Strategic Marketing Planning Training Course

Duration 10 days 19 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Marketing Managers, Senior Marketing Executives and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-M-068

Before you join: Participants should have at least three years of marketing, commercial, product, customer or business-development experience.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Strategic marketing plans often fail because they list activities without making hard choices about customers, markets, positioning, investment levels, channel roles and commercial targets. Senior marketers must translate corporate priorities into a plan that sales, product, finance and regional teams can execute and measure. This requires evidence-based market diagnosis, clear segmentation, realistic growth assumptions and disciplined resource allocation.

This advanced course develops the methods used to design, challenge and manage strategic marketing plans. Participants assess market attractiveness, analyse customers and competitors, define segments, select target markets, formulate value propositions and position brands or offers. They convert strategy into measurable objectives, portfolio decisions, channel plans, demand-generation programmes, budgets, forecasts, implementation roadmaps and performance dashboards. The course also addresses planning in complex settings, including regulated financial services, public-sector programmes, business-to-business markets and multinational portfolios.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with case analysis, facilitated planning work, peer review, simulations and structured application to participants' own organisations. Participants progressively build a strategic marketing plan during the course, using templates for market analysis, segmentation, positioning, objectives, budgets and measurement. They leave with a completed plan or a substantial working draft, supported by evidence, assumptions, priorities and a practical implementation schedule.

The course suits experienced marketing professionals, commercial managers, product leaders and managers accountable for growth who need to improve the quality, credibility and execution of marketing planning.

What you will be able to do

  • Conduct a market diagnosis using PESTLE, Five Forces, customer evidence and competitor analysis
  • Define actionable customer segments using needs, value, behaviour and profitability criteria
  • Select target markets and formulate positioning statements supported by clear value propositions
  • Develop portfolio and growth strategies using Ansoff, product life-cycle and category analysis
  • Translate marketing strategy into SMART objectives, demand assumptions and financial forecasts
  • Prepare integrated channel, communications and customer-experience plans for priority segments
  • Build a marketing budget, implementation roadmap and performance dashboard linked to commercial outcomes
  • Present and defend a complete strategic marketing plan to senior decision-makers

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produces a board-ready strategic marketing plan with explicit commercial assumptions
  • Strengthens confidence when challenging unsupported campaign and budget requests
  • Improves cross-functional credibility with sales, finance, product and operations leaders
  • Creates a repeatable method for prioritising markets, customers and marketing investments
  • Builds a portfolio of planning templates usable for future annual planning cycles

For your organisation

  • Improves alignment between corporate strategy, marketing activity and revenue targets
  • Reduces spend on low-priority segments, channels and poorly defined campaigns
  • Creates clearer accountability for marketing objectives, milestones and performance measures
  • Improves sales and marketing coordination around target accounts, propositions and demand plans
  • Provides leadership with traceable assumptions behind growth forecasts and budget requests

Course modules

19 modules over 10 days

Participants can structure a marketing plan that connects corporate priorities with commercial action.

  • Marketing's role in corporate strategy, growth choices and value creation
  • Market orientation, shareholder goals and stakeholder value trade-offs
  • Planning horizons: strategic, annual, campaign and rolling review cycles
  • Distinguishing strategy, tactics, programmes, campaigns and operational activity
  • Marketing governance, decision rights and annual planning cadence
  • Audit questions exposing gaps between plan claims and resource commitments

Participants can translate business priorities into relevant marketing planning requirements.

  • Corporate growth ambitions converted into marketing contribution requirements
  • Revenue, margin, retention and market-share objectives compared
  • Business model analysis using customer, channel and revenue logic
  • Profit pools mapped across products, customer groups and channels
  • Constraints from regulation, capacity, pricing authority and distribution reach
  • Strategic assumptions documented for leadership review and challenge

Participants can assess external forces affecting market attractiveness and strategic choices.

  • PESTLE analysis identifying political, economic, social and technological forces
  • Porter's Five Forces applied to industry structure and profit potential
  • Market maturity, category growth and demand drivers assessed
  • Scenario planning for uncertainty, disruption and competitor responses
  • Regulatory changes translated into market opportunities and restrictions
  • Market attractiveness criteria scored against strategic business priorities

Participants can turn customer evidence into commercially useful demand and insight statements.

  • Customer decision journeys mapped from trigger through renewal or repurchase
  • Jobs to Be Done identifying functional, emotional and social needs
  • Voice-of-customer evidence assessed for quality, bias and relevance
  • Buying-centre roles analysed for complex business-to-business purchase decisions
  • Customer pain points converted into testable market opportunity statements
  • Demand barriers separated from awareness, access, trust and affordability issues

Participants can identify competitive threats and sources of defensible market advantage.

