Marketing Plan Performance Evaluation

M12. Assignment: Marketing Plan Performance Evaluation
In this assignment, you will submit the Performance Evaluation section of your marketing plan. Refer to the example marketing plan in Appendix B in MindTap for guidance, but in general, this section should detail how the performance of the marketing strategy will be evaluated. Include the performance standards against which you will compare actual performance.
This section should be about 200 words long. It be well organized and written using complete sentences. Include specific details, statistics, and any other available evidence to support your analysis.
B-7Performance Evaluation
B-7aPerformance Standards and Financial Controls
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This section details how the performance of the marketing strategy will be evaluated. Performance standards will be established against which to compare actual performance.
A comparison of the financial expenditures with the plan goals will be included in the project report. The following performance standards and financial controls are suggested:
• The total budget for the billing analysis, new-product research, and the customer survey will be equal to 60 percent of the annual promotional budget for the coming year.
• The breakdown of the budget within the project will be a 20 percent allocation to the billing cycle study, a 30 percent allocation to the customer survey and marketing information system development, and a 50 percent allocation to new-business development and new-product implementation.
• Each project team is responsible for reporting all financial expenditures, including personnel salaries and direct expenses, for its segment of the project. A standardized reporting form will be developed and provided by the marketing director.
• The marketing director is responsible for adherence to the project budget and will report overages to the company president on a weekly basis. The marketing director is also responsible for any redirection of budget dollars as required for each project of the business analysis team.
• Any new-product offering will be evaluated on a quarterly basis to determine its profitability. Product development expenses will be distributed over a two-year period, by calendar quarters, and will be compared with gross income generated during the same period.
B-7bMeasuring Actual Performance
To analyze the effectiveness of Star Software’s marketing strategy, it is necessary to compare its actual performance with plan objectives. To facilitate this analysis, monitoring procedures should be developed for the various activities required to bring the marketing strategy to fruition. These procedures include, but are not limited to, the following:
• A project management concept will be used to evaluate the implementation of the marketing strategy by establishing time requirements, human resource needs, and financial or budgetary expenditures.
• A perpetual comparison of actual and planned activities will be conducted on a monthly basis for the first year and on a quarterly basis after the initial implementation phase. The business analysis team, including the marketing director, will report its comparison of actual and planned outcomes directly to the company president.
• Each project team is responsible for determining what changes must be made in procedures, product focus, or operations as a result of the studies conducted in its area.