Explain any five elements of an operational plan. Explain the first five steps for preparing the marketing plan.

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Accepted Answer

Five elements of an operational plan:

(i) **Routing** — determining the exact route or path that a product or service follows from raw material to finished product. It establishes the exact route of each individual item, part or assembly.

(ii) **Scheduling** — fixing the time, day, and date when each operation has to be commenced and completed. It determines the time required for each operation.

(iii) **Dispatching** — initiating production according to the plan by issuing necessary orders, instructions and guidelines to give practical shape to the plan.

(iv) **Follow-up** — evaluating and appraising the work performed. It helps in detecting errors and defects, reviewing materials and work-in-progress, expediting lagging departments, and removing production obstacles.

(v) **Inspection** — comparing materials, products or performance with established standards to ensure predetermined quality of products.

The first five steps for preparing the marketing plan are:

Step 1 — **Business situation analysis**: Reviewing past performance or assessing the new venture's aspects including entrepreneur's personal profile, product development, and market segmentation.

Step 2 — **Identify the target market**: Deciding the general market or industry to pursue, dividing the market into smaller groups based on consumer characteristics and buying situations, and selecting the segment or segments to target.

Step 3 — **Conduct SWOT analysis**: Considering the enterprise's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Step 4 — **Establish goals**: Setting realistic, attainable, well-defined goals and quantifying them for measurement and control.

Step 5 — **Define marketing strategy**: Outlining specific activities to meet goals and objectives, comprising decisions on Product, Price, Promotion and Place (the 4 P's).