigger budgets than others, but all stick within the confines of the marketing plan. Marketing plans also must anticipate the budget constraints of the consumer. These constraints of the consumer are quantifiable. Sandeep Chandukala, Jaehwan Kim and Thomas Otter, authors of the book "Choice Models in Marketing," state that individuals make choices based on a ratio of their marginal utility (the benefit gained from consumption of a product) to price.
Expected Return
A key part of the marketing plan is figuring out the expected sales for every dollar spent on the campaign. The marketing division derives this calculation by analyzing the marginal impact of spending. David Besanko and Ronald Braeutigam, authors of the textbook "Microeconomics," explain that companies will analyze how much sales will increase with respect to every dollar spent. At some point on the cost curve, companies stop seeing an expected sales increase. Companies also use this method to compare which method of advertising yields the greatest expected return.
Comparable Economic Data
Marketing plans cross-apply data from previous strategies for guidance. The data from previous sales, returns and expenditures give companies a starting point for forecasting. Other comparable data included is from economic indicators specific to the company's industry. Retail data, for instance, give companies a picture of how much money consumers are spending on goods, such as clothing, music players and other items. William Luther states in his book, "The Marketing Plan," that such project plans include other economic data, including pricing sensitivity, economies of scale and regulatory exposure.
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