Marketing Management and Planning: STP, Marketing Mix and the Annual Marketing Plan – Amsterdam, 22–26 Feb 2027

Programme overview

Introduction:

Many organisations spend on marketing without a shared view of which markets to serve, what to offer them or how each activity supports business targets, so budgets are set by habit and campaigns pull in different directions. Sound marketing management links market analysis, segmentation, targeting and positioning, the marketing mix and communications into one plan that can be funded and tracked. This Core Concept course takes practitioners through that planning sequence step by step using multi-sector cases. Participants finish with an Annual Marketing Plan, complete with budget and metrics scorecard, for their own product or service.

Course Objectives:

• Analyse a market and its customers using PESTLE, SWOT and TAM-SAM-SOM sizing to identify priority opportunities
• Segment a market, select target segments and write a positioning statement supported by a perceptual map
• Design a customer value proposition and translate it into product, price, place and promotion decisions
• Plan integrated marketing communications that combine traditional and digital channels around one message and media schedule
• Build a marketing budget using the objective-and-task method and set plan-level metrics with a basic return calculation
• Produce an Annual Marketing Plan that management can approve, fund and review each quarter

Target Audience:

• Marketing officers who plan and coordinate campaigns and marketing activity
• Product and brand staff responsible for offer, pricing and launch decisions
• Staff newly responsible for leading a marketing function or team
• Business development staff who prepare market entry and growth proposals
• Communications staff who plan media and promotional activity alongside marketing
• Owners and managers of small organisations who run marketing themselves

Course Outline:

Day 1: Marketing Management Foundations and Market Analysis

• Marketing Management Process: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control
• PESTLE Analysis of the Marketing Environment
• Market Sizing with TAM, SAM and SOM Estimates
• Customer Needs Research: Interviews, Surveys and Buying Process Mapping
• SWOT Analysis and Priority Opportunity Selection

Day 2: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning and the Value Proposition

• Segmentation Bases: Demographic, Behavioural, Needs-Based and Firmographic
• Segment Attractiveness Matrix for Target Market Selection
• Positioning Statement Template and Perceptual Mapping
• Value Proposition Canvas: Customer Jobs, Pains and Gains
• Ansoff Matrix Growth Options and SMART Marketing Objectives

Day 3: Marketing Mix Decisions: Product, Price, Place and Promotion

• Product Portfolio Review with the BCG Growth-Share Matrix and Product Life Cycle
• Pricing Methods: Cost-Plus, Value-Based and Competition-Based
• Price Sensitivity Testing with the Van Westendorp Price Meter
• Distribution Channel Design: Direct, Intermediary and Marketplace Routes
• Extended 7Ps for Services: People, Process and Physical Evidence

Day 4: Integrated Marketing Communications, Budget and Metrics

• Integrated Marketing Communications Plan: Message, Audience and Channel Matrix
• Traditional and Digital Media Mix Planning with Reach and Frequency
• AIDA Communication Objectives and Campaign Calendar
• Objective-and-Task Marketing Budget Worksheet
• Marketing Metrics Scorecard: Share, Awareness, Leads, Revenue and ROMI

Day 5: Case Study Practice and the Annual Marketing Plan

• Multi-Sector Case: Product Launch Plan for a Services Organisation
• Case Mix Reallocation Under a Reduced Budget Scenario
• Plan Risk Review: Assumptions, Contingencies and Quarterly Checkpoints
• Annual Marketing Plan Drafting for an Own Product or Service
• Plan Presentation to a Peer Review Panel with Feedback

Skills You Will Gain:

• Market Opportunity Analysis
• Market Segmentation
• Brand Positioning
• Value Proposition Design
• Pricing Strategy
• Channel Planning
• Marketing Budgeting
• Marketing Performance Measurement

Why Attend This Course:

• Return with an Annual Marketing Plan, budget and metrics scorecard ready for management approval
• Replace habit-based spending with a budget tied to clear objectives and tasks
• Make product, price, channel and communication choices that support one agreed position in the market
• Test your planning decisions against peers from other sectors and countries on realistic cases

Conclusion:

Marketing contributes most when every activity follows from a clear view of the market and the customer. This course moves from market and customer analysis, through segmentation, targeting, positioning and value proposition design, to marketing mix decisions, integrated communications, budgeting and plan-level metrics. The final day applies the full sequence to realistic cases and to each participant's own product or service, producing an Annual Marketing Plan that sets direction, spending and review points for the year ahead.