  • Competitor profiles comparing target segments, offers, channels and pricing
  • Strategic groups mapped by business model, service level and reach
  • Substitutes assessed through customer alternatives and switching behaviour
  • Win-loss analysis revealing decision criteria and competitive weaknesses
  • Competitor signals distinguished from evidence, assumptions and market rumours
  • Response options evaluated through likely impact, cost and timing

Participants can build and assess customer segments suitable for strategic planning.

  • Segmentation variables selected from needs, behaviour, value and accessibility
  • Business-to-business segments defined by firmographics, buying context and potential
  • Consumer segments built from attitudes, life stage and purchasing patterns
  • Segment size, growth, profitability and strategic fit quantified
  • Discriminability, measurability, accessibility and actionability tested for each segment
  • Segment personas documented without replacing evidence with stereotypes

Participants can select priority segments and markets using transparent decision criteria.

  • Segment attractiveness matrix combining market potential and competitive position
  • Targeting choices compared: undifferentiated, differentiated, concentrated and account-based
  • Market entry priorities ranked using opportunity, capability and risk criteria
  • Customer lifetime value used to distinguish volume from value
  • Named-account selection aligned with sales coverage and service capacity
  • Strategic trade-offs documented between growth ambition and resource concentration

Participants can formulate differentiated value propositions for chosen customer segments.

  • Value proposition canvas linking customer jobs, pains and gains
  • Offer benefits separated into functional, economic, emotional and social value
  • Proof points specified through evidence, capability, service and outcomes
  • Customer value quantified using cost, risk, revenue and time measures
  • Message hierarchy built for decision-makers, influencers and end users
  • Value propositions tested against alternatives and customer decision criteria

Participants can create positioning choices that distinguish offers within competitive categories.

  • Positioning statement structured around target, category, benefit and reason-to-believe
  • Perceptual maps identifying credible spaces for competitive differentiation
  • Points of parity distinguished from meaningful points of difference
  • Brand identity, promise and experience aligned across customer touchpoints
  • Brand architecture choices assessed for portfolios, sub-brands and endorsed brands
  • Positioning guardrails defined for agencies, sales teams and channel partners

Participants can select growth pathways and prioritise product-market investments.

  • Ansoff Matrix comparing penetration, market development, product development and diversification
  • Product life-cycle stages linked to investment, pricing and communication priorities
  • BCG growth-share matrix used cautiously for portfolio discussion
  • Category management principles applied to range, shelf and promotional decisions
  • Innovation pipeline assessed through customer value, feasibility and strategic fit
  • Cannibalisation risks estimated across products, brands and customer segments

Participants can incorporate pricing decisions and revenue logic into marketing plans.

  • Value-based pricing linked to customer outcomes and willingness-to-pay evidence
  • Price elasticity interpreted for demand, margin and volume trade-offs
  • Competitive price positioning compared with category reference points
  • Price architecture designed across entry, core, premium and service tiers
  • Discount governance established for channels, key accounts and promotions
  • Revenue assumptions reconciled with sales volumes, conversion and retention

Participants can design channel roles that improve customer access and commercial performance.

  • Channel roles defined across direct, partner, retail and digital routes
  • Route-to-market choices assessed through reach, control, cost and customer experience
  • Channel conflict diagnosed between direct sales, distributors and online channels
  • Partner value propositions aligned with margin, enablement and service expectations
  • Omnichannel journeys planned around handoffs, data capture and fulfilment
  • Channel performance measures linked to coverage, conversion and profitability

Participants can plan coordinated communications that move priority audiences toward action.

  • Communication objectives set for awareness, consideration, conversion and loyalty
  • Paid, owned, earned and shared media roles planned
  • Message architecture adapted by segment, buying stage and channel
  • Content strategy aligned with customer questions, proof needs and conversion paths
  • Media selection assessed through reach, frequency, cost and audience quality
  • Campaign briefs specify audience, proposition, response and measurement requirements

Participants can improve customer experience priorities using journey and retention evidence.

  • Service blueprinting maps customer actions, frontline processes and supporting systems
  • Moments of truth prioritised by value, risk and customer emotion
  • Retention drivers analysed through onboarding, service, renewal and recovery stages
  • Net Promoter Score interpreted alongside behavioural and financial measures
  • Customer complaints classified for root cause, recovery and prevention action
  • Loyalty propositions assessed for relevance, economics and operational feasibility

Participants can set measurable marketing objectives and build defensible demand assumptions.

  • SMART objectives linked to strategic choices and commercial outcomes
  • Funnel metrics connected from reach through conversion and retention
  • Demand forecasts built from market size, share and conversion assumptions
  • Leading indicators separated from lagging commercial performance measures
  • Baseline performance established before targets and improvement commitments
  • Assumption registers identify evidence gaps, risks and validation actions

Participants can allocate marketing resources against priorities, expected returns and constraints.

  • Objective-and-task budgeting built from planned activities and resource requirements
  • Percentage-of-sales budgets tested against strategic needs and market conditions
  • Return on marketing investment calculated using incremental contribution assumptions
  • Budget scenarios compared for base, growth and constrained funding cases
  • Agency, media, technology and internal staffing costs categorised
  • Investment cases presented with benefits, risks, milestones and accountabilities

Participants can convert marketing strategy into an owned and workable implementation plan.

  • Implementation roadmaps sequence initiatives, dependencies, owners and decision gates
  • RACI matrices clarify marketing, sales, product and agency responsibilities
  • Critical-path analysis identifies timing risks across campaign and launch activity
  • Change stakeholder maps anticipate resistance, incentives and communication needs
  • Monthly operating reviews connect activity progress with commercial performance
  • Escalation thresholds defined for budget variance, delivery delay and target risk

Participants can monitor plan execution and make evidence-based corrective decisions.

  • Balanced Scorecard perspectives adapted for marketing and commercial performance
  • Dashboard metrics selected for acquisition, conversion, retention and brand health
  • Marketing attribution limitations assessed across channels and buying cycles
  • Test-and-learn plans specify hypotheses, controls, metrics and decision rules
  • Variance analysis separates execution problems from flawed strategic assumptions
  • Quarterly plan reviews trigger reprioritisation, reallocation and corrective action

Participants can build, review and present a complete strategic marketing plan for a defined market opportunity.

  • Market diagnosis synthesised into evidence, assumptions, risks and strategic implications
  • Priority segments, target choices and value propositions integrated coherently
  • Positioning, portfolio, pricing, channel and communications decisions reconciled
  • Objectives, forecasts, budgets and implementation milestones validated for consistency
  • Peer review challenges strategic logic, evidence quality and resource realism
  • Executive presentation communicates choices, trade-offs, actions and performance measures

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic marketing plan template
  2. Market and competitor analysis workbook
  3. Segmentation and target-market scorecard
  4. Value proposition and positioning framework
  5. Marketing budget and demand forecast model
  6. Marketing performance dashboard specification

Who should attend

  • Marketing Managers — responsible for annual plans, investment decisions and commercial results
  • Senior Marketing Executives — preparing strategic recommendations for leadership teams
  • Product Managers — connecting product roadmaps with market demand and positioning
  • Commercial Managers — aligning marketing activity with sales targets and channel performance
  • Brand Managers — strengthening portfolio choices, brand architecture and communications priorities
  • Business Unit Leaders — requiring a disciplined marketing plan for growth initiatives

Skills and tools covered

Market diagnosisSegment prioritisationBrand positioningPortfolio strategyMarketing budgetingPerformance measurement

Tools and standards

PESTLE analysis, Porter's Five Forces, Ansoff Matrix, Balanced Scorecard

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce planning frameworks, followed by case work, group analysis, simulations and structured application planning. Participants assess markets, compare segments, test value propositions, allocate budgets and review performance data using realistic commercial scenarios. Peer critique and facilitator feedback are used to challenge assumptions, sharpen strategic choices and improve plan quality. Throughout the programme, participants apply each method to a live organisational issue or a detailed case, building material for their final strategic marketing plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least three years of marketing, commercial, product, customer or business-development experience. They should understand basic marketing terms such as target market, brand, customer segment, campaign, sales channel and market share. Familiarity with their organisation's products, customers, competitors and commercial objectives will help them apply the course directly. The course does not require prior formal marketing qualifications, advanced statistics, specialist market-research software or financial modelling expertise. Participants should be prepared to discuss a current market, product, service or growth challenge.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have practical experience in marketing, product management, sales, commercial management or business development. They need not hold a marketing qualification, but they should understand basic commercial and marketing terminology.

Participants should bring information about a current product, service, market or growth challenge where possible. Useful material includes existing plans, customer data, sales targets, market research, budget assumptions and competitor information.

The course is designed for experienced marketing and commercial professionals who influence strategic choices or prepare marketing plans. It is particularly relevant for managers moving from campaign delivery into planning, portfolio and investment decisions.

Digital marketing courses focus mainly on channels, platforms, content and campaign execution. This course addresses the broader strategic decisions that determine where to compete, which customers to prioritise, what to offer, how to invest and how to measure commercial contribution.

Participants use the planning templates, scorecards and dashboard specifications to improve their next annual plan, market-entry proposal, product launch or growth initiative. The final capstone provides a working plan that can be refined with internal data and stakeholder input.

The first part of the course develops market diagnosis, segmentation, targeting, value propositions and positioning. The later part covers portfolio choices, pricing, channels, communications, budgeting, implementation, measurement and presentation of the completed strategic marketing plan.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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