Strategic marketing planning

Sooner or later all companies ask themselves whether they need formal planning systems, what shape such planning systems should take and what could be done to make them work effectively. Making continuous and miscellaneous decisions is not the same as planning. Planning is a higher-order company activity that often leads to improved profits and sales performance. In this study, we will examine how companies plan their activities to take advantage of market opportunities and how managers assemble the marketing mix components into marketing plans. A start of an overview of planning will be made and then look at strategic planning, marketing planning and the relationship between the two.