Which of the following is used by firms to outline marketing objectives and strategies and identify who is responsible for carrying out each part of the strategy?
a. market segmentb. marketing planc. target marketd. market opportunities and threatse. mass market scheme

The correct answer is B. Marketing plan.

Explanation:

A marketing plan is a document that companies make annually that includes:

- Main objectives for that year.

- Market and company situation.

- Definition of the company's customers.

- Main campaigns to be carried out and expected objective of each campaign.

- Annual action plan where it appears when and who will execute the different actions scheduled for that year.

- Budget to be invested in each action.

- Contingency plan in case the actions are not working that will be done.

But the most important thing is not to know what a marketing plan is, the most important thing is to know why you need it.  You need a marketing strategy in your company because:

- It forces you to focus on measurable objectives.

- It allows you to keep in mind once again who your customer is and what he needs.

- It is the only way that your marketing actions are focused on your goal and your client and that they are consistent with each other.

- It will save you money by focusing only on those actions that work.

- You need it to plan your actions throughout the year and anticipate how much time and resources you will need.

- You can see before finishing all your budget what is working and what is not and be able to make changes.

- It allows you to make an evaluation at the end of the year to see improvement points and lessons learned.

In summary, a marketing plan makes you follow a process that forces you to think about the best way to attract customers, convert them into customers, sell them more products or services and rely on them to get more customers.  

Without this document, your marketing actions will be just that, loose actions with no objective and no possibility of measurement.