MARKETING PLANNING. 4.1. Planning Concept. The Marketing Plan is the master document, the road book that integrates and coordinates the different commercial instruments. Since the Marketing Mix must be based on the objectives set by the organization, we have to set these first. To do this, an analysis of the market situation, the competition and the organization itself must be carried out. 4.2. Main Elements. Marketing planning is a process that consists of different phases that are the answers to different questions: 1. Where are we? It involves carrying out both an internal and external analysis to detect threats and opportunities in the environment, as well as the weaknesses and strengths of the competition. 2..Where do we want to go? Defines the objectives that the organization intends to achieve. 3.How will we get there? It involves implementing a series of actions to achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves. 4. How will we know that we have arrived? Establish control systems that allow us to determine the degree of compliance with the objectives and that provide the necessary information to provide feedback to the plan. 4.3. Internal and External Analysis. To carry out the situation analysis we will have to do an internal and external analysis. External analysis.it focuses on the external factors of the company that may be relevant to carry out the different strategies. The objective is not simply descriptive, but is aimed at detecting the threats and opportunities observed in the company's environment. - A threat is a challenge posed by an unfavorable trend in the environment that may cause a deterioration in the company's competitive position. For example, a technological change, an increase in costs, a change in fashion, demographics, new legislation, new taxes, etc. - An opportunity is anything that can provide a competitive advantage for the company or represents a possibility of improving profitability, business volume, etc. The external analysis is made up of: - Market and Consumer Analysis. Aspects such as the dimension, the evolution of demand and the identification of factors that influence it, the behavior of consumers and sellers, the growth potential, the segments that comprise it, etc. are discussed. - Analysis of the Competition and the Sector. Try to identify both current and potential competitors, their objectives, their results, their organization, their financial resources, etc. - Analysis of the macro environment. It is made up of technological, sociocultural, etc. elements and it must be detected how this evolution can affect the position of the company. Internal analisis.It provides information about the internal aspects of the company that are important from a strategy point of view. This analysis allows us to detect the company's strengths and weaknesses, which will be sources of competitive advantages and failures that must be corrected. To carry out all this situation analysis, it is necessary to have a marketing information system (which is a way of combining different sources of information in order to provide the necessary inputs to be able to make decisions for the company). The sources can be primary or secondary. The primary ones are those obtained specifically for commercial research and the secondary ones are those that were already available previously. Once we have carried out the SWOT we must analyze the objective, strategies and actions. Aim. Once the strengths and weaknesses of the competition and the company itself have been determined, it is possible to set the objectives to be achieved. They usually are 1°- Innovate by launching new products, removing outdated ones, etc. 2°- Obtain a competitive advantage in price, product, etc. 3°- Increase business volume 4°- Improve profitability The objectives should be quantified if possible and must refer to a specific period of time. They must be coexisting and coherent objectives.