-The industry. Both the restaurant serving a local market and Medtronic, selling heart pacemakers globally, analyze competition. However, their geographic thrusts are far different, as are the complexities of their offerings and, hence, the time periods likely to be covered by their plans. A one-year marketing plan may be adequate for the restaurant, but Medtronic may need a five-year planning horizon because product-development cycles for complex, new medical devices may be three or four years.