Marketing Planning & Analysis
Translating the organization’s branding and marketing strategy into a detailed plan of action to achieve the organization’s objectives.
Level 1 Demonstrates introductory understanding, directing people to the appropriate source for further information.
BEHAVIORS
- Explains the link between strategy and functional results.
- Manages monthly volume forecast for assigned brand/categories, coordinating between demand and supply planning to deliver best-in-class forecast accuracy.
- Defines customer lifecycle marketing, segmentation, and testing strategies.
- Manages, maintains and reports key business metrics, such as sales performance, brand equity, and marketing effectiveness.
- Conducts customer marketing stewardship reviews.
- Applies marketing automation technologies to produce personalized workflows and valuable lead scores.
- Brief internal/external resource groups to design the marketing planning process.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a situation where you used your product/service/brand knowledge to identify a customer's needs.
Probing Questions
* What product/service/brand knowledge was necessary?
* What was your role?
* What was the result?
* What did you learn from it?
- Describe a time you explained and/or answered questions related to a certain product/service/brand analysis.
Probing Questions
* What was the product/service/brand?
* How did you explain and/or answer the questions?
* What was the result?
* What did you learn from it?
Level 2 Applies the competency in common situations that present limited difficulties, working with a moderate level of guidance.
BEHAVIORS
- Benchmarks marketing and sales performance with other organizations seen as best in class.
- Identifies trends in market and consumer research and seeks possible causes and rationales regarding opportunities and problems
- Collaborates with brand and market research teams to develop business analytics that informs investment decisions and measure the impact of marketing tactics.
- Monitors performance measurements to ensure the brand is tracking against goals and recommends and implements corrective actions.
- Collects and assures that the necessary marketing information is available to analyze and evaluate market potentials, parameters and customer needs.
- Collects and assures that the necessary marketing information is available to analyze and evaluate market potentials, parameters and customer needs.
QUESTIONS
- Explain a situation where you compared your products/services/brands to competitors' products/services/brands.
Probing Questions
* What was the comparison? (e.g., product, service, brand, etc.)
* Why was this necessary? How did you collect relevant information?
* What was the result?
* What were the corporate learnings from this situation?
- Describe a time you sought out and utilized the expertise of others to improve your planning and analysis knowledge.
Probing Questions
* What information did you seek?
* Who did you consult, and how did you find them?
* How did you use this new knowledge?
* What was the result of your efforts?
Level 3 Applies the competency in the full range of typical situations, requiring guidance in only the most complex or new situations.
BEHAVIORS
- Seeks consumer insights and information internally and externally to assess market dynamics inform strategies to grow the organization.
- Evaluates internal capabilities to identify interrelationships and synergies among departments and improve planning processes.
- Manages processes to prepare for periodic business performance reviews.
- Directs agency partners as required to ensure effective and efficient translation of marketing strategies into activation plans.
- Executes marketing plans to deliver against the brand, financial and share objectives.
- Partners with short term and long term innovation channels and customer business teams to develop and execute innovation plans including concept development, feasibility validation, product and packaging R&D, business proposal and approval, project execution, customer sell in and tracking of in-market performance.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a situation where you used your understanding of planning and analysis to assist a colleague in performing their tasks.
Probing Questions
* What was the task?
* What was your role?
* What was the result?
* What did you learn from it?
- Describe a time you identified and addressed a marketing challenge.
Probing Questions
* What was the product/service/brand challenge?
* How did you identify the issue?
* What was your role in analyzing this issue?
* What did you learn from it?
Level 4 Applies the competency in new or complex situations and advises others.
BEHAVIORS
- Drives strategic growth in defined consumer targets by aligning product and appropriate distribution channels including wholesale, e-commerce, and retail.
- Assesses the potential impact of wider environmental forces on the regional marketing strategy (e.g. culture, ethics, economics, politics, legal frameworks and sustainability).
- Leads cross-functional partners in the development of the annual brand plan to identify customer needs, business opportunities, competitive landscape, and behavioral objectives.
- Assesses the potential impact of wider environmental forces on the marketing strategy e.g. culture, ethics, economics, politics, legal frameworks and sustainability.
QUESTIONS
- Tell me about a time you had to troubleshoot a product-related problem and successfully solved the issue.
Probing Questions
* What was the problem?
* What process did you use to troubleshoot the problem?
* What solutions did you find? How did you determine the best solution?
* How did you know you had solved the problem?
- Tell me about a time you developed an innovative strategy.
Probing Questions
* What was the strategy?
* How did you know the strategy would be effective?
* Why was the strategy innovative?
* What was the outcome?
Level 5 Develops new approaches and methods in the area. Is recognized as an expert within the organization.
BEHAVIORS
- Builds effective leadership accountability in utilizing consumer insights by creating consumer-focused strategic plans and respected decision-making.
- Leads the development of the annual strategic growth plan process.
- Coordinates with departments, segments, and organization’s counterparts to ensure continuous alignment between organizational strategies and investments.
- Creates effective integrated plans with channel partners that promote thought leadership, create brand awareness, and generate demand.
- Recommends strategies and tactics to balance the risk and reward of the business portfolio based on internal and external factors.
- Establishes key performance indicators and relevant metrics and monitors and analyzes results.
QUESTIONS
- Explain a time you used extensive product/service/brand knowledge to anticipate customers' future needs and select and implement a viable solution.
Probing Questions
* What product/service/brand knowledge was necessary for this situation?
* How did you develop your solution?
* What was the result?
* What did you learn from it?
- Tell me about a time you researched and analyzed diverse information to position a product/service/brand to address changes in the marketplace.
Probing Questions
* What information did you analyze?
* What conclusions did you draw from your analysis?
* How did this information help change dynamics in the marketplace?
* What was the final outcome?