Marketing Planning Practices in Australia: A Comparison across Company Types

Numerous studies have made it clear that many businesses, both in Australia and overseas, have not yet adopted a marketing plan as a basic operational tool. A mail study was conducted to survey the use of marketing plans in different types of Australian companies. Analysis of the survey results indicated that: (1) the prime responsibility for preparing and approving marketing plans varies between company type, (2) the time period of marketing plans varies between company type, (3) companies with high sales turnovers tend to incorporate a longer time horizon into their marketing plan, (4) no relationship was found between awareness and usage levels of planning tools and company type, and (5) companies with high sales turnovers have an average level of awareness and use of planning tools. Recommendations are made based on these findings.