ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the nature and causes of the factors that help or hinder the development and implementation of marketing plans. It also explains some of these ideas together in the form of an action plan, which should provide the framework for the marketing effort. The chapter provides the observation that planning is generally a relatively straightforward activity, but that plans too often founder during their implementation phase. In the majority of organizations, however, the planning and implementation process often proves to be a rather more difficult exercise. Although there are various approaches to setting a marketing budget including on the basis of what customer can afford, what other similar organizations appear to be spending, a far better, albeit more difficult, approach is that of the objective and task method. It is the most logical approach to budgeting, and is more likely than any of the heuristic alternatives to lead to a relationship emerging between spending levels and marketing needs.
