MKB1700 · Fundamentals Of Marketing
Marketing Planning & Research
Planning is where the environment scan, STP and the marketing mix stop being separate topics and become one coherent plan. MKB1700 teaches it as Brooksbank's seven-stage process (commit to the philosophy, define the mission, analyse the situation, set objectives, formulate strategy, organise, control), wrapped around a situation analysis, a SWOT, SMART objectives and a control loop that closes by comparing results to targets. Marketing research turns uncertainty into decisions: the standing MkIS feeds managers continuously, while a one-off question is answered by the five-step research process. Research is classified by purpose (exploratory / descriptive / causal), by data source (secondary before primary) and by method (qualitative for why, quantitative for how-many), always conducted ethically. This chapter also brings the whole subject together as the concept map and interactive oral — the 15% artefact plus 40% hurdle (55% combined) where you wire every topic into one storyline (environment → STP → mix → value) and defend each node, level and labelled link out loud.
What this chapter covers
- 01Brooksbank's seven-stage planning process
- 02PL.3 Situation analysis (the four lenses)
- 03SWOT, SMART objectives & the control loop
- 04The MkIS & the five-step research process
- 05Exploratory / descriptive / causal research
- 06Secondary vs primary data; qual vs quant; ethics
- 07Building & defending the concept map (the 40% oral hurdle)
Worked example: choosing the research design and data, then closing the planning loop
- +1(a) Design: start exploratory — the problem is ill-defined ('why are sales falling?'), so the first job is to clarify it before measuring anything.
- +1(b) Data order: use secondary data first (cheap and fast — ABS, IBISWorld, Roy Morgan, internal records), then collect primary data only when secondary is exhausted or insufficient.
- +1(c) Qual vs quant: qualitative (interviews, focus groups) answers why; quantitative (surveys, experiments) answers how many — often qual to explore, then quant to measure.
- +1(d) SMART objectives: set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound objectives so results can be compared to a target.
- +1(d) Close the loop: the control stage compares actual results to the objectives and feeds corrections back into the plan — planning is a loop, not a line.
Key terms
- Brooksbank's seven-stage process
- The unit's marketing-planning framework: commit to the marketing philosophy, define the mission, analyse the situation, set objectives, formulate strategy, organise, and control. It turns strategy into action and closes with a control loop.
- SMART objectives
- Objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. They make the planning control loop possible: without a measurable, time-bound target you cannot compare results and correct course.
- MkIS
- The Marketing Information System — the standing system of input streams feeding a decision-support system that supplies managers with information continuously, as opposed to a one-off research project answering a single question.
- The five-step research process
- The sequence for a one-off research question: define the problem, develop the research plan, collect the data, analyse and interpret, and report. Research is classified by purpose (exploratory / descriptive / causal), source (secondary then primary) and method (qual vs quant).
- Concept map
- MKB1700's signature artefact (15%): hierarchical nodes joined by labelled relationship links, marked on the quality of the connections, then defended in the interactive oral exam (40%, a hurdle). Together the spine of the unit's assessment.
Marketing Planning & Research FAQ
What is Brooksbank's seven-stage planning process?
The unit's marketing-planning framework: commit to the marketing philosophy, define the mission, analyse the situation (the situation analysis and SWOT), set objectives (SMART), formulate strategy, organise, and control. It is where the environment scan, STP and the marketing mix converge into one coherent plan, and the control stage closes the loop by comparing results to objectives and feeding corrections back in.
What is the difference between secondary and primary data, and which comes first?
Secondary data already exists, collected for another purpose (ABS, Austrade, Nielsen, Roy Morgan, IBISWorld, industry bodies) — cheap and fast, so you start here. Primary data is collected fresh for the specific problem (surveys, experiments, interviews) — expensive and slow, so you use it only when secondary data is exhausted or insufficient. The order is fixed: secondary before primary.
When do you use qualitative versus quantitative research?
Qualitative research (in-depth interviews, focus groups) answers why — it explores motivations and meaning in depth on small samples. Quantitative research (surveys, experiments) answers how many — it measures and generalises on large samples. A common sequence is qualitative first to explore and clarify, then quantitative to measure and confirm. Both must be conducted ethically.
What is the concept map and oral, and why does this chapter cover it?
The concept map (15%) is hierarchical nodes joined by labelled relationship links that organise the whole semester, and the interactive oral (40%, a hurdle) is a 1-on-1 conversation where you defend why each node, level and link is there. They are the spine of MKB1700's assessment (55% combined), and this chapter brings every topic together into one storyline — environment → STP → mix → value, with planning and research wrapping it — which is exactly the map you build and defend.
Exam move
Treat this chapter as the place where the whole subject becomes one storyline: environment → STP → mix → value, with planning and research wrapping it. Learn Brooksbank's seven stages as the backbone and remember the control loop closes by comparing results to SMART objectives. For research, lock in the fixed orderings — secondary before primary, exploratory to clarify before descriptive/causal to measure — and the qual-for-why, quant-for-how-many split. Most importantly, build your concept map all semester (not in Week 11) and rehearse defending each labelled link aloud, because the 40% oral is a hurdle that probes why — a map you genuinely understand is the only one you can defend.
