THE FUTURE MARKETACADEMY
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School of Marketing

Marketing Strategy & Planning: positioning, channels and budgets

What you'll be able to do
  • Turn research on your market, customers and competitors into clear strategic choices.
  • Write a positioning statement with proof, and check that every claim is truthful under your country's rules (Canada's rules are the worked example).
  • Build a channel mix that matches the buyer's journey and your real capacity.
  • Set a marketing budget with more than one method and test it with break-even maths.
  • Run a small experiment plan with hypotheses and a learning log.
  • Build a 12-month calendar with KPIs, attribution and review points, and check it against your country's marketing rules.
  • Finish with a graded Annual Marketing Plan you can show.

This course is education only. It does not give legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules and platform features change; confirm important points with the official source or a licensed professional.

Words in this course 75Open the Vocabulary Hall
01

From research to strategy

In simple words

Before this course: Marketing Fundamentals (course 3.1) and Marketing Analytics: Read Your Numbers (course 3.12). You already know the 4 Ps, STP, channels, the key formulas and how to read a dashboard. A strategy is a map made before a trip. It says where you are, where you are going and which roads you will not take.

Key facts
  • Strategy is choices. A plan lists what you will do; a strategy explains why these choices and not others. Saying "no" to some customers, channels and ideas is part of strategy.
  • Market research questions (SBA): Is there a desire for your product or service? How many people would be interested? Where do customers live and where can you reach them? How many similar options are already available? What do customers pay for those alternatives?
  • Competitive analysis (SBA): identify competitors by product and market segment, look at market share, each competitor's strengths and weaknesses, barriers that could hinder your entry, and indirect or secondary competitors.
  • Existing sources vs direct research (SBA): existing sources work well for general data such as industry trends and demographics; direct research (surveys, interviews, focus groups) gives a more specific picture but takes more time and money.
  • SWOT is a common tool: internal Strengths and Weaknesses, external Opportunities and Threats. Use it to find choices, for example "use a strength to take an opportunity".
  • Goals. From course 3.12: one goal, one KPI, three to five supporting metrics. A plan can have two or three goals; more than that spreads the budget thin.
Example (practice scenario)

A neighbourhood bike-repair shop writes: Strength: fast, friendly repair. Weakness: small team. Opportunity: more people commute by bike in spring. Threat: a big chain nearby. Choice: focus on commuters, promise next-day repair, skip lowest-price promotions.

Step by step
  1. Write your business and one annual goal in two sentences.
  2. Answer the SBA market research questions in short notes with the source for each answer.
  3. List three direct competitors and one indirect competitor, with strengths and weaknesses.
  4. Draw a SWOT grid with two to four items per box.
  5. Write three strategic choices of the form "We will focus on ... and not on ...".
  6. Pick the KPI and three to five supporting metrics for the goal (course 3.12).
  7. Check: every choice is backed by something in your notes, and at least one choice says "not".
Watch on YouTube
How to do a SWOT analysisProfessional Academy · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01From research to strategy
LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00
Read the video script
[Host] "A plan says what you will do. A strategy says why, and what you will not do."
[Text on screen: Research > SWOT > Choices] "Start with research on customers and competitors, then a SWOT."
[Text on screen: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats] "Strengths and weaknesses are inside your business. Opportunities and threats are outside."
[Host] "Turn it into three choices. At least one should be a clear no."
Try it now

Write your situation analysis in one page: research answers, competitors, SWOT and three strategic choices.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Marketing Strategy & Planning: positioning, channels and budgets" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "From research to strategy".

What the lesson teaches:
- Strategy is choices. A plan lists what you will do; a strategy explains why these choices and not others. Saying "no" to some customers, channels and ideas is part of strategy.
- Market research questions (SBA): Is there a desire for your product or service? How many people would be interested? Where do customers live and where can you reach them? How many similar options are already available? What do customers pay for those alternatives?
- Competitive analysis (SBA): identify competitors by product and market segment, look at market share, each competitor's strengths and weaknesses, barriers that could hinder your entry, and indirect or secondary competitors.
- Existing sources vs direct research (SBA): existing sources work well for general data such as industry trends and demographics; direct research (surveys, interviews, focus groups) gives a more specific picture but takes more time and money.
- SWOT is a common tool: internal Strengths and Weaknesses, external Opportunities and Threats. Use it to find choices, for example "use a strength to take an opportunity".
- Goals. From course 3.12: one goal, one KPI, three to five supporting metrics. A plan can have two or three goals; more than that spreads the budget thin.

The exercise I'm working on:
Write your situation analysis in one page: research answers, competitors, SWOT and three strategic choices.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "From research to strategy" from the course "Marketing Strategy & Planning: positioning, channels and budgets".

Here's what the lesson says:
Before this course: Marketing Fundamentals (course 3.1) and Marketing Analytics: Read Your Numbers (course 3.12). You already know the 4 Ps, STP, channels, the key formulas and how to read a dashboard. A strategy is a map made before a trip. It says where you are, where you are going and which roads you will not take.

The activity:
Write your situation analysis in one page: research answers, competitors, SWOT and three strategic choices.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Open Claude
Sources
My notes
02

Positioning that holds up

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

03

Channel mix: matching channels to the journey

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

04

Budgets: methods, break-even and scenarios

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

05

Experiments: test before you scale

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

06

The 12-month plan, attribution and review rhythm

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

07

Rules, ethics and presenting your plan

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

++

Final project

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

??

Quiz

  1. What is the main difference between a plan and a strategy?

  2. What does SWOT stand for?

  3. Which two SWOT parts are internal?

  4. In a positioning statement, what makes the claim believable?

  5. According to advertising regulators, can a literally true claim be misleading?

  6. When must performance claims be tested?

  7. What is a "core" channel?

  8. How do you calculate break-even ROAS?

  9. With a 40% gross margin, what is break-even ROAS?

  10. Name two budgeting methods.

  11. When should you decide a test's success number and end date?

  12. What does last-click attribution do in GA4?

  13. What do anti-spam rules in most countries expect before a marketing message?

EX

Final exam

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

CE

Certificate

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.