I need assistance with these discussion questions.
Question 1. Imagine you've been recently hired by a company that has no marketing plan. One day you see the CEO in the hallway and say, "Boss, we need to institute a sound market planning process." She looks at you like you're from Mars and replies, "I don't know why! How can planning help us discover opportunities; leverage existing systems, assets, and core capabilities; implement a market-focused strategy; allocate resources; or plan performance?" Yikes, you're on the spot! How do you respond comparing where the company is now by not planning to what it could be with planning? Can you give the CEO examples of other companies that have benefited from planning in each of the areas she mentioned?
Question 2. After you leave the company mentioned in Question 1, you join a business with a strong market orientation and a highly formalized market planning process. Can a strong market orientation and highly formalized planning coexist? Why or why not? If you had to choose, which would you pick? Why? Is there a "happy" compromise? If you are currently employed, how formalized is the market planning process at your company?
Question 3. Is market planning more important for large corporations or small businesses? Is it necessary for both large and small companies to use performance metrics? Is it necessary for both to use process metrics and end-result metrics? Do the roles of resources, organizational communications, and training differ in the support and successful implementation of marketing plans in large corporations and small businesses? After reading the text do you think small business owners face challenges that large corporations do not confront